"Running for their Lives"
Tom's blood ran ragged through his system, the panic competing with the physical exertion of running along the path. He had to lean against a boulder in the path before going any further, his heart beating against his chest like a jackhammer. Behind him, Chloe bumped into him and she was sent sprawling to the dirt floor. She didn't take her eyes or the gun off of the trail behind her, even as she sat down hard on the packed dirt, grunting through clenched teeth.
She glanced up at Tom for a moment, not willing to take her eyes from the path for more than a moment. "Why have we stopped, Tom?"
He answered her question by wheezing and clutching his chest.
"Tom, I don't have to tell you that we have to keep moving, right? I mean, we do have a group of homicidal maniacs following us." When he didn't answer, she looked up again at Tom and the seriousness of his condition finally hit her. She pushed herself up from the ground before turning to Tom, placing a protective hand against his back.
"Sweetie, do you remember those relaxation techniques I taught you?" Tom nodded his head, unable to devote any breath to his answer. "Good. What I want you to do is to count your breath for me." He nodded his head again, but she counted for him, one on the first inhalation, two for the first exhalation. When they had counted to ten, she started over, repeating the cycle several times, until she had slowed down in counting, his breath slowing down along with her count.
Tom was still breathing through his mouth, so she grabbed his hand, rubbing it with both of hers. "Tom, I don't need to tell you what's after us because you saw it too. What's important now is to put some distance between ourselves and those people."
He was finally able to wheeze out a reply. "I know...we need to keep moving...but my heart." Grimacing at the tightness in his chest, he groped himself in an effort to stop the pain.
"Tom, listen to me. What I want you to do is to keep counting your breath as we walk. Pay attention to your steps, too. Feel the ground underneath your feet as we walk." She was throwing every relaxation technique in the book at him now, in a desperate attempt to get him moving. "Everything will be OK, just as long as we can keep moving, and I can keep my eyes on the trail."
He nodded again before taking a deep, cleansing breath as he took another step along the trail.
She cheered him on even as she turned to peel her eyes onto the path behind them, raising the gun to meet anything that moved. Her gun arm was beginning to burn, but she gritted her teeth against the pain, keeping it up by pure will alone. I won't have Tom die out here, not like my brother, or James, or Cynthia. She had a moment where her guilt at leaving Cynthia to die at the side of the trail below almost got the best of her. Her eyes misted up against her will, thinking about the way the spear had skewered her back. She shook her head against the image in her mind and concentrated on the path below, blinking the tears from her eyes. I don't have any time right now to grieve for Cynthia. Besides, there was nothing we could have done for her without putting our lives at risk too.
From behind her, she was encouraged by Tom counting his own steps in time with his breath. His voice sounded less shaky than it had been which encouraged Cynthia to gain a better grip on the gun, giving her hope that they just might survive this after all. Come on your fuckers, just step into the path and we'll just see who gets the best of whom.
Finally the reached the apex of the trail, and the dirt path finally leveled out onto a less strenuous incline. They both relaxed somewhat as they recognized the last part of the hike they'd made yesterday before making camp by the lake. Both of their chests stopped burning from the cold morning air, and they took some comfort they'd made it this far without coming upon any of those other people.
The brief respite wasn't enough for them to stop moving, though, so they both kept at it. Chloe was feeling hopeful, so she began talking to Tom, to keep him moving. She knew they were almost at their campsite by the lake, and she also knew that they were getting closer to the corpse of James. Not wanting that to stop their progress she encouraged Tom in what she hoped wasn't a transparent ploy to continue. "Alright honey, we're just getting past where they can track us. Once we get past here, they won't be able to tell where we've gone, and we'll be safe." She kept talking off of the top of her head, just speaking whatever thought came into her head in an effort to tamp down Tom's ever present threat of an incoming panic attack. "Once we get past the camp, they'll have nothing to go on, because the scent of the camp will be far too strong. They may even have to double back, second guessing themselves. Meanwhile we'll be well on our way to freedom. They'll never find us once we get past here."
Her voice went up in tone when she turned to see their campsite to the left. James' body lay in plain view, the white sheet covering him making his body seem all that more ghoulish in appearance. Chloe had a moment where she expected his body to arise, the sheet still covering his body, outstretched arms pointing an accusing finger at her. She wished they had at least tried to move the body out of plain sight, but it was far too late for that.
"Wait. Take a break for a second, honey."
She turned in surprise at him, the gun falling to her side. "But they'll still be on the trail, and they'll catch us by surprise."
Tom turned, noting the bug-eyed surprise in Chloe's face before putting a hand up to her shoulder to rein her in. When he spoke, it was in a soft, understanding tone. "Honey, I think I may not be the only one to be panicking here." He didn't wait for her rebuttal, but kept on talking. He was still aware enough to know that time was still of the essence. "Let's just take a second to find the cooler and get some water and food. You were the one that told me a good camper should be prepared for anything, right?"
His smile melted the hardened cast of her panic stricken face, and she nodded, waving him on with the gun. "OK, go ahead, its right over there." She pointed with one hand before turning back to the trail with her gun hand. "I'll watch for them while you do that."
Trotting over to their hiding spot, he couldn't help but cringe when the cooler's lid groaned again when he pulled it open. Oh well, nothing to be done about it now, he figured, and reached into the still cold water, pulling out water bottles and food, stuffing them into his pack. When he had filled his pack up, he trotted back over to a stiff Chloe as they jogged back up the path in an effort to make up any lost time.
