Free A World Apart by Steven A. Tolle Page B

blood."  He saw nods all around, even Surt.
    He motioned the men to start moving.  "Keep running, boy."  He thought, smiling to himself.  "I always like a good chase.  In the end, you will be mine again."
    ...
    Lost in the grip of fear, Jake ran down the forest path, heedless of his direction.  His mind was screaming for him to keep running and get as much distance as possible between his captors and himself.  He would slip and fall as he lost his footing in the dark, aggravating all of his injuries, but each time, he got up and continued to run.
    But he was running on fumes and knew it.  The bread he was given was not enough to keep him going.  He felt his strength ebb and slowed to a walk.  His fear kept him moving, afraid that if he stopped he would not be able to restart.  As he recovered, he would try to sprint again, but the periods that he could maintain it grew shorter and shorter.  After the last sprint, he could not help himself and stopped, hands on his legs, lungs burning.
    As he paused to catch his breath, Jake heard the soft sound of running water off to his right and turned towards it.  Stifling a groan, he made himself move and pushed his way through some tall underbrush and saw a small stream, its water an inky black in the soft moonlight.  He stopped at the edge and knelt down to drink.  The water had a muddy taste to it, but Jake did not care and drank deeply.  It cooled his parched throat, easing the rough feel in the back of his mouth.
    He only knelt for a few seconds, but as he rose, he could feel his legs starting to cramp.  He propelled himself in motion, trying to ignore the painful muscle contractions.  He walked into the stream, heedless of the water soaking his shoes and socks, and turned upstream.  He hoped that walking in the stream would throw off his trail against the inevitable pursuit.  He stumbled and splashed his way for several hundred yards, then exited and continued on through the forest, angling away from the stream.
    His shoes now drenched in water, he found the going slower.  He tried to sprint at intervals, but his body was giving out.  His legs were cramping more strongly and the lack of food was draining his energy.  Soon, he could only walk and even that was growing more difficult.
    As the forest became lighter as dawn approached, Jake heard the sounds of the men looking for him in the distance.  The sounds were still far away, but Jake could think of nothing else he could do but to keep moving.  He tried to pick up his pace, but he had nothing else to give.  His fear began to rise, mind imagining the horrible things that were likely to happen to him when he was caught, as the sounds drew closer.
    As he pushed headlong into bushes that rose in his path, the branches ripping his clothes and scratching his skin, he realized that the stream did not provide the diversion he hoped.  He could just make out the voices that shouted that they had found his trail and the sounds of feet splashing through the water.  He continued to move forward, desperate to get away, knowing that he couldn't.
    The voices grew steadily louder as the distance closed between Jake and his pursuers.  With the men closing in, Jake's terror caused his body to respond with a final surge of adrenaline, allowing him to make one more sprint.  He raced ahead, only focused on trying to gain some distance, his wet shoes making squishing sounds as he ran.  As a wall of bushes appeared ahead of him in the faint light, he simply lowered his head and ran through them.  As he crashed through the branches, eyes closed and breath raggedly pushing in and out of his lungs, he came to a sudden stop as he hit something large that was both hard and soft, as well as warm.
    He was staggered by the collision and collapsed to the ground, his momentum causing him to roll a couple of times.  He tried to stand back up, but his legs cramped and he went back down.  He pushed himself over onto his side and