Chapter Twenty-Eight: Escape Flight:

About three days had passed. Half of the tribe lay dead miles behind. Ann looked around at the dead trees overhead. The pig-looking guard didn’t even look tired for all of the time they had been walking. In fact, he still had that annoying smirk on his face that he had when he made his first kill days earlier. The Goth woman sneered at him.

Bastard! She wanted to turn around and belt him one so badly. The girl held onto her arm and shook her head.

“Don’t it not worth it,” she whispered. Ann gritted her teeth and faced forward. She didn’t even want to think about who could possibly die next. Suddenly, the guard pulled out his whistle and blew it as hard as he could. Everyone froze in their tracks.

“Okay, you pieces of garbage!” he shouted. “You can stop here for the night!” The Goth woman made an odd face at him.

“Out here?” she whispered to the girl next to her. She squeezed Ann’s hand with what little strength that she had back.

“Just endure it a little bit longer,” she whispered back. Ann hated hearing those words yet again. How could she take anymore of this? They had nothing to eat. Her own feet felt so sore. Gun shots and the wails made her flinch about every ten seconds. Everyone else around her looked so tired. What was all of this for? Cleansing my ass! This is just pure murder!

“Anyone who tries to escape will be shot in the middle of the night!” the guard barked. Ann bit on her lower lip, fighting back her urge to scream at him to shut the fuck up. The girl rubbed on her hand to calm her down.

Ann couldn’t sleep among the cold emptiness around her. The villagers sat hurled in a circle to keep themselves warm in vain. Only the guard snorted like the fat pig he appeared to be. Ann gritted her teeth as she stared at him. It would be so easy to stab him in his sleep, she thought. Now if only she could find a sharp instrument to carry out this task…

Ann paused in her thoughts when a shadow cast over her. She looked up to see the girl standing over her. The Goth woman narrowed her curious eyes at her.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“I’m going to get you out here,” the girl whispered back. Ann’s eyes grew wide when she heard that.

“What?!” she whispered back.

“You do not belong here,” the girl told her in a calm voice. “I am going to take you back to where you belong.” The Goth woman looked around with a pale face.

“But…” she said quickly.

“We don’t have time!” the girl hissed. “Get up and let’s go!” Ann looked behind her at the pig of a guard. The Goth woman clenched her fists at her sides.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Lead the way!” The girl pulled Ann to her feet and the two began their walk into the dense forest. With each step, the Goth woman looked behind her. When it looked like no one would follow them, Ann turned back to her guide.

“I don’t get it,” she whispered.

“Get what?” the girl asked without turning around. Ann shifted her shoulders as she followed close behind.

“Why are you helping me out like this?” she asked.

“You do not belong with us,” the girl said.

“I get that,” the Goth woman replied. “But why don’t I belong with you guys beside the obvious.”

“The obvious,” the girl answered. Ann frowned at her back.

“I’m not going to get a straight answer out of you, aren’t I?” she asked. When the girl didn’t answer her, she took that as a no.

------

The women made it down to a long, dirt road.

“Run down there without stopping and don’t look behind you!” the girl advised her. Ann gave her a worried look on her face.

“What about you?” she asked. “We can escape together!” Her guide shook her head.

“I can’t leave with you,” she said. The Goth woman’s face dropped at her words.

“But why not?” she asked.

“We have all died,” the girl said. “You are still alive. You must go now!” Gun shots filled the air.

“You must go!” the girl screamed. “Return back to your own time before it’s too late!” Ann noticed as another gunshot filled the air.

“I will never forget you!” she shouted. Ann took off running down the road as fast as she could. Take me home! Take me home! Take me home! Up ahead, she noticed a glowing sign at the end of the road. On instinct, Ann ran towards it as fast as she could. Before she knew it, that light swallowed her whole in one blink.