Taking Chances by Jennifer Lowery

Author:Jennifer Lowery
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-11-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Freedom sat a hundred yards away.

Nora gritted her teeth and forced her leaden legs another step. The heat of the jungle pressed down on her. Every breath hurt, her lungs burned. Sweat trickled down her face, brushed her lashes, falling onto her blood-soaked shirt.

Just ahead, a boat that barely looked like it could stay afloat bobbed lightly in the muddy waters of the Mekong River. It would be empty because the Thai fisherman who’d left it there was long gone.

Another step. She could do this. Gripping the man slumped over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry, she pushed her pain down deep. Her bare feet shuffled over rough ground and through tall grass that grabbed onto her legs like a million fingers, forced her back, tried to prevent her progress by shredding the soles of her feet, bloody footprints left in her wake.

Keith pressed down on her, made each step slow and unbearable. Eyes trained on the boat, she focused on each step, not the agony. She had been trained to file away the pain, save it for later, when they were safe.

A bullet zinged over her head and she ducked instinctively. The added weight forced her to her knees. The man she carried made no sound as she hit the ground hard, with a sharp cry as pain shot up her legs. Her chest rose and fell heavily with each gasping breath she took. Dots danced in front of her eyes as she struggled to stay conscious. Heat and her exhaustion wore her down.

Gritting her teeth, adjusting her grip, she forced herself to her feet, body screaming from exertion, threatening to quit on her. Digging deep, she found the strength to lift both of them and take another agonizing step. She couldn’t think about Keith lying unconscious over her shoulders. How his weight bore down on her. How his blood slid down her body and mingled with her own.

The jungle behind her exploded with sound. Bullets rained over her head, hitting the ground near her feet, driving her forward. She cried out with each step closer to the river. If they’d wanted her dead, she would be dead already. No, they wanted her alive and that was much, much worse.

Keith’s weight grew heavier. She pushed desperately forward. She had to hurry. She could do this. They’d made it out of Cambodia, they’d make it home.

Men shouted behind her. Their voices echoed through the dense jungle, their bullets warned her to stop. Nora heard the warning, her knees buckling, but not falling completely. The pain was excruciating. She wouldn’t stop now. Keith wouldn’t stop, and neither would she.

With strength she didn’t know she had, she surged forward, almost lost her balance, and stumbled through the sharp, knee-high grass and underbrush toward the boat. It bobbed carelessly on the water, beckoning her, promising escape. All she had to do was get to it.

Using every resource she had, she placed one foot in front of the other, the acrid heat of the jungle pressing her down.

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