The little girl nodded and scrambled up and over the trunk. Bree did the same but after only a few more steps, stopped.
A curtain of thick darkness surrounded them, and her heart lodged in her throat as she realized, she couldn’t see a thing. The girl whimpered and huddled in closer to Bree’s side.
“I know, sweetie.” She put her arm around her shoulder. “But if we can’t see then our captors can’t either. So that’s a good thing, right?”
She glanced up, but the forest’s canopy completely blocked all light. Not one star or moonbeam could penetrate the dense foliage. She blew out a breath and stuck her armsout in front of her. “Hold on to my cloak and stay close. Don’t let go.”
Keeping her hands moving in front and to the sides, Bree stepped carefully forward, right into a trunk of a tree. “It seems the trees have gotten a lot thicker here. We’ll be okay though. Hold on and follow me.”
Bree wasn’t sure whether she was talking to allay the girl’s fears or her own, but it worked for her anyway.
Evading trees every few steps, they made their way further away from the campsite. At least she hoped they were getting further away. She’d heard about people becoming lost and walking in circles, but she didn’t think they’d gone far enough to start traipsing in circles yet.
Murmuring sounds floated to her ears and the girl stopped and pulled on Bree’s cloak.
“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s just the wind making those noises.”
A howl echoed around them and Bree jumped. The girl sobbed.
“It’s all right. That was probably a wolf, but it sounded like it was a long way off. It wouldn’t even be able to smell us here. I think we’ve gone far enough for now anyway. Let’s find a great big tree and hunker down for the night.”
She felt around in the dark and a step later, she soon found another tree. “What a surprise. Fancy meeting you here, tree.”
She had to step to the right to feel its girth. “She’s a big one all right.” She wrapped her arm around the girl’s shoulders and brought her down to the ground with her. Leaning back against the tree, she gave the little girl a squeeze. “We’ll be all right. Try to sleep, okay?”
The girl didn’t move, and Bree got the sense that she was staring at her as if she were mad.
Bree let out a quiet laugh. “Come on, put your head on my lap and close your eyes. I’ll stay awake and keep watch.” Thegirl still didn’t move. “I promise I won’t let anything hurt you, okay?”
Bree couldn’t see her finger in front of her face, but she felt or sensed the girl give a quick shake of her head, before she snuggled down and rested her head on Bree’s leg. Bree felt around and pulled the red cloak over her legs.
The plaintive howl of a wolf filled Bree’s mind and she startled and listened. Her stomach tightened and holding her breath, she stayed as still as she could. Another howl sounded, but it seemed to come from far away. The tension in her shoulders eased.
She tried to stay awake but her heavy lids kept closing. Her head fell back against the tree and startled her fully awake once more. The little girl didn’t move. Well, Bree thought, she wasn’t going to beat herself up over it if she fell asleep. After all, she’d been stuck in a cage, hardly able to sleep, for two days, then she ran for she didn’t know how long, and she was tired, so, so tired. Then with the darkness so thick, she couldn’t see anything anyway, so her eyes just closed of their own accord.
A noise had Bree rising from her slumber. She listened but couldn’t hear anything. Frowning, she looked about. The darkness didn’t seem so dark anymore. But something woke her, and she couldn’t relax again until she knew what it was.
An owl hooted, at least she hoped it was an owl and not someone signaling by sounding like an owl. She decided that couldn’t be—the men back at the camp weren’t that bright.
Bree tipped her head back and gazed up. Her eyes widened. Small shafts of light fought their way through the canopy of leaves. She blinked and held up her hand in front of her face. Seeing the shadow of her wriggling fingers, she sighed. Morning had arrived.
Another howl, this time closer, had her body stiffening. The girl stirred. “It’s okay,” Bree cooed.
Bird chatter overhead had Bree straining her neck to see what species they were, but they must have perched on top of the forest canopy so she couldn’t see them. A squawk and more chatter mixed with the flapping of wings brought every nerve in her body to attention. She nudged the girl, silently shushing her with her finger over her lips, to sit up.
Bree held her hand out to the girl to keep her down and stood up and listened. A crack of a branch sounded behind the tree they had slept under. Her heart flipped then galloped into her throat. Someone was behind the tree. The small amount of daylight had improved her vision and she scanned her surroundings. Dark shadows still lingered in the trees, but the small clearing was lighter, the canopy not as thick though the branches still mingled with one another above.There must be something I can use. She spied some fallen branches and crept to them. Choosing one about the girl’s height but thick enough that it shouldn’t break when struck, she tiptoed back to the girl. The poor thing had her hand over her mouth and stared at Bree with round, startled eyes.
Bree held up her hand again but gave her an encouraging nod. Forcing down her instinct to run from danger, she listened for any other movement. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she could hear breathing. It didn’t sound like an animal’s pant.
Feeling the weight of the branch in her hand, she joggled it until it was balanced and ready to strike.
Bree stepped carefully so she wouldn’t crack any twigs and rounded the right side of the tree into the gloom.
A silhouette of a person came into view. Bree’s first thought was the slavers. The man’s head turned left and right, and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He appeared like he had lost something. And that something, Bree surmised, was her and the little girl.
She tightened her grip on the branch, brought it backover her shoulder and taking one step forward, she slammed the wood down on the man’s head. He cried out and fell to his knees and Bree smashed the branch over and over on his back. He held up an arm in surrender, but Bree couldn’t stop hitting him. Every part of her screamed to keep the girl safe from danger.
The man leapt up onto his feet and turning at the same time, grabbed the branch before it struck him in the face.
