| |
Darcy crouched between a low stone wall and a shade tree at the edge of the campus, trembling uncontrollably, breathing in ragged sobs. She had run almost a half mile in near panic. The faded red truck with the gray patches had disappeared over a hill leading back to town. No one had followed her as far as she could tell.
"Why, why, why did I get into this?" she moaned, wiping away tears with the back of a shaking hand. The feeling of panic she had managed to overcome was back in a rush.
She was utterly alone, more so than she had been on the moon. Her surroundings were strange and potentially dangerous. Whole teams of soldiers with endless resources were chasing her. And now there was this new stranger. How to make people understand the threat they faced remained an urgent puzzle.
The horrible, helpless feeling of being assaulted by all those armed men caused a fresh gush of tears, making little mud balls in the soft dirt at her feet.
They would not catch her again. She would resist if it cost her life.
Sniffling and wiping away her tears, she stood slowly and looked around.
Mrs. Alvillar's house was close. She would hide there until dark and try to calm down.
