“Wake up!”
“Hmm…”
“Wake up!”
“Hmph!”
“Come on, Trina! Get up!”
The blanket is ripped from my body. The chill immediately makes goose bumps stand at attention all over my body. Blindly, I reach around me in search of cover, but all I feel is the grass and the small feet of my sister, tapping impatiently.
“Go back to bed, Kelly,” I mumble as I roll over and curl my arms and legs up to my stomach.
I did not sleep well. The roots beneath my back made sure of that. We’ve been on the run for two weeks, but barely any sign of —
“Fine! Don’t mind me if you get eaten alive then!”
My eyes snap open and roll over to see what Kelly is freaking out about. Well, now I see she has every reason to panic.
Dripping fangs are bearing down on us from the mouth of a beast sitting on a tree branch. Now, this isn’t your normal tiger or crocodile kind of beast. We’re talking a four-hundred pound scaly quadropod with large eyes, a bear snout, saber-tooth fangs, and paws that could grip my entire head in a single grasp. A purple tongue slithers out and across its teeth as the beast curls its shoulders. It’s ready to pounce.
“Kelly,” I say getting onto my feet. When I put my arm protectively in front of her, I feel Kelly’s hands grip my forearm.
We had come so far; we were so close to the border. Our freedom is practically right here. I should have known we wouldn’t make it out alive. If the men who captured us didn’t find us and kill us themselves, these beasts would finish the job.
“Kelly, you listen to me,” I speak quickly and quietly, “You run. Okay? As fast as you possibly can. No matter what happens, I won’t let them take you again, so you keep running, you understand?”
I see her nod her head.
“When you reach the outside, find an adult and tell them to take you to the police. Tell them everything you’ve gone through and tell them every name you heard while we were trapped, okay?”
She nods again, this time slower. My little sister, so strong even in the face of danger. Sometimes I wish I could be like her.
“Ready?”
She grasps my hand once more and looks into my eyes.
“Go!”
She darts from out behind me into the brush as I start to scale the tree. These beasts don’t like touching the ground if they can help it; if there’s anything I learned by being trapped for six months in that hell hole, it was that. Those stupid scientists created them: a hybrid of a gila monster, a tiger and who knows what else. All I know is that there’s something in the ground that throws them off balance, making it harder to catch prey.
Sure enough, a moment later the creak of a branch tells me the beast is on my trail. Better me than Kelly.
I make it up about a dozen feet from the ground to the thickest branch that can hold me. With support from higher branches, I sidle my way along until the branch of another tree can carry me further. A snap of wood and a snarl draws my attention. The beast has already taken my place in the tree I was just in. As quickly as I can, I put a tree trunk between us.
Looking around, I notice there’s a deep ravine just beyond the thick branch my feet were shaking on–my only way out. The moment I feel the beasts strong paws climb onto the tree I’m in, I don’t hesitate. I run and then jump.
The wind rushes by, making my ears whistle. Right before I hit the water, I pinch my eyes closed and hold my breath, wanting this whole mess to be over.
* * *
“Is this her?”
A man’s voice rouses me. Water laps up onto my legs in a slow rhythm. My hands and forehead sting.
“Trina!”
At the sound of Kelly’s voice, I open my eyes and am blinded by the sun. With all the strength I can muster, which isn’t much, I try to push my body up.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there,” the man speaks again. His hand is on my shoulder. A tickle in my throat makes me cough. Kelly comes into my vision, splashing water as she runs toward me.
“Trina!” She kneels next to me. I want to hold her but I can’t even lift myself up, so I give her my hand. She takes it eagerly. “You okay?”
“I will be, I think,” I say, my throat feeling like it has dirt in it. “What about you, Kel?”
“I’m good,” she smiles at me. “I found someone to help!”
I finally am able to roll myself over enough to see the man. After his head blocks the glare of the sun, I see the face that appeared late in my bedroom six months ago. The face that told me not to scream. The face that said someone was coming for us, that they weren’t to be trusted. He had said he would come for us as soon as possible. Now he was here. A smile cracks through my parched lips.
“Hi, Dad.”