Minutes later, her breath was ripping through her lungs again. She wasn’t a very athletic girl. The running was hard on her. She wished she could stop for a breather.
The running footsteps behind her fell away. She didn’t care, she ran on. Maybe they were trying to make her think she won, even though they could be sneaking up on her.
After a minute, she slowed to a trot. She couldn’t hear anything behind her so she decided to save her strength for when she needed it. If they found her again, she would be ready.
Her muscles were weak and her legs wanted to give out from under her. She was at the end of her strength. She wouldn’t be able to go on much longer.
A few minutes later and her breathing was becoming even again. There was still no sign of Ridley anywhere. He must still be running. She hoped she hadn’t hurt him when she pushed him. She only wondered if she would be able to get out of this forest.
She slowed to a walk.
She wondered if she would ever see Richard again. Or Brianna. They had come all this way to rescue her and now she was wondering through a forest. Maybe if she found her way back to her village, she would, one day, meet up with Richard and Brianna again.
The sun was almost gone. Another ten minutes and the sun would be gone. She feared being in the forest after dark, especially alone.
A crunch of leaves made her spin around. She couldn’t see anything, but she didn’t care. She turned and started running again.