The Hunted

He was the hunter and I was the hunted.

I found myself at the edge of a dense forest when I finally awoke from my deep slumber. My head throbbed painfully, and I gingerly raised a hand to touch the nasty swell that had formed. Memories of my escape the night before flashed through my mind, and set my pulse racing. Vowing never to commit such a juvenile act ever again, I got unsteadily to my feet and attempted to squint through the darkness that had enveloped me in its folds.

I was able to make out distant lights just beyond the barbed wire fence I had scaled. Somehow, perhaps by a miracle, I had managed to break out of prison with the plan I had formulated just weeks before. Danger was still imminent though, and would continue to be, as long as I remained in the vicinity. It was then that the gravity of the situation struck me full force. If i was caught, I would be sentenced to death, something that really irked me.

Out of the blue, just when I thought I was well hidden behind a few tall shrubs, there was a yell of "I see him! Just beyond the fence!" Whirling around, I came face to face with a warden who was presently gesticulating wildy while sprinting madly towards me. Turning back, I faced the forest, my jaw set, adrenaline coursing through my body. My future had been decided from the start, and it sure as hell did not involve my dying.

As I ran towards "salvation" while grinning like a Cheshire cat, I knew that they would never catch up. I risked a backward glance, but that proved to be my undoing. I tripped, and in slow motion, glimpsed the warden raising his gun and pointing it directly at me.

A single shot rang out in the darkness...