Through dark forest, Sheri ran. Tripping, stumbling, she fell a dozen times. Each time she scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, trying to recapture lost momentum. Sometimes she skidded, half tumbling, half falling down a sloped hill. Other times she used the wild brush to aid in her ascent. She was leaving a path even a blind man could follow but she didn’t care. Speed was her only ally. If she could just get far enough away, everything would be all right. If she could get far enough away, she would live.

Mechanical howls filled the night, like air raid sirens. Her teeth chattered at the sound and a whimper escaped from deep inside her. They were close, closer than they had any right to be. Hadn’t she been running for hours? It felt like hours. Gasping, she drew her belt knife and gripped it tightly. They wouldn’t take her alive.

Ahead, a white light blinked twice against the starless night- the beacon! Sheri felt a surge of hope give energy to weary limbs and altered her course. She was almost free.