They struggled through the water as best as they could. The helicopter was getting louder, and they heard the dog’s howl again much closer than it had been the last time they had heard it. He dug his feet into the creek bed and forced himself to run faster. The wolf had adapted to the new terrain and was leaping up out of the water every other step. She was traveling faster and faster as she became used to the new way of moving. He just gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move faster and higher taking his feet out of the water entirely. Their speed was nothing like what it was on solid ground, but it was improving and they were making a fair amount of progress.
It didn’t take long for the helicopter and the pursuing dogs to reach the creek. By that time, they had traveled a good mile, mile and half up creek and were still gathering speed. He could tell the helicopter had reached the creek because the sound of the blades had stopped moving. The helicopter and pursuing agents were not stupid. The helicopter noise faded even more and he knew that the helicopter was following the creek deeper in the forest.
That had been as good a guess as any. Why would a fugitive from the federal government run toward the open expanse of the mountains? It made a lot more sense for him to run deeper into the woods hoping to lose them in the forest. He might have come to that conclusion as well, but his guide had turned east, and he was grateful for the fifty/fifty decision that she had made. For the time being it had proven itself to be the right choice.
They continued to struggle with the depth of the water. Their speed increased for a time but was slowed by the varying depths of the creek. They were moving faster than a normal person could move in the creek, but it was still no match for a helicopter or even for people that were running on land. It was still very dark, so he didn’t have to worry about agents tracking him without the telltale noise of the helicopter and its bright flood lights. They continued to move upstream towards the mountains.
They ran through the water and out of the forest. When the trees finally gave way to the bare rock of the mountain once again, they left the cold water of the creek. His legs, even though they had been working hard for the last hour or so, were chilled to the bone. He was glad to be out of the water so he could allow feeling to return to his feet. The wolf didn’t hesitate for a second and took off running along the open rock.
The moon was almost cut in half. Even in this phase her brilliance was unquestionable. She shone down just enough to allow him and his guide to see where they were going. The wolf did not hesitate a moment and ran eastward following the creek. He didn’t quite understand this logic, but he wouldn’t question her now. They ran along the rock, her footsteps were as quite as a shadow, while even though he was trying he could still hear the slight slapping of his bare feet on the rock. He tried to quite his steps in the still night but nothing he tried helped to diminish the sound of his footsteps. He soon gave up on trying to suppress it and just concentrated on running.
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They were running along an incline in the mountain and soon the terrain was not smooth or even. They had to slow down as they entered the higher altitudes of the mountain. Now they were in the crags and crevices of the mountain. No person had ever tried to scale or traverse these small winding passes, and he hoped that fact would deter any pursuit this way. They had good cover from ground level. But being on bare rock they were still very susceptible to being spotted from the air. His mind caught on the idea that a helicopter could only fly so high, about ten thousand feet. If they could get higher than ten thousand feet that should remove the advantage of their pursuers.
He slapped himself in the face for being so stupid. If we could get that high, we would be waist deep in snow. You’d freeze to death with only that vest on, or did you forget that you are hopelessly unprepared for winter? OK, so they couldn’t take the high ground. The only thing for him to do was move at pace with his guide and trust that she knew where she was going.
After they had entered the crags of the mountain the wolf turned north once again, and they were moving faster. He had to use all his concentration on seeing the ground and not getting his feet caught in the sharp rocks. He looked westward for a moment and saw that his mother was lower in the sky than he had hoped. Morning would be coming soon. The sky hadn’t begun to lighten yet, but he knew that soon the east sky would begin to paint itself with the reds and oranges of sunrise and the morning.
Running perpendicular to the setting moon they moved northward at dangerous speeds. He barely avoided serious injuries several times, but the wolf didn’t slow. She was pushing him harder than she had ever done before. Granted, they had never been so close to being captured either, but he hadn’t heard any trace of the helicopter for a few hours now. And nobody could or would move through these mountains at the speeds that they were traveling at. All these facts were lost on the wolf, however, and she kept her pace like she was running away from a nightmare.
He was using his arms as much as he was his legs. The narrow passes that they were moving through were high and he could use his arms for leverage through the difficult terrain. He wouldn’t be able to see the sunrise from deep with the crevices and boulders that they were passing through, but he didn’t need to. Somehow, he knew that his mother had finally set. When he looked up the sky was already fading from black to blue.