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“Up the mountain, to the left, follow the river Brett’s cabin is facing the sunrise If we get separated, go there If I get hurt, go there Do not wait for htly in the back I didn’t want an argu show of resistance I wanted her safe

Suddenly, footsteps were co up one side of us, and I yanked her withto peek over part of thea little down a small hill as I kept

Desiree had her hand over her ht would make it harder to see the breath in the air I tried to slowmy shirt over my nose so I could breathe into it and make less visual noise Footsteps fell away, and I relaxed a little, thinking ere safe I looked behindfor Desiree to come with me when an arm wrapped around her stomach and another over her lips

“No!” I shouted and lunged at the body of the person pulling her away

The revolver was holstered, so I didn’t have ti her didn’t have tiht hi two ht in the sweet spot, and I saw the lights go out in his eyes He cru around to see if his friends were nearby

“Are you okay?” I asked when I realized that he seemed to be alone

Desiree nodded, but the tears in the corners of her eyes told a different story I reached out and grabbed her arm, and a flash of a memory struck me

Ten years before The desert A pregnant wo horrified at her shattered hoh the sky The aht, and we arrived just after dawn Shethere for a while but had rabbed her arm and pulled She resisted at first, and then her eyes wandered to mine and seemed to wake up She ran with me for miles She ran until I knew she was safe, and then I deposited her in a tent and ran back I never saw her again

Now, the sa to lead, and she was going to follow Only this time it was Desiree, and the sand was snow And I had no one to provide cover fire

We took off running toward the upper part of thethe river to the left and continuously clih and have to clio too low and have to clih the woods well, even in the darkness that sed us in the pines that stood above the snow Eventually there was no sound behind us, and I realized we had lost them Thankfully the snoas melted in a lot of spots under the tall pines, so we didn’t leave an exact trail right to us

“Do you think we lost them?” Desiree whispered