Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
My heart tripped, hammering in my chest. If this didn’t work, I was so screwed it wasn’t even funny. Probably was anyway. My plan went past risky to completely insane, but the last thing I was going to do was to willingly go to my doom. If I got caught, at least I tried.
When I exited the hotel, I paused at the crosswalk, trying to act normal and not look like I was in a hurry. I crossed the street with the flow of the few people around me, and into the pharmacy. Once inside, I hurried through the store to the back. As luck would have it, I managed to get to the back door without being spotted. I also snagged a flashlight I spotted hanging on the wall next to the fire extinguisher which I knew would prove invaluable later. I’d chosen this time of day because it was thirty minutes after shift change at this store and the likelihood of someone being in the staff area was slim. I’d been lucky we’d been next to this particular store since it was one I knew. I was taking a chance that I’d run into someone I knew, but I had no other options.
Once out the back, I hurriedly twisted my hair into a tight bun and secured it with a hair tie. Then I stripped off the light gray slacks and matching jacket, leaving myself in a black tank and black leggings. It took every ounce of willpower I had to not look over my shoulder as I moved out onto the sidewalk. If I had any hope at all of getting away unnoticed, I needed to go now while there were still people around and the lighting was dim. It was almost twilight in the city. The streetlights hadn’t all come on yet and it was hard to see at a distance.
I walked at a brisk pace for several blocks, taking as many turns as I could and still moving steadily away from the hotel. No one called out to me or gave chase. As far as I could tell, no one knew I was missing. I was hoping that, given the nature of my errand, Sam would give me several additional minutes before he went looking for me.
When I finally approached the edge of the city, I gave up all pretense of trying to blend in. I took off at nearly a sprint. The longer I was out in the open, the greater the chances Sam or one of Borris’s other men would spot me. I had to make it through a few more city blocks, then across the highway -- another risk since not many people crossed on foot -- and into the woods. Once I had the cover of the trees, I’d find a place to settle down for the night and hopefully make it to the compound tomorrow. I didn’t want to get lost, so I had to take the chance they wouldn’t come this way looking for me. Or, if they did, that they’d wait until daylight so they had a better chance of tracking me accurately.
All I had was an old compass my mother had given me with a tiny map folded inside tucked into my bra, and the flashlight I’d stolen. No food. No water. No protection from the elements. Just the compass and map, and a flashlight. And stories of a place my mother told me about, but I’d never seen. This was all kinds of crazy, but it was my choice. No one else’s.
By the time I was deep in the woods and far enough away from the road as I could safely get, it was full dark. I didn’t want to use the light yet as it was early enough Sam might still make a try on the chance I hadn’t gone far, and Sam might still make a try if he could figure out where I’d gone into the woods. Plus, I had no idea how long the battery would last. Hopefully a while. Though I’d thought I was prepared mentally for a couple of days out in the wild on my own, I hadn’t thought about how dark it would actually be. And I wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of snakes.
Or alligators.
The air was thick with humidity, and every leaf seemed to whisper nefarious secrets as I pushed farther into the undergrowth. My limbs ached, my heart pounded in my ears, and fear clung to me like the dense fog that began to roll in from the nearby swamp. The noises of the night grew louder, a cacophony of insects and distant howls that did nothing to ease my nerves.
I tried to keep my breathing steady, reminding myself that panic would only make things worse. The darkness was absolute – even the faint glow of moonlight struggled to penetrate the thick canopy above. Every rustle in the bushes sent a spike of adrenaline through my system. Was the noise from a predator stalking me? Was it Sam? More of my stepfather’s goons? I wasn’t sure if I was more afraid of giant snakes or my stepfather. Borris Illivitch was a cold-hearted bastard. When he found out I’d blazed… If he caught me, I’d be in a world of pain. Death would be a release.