One step closer to freedom

Sam stopped right outside the cave entrance. "Speranza?"

"Hmmm?"

"The guards can't see me. They think I'm dead. If they see me walking around they'll finish what was started."

He turned to look at me. "Any ideas on how to not be seen?"

"Ummmm. One second. I need to see where the guards are at the moment. You stay here."

She turned and stopped just outside.

Hiding behind a wall I looked around.

Some of the guards were asleep, while others were wide awake talking among themselves.

One of the guards close to the mouth of the cave elbowed the guard next to him who was dozing off. I squatted down, ducking behind the wall as I thought he'd spotted me. After listening for a while I chanced another glance at the guards. They didn't seem to have noticed me. Letting out a sigh of relief, I started to bite my lip.

I needed to find a way to distract them. I was pulled out of my thoughts when a angry yells pierced through the air. I looked back outside and saw a group of slaves running into the woods trying to escape. Three guards were chasing after them, two had their spirit animals out. Looks like my prayers were answered. Soon the guards around the cave started to give chase. There were only a few who stuck around but they were distracted.

Quickly I ran back to Sam, not wanting to waste this chance. "Sam! The guards are distracted. A group of slaves just started running off into the forest." I came to a halt in front of him, panting for breath. "Alright, we'd better hurry. But we can't waste such a good opportunity to getaway!

We should go North. That area is weakly guarded and with this distraction plus the cover of night, it would be the perfect timing" He started to get excited but I quickly shot him down. "Sam, you're wounded!"

(Awkward moment of silence...)

"Look, it's a good idea, but-" "What now za? I may be hurt but I can't stay here. They'll catch me and I'll be dead before next sunrise." I knew he was right, but I still felt uneasy. "Okay, but first we need to get back to Jakie and Kogi." Sam nodded and whispered something in Fluffy's ear I couldn't make out. I started to walk outside looking left and right to make sure the coast was clear. "Who's Kogi?" I heard Sam say from behind me. "Kogi is that little boy I took outside."

I waved my hand for him to walk forward. Pointing at an old broken windmill. "Let's hide behind that and make our way to the camp. Make sure to keep yourself hidden." I turned to look at him then gasped. Fluffy had suddenly turned dark as night. His gold eye sticking out like a sore thumb.

"What happened? Why is Fluff suddenly black?"

"Because I told him to." I frowned. That was the lamest and most uninformative explanation I'd ever heard. Fluff walked forward and crouched low. All of a sudden there was a blur of black and gold, then he was gone. "Wow, that was fast," I said as a breeze blew onto my face. Following his lead, I crouched low and bolted to the windmill. Sam's brown eyes sparkled as he turned to me. "What took you so long?" And before I could comment, there was another blur and gush of wind. I stood there with my mouth slightly open. I blinked, then closed my mouth. "Hows fluffy so fast? Isn't he wounded?" I wondered how fast he'd be when he was fully healed.

Sam and I raced the rest of the way to camp.

When we finally got to the camp I was out of breath. I looked at Fluffy and my mouth almost fell open when I saw he was completely unfazed. What on earth??

As we were approaching Jakie and Kogi, Jakie saw us and burst into a run. She stopped when she saw Sam and Fluffy. Her eyes widened and she ran up to them. "Sam, are you okay? What happened? Why is Fluffy out? And why is he covered in blood? Are you hurt?"

I quickly answered her. "They're fine. They got into a fight is all. I'll tell you about it later, okay? How is Kogi?" I replied not wanting her to worry about Sam.

Jakie looked like she wanted to ask more but Sam stopped her. "We have to get out of here. If the guards see me they'll kill me. Hurry up and grab as much food as you can. I know where a spring is so don't bother getting water. Jakie looked confused and overwhelmed as I speed-walked past her and grabbed Kogi. He was still asleep but when I picked him up he opened his eyes. When he saw it was me he closed them again and went back to sleep.

I smiled then turned to Sam and Jakie. Jakie was hovering around Sam and Fluff looking at them from head to toe, muttering as she looked them over.

Sam was looking at me. He glanced at the baby I was holding. "Oh! Yeah, this is Kogi. He'll be coming with us." I smiled. Sam cocked his head then said. "As long as you can keep him quiet."

I nodded, pulling Kogi closer to my chest. "Let's go. Jakie?" "What?" "Get Beka out. Beka can carry you, Speranza and Kogi. We'll need to be fast. We can't have slowpokes running around."

Jakie lifted her eyebrows at me, suddenly there was a flash of smoke. Then a Large Tiger was by her side. Beka stretched and yawned. "What reason did you have for waking me up? I hope its fun! Are we fighting?" Jakie looked at Beka happily. "I hope not. But it involves a lot of running. We're getting out of here." Beka smiled, showing her large white fangs. "Uhh." Jakie started to twist her foot nervously and looked at Beka with a pleading look. "What?"

"Well um. You see um." "Spit it out. I want to stretch and run!"

"Beka, Speranza and the little one she's holding are going to be riding with you and me. On you." She said quickly as if hoping Beka wouldn't care as much if she said it faster. "What? No! I will not contaminate my beautiful fur!" "Shhh, shhh! Beka, please! We have to get out of here and we can't be slowed down by Speranza having to run, she's fast but you're faster. Beka, please!" Beka groaned.

"That enough Beka! You either let them ride you or we'll be stuck here!" Sam cut in. Beka looked at him. "Why can't they ride with you?" She said completely ignoring the blood and cuts Fluffy and Sam had. "Because Fluff is injured. He can only carry so much right now." Jakie jumped on Beka's back and said. "I won't stop Sam from waking you up when you're sunbathing or getting your beauty sleep." This made Beka stop fighting. She reluctantly crouched down so I could climb onto her back.

I grabbed all the food that we'd been saving for the past few days and handed it to Sam. Then I climbed onto Beka's back and look into the forest. I placed Kogi in my lap and wrapped my arms around him. Holding tightly on Beka's fur. Sam nodded and then we started to creep to the woods. Avoiding the guards. I heard a snap and looked behind me. A guard heard it too and turned. He was looking straight at us!