We didn't stop. Not for a long time.
He pulled me through the trees with his hand firmly on my arm. Branches caught at my sweater, at my jeans. I stumbled, the ground uneven beneath my feet with roots and dips I couldn't see.
We didn’t stop.
Behind us the gunfire was still going.
We kept moving, the sounds becoming slightly less…becoming muffled by the distance until it was something I could almost convince myself I wasn't hearing.
Roman stopped and finally released me. I stumbled on a root and his hands reached out to steady me, straightening me upright. He let go and I watched as he began scanning the dark forest, taking in the sounds of insects, the distant scampering of small creatures moving through the woods, the stillness of the tall oak trees.
Then he reached into his jack
