“So what?” I ask, trying to hold back more tears. “The roamers are just runaway servants, right?”
“Wrong! They’re killers and rapists, Kora. They hunt down and torture travelers. They sometimes even attack nearby villages and kidnap women and children. Do you understand what would happen should you run into one of them? Do you have any idea?”
“We could fight,” I snap. “Maybe Dennis and Sandro will choose to leave with us. Together, we’ll be able to defend ourselves.”
“Forget it, Kora,” Trent grins. “You’re not a fighter. You’re just not built for that. You’re a racer.”
My heart aches. I realize that Trent won’t agree to leave with us. And it’s likely I’ll never see him again should I escape.
“Why don’t you want to leave with me?” I ask, choking on the words. “We’d be free. Don’t you want to be free?”
“Runaway servants are never free, Kora. And that’s definitely not something I want to get involved with. I hope to earn my freedom through hard work, and maybe later become one of Samuel’s guards. Can you imagine? I’ve never before so much as dreamt about becoming a guard of the high master. But now I do believe I can do it. I’m one of the fastest racers and can find a way to survive five more hunts.”
But I’m one of the slowest, I want to shout. I barely survived the first race.
“Trent,” I utter. “I don’t want to leave without you.”
“Then stay here with me,” he says, touching my chin gently and looking into my eyes. “Choose to believe in yourself. You’re a good runner. You can survive five more races and earn your freedom as well. So please, don’t do anything foolish. I truly don’t want you to leave. I’d miss you and worry about you.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Really.” He smiles. “Promise to not run away.”
“I promise,” I sigh, gazing up at him. “You’re right. It was a stupid thought.”
Trent pulls me closer and kisses my lips, relieved that I gave up on the idea. He doesn’t realize that I’ve just lied to make him happy.
***
I find Amy sitting on her bed, wearing a grim expression on her face.
“Dennis and Sandro have refused to escape,” she reports.
“Trent is out too,” I sigh, feeling heartbroken.
Martha wakes up and we spend the next hour trying to persuade her to leave with us. Looking terrified, the little girl shakes her head negatively. She finally jumps off her bed and runs out of the room. I realize Martha won’t join us because she’s too scared of angering her master. And I suddenly recall Gabriel’s words how none of us ever have any real freedom, doing only what we’ve been taught to do.
“So it’s only you and I for now,” Amy states.
“Looks like,” I sigh, feeling nervous. Should Gabriel learn about our plan, if he catches us… I force myself to stop thinking. We have to escape or we’ll become the main course in a chimera’s supper.
Amy and I agree to escape in about two weeks. The next several days we rest and eat as much as possible. At night we discuss our plan, convincing each other how everything will be all right. Still, we remain hesitant and feel scared, because the future is unknown and there’s no telling what may happen.
I sometimes wonder how everything could turn out so wrong and messed up so quickly. How could all my dreams end in such great disappointment? I was hoping to make something out of myself, become somebody, prove that I’m not worthless. And now there’s no choice left but to give up on everything and leave those dreams behind. Is it the right thing to do or am I making a mistake? Might Trent be correct in believing that I could survive the next five races? Maybe I should stay here and train harder and…
But then I remember running from the furious chimeras and realize I don’t want to have to ever do it again. I must set myself free.
Unfortunately, Amy and I don’t get a chance to escape as planned. On the tenth day following the Terror Race, Gabriel comes to the track to watch our progress. Something bad is coming…
CHAPTER 13
I feel his sharp gaze following me. I hunch my shoulders and continue jogging, willing myself to look straight ahead. He stands at the edge of the track, dressed in a snow-white shirt, brown slacks and gloves. Seeing those gloves makes the skin on my neck tingle and I feel strangled, temporarily forgetting how to breathe.
“Why did he show up here?” Amy whispers, jogging beside me. “What do you think he wants from us now?”
I pretty much know what Gabriel wants. I’m sure he intends to finish the job his father interrupted. He intends to wrap his hands around my throat and choke the life out of me.
Don’t look at him, I tell myself. Don’t show fear.
My legs weaken and my heart beats so fast that I begin to hyperventilate. I think about our coming escape and freedom. I imagine Amy and I travelling through the woods, heading toward Bastion. I think of anything I can to distract myself.
As I run past Gabriel, he whispers, “Did you think of me?”
I increase my pace, leaving him behind. My stomach hurts and I can’t get enough air. I can’t stop thinking why Gabriel chose me as the subject of his torture. I don’t believe he really hates me. I haven’t really done anything to deserve his anger or hatred. I’ve been respectful, submissive and haven’t broken any rules
