The deep woods seemed to grow thicker and darker as I raced through the thickets and briars. I could still hear the baying bloodhounds somewhere behind me. I stopped and listened, panting and gasping for breath in the cold November air. The hounds seemed closer now. I started to run again.
I crossed a dry creek bed and scrambled up a steep embankment. I was running slower now, my knees weak and my throat dry. I wanted to rest, to lie down and to press my hot face against the spruce needles of the forest floor. But, I had to keep going. The dogs. The dogs would get me if I stopped.
Suddenly, the trees grew less dense and finally gave way to a clearing. No, it was the river. The river at last! Then I fell. The pain hit my leg like a bolt of white hot lightning. Only fifty yards ahead my motorboat was moored at the base of an old fir tree. But less than a mile behind were the howling bloodhounds.
The pain came in jolting shocks now. I looked at my leg and saw the blood and the splintered shin bone peeking through the skin. I wondered if I could crawl. The dogs! And now the pain again! I had to do something. Now!
I began to slide along the ground, using plants and roots as leverage to pull myself along faster. I gritted my teeth and focused on the short distance to the motorboat. Every inch felt like a mile. Less than twenty yards from the boat, I glanced over my shoulder and caught my first glimpse of the two four-legged tracking machines. They were quickly gaining ground, their legs pumping and their jowls dripping with saliva. They were nearly one-hundred yards away now and closing fast. I wanted to live. I didn’t know whether their masters would pity me this time. Would they call off the beasts? They warned me last time…
I pushed these thoughts from my mind as I neared the river. I wouldn’t be caught. I couldn’t be caught.
The first dog ripped into my leg as my hand brushed the slick siding of the boat. Pain roared through my body as its teeth ground against my exposed tibia. I kicked the dog squarely in the jaw, momentarily stunning it, and used my precious seconds to clamber aboard the boat. That was as far as I got, however, because immediately the second hound was on top of me. It pinned me to the floor, seizing my arm in his mouth and ripping what little clothing I had to shreds. Its teeth punctured my arm and thrashed it around madly, tearing my shoulder from its socket. It was frenzied, and it seemed my blood drove it even wilder. Ignoring the pain, I focused on starting the boat. I grasped the keys and turned the ignition as the first dog rejoined the fight and pounced on my chest. Instinctively, I shielded my neck with my hands as his slavering mouth descended upon my jugular.
I was losing blood fast as the dogs continued to rip apart my flesh. It wasn’t a battle I could win and subconsciously I knew this. My fight grew weak and the dogs sensed my powerless limbs. I felt dizzy and began to pass out. As darkness swam over my eyes, I felt the dogs being pulled away from my body. Or was I being pulled away from the dogs? Was I dead? It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the pain was gone.
Excruciating pain. There wouldn’t be pain if I was dead, but I couldn’t open my eyes to clarify my earthly existence. I lay there cold and bruised. I listened but heard nothing. A short while later I mustered the strength to peel my lids apart. Darkness. I kept them open in hopes of my eyes adjusting to the dark and gaining some visual confirmation of my location, but with no reward. Instead, I heard what I’d feared most. The quiet whispering of the German soldiers gripped my heart like an icy wind on a winter day. I knew I’d been captured and my escape had been futile.
I guessed the answer before I tested whether or not I was tied to the surface I was lying on. I could only move my arms a few inches before the rope pulled taut. At the moment I was content with being tied down. I wasn’t sure whether I could use my limbs effectively anyway and the slightest flex in any muscles brought tears to my eyes. I felt hopeless and closed my eyes, drifting away into nothingness.
I awoke to the sound of chains clanging together hurriedly. A pair of calloused hands gripped my arms and untied each of them. I was pulled into a sitting position by the stranger and lifted off of my bed. The man cradled me in his arms, none the gently, and carried me out of my supposed cell. He rank of stale sweat and cigarettes, the aroma reaching my nostrils and causing me to gag. I assumed he smelled the same on me, minus the cigarettes, but with the addition of blood.
We came to a door and upon exiting the building, I gained my first glimpse of light since my failed attempt at freedom. The stars shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the Germans standing in a circle not ten yards from me. As the man supporting my weak and
What words do you think you’d change? Just wondering..