Free B. E. V. by Arthur Butt Page A

spine, dripping into my eyes and making my body itch. I tried listening, didn't hear anything, and wiggled closer to the tent flap.
    "– to heck with Morgan, stay up all night and all we catch is one kid," I heard my guard mumble to himself. "Waste of time." He released a groan, and I wiggled back just in time as the tent flap lifted and he peeked inside. He saw my scared face and grunted, "Good," and dropped the flap again.
    I sat in the dark, wondering what I should do. Kat would never find me here, and no one else would be searching for me. It was either the labor camp or figure out a way to escape.
    My eyes adjusted to the light, and I searched for something to help me escape, but the tent was empty. With a sigh, I began tugging and twisting my arms and felt a slight play in the ropes. I kept working until my shoulders ached, and I wasn't sure if sweat or blood lubricated my hands.
    After an eternity of pain, the ropes on my left wrist slipped over my hand. Seconds later, I was able to shake them off and unwrap the rest from my right. I sat and gulped air, and then crept to the flap and peeked out.
    My guard was nodding by the fire. As I watched, his chin fell on his chest and he snored gently. Without making any noise, I started a slow crawl around the side of the tent.
    My dumb leg tangled up in a branch. As gently as I could I tried brushing it off with my good foot.
    "Hey, kid! Where do you think you're going?"
    My guard was awake and stalking toward me. I snatched at the branch and brought it racking across his shins. He howled and went down.
    Before he could recover, I swung at his head. The branch connected with a meaty "THUD". I slammed him again and again, as if killing a snake, all the while screaming my head off. When my arm was so tired I couldn't hit him anymore, I stopped.
    I don't know if he were alive or dead, and didn't hang around to learn. I dragged my good leg under me and staggered into the woods.
    It was light now, the sun high in the sky and birds flying through the trees. When I was far enough, I stopped my blind rush, slowed, and tried making my way back to the main road.
    I saw no sign of the second soldier or the Humvee, and kept praying he hadn't discovered Kat returning for me and captured her too. When the main road loomed into view, I hung on a tree to catch my breath and thought.
    If I stayed on the road, Morgan's men might drive along and capture me again, but if Kat did come searching, she would never locate me in the woods.
    I wasn't familiar with this section of the road, everything appeared different from when I drove it with Pop or on my scooter. I couldn't be too far from the lab, though, I was sure. I decided to stay in the cover of the trees, parallel to the road, and hope I'd spot Kat or the lab before the soldiers caught up to me.
    I set off.
    The ropes rubbed my wrists raw, my shoulders still throbbed, and the pain in my back and side stabbed at me. It was take four steps, stop, and walk four more. I was afraid to sit and rest because if I did, I would never stand back up.
    The road made a sharp bend to the right. Runoff from the surface cut a deep gully through the woods. Easing myself to the bottom, I slipped across rocks, mud, and floundered to the other side, grabbed a protruding root and tried pulling myself up the slope.
    Dirt collapsed and I lurched backward. Taking a deep breath, I braced my good leg, and tried again.
    This time the root broke off in my hand.
    I was stuck. I couldn't climb out of the gully.
    One end of the ditch ran down the slope, the exact wrong direction I wished to go. The other wavered uphill, undercutting the road surface.
    I gritted my teeth, took a deep breath, and picked my way to a slap of asphalt overhanging the cut. I knew where I was now, about a mile from the lab. If I could fight up to the road, I'd take my chances and follow the pavement.
    All I had to do was grasp the asphalt, do a pull-up, and swing myself over.
    I latched onto the