The Chase

The black sedan didn't slow down. It tore up the mountain road, its high beams cutting through the mist like lasers. Elena didn't wait to see who was driving. She grabbed Sophie’s hand, hoisted Leo higher on her hip, and plunged into the tree line.

The woods were dense, a tangled mess of pine and briar that clawed at her bare legs. The ground was steep, slick with damp needles. She slid, recovering her balance just before she pitched forward.

"Mama, I'm scared," Sophie whispered, her voice trembling.

"I know, baby," Elena said, her own breath coming in ragged gasps. "We're playing a game. Like hide and seek. Remember?"

"I don't like this game."

"Me neither," Elena murmured.

She looked back. The sedan had stopped near the wreck. Doors slammed. Voices shouted—sharp, angry commands that didn't sound like police.

"Fan out! Check the perimeter!"

Arthur's men. Or Victoria's. It didn't matter. They were hunters.

Elena pushed deeper into the woods. Sebastian was lagging behind, his hospital gown snagging on branches. He was thirty years old, but he moved like a child, unsure of his footing, his eyes wide with a terror that had no name.

"Sebastian," Elena hissed. "Keep up."

"Where are we going?" he asked, his voice thin.

"Away," she said.

She needed a plan. She needed a destination. The road was compromised. The facility was compromised.

She remembered the map in the truck's glove box. She had glanced at it before the crash. There was a fire trail that cut through the ridge, leading down to the old mining town of Silver Creek. It was abandoned, a ghost town. But it had a road that connected to the highway.

If they could get there...

A beam of light swept through the trees to her left.

"Over here!" a voice yelled.

They were flanking her.

Elena veered right, scrambling up a rocky outcrop. Leo was heavy, a dead weight against her chest. Her arms burned. Her feet were numb.

She reached the top of the ridge. The moon was out now, illuminating the valley below.

She saw the fire trail. A pale scar in the darkness.

But between her and the trail was a ravine. A deep, narrow gorge spanned by a rotted wooden bridge that looked like it hadn't been safe since the gold rush.

She didn't have a choice.

"Run," she told Sebastian. "To the bridge."

They ran.

Behind them, the shouts grew louder. Crashing brush. The distinct *crack* of a gunshot.

A bullet whizzed past Elena's ear, burying itself in a pine tree.

She didn't flinch. She hit the bridge running.

The wood groaned under her weight. A plank snapped, falling away into the darkness below.

Sophie screamed.

"Don't look down!" Elena yelled. "Keep moving!"

Sebastian was halfway across. He froze, staring at the gap where the plank had been.

"I can't," he whimpered.

"Yes, you can!" Elena shouted. "Move, Sebastian! Move or we die!"

He looked at her. Then he looked back at the trees, where the flashlights were getting closer.

He moved.

He scrambled across the gap, reaching the other side.

Elena followed. The bridge swayed violently. She was ten feet from the edge.

Five feet.

She threw Leo onto the solid ground. She shoved Sophie after him.

Then she turned.

A man burst out of the trees. He raised his gun.

Elena grabbed the railing. She kicked the support post with everything she had left.

The wood was rotten. It splintered.

The bridge groaned, a long, mournful sound.

Then it collapsed.

The man fired, but the shot went wide as the structure fell away.

Elena leaped.

She hit the dirt on the far side, rolling hard. The bridge crashed into the gorge below, a thunderous echo of timber and dust.

She lay there for a second, staring across the chasm. The man stood on the other side, lowering his gun. He couldn't cross. Not here.

He pulled out his radio.

"Target has crossed the ravine," he said. "Send the second team to the lower road."

Second team.

Elena scrambled up. "We have to go."

She picked up Leo. He groaned, his eyelids fluttering.

"Mama?"

"I'm here," she said. "We're going for a ride."

She led them down the fire trail.

Ten minutes later, they reached Silver Creek. It was a collection of collapsed shacks and rusted machinery.

But parked in front of the old general store was a car.

A Jeep. Old, battered, caked in mud. But it had plates.

And inside, sleeping in the driver's seat, was a teenager.

Elena didn't hesitate. She put Leo down. She opened the door.

"Get out," she said.

The kid woke up, staring at the wild woman in the torn velvet dress.

"What the..."

"Get out!" Elena screamed.

The kid scrambled out, terrified.

Elena loaded the children. Sebastian climbed into the back.

She got in. She hotwired the ignition with the screwdriver she found on the floorboard—a trick her father had taught her before he left.

The engine roared.

She spun the Jeep around.

But as she hit the main road, headlights blinded her.

Two cars. Blocking the way.

Both cars spun into the ditch.