Lorna watched the light in the tent grow darker and darker. Her wrists burned with her efforts to get the ropes off them, but she had pushed the rope to the bottom of her thumb, making her work even harder. The people had tied it much tighter than she had realized. She heard the shuffling of feet outside of the tent. Every once in a while the guard would look in to check on what was going on inside the tent, but Lorna was careful to just sit on the ground and look bored out of her mind.

Alex continued to lay unmoving beside her, but his shallow breathing turned into something more audible. Or everything was so quiet that she was just noticing things she would have not paid attention to if she were not genuinely bored out of her mind.

Lorna got the ropes past her thumbs, and it was easy to shake off the ropes the rest of the way. She looked at the entrance of the tent as she reached inside her coat to grab her knife, and then she walked on her knees to Alex to cut the ropes off him. After another glance at the entrance, she heaved Alex onto his body, failing to stay as silent as she would have liked to.

The blood on Alex’s face was dry, and Lorna saw none drip down his face. It was not enough to ease the tension in her body, but she at least had one less thing to worry about.

Lorna crept to the entrance of the tent, holding her breath. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her hands shook as she stretched a hand toward the entrance. She grabbed the edge of the flap, and she peeled it back slowly to avoid making any noticeable sounds. The elbow of the guard was the first thing that she saw of him outside of the tent, and his rifle hung off his shoulder from the strap. As she drew back the flap further, she was grateful he only appeared to be a few inches taller than her. He was looking away from her, giving her a good view of the back of her head.

Lorna had cut off the head of many animals before. It was never as easy as comics made it look, and she knew that was not an option, even if it would make their escape easier. She swung her knife, aiming for his throat. The man let out a strangled cry that turned into a gurgle, and she drew back her knife.

The man clutched one hand to his throat, and he turned to look at her. He moved to shift his rifle in his arms, but she ran at him. She sank her knife into his stomach. When he swung his rifle at her head, he was moving slow enough for her to duck, and she sank the knife into his leg.

The man gurgled at her, and he leaned against the corner of the tent. It creaked under his weight, and he fell onto his side as it shifted. Lorna grabbed the rifle away from him, and he was too in shock over the situation to stop her. She pulled her knife out of his knee, and she rushed back into the tent with it and the rifle. He grabbed her leg, and she fell forward was a gasp.

Her knife fell out of her hands, but it never pierced into anything on her body.

Lorna looked at the guard who was choking on his blood. He was hugging her leg, giving her no room to kick him with it. She rolled onto her back, ignoring the pain she felt as she twisted her leg in the man’s grip, and she smashed her foot into his face—repeatedly until he released her other foot.

The man laid on the ground, letting out gurgling moans.

Lorna felt acid rise on her throat as she climbed to her feet, and she vomited yellowish bile all over the tent floor.

She had never had to fight another human being before, and even though she was victorious, it hardly felt like something to celebrate.

Lorna tucked her knife back into its hiding place in her coat. She checked to see how many shells were in the rifle. It was full, but it would have been better if she could get more ammo for it. A glance back at the man told her it might be a bad idea to search him unless she wanted to fight him more.

Lorna crouched next to Alex. He was still breathing. She tapped his face, and when he remained unconscious, she slapped him harder.

Lorna sighed when that failed to help him at all. She took out her knife again, and she went to the back of the tent, where she cut a long slit from the top to the bottom of the fabric. As she tucked her knife back into her coat, she pulled open the knew entrance she had made. It was all dark forest beyond the tent.

There was no guarantee that she will be taking them anywhere safe, but Lorna would rather take her chances than stay in that tent any longer. She stuck her hands in Alex’s armpits, and for the second time since she had met him, she pulled him over the ground.