Chapter 12: Give Me Your Hand
853 Words
“We have to keep moving, here hold my hand." Caleb reached out and grabbed my hand tightly.
We were moving gradually around the corners of the woods to get a better view of the area. I kept counting my steps in my head to keep up. If the dogs were getting close, that meant we were already running out of time.
The guard dogs I've seen around the castle were vicious and relentless. Nothing to be played around with. The dogs were highly trained and ready for whatever needed to be done. The last thing you wanted to be chased by in a field. If we were even seen by one, that would just have to be our luck.
My fate of being taken in was also consuming me. I imagined myself being brought into the castle in handcuffs, while my Aunt Celine laughed in the corner. Seeing both of my parents in disgust, wanting to reach for my throat and giving me away right on the spot. They wouldn't hesitate to cut off all access and put me in captivity on the moon.
The last time an heiress was banned, she ended up shipped off to a psych ward. The family took the story and made it into a horrendous headline. The psych ward turned the heiress into a full on lunatic. The family couldn't accept her daughter but cared more for their reputation. She never recovered and eventually passed.
My grandma would always tell me about the heiress who ended up in the psych ward, up until she had passed. One thing that was strange is that she never mentioned her name. I didn't care to ask either.
I held Caleb's hand and felt the adrenaline running through his body. I knew he was in some momentum of fear and could end up in prison if he were caught. His whole life was at risk because of me.
“Are you worried?" I whispered to Caleb.
“We're almost there, just stay focused." He reassured me.
“You're not listening, let me ask one more time. Are you worried?" I repeated.
“I don't worry about things that are out of my control."
“It doesn't seem like it…your hands are all sweaty and tense." I pointed out to him.
“That's natural. If anything I'm more worried for you."
“But you have a whole bounty out in your name?"
“Again, just forget about this entire bounty thing. It doesn't concern you." Caleb snapped.
We both remained quiet and moved discreetly. I'm in a fight against sleep and Caleb is trying to hold in his fear. A recipe for disaster waiting to unfold.
My mind was drifting and I kept replaying what had happened back in the cabin. The man just knocked out on the hard wooden floor, covered in blood right in front of us. Both Caleb and I are possible witnesses to manslaughter. This was easily the second most tragic event that I've faced in my life. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get over this either.
I noticed the flowers around these woods were slowly deteriorating. Like life was just being sucked out of them completely dry.
I rubbed my eyes together and noticed I was just seeing things. The flowers being dead were all in my head, a deceitful distraction. My mind is creating false depictions for me to believe and fall into. But I'm stronger than that and I won't let them consume me. Yasmine was the only pure depiction, fixed hallucination, that has helped me through.
“We need to get around those trees over there and get up that hill." Caleb pointed in the direction.
I couldn't see whatever he was pointing at, but went along and trusted his lead. The wind started blowing heavily, making roaring noises. My feet started to drag along.
*BARK*
*BARK*
“Pick up your feet, let's go!" Caleb yelled.
I stomped my feet on the ground and rolled my head around a few times to wake my whole body up. My energy rushed back to me and I felt brand new again.
There was a light up ahead and a pathway to a road. We were finally going to make it. This was it and nothing was in our way.
*GUNFIRE*
“What was that?" I exclaimed.
What in the hell was that?
I couldn't distinguish the sound or what it could possibly be from. Caleb moved my body underneath him and shielded it while running. My head was already at the finish line that I didn't care about anything else. I made myself hidden and held myself together.
Caleb dragged me along with no direct way of direction, while barely missing tree stumps. At that moment I knew he was in panic mode. His hands tightened his grip and kept sweating through.
*GUNFIRE*
Then all of a sudden Caleb's body drops to the ground. A gunshot. I was in disbelief and noticed he was compressing his leg in total pain.
“Caleb, Caleb, please stay with me." I cried out.
- Writer
