KATE

Chapter 2

Part 2 : On the Run

Kate POV:

The cold air burned my lungs, but I couldn’t stop running. Not yet. Not when Emily was still ahead of me, her dark hair flying like a banner in the moonlight. She glanced over her shoulder, her face pale but focused.

“Keep moving, Kate!” she hissed, her voice just loud enough to carry over the crunch of dead leaves underfoot.

“I’m trying!” I snapped back, my legs screaming as they pushed through the underbrush. The forest was thicker than I’d expected, branches reaching out like fingers to tear at my clothes and scratch my skin.

Behind us, the shouts were getting louder. The guards weren’t far off now, and the barking of their dogs made my heart pound like a drumbeat. I could still see the orphanage walls in the distance, their gray stone looming behind the treetops. We hadn’t gotten far enough.

“We should hide!” I panted, nearly tripping over a root. “They’ll catch us if we keep running like this!”

“No!” Emily’s voice was sharp, cutting through my rising panic. “We keep going. The river’s not far. Once we cross it, the dogs won’t be able to track us as easily.”

She didn’t even look at me as she spoke, her eyes locked on the path ahead. It was like she’d mapped the whole forest in her head, her steps sure and deliberate even as mine faltered. I couldn’t figure out how she stayed so calm.

Emily had been acting weird since we left the orphanage. Usually, I was the one who had to convince her to take risks, to break the rules. But tonight, it was like something had flipped in her. She was the one driving this escape, and I was just trying to keep up.

I wanted to ask why. I wanted to stop and grab her shoulders and demand to know what had changed. But my lungs were burning too hard, and her pace didn’t leave room for questions.

“Emily—”

“Not now, Kate!” she cut me off, her voice tight.

The shouts behind us grew louder, closer. My head whipped around, and for a terrifying moment, I thought I saw a flashlight beam cutting through the trees.

“Emily, they’re getting closer!”

“Then run faster!” she snapped, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. Her grip was strong, her fingers digging into my wrist like a lifeline.

We stumbled through the trees, our breaths loud and ragged in the quiet of the forest. Every crunch of leaves underfoot felt deafening. My mind raced, picturing the guards behind us, their hands grabbing at our collars, dragging us back to that horrible place.

And the dogs. God, the dogs. Their barking was getting louder now, echoing off the trees. I could almost feel their teeth at my heels.

“Do you even know where we’re going?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Emily didn’t answer. She just kept pulling me forward, her eyes locked on something I couldn’t see.

The forest felt endless. Each tree looked the same, their bare branches reaching up to a sky that offered no light, no guidance. I couldn’t tell if we were running in circles or getting further away from the orphanage.

My legs were shaking now, threatening to give out with every step. The cold night air felt like knives in my chest, and my vision blurred with tears I didn’t have the energy to wipe away.

“Emily, I can’t—”

“Yes, you can!” she said, her voice fierce. She slowed just enough to loop her arm around me, half-dragging me forward. “Just a little further, Kate. I promise. You can do this.”

Her words shouldn’t have worked. I should’ve collapsed right then and there, letting the forest swallow me whole. But the way she said it—like it wasn’t just an order, but a belief—made me push myself harder.

The barking was louder now. Close. Too close.

“Emily, they’re going to catch us,” I whispered.

“No, they won’t.” Her grip tightened on my arm. “We’re going to make it.”

I wanted to believe her. I wanted to let her voice drown out the fear pounding in my chest. But the shouts behind us didn’t stop, and the dogs didn’t slow.

And neither did Emily.

I don’t know how long we ran. Minutes, hours, years. Time stopped making sense in that forest, my world shrinking down to the sound of my own ragged breathing and the feel of Emily’s hand pulling me forward.

Finally, I saw it: a break in the trees, silver light reflecting off the surface of the river. Relief flooded through me, so sharp it almost made me dizzy.

“There it is!” Emily said, her voice strained but triumphant. “We’re almost there, Kate!”

She let go of my arm, sprinting ahead toward the water. My legs wobbled under me, every step feeling like it might be my last, but I followed her.

The river was wide, its current rushing fast and cold. Emily didn’t hesitate. She plunged in, the water splashing up to her knees as she turned to motion for me to follow.

“Come on!” she shouted, her voice barely carrying over the roar of the water.

I stumbled forward, my feet hitting the icy riverbed. The cold was a shock, stabbing through my legs and up into my chest, but I didn’t care. We were almost there.

Behind us, the barking reached a fever pitch. I risked a glance over my shoulder and froze.

They were here. Flashlights bobbed in the darkness, their beams cutting through the trees like searchlights. I could see the guards now, their silhouettes dark and menacing against the forest.

“Emily—”

She grabbed my arm, yanking me deeper into the water. “Don’t stop, Kate! Just keep moving!”

I wanted to scream, to cry, to collapse right there in the river. But Emily’s voice cut through my panic, pulling me back to her.

I kept moving.

The water reached my waist, and the current grew stronger, threatening to pull me under. My feet slipped on the rocks, and Emily grabbed me, keeping me steady.

Then, just as we reached the middle of the river, I heard it.

A gunshot.

The sound was sharp and deafening, echoing through the trees like thunder.

“Emily!” I screamed, my voice breaking.

She didn’t answer. She was already moving, her body twisting toward me, her arms outstretched.

I didn’t understand what was happening. Not until I felt her hands on my shoulders, shoving me backward. Not until I saw the flash of pain in her eyes.

Not until I realized the shot hadn’t missed.