Elara felt her stomach churn. This was the first time she had done something like this. Right now, she was running on adrenaline and spite. As well as part of her that still thought everything was a dream.
She mainly wanted to prove to herself that she would be able to leave if she wanted to. She would stop at nothing to make that happen, even if only in a dream.
She removed the rake and stabbed him with it again. Making sure he was unable to move, she took the keys from his belt and the gun from his hand. She didn't know how to use it, but that didn't stop her from pretending.
She walked quickly to the door and opened it. Inside, she saw people locked in cages. They looked like animals. Some so emaciated she couldn't help but cover her mouth.
She didn't waste time, walking towards the cages and opening them. As she did so, she spoke, "This is all I can do for you. If you think you can leave, then do it."
The alarm was still going on. A good sign because it meant they hadn't found who they were looking for. Namely, her.
She didn't wait for any of them. As soon as she stepped out, she heard the sound behind her. Maybe they didn't think she was really letting them out. She couldn't help but wonder what they did to these people.
She sprinted back to the tall grass and lay on her stomach, waiting.
In truth, she wasn't trying to save them; she was trying to save herself. The best way to do that is for the patrolmen to catch them. If any actually leave, then it is their own good luck.
She lay there waiting until she heard the alarm blare. Each exit has its own alarm. While The Barn had an alarm for escapees. One of the many pieces of information she got from her strolls around the village.
Seeing them running out, she crawled her way back to the path. Instead of four, there was now one. The one was armed with a gun. Knowing she was defenceless, one person with a gun would be enough for her to pause.
However, when she left The Barn, she took the gun with her.
Elara knows nothing about shooting, but that won't stop her from bluffing. She was so close to victory that she could taste it. She wouldn't let one man with a gun stand in the way of that.
Looking around, making sure they were the only two people here, she slowly stood. The rake, which she had not let go of, was under her arm. She raised the gun the same way she had seen it done before.
She was still some distance away from the man, coming upon the abandoned shed she had previously used. She walked inside. There was a hole she could put the gun through to try and shoot.
She walked in, looking for the hold, but couldn't find it.
What kind of dream is this? Why isn't the hole there? I saw it a week ago.
Looking at the already crumbling shack, she didn't want to try and make a hole. If it fell, she would wake up, and she didn't know when she would have this kind of dream again. Everything was too real.
Since she couldn't find the hold, she had no choice but to go outside. She put down the rake, feeling it would be of no use. The gun would be better.
She took a deep breath and walked out. Walking quickly, she tried to move fast enough so as not to give him time to draw his gun. Raising the gun, Elara walked towards the man.
"If you move, I'll shoot you. Throw the gun away."
The hand on the gun paused. Elara's eyes shifted from the man's eyes to the hand hovering over the gun. Before either of them could do anything, they heard voices coming up behind them.
Elara didn't stop to see who it was. She pulled down the safety and shot. Not caring whether she missed or not. She only needed him to move. She needed him to move just enough so she could run.
She released two more rounds, seeing the man fall to the ground.
She didn't waste any time. She picked up her skirt and ran as fast as she could. Her heart raced thinking about what lay over the hill. She knew that what sounded like a short journey was anything but.
But she refused to look back. She didn't want to see those people's hideous faces.
As she ran, a sense of unease washed over her. Her eyes flitted left and right, looking out for any danger. She saw nothing but kept running. The more she ran, the more her unease grew.
She didn't listen to her instincts the first time, but now, she was willing to give it a try. She stopped, looked at the path ahead and looked behind her. They were still some ways away, but they were catching up quickly.
She closed her eyes for just a moment before taking off diagonally to the left.
The gun in her hand and her dress felt like heavy burdens. She couldn't afford to let go of either of these things. Letting go of the dress would make her slower. Letting go of the gun meant no protection.
Breathing heavily, Elara continued to make large strides towards her destination. Planning to rely on her instincts, she weaved through the woods. Wherever it took her, she would go.
The problem is, a straight line is always the best.
Which means the people running in a straight line were gaining ground quickly.
She heard the sound of a gunshot whizzing past her ear. Her heart, already pounding, felt as if it had stopped.
There was nothing that could get her to stop now. Realising they were close, she decided to run straight, once again, forgetting about her instincts. She ran, once again putting some distance between them until her dress snagged.
She had just jumped over a fallen log when she felt something hold on to her dress. Looking down, she saw it was a bear trap. Had her foot been an inch closer, the trap would have clamped around her foot.
She stared in horror, watching the trap. She wondered to herself if all the times her instincts told her to take another path, there was a trap there? She looked at the rest of the distance she needed to travel.
She could see the wall. But she needed to get out of the trap first.
She didn't believe she could open it, so she instead decided to rip the clothing. It didn't have any sentimental value. She pulled as hard as she could, hoping it would tear.
It took her a full minute to get free. At which time, she could almost smell the people chasing her.
She raised the gun and fired four more shots. Stopping them for a moment before she started running again. Not long after she started running, someone behind her fired. This time, instead of passing by, she was shot in the leg.
The pain radiated through Elara's body, but she couldn't stop.
At the same time, she thought to herself that she shouldn't be feeling pain. Do people feel pain in dreams? She didn't remember ever feeling pain; then again, she had never been shot before.
If people don't feel pain in a dream, then this might not be a dream.
Elara couldn't help laughing, then panicking and laughing again. All the while running. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire.
She wouldn't allow herself to be caught. Without looking behind her, she kept firing. She didn't care if anyone was shot, as long as they didn't catch her.
Finally, after what felt like forever, she saw the wall. It was an entire head taller than her. She didn't know how Magdala did it, but she needed to do it too. Because of her injured leg, she couldn't jump high. That didn't stop her from taking a running jump.
She managed to barely touch the top of the wall. She had to try again. It wasn't until the third try that she was able to get over the wall. Even doing this was a challenge because there were barbs at the top of the wall.
Between barbs cutting her a few times and someone coming to kill her, she preferred the barbs.
Elara felt a pain in her shoulder and realised she had been lost in thought. How did she manage to do that with people shooting at her and barbs under her butt? Even she didn't know.
She looked at the people from the village who were so close. She noted herself on the wall and felt that if she were one moment later, she would fall into their clutches.
She let out a chuckle before rolling off the wall and falling to the other side, completely unconscious.