The Escape

The air was thick with dust and the acrid scent of gunpowder. The crack of rifle fire echoed through the abandoned outpost, bouncing off crumbling walls. Jessica could barely hear her own breathing over the chaos.

“Move! Move!” Leanna shouted, yanking Jessica forward as bullets shattered the concrete behind them.

Jessica’s legs burned as she sprinted across the broken ground, Olivia just ahead, Kevin covering their backs. The ravine was their only hope. It was an uneven, rocky descent that could give them enough cover to escape.

Kevin fired blindly behind them as they ran. “We’re sitting ducks out here!”

Hannah stumbled but kept running, her breath coming in short gasps. "How the hell did they find us so fast?!"

Jessica didn’t have an answer. All she knew was that this had been a trap from the start.

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They reached the edge of the ravine, a jagged drop-off leading into thick vegetation below. There was no time to find a safer route.

Leanna didn’t hesitate. She grabbed a nearby tree root and slid down, disappearing into the foliage. Jessica followed, skidding on loose dirt, her fingers scraping against rock as she tried to slow her descent. One by one, the others followed, their bodies crashing through brambles and brush.

When Jessica hit the bottom, she barely had time to catch her breath before Olivia pulled her up. "They’ll be right behind us! Keep moving!"

The gunfire above had stopped. That was bad.

“They’re flanking us,” Kevin muttered, scanning their surroundings. “We need to disappear.”

Leanna pointed toward a narrow passage between two boulders. “This way. We head deeper into the valley. If we can lose them in the terrain, we might have a shot.”

They moved quickly, staying low. Every snapped twig felt like a gunshot in Jessica’s ears. Her pulse was a drumbeat of pure adrenaline.

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The valley stretched before them like a natural maze of towering cliffs and dense underbrush. Their pursuers weren’t far behind. Whoever they were, they knew the land better than they did.

Jessica’s lungs burned, her mind racing. They couldn’t outrun them forever.

“Split up,” she said between breaths. “Groups of two. We will meet at the riverbend.”

Leanna hesitated. "Are you sure?"

“We don’t have a choice.”

Without another word, Jessica took Olivia’s wrist and darted left, deeper into the brush. Kevin and Hannah veered right, Leanna close behind them.

The forest swallowed them whole.

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Jessica pushed through the dense vegetation, her heart hammering. She could hear footsteps behind them—too close.

“Faster,” Olivia urged, voice tight with fear.

Jessica’s foot caught on a root. She went down hard, pain flaring in her wrist. Olivia yanked her up, barely stopping. “Come on!”

They stumbled into a clearing just as headlights flashed through the trees. A vehicle.

Olivia’s grip tightened. “That’s not ours.”

Jessica scanned the dark horizon. They had seconds to decide.

“We have to go back,” she whispered. “Circle around, get to the river.”

The headlights stopped. A door opened. Someone stepped out. Jessica didn’t wait to see who. She grabbed Olivia’s hand and ran.

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Kevin crouched behind a fallen tree, listening. Their pursuers were close—too close.

He motioned to Leanna, who nodded. She pulled Hannah down beside her. They could hear voices in Spanish—calm, methodical. Vanguard’s men.

Leanna’s eyes darted to the trees. She reached into her bag, pulling out a small flare.

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”

“They already know we’re here,” she whispered. “Might as well give them a distraction.”

She struck the flare and tossed it. It hissed as it ignited, a bright red glow cutting through the darkness.

Shouts erupted as the men turned toward the light. That was their chance.

“Run,” Leanna hissed.

******************************

Jessica and Olivia burst through the brush just as Kevin, Leanna, and Hannah crashed onto the rocky riverbank. They made it. But the relief was short-lived. In the distance, headlights moved along the ridge. They were still being hunted.

Leanna, still panting, turned to Jessica. “What now?”

Jessica looked at the dark river, the water rushing fast and cold. There was only one way out. “We swim,” she said.

No one argued. One by one, they waded into the freezing current, the force of it stealing the breath from their lungs. And as they disappeared beneath the surface, Jessica knew one thing for certain: This wasn’t over.