She's here!

Twelve years later…

*Salome pov*

Run, run, just keep running…

I willed my tired legs to keep pumping. My muscles burned as though injected with venom and my bare feet were completely numb as they slammed onto the cold hard forest floor, but I would not give up… could not give up.

Breathe, run, just keep moving…

My eyes darted around the dark forest, searching for the disciples. None to be seen, but it was only a matter of time. They would soon realize I was missing. But I could not stay, could not do my pre-ordained duty to the prophet; not after what happened

My lungs burned with the severity of my sharp gasps and my chest heaved with overexertion.

Push through the pain. Run, just run.

Passing the third watchtower, unseen, I let myself feel a momentary sliver of joy—the perimeter fence was not too far away. I allowed myself the hope that I might actually get free.

Then the emergency siren wailed and I shuddered to a stop.

They know. They are coming for me.

I forced my legs to move even faster; thorns and sharp sticks jabbed into the soles of my feet. Gritting my teeth, I told myself, Do not feel pain. Do not feel pain. Think of her.

They could not find me. I could not let them find me. I knew the rules. Never leave. Never attempt to leave. But I was fleeing. I was determined to escape their wickedness once and for all.

Spotting the tall posts of the perimeter fence, my arms pumped with renewed vigor as I made the final steps of my sprint. I smashed against the rigid metal with a crash, the posts grinding at the force of my collision.

I frantically searched for a gap down the fence because there was no way I could jump out of it. It is used for the dog to get out of the fence.

Nothing.

No! Please!

Suddenly the dog claimed my leg mercilessly inside his jaw not letting go, inhaling through my nose, I tried to keep focus; I just needed to loosen the dog’s grip, just a fractional release to let go of my injured left leg. I picked up the nearest object I could come in contact with.

And then it happened.

With the crack of the stone, the incensed canine reared back, shaking its bruised head. I dragged myself free of the shallow gap, my breath coming in short sharp bursts as my body reacted to the shock.

As I shuffled away from the fence, a wry thought sped across my mind; I had actually done it. I am free.

The dog, though groggy and recovering from its hit, lunged for the gap. Once more it snapped its large jaws and sharp teeth and with it, me from my haze. Edging forward, I quickly filled the gap with as much mud as I could gather, then tried to stand, but my injured leg could not take the strain, could not bear my weight. Inside, I cried, Not now! Please, Lord, just give me the strength to keep going.

“Here! She’s here!”

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