The branches whipped at her face as she crashed through the trees. Her breath caught in her throat, her lungs labouring to keep up. Behind her, dogs barked and snarled, and she heard the shouts of her pursuers. The further into the woods she plunged, the darker it turned, the thickening canopy of leaves blocking ever more light.
A sudden burst of pain sent her sprawling to her knees, a fist in her mouth muffling her cries.
She couldn’t go on anymore.
She couldn’t.
Maybe if she turned around and went back they’d forgive her.
Maybe if she begged …
A shot rang out.
Going back wasn’t an option.
She’d just seen what they did to deserters.
She’d seen what they did to women like her.
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself back to her feet. She needed to continue her flight, putting as much distance as she could between her and the following men, before running was no longer possible.
She pushed on. The dogs were louder, and she shuddered at the memory of them. Huge, slavering things – she’d seen the way they attacked the dead rabbits thrown to them; chained up all day, they would be beside themselves at the prospect of a real, live prey to chase down.
The road was only a few hundred metres away; a busy, two-lane highway, the hiss of traffic was audible even at this time of night. There’s no way her pursuers would risk chasing her onto it.
She stumbled again, her foot sinking into a depression in the soft earth. She tried to get up, she really did, but she was exhausted.
What had she been thinking? Nobody ever escaped. Those who tried were dragged back and used as an example to everyone else.
Another shot cracked the night sky open.
It was closer than the last, and the dogs were even louder.
The extra surge of adrenalin was enough to spur her on.
But her pace was now little more than a brisk walk.
It was the best she could do.
The sound of the road, the sound of freedom was getting louder, but the sound of the dogs was getting louder more quickly.
Another unseen obstacle, and she ended up flat on her face.
What was the point? Everything that she loved in the world was now gone. She rolled onto her back, too exhausted to care about the blood trickling down her face from her broken nose. She felt her eyes close. Just a few seconds’ rest …
This time the shot was so close, she heard the leaves above her rustle.
No! She wouldn’t give in. Too much had already been sacrificed. If she gave up, if she died here, those sacrifices would have been in vain, and the memory of his selfless love would die with her.
Clambering back to her knees, she half crawled, half walked, towards the road.
This time when the pain came, there was no ignoring it.
‘No, no, no,’ she whimpered. Not now. Just a few minutes more.
Behind her, she heard the baying and snapping of the dogs and the shout of their handlers.
It was over. The dogs would be on her in seconds. There was no way she could keep ahead of them now. Sinking into the soil, she prayed to a god who seemed to have been deaf to her pleas for as long as she could remember.
Please make it quick.
She fell to her side, welcoming the encroaching darkness, looking forward to the release from suffering.
Suddenly, bright, dazzling beams of lights cut through the trees, turning night into day wherever their dancing cones landed. Overhead the night was shattered by a loud clattering. Now she could hear the handlers shouting, calling back their snarling charges.
But she was too far gone to care, wave after wave of pain passing through her, until eventually the darkened forest turned pitch black and she remembered nothing more.