Chasing a Fox

Following the trail

Irene could hear gunshots being fired. It was hard to tell where they were coming from but she couldn't afford to slow down right now. She had waded across the creek, and through an open clearing. She had a stitch in her side from running. Crouched down she was trying to control her breathing, she was hungry, tired, cold and now wet from crossing across that creek. She had dirt on her face and twigs in her hair. She just wanted to be able to stop running.

In the distance she could hear sirens. Maybe the police were on their way. Irene sure hoped so. She heard the sound of something maybe even someone splashing in the creek. Panicking she picked up a large branch. If James had caught up with her she was not going to go down without a fight dammit! She moved slowly and continued to hide behind trees. She couldn't afford to run and fall down now she had to be ready to fight if possible.

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Seth paused on the other side of the creek, he could just barely make out the impression of a shoe along the bank. It looked small like it might belong to Irene. He felt a wave of relief, he must be on the right trail. He moved slowly with a purpose trying to find the next track. Taking his time to notice the little things. A nearby branch had a strand of hair attached to it. The light shining on it showed it looked auburn. Irene! Please gods let her be close, let her be safe.

He paused for a moment searching the ground. He had lost sight of her tracks, he wanted to call out for her and let her know that she was safe but didn't want to bring any attention to her in case the person hunting her was still hot on the trail. He walked around the clearing searching desperately for any clues. In the distance he could hear the sound of sirens. Thank goodness, more backup was on it's way.

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Irene spotted a small cave up ahead. Maybe she should try to hide there. She made her way over to it and crept inside. Hoping that she wouldn't be bothering anything that might be living in the cave. She backed herself deep inside where the shadows would help hide her. Her eyes were glued to the outside while she waited to see who could possibly be trailing her. Her pulse was racing so much she could hear it in her eardrums. She still had her branch in case she needed to defend herself. She couldn't help but feel silly about her branch. James was hunting her with a gun for crying out loud! A branch was a joke compared to that.

She could hear whoever had tracked her walking around in the clearing that wasn't far from the mouth of the cave. Could hear the sound of leaves being crushed. Whoever it was wasn't crashing around but seemed to be moving carefully. She felt the urge to creep closer to the mouth of the cave to try and catch a glimpse of the person. She didn't want to risk exposing her location however. Instead she crouched down and waited. Waited for them to come into her line of sight.

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Seth continued taking small steps around the clearing. Had he missed an important clue? With no trees in the middle there were no broken branches or twigs to try and follow. The leaves were covering up any possible tracks. He could see a cave up ahead to the right of where he was searching. He cautiously made his way over there. Would she try to hide there or keep moving forward? He wasn't even sure if she went this way.

He was directly in front of the opening to the cave. The inside was dark with shadows, he couldn't anything beyond the very front and didn't feel like he could confidently walk inside with no kind of weapon to protect himself. He squinted into the cave but still couldn't see anything other than shadows. He decided to keep moving. Seth stepped back from the opening and went to continue his search.

Inside the cave Irene could just make out someone's silhouette. Whoever it was seemed to be staring straight at her. She froze, and didn't dare move a muscle. The person stepped back into the clearing and she felt herself moving towards the entrance slowly. Gripping her branch. If this was James maybe she could sneak up behind him and hit him. It would be the best chance she had at trying to escape. As she stepped into the clearing she let out the breath she had been holding.

Irene couldn't believe her eyes. Was that Seth in front of her? Blinking several times she wondered if the stress was making her delusional. When the figure turned around at the sound of a nearby squirrel running by she felt the branch slip through her fingers and hit the forest floor. It was Seth! She stood there in shock crying. Seth couldn't believe that he had found Irene. She was standing there dirty, scratched up and sobbing. Yet she was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

Running towards her. "Oh thank god I found you." He pulled her into his arms. She collapsed into him sobbing. He kept rubbing her back and whispering over and over "I found you, it's okay now." Seth looked up at the sky silently giving thanks that he had found her. Irene's shoulders were shaking with sobs. She couldn't get out any words for several minutes."How did you find me?" was the first thing she asked.

Seth lead her out of the woods while talking about how he had hired a detective, how they had gotten a tip about a cabin in the woods. Finally on the outside of the woods they located an ambulance  A police officer met up with them and told Irene that they would need her statement after she got checked out at the hospital.