The Kidnapped

Into the Woods

A fun breeze carries the echo of a gunshot, don't look back, don't stop, just go.

From the corner of your eyes you look right, Kevin's there. From the corner of your eyes you look left, Alexis is there. They kept running so you assume the man didn't aim the bullet at them. Could he have aimed it at you? No way, other than the breaths you struggle to catch you feel normal. Maybe the man just wanted to scare you but you can't scare someone who is already scared. Nevermind, it didn't matter. You all enter the woods, now what? The danger isn't over, they are still after you.

"Scatter!" Alexis says and runs in one direction as Kevin runs the other.

You make a slight turn and keep running. Footsteps follow behind you. Your heart is beating faster. You can't trip. You can't fall. You can't mess up. Just go. You turn this way and that, dodging trees and ducking under branches; all in your fullest speed and accuracy. For some reason, you think of those you love, those you hate, and those you never cared about. It all seems meaningful now. Purposeful. You need to focus, though.

Can you really outrun a strong man almost double the size of you? Well, he's running to get you but you're running for your life. It didn't quite add up.

You can hear his footsteps fall further and frther away from you. He's slowed down but you don't stop. He keeps running, stopping, seeing you, and running again. So, for once, you stop running and hide behind a big bush. If only you knew how to climb trees. Too late now.

Footsteps can be heared again, the man pauses and says, "come out, come out, wherever you are!" He rather sings this.

You stay put.

"Do you really think you can hide forever?" He says.

You look at the ground and hold your breath. Colourful leaves are scattered, some stones lay around. If all fails, you can gather those stones and throw'em at him. You place some stones in the palm of your hand, just in case.

"Aha!"

You flinch and jump out from the bush. Suddenly, throwing the stones at his face. He hysterically laughs until one of your beloved stones hits his eye. He didn't see that coming. He blinks and tries to get the dirt out of his eye, you can see it start to water. You run off once again but this time, he's not following you.

Your body sweats and aches. You've been running for a while. You arms itch because they were scratched by random branches along the way. You stop because you don't know where you are or where you're going.

"Buddy!" A voice calls, "up here!" You look up, it's Kevin resting on top of a tree. "Come here."

You swallow as you stare at him. How on earth did he get up there? Trying to help you,  he sticks out his hand for you. You observe the tree and see that it had multiple branches on it, one of them was low enough for you to barely place your foot on. Not too far away, the man starts searching for his prey again. Your heart drums under your chest, you stand on the low branch, take kevin's hand, and use the aid of one more branch to reach Kevin's level.

"Shh! Wait!" He says.

For once, you're not sweating. You are just awkwardly half sitting on a tree branch, trying to not move an inch or make a sound. The man was there, walking, looking, cursing under his breath. You want to close your eyes because of the pressure but you're too scared to take your eyes off. Anything can happen in a matter of seconds!

"You lowsy little..." the man mumbles and leaves.

Niether of you move. He could be tricking you, you're too smart to fall for it. You avoid eye contact with Kevin because then it would be too awkward and you would feel the need to talk. Boy, you really don't know when to use your voice, do you, now?

After a few minutes that felt like hours, your feet start to slip away; one of them fell asleep, but you hear a sound that you wanted to hear for the longest time: a truck's engine. You finally look at Kevin and you both give each other a nod. You drop down from the tree first, after you comes your friend.

"Do you think they really left?" You ask.

"I don't know, we can't let our guard down," he says.

"Where is Alexis?" Oh no, what if they got her?

"That's a problem...do ypu remember where you came from? 'Cause I don't." He looks around apologetically.

"Well, uum, no but we can see if we can find any footprints or leaves that are destroyed," you suggest.

"That sounds like a good idea!" He says and starts right away.

Looking around, everything looks the same but you keep your focus on the ground. You bend down to get a better look and walk around the hiding tree.

"I think I've found a pattern," Kevin says, you go over to him. "See? Can you show me your shoes from the bottom?"

You raise your leg and you both observe the patterns on your shoe, going back and forth between it and the print on the ground.

"See? That's your shoe right there!" He says.

"Hey, imagine the guy was actually smart enough to find us this way," you note.

"He wasn't, though. Couldn't you tell? He's the type who thinks his muscles are everything. Anyway, so that's his footprints. Wait, where's mine? I think mine would be the easiest to follow."

"I think it's there," you say because you know it's there.

Then, you both follow the footprints that aren't very clear and it doesn't take you long to find the road. No one's there, thankfully. The truck was gone forever now.

"Ok, now what?" You ask rhetorically.

"Shh!" Kevin shuts you up.

You hear someon coming from within the woods. You both take a step back and squint, trying to see who it is before they can see you.

"Should we run?" You innocently ask.

"Shh!!"

"It's just me, you guys!" A familiar voice says as its owner wanders towards them.

"Alexis, it's you!" Kevin says excitedly.

You smile and look at the road and how it vanishes behind the horizon along with the sun.