Captured (1)

On the Run

I land hard on the grass below. My backpack is a few feet away. I grab it and get up, rubbing the places where the glass scratched me. Looking up, I see Henry leaning out the window and aiming a gun. I gasp and sprint as fast as I can towards the woods. With a bang, the gun fires and hits the spot where I was standing just moments before. But no time to marvel over that. I pick up the pace and run until I can no longer hear gunshots.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I quickly realize that even though I'm out of the gun's range, the woods are dark. I can barely see my own hands. Not only that, but the temperature is dropping - fast. Shivering, I drop my backpack and sit down. I lean back and hit a tree trunk.
I feel around the ground until I scrape up enough pine needles to form a makeshift blanket. The wind picks up and I shiver. Using my backpack as a pillow, I try to sleep.

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When I wake up, my pine needle blanket has mostly blown away. I stand up and stretch, opening my backpack and pulling out an apple. As I munch on my small breakfast, I hear a twig snap behind me. I freeze and slowly turn around.
It's just a deer. I breathe a sigh of relief and zip up my backpack. The deer comes closer. Smiling, I hand it the rest of my apple. It eagerly polishes it off. I hoist my bag onto my back and am about to head off when the deer nudges my back. I turn around and watch, amazed, as it lowers itself to the ground. The deer is inviting me to ride it.
Carefully, I pull myself onto its back. The deer stands up and trots off in the opposite direction of the prison. It seems so trusting, and I smile. Not all animals are like this.
Finally, it comes up to a large hut. I slide off and cautiously approach what seems to be the doorway. Suddenly, a voice calls out from inside.
"Terra! You are finally back!" It seems like the voice of an old woman. Sure enough, an elderly lady steps out of the hut and pets the deer. Then she seems to notice me. "Terra, who did you bring back this time?"
I give a shaky smile and explain. When I finish, the woman smiles and puts one arm around me. "Welcome to our home, young Matilda! We are also hiding from the evil spies. This is my deer, Terra. I rescued her when she was a fawn, and she has trusted me ever since."