Cam took long strides into the other room and shook Kristy’s shoulder.

“Wake up.”

“Hmm,” She opened her eyes and immediately saw the concern in his face. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to go. Right now.”

“Why? What happened?” She got up and put her shoes on quickly. “Cam, what’s going on?”

“There are people here. They are on foot coming from that side.” He pointed toward the window. “We have to get out of here right now.”

“Okay.” She was getting used to being under pressure.

“Get the gun.” Cam slung the shotgun case over his shoulder and picked up the backpack that held her laptop and the flash drive. He looked out the window next to the door. Kristy held the small box that held the pistol.

“Shit. There’s a couple people on this side too.” He stood with his back against the door and contemplated their next move. “Go into the kitchen and see if you can see any movement out that side.” He instructed Kristy. She nodded and carefully made her way across the creaky floor to the kitchen. She peered out the window and saw three men standing in a circle talking a few yards away. When she moved her head, the man facing the cabin held his hand up to signal the other men to stop talking. The men took the hint and turned their attention to the window behind them. When Kristy saw them turn toward the window, she quickly crouched down so she was out of sight.

“Damn it.” She whispered. Cam motioned for her to come back to where he was standing. She walked as quickly and quietly as she could.

“What did you see?” He asked when she was next to him.

“There’s three guys over there. I think one of them saw me though.”

“Okay,” he took a long pause and looked around. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to walk around and make some noise. I’ll try to make them think I’m heading to the back room, and then I’ll break a window. Hopefully they will all come running to the back and we can run out the door to the truck.”

Cam pulled the keys out of his pocket and slid the key to his truck between his fingers.

“I’ll have the keys in my hand so we’ll just have to jump in and hold on. It will be a bumpy ride.”

“Okay,” She nodded her head and tried to mentally prepare herself for what was about to happen. “Ready when you are.”

“Here goes…” He got up and stomped into the kitchen. He noticed the men outside so he dropped a pot on the floor to make some noise and get their attention. He turned away and pretended not to notice they were there, but he kept them in the corner of his eye. He saw them see him and they moved closer to the cabin. One of them spoke into a hand held radio. He thought they were probably reporting his movements. Good.

Next, he opened and then closed the fridge, and then went to the other side of the cabin where his cot had been.

Kristy waited by the door. She could hear some commotion outside the door. He was getting their attention. From the kitchen, she watched Cam stomp into the small room in the back. Kristy looked out the corner of the window next to her and saw people moving to the back of the cabin.

CRASH.

Even though she knew it was coming, the sound of the glass shattering startled Kristy. She stood up and got ready to run. She knew it wouldn’t be long. She heard a voice yell, ‘They’re coming out the back!’ and seconds later Cam came into view.

“Open the door. Go. Now!” Kristy opened the door and bolted toward the truck. Cam was right behind her. He ran past her to get to the driver’s side so he could drive away as soon as she was in the seat. In one motion Cam inserted the key and slid into the driver’s seat. Just before he turned the key Cam saw a body come around the side of the cabin. “Kristy, get in!”

Kristy had reached her side of the truck and opened the door just as a man came up behind her and wrapped one arm across her chest pulling her away. She tried to fight him off, but he was much stronger than she was. He lifted her off the ground and carried her away from the truck.

“Cam!” Kristy screamed for him as she kicked at the ground and struggled to free herself. Cam was already out of the truck and coming toward them. It was happening so fast, but she tried to remember to stay calm and use her head. She reached her hand down and grabbed her attacker’s testicles through his pants and squeezed them with all of her strength. He let her go and fell to his knees just as another one of the men came from around the back of the cabin. He was reaching for Kristy when suddenly they heard the crack of a gunshot and the man dropped to the ground. She looked at Cam with relief, but it turned to confusion when she saw that he didn’t have a gun in his hand.

“Come on.” Cam grabbed Kristy by the arm and they turned around toward his truck, but there were already two more men between them and their getaway.

Another gunshot pierced the air and made them all look around. Cam took the opportunity to push Kristy in the other direction.

“Run!” He pulled her after him in the opposite direction of the truck and the gunshots. They ran until the cabin was out of sight. “Don’t stop!” He called back to Kristy. She was breathing heavily, but the adrenaline rushing through her kept her moving.

They rounded the top of the hill near a group of trees and started down the other side. Cam slowed down just enough to let Kristy catch up. He grabbed her hand. “I can still hear them. We have to keep moving.”

“Cam,” Kristy struggled to talk as she ran. Her lungs were burning and the adrenaline couldn’t mask the pain in her side any longer. Cam tugged her behind him as he moved further into the woods.

“Just a little further, Kristy. You can make it." As he said it, he tripped over the edge of a rock that was covered with leaves. His ankle rolled underneath him and he tumbled to the bottom of the hill. Kristy ran down the hill after him and slid to a stop over the leaves at the bottom. She reached his side just in time to hear him cursing under his breathe.

“Oh shit, Cam. How bad is it?” She struggled to catch her breath as she bent down beside him and started to brush him off. He had picked up some dirt and leaves on his way down. Cam made a fist and opened his mouth to shout in pain, but he knew if he did he would give away their location, so he closed it and said, “I’m fine.” But his face said otherwise.

“You’re not fine.” Kristy scolded him and held out her arms. “Here, let me help you.” He took her hands and she pulled him to his feet. He winced when he put pressure on his ankle. She slid her arm under his so he could lean on her.

“Thanks,” he muttered. “Come on, this way.” He led her along the bottom of the hill toward a large boulder. They went down and around the boulder where a large, flat rock created an overhang and a small cubby-like space. “I used to hide here when I went hunting.” He said as he hobbled down into the space. She helped him lower his body and sit on the flat ground under the large rock and she sat beside him. They huddled there together listening to the echo of their blood pumping as they continued to try to catch their breath.

“What about you?” Cam still had his arm over Kristy’s shoulder as he leaned his back against the wall of the rock. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine.” She lifted her head and looked at him. “How does it feel?” She gestured toward his injured ankle.

“It’s fine. I’ll walk it off.”

“That’s very macho of you.” She rolled her eyes as she leaned forward and started to pull his pant leg up over his ankle. “Let me see it.”

“No, it’s okay. Just let me rest it.” He pulled her back to sit down next to him.

She let her head relax on his shoulder until her breathing was almost back to normal. “What do we do now?”

“Now we wait. They will want to check out where the shots came from. Give it time.” He shifted and leaned his back against the rock.

“Why don’t we call Juan?”

“No, we can’t call anyone. I’m guessing that’s how they found us in the first place. Have you used your phone since we’ve been here?”

“Um…” Kristy thought a minute, “Yeah, I sent a couple of texts and made a phone call while you were hunting.”

“Good friends? How long have you known them?”

“I’ve known Ariana for years. We were friends in school, and I met Jordan a couple of months ago at work. We’re… pretty good friends.” She started blushing when she told Cam about Jordan.

“Okay, I get it.” He rolled his eyes at her. “You can’t call them again. Let me see your phone.”

She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to him.

“Do you need Gram’s number?”

“No, I know it.”

Cam clicked some buttons on her phone and started to remove the battery.

“What are you doing?”

“I forwarded their numbers to Juan so you can get them later and took the battery out so it can’t be tracked. When we leave, we’ll put the battery back in it and find somewhere to hide it so they can track it all they want.” He removed the battery from both of their phones and shoved them in his jacket pocket.

“What if Juan calls you?”

“He’ll leave a message.” Cam said as he closed his eyes and let his head rest on the rock behind him. He was sweating and the cool surface of the rock felt good against his skin. They sat in silence for a while, both unsure of what to say or do; just waiting.