Free Escape, a New Life by David Antocci Page B

quickly.  The only thing Abby could remember about her was her fire-red hair.  Sara was neither of them. 
    “Listen,” Sara said ,  “you don’t have to believe me, but whatever the reason is that we are here, we are in the same crappy situation.  I haven’t spoken to another person in months.  I saw you. I know you’re not one of them.  I figured we might be able to help each other out, that’s all.  If you are not interested, fine.  I’ll turn around and head back to where I came from – just as soon as you promise that knife is going to stay right where it is.”
    Abby looked at her knife and slid it back into its sheath.  “Fine .”
    Sara smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.  She opened her arms and took a step toward Abby, who held her hand up to stop her.
    “Turn around,” Abby ordered.  “We won’t bother you, if you don’t bother us, OK?”
    Sara just stood, staring at her.  Her blue eyes glazed over, and a tear streamed down her cheek.  She stood staring at Abby for another moment, as if she hoped Abby would say something more, before turning around and walking back into the trees.
    Abby watched her walk away for a few seconds , and then broke into a run after her.

8
     
    ABBY SHOUTED, “Wait!”
    Sara stopped and stood standing with her back to Abby.
    “I’m looking for the man who came here with me.  His name is Eric.  Have you seen him out here?”
    Sara shook her head no, without turning around.
    “I’m sorry,” Abby said.  “I’m heading back to our camp now.  We have some food there.  Are you hungry?”
    Sara turned around . “I’ve been hungry for eight months,” she said with a desperate smile.
    Abby stared at her while she thought silently.  Sara seemed sincere.  She did not fight back when Abby could have easily killed her.  Most important, Sara was willing to walk away.  Abby thought she seemed genuinely lonely and pathetic, and her heart went out to her, “Come on.”
    As they walked back to camp , they continued looking for Eric without any luck.  Abby thought that it was nice to have some company out here.  While she was keeping an eye on Sara, looking for any signs that she should not trust her, she was warming up to her.  Abby was certainly less nervous than she had been on the walk into the forest.  Maybe they could build a slightly bigger raft and bring Sara with them.  She figured it would not hurt to have an extra set of arms to paddle.  She decided that she would have to talk to Eric about it.
    They arrived back at camp to find Eric waiting for them, though he was shocked by Sara’s presence.  “What’s this?” 
    “This is Sara.  She’s going to stay with us for a bit.  Where were you anyway?”
    “I’ve been combing the trees around this whole area to make sure none of them are here,” he said, pointing at Sara.  “What are you talking about, stay with us?  Who is she?  Is she one of them?”
    “Relax, she’s not one of them. We can trust her.”
    “How do you know that?”
    Abby explained how they had met up in the trees when she was out looking for Eric.  She told him her story, and that she knew about Tom and had been hiding from him for months on her own. 
    Eric looked their guest up and down , skepticism showed on his face.  “I’m not buying it.  How did you find us?”
    Sara opened her mouth to speak, but Abby spoke for her.  She already felt bad about putting Sara through the third degree when they met up.  “I told you Eric, we went through this already.  I grilled the hell out of her with my knife to her throat.  She’s OK.  I could have killed her and she never fought back.  Trust me.  Let’s just relax and talk it out.”  She waited for his response and got none, “How about we have something to eat.”
    “You go ahead,” he said, “I don’t have much of an appetite.”  He walked away, watching the sun set over the water.
    Sara and Abby were silent, though Abby could tell that Sara