Chapter16

I gasped. Sheridan had slapped Sawyer? It was a shock to me. Sheridan was always so nice and tolerating. If he had slapped Sawyer, that meant he was more than furious! "He slapped her?! HOW DARE HE! I'll teach him more than a lesson!" Oh, no. How much pain would Sheridan undergo? If mom wasn't careful, he was going to die. The thought gave me goosebumps and tears soon rolled down my cheeks again. "That won't be possible." Rob's statement made me wonder. I stopped crying and listened attentively. "And why??" "He's escaped." The words echoed in my head like a dream. Sheridan had escaped? My mouth dropped open. "HE'S WHAT??" "Escaped." "I heard you, you idiot! But how??" "I noticed one of the horses were missing. He took the white horse." Dove! "We have to find that little brat!" "You don't have to worry Christina." "Can I know why??" "His hometown is about three to four hours from here. He'll never make it. Plus, the horse might desert him and he'd die of hunger." "What makes you so sure?" "We hardly fed him. He was too weak. Plus, he has wounds and bruises. He's not in a good state Christina. He'll get lost very soon. You wanted to get rid of him, there, nature helped you." "Hm. You're right. I hope some wild animal eats him." Despite the wicked things my mom had just said, I still believed in Sheridan. He wasn't a weak boy. He was strong. After the maltreatment and starving he went through, he didn't pass out or stop working even once. I knew he would survive out there and come back for me. Suddenly, someone opened the door. Mom. "I guess you heard our conversation. Your friend has escaped. Happy?" she asked dryly. I looked at her without saying a word. "Go to your room. It's already one Am." I ran past her and went straight to my room. *** Little Sheridan's POV: The chirping of birds and the bright morning sun woke me up the next day. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "Ouch." I complained, touching my back. I'd slept on the rough Forest's floor, on the dry autumn leaves and rough little stones, under a tree. I looked around me at the woods and smiled. I'd succeeded in running away. I looked at Dove which I'd tied to a tree trunk. I stood up and limped my way to her. My whole body still hurt. I had no shoes on, my T-shirt was torn and my shorts were really dirty. My hair was a mess. I was dirty. I had bruises and wounds everywhere. Almost all parts of my body were red, black and blue. I had wounds under my feet too. As if that wasn't enough, Rob had beaten me with such rage that at a point, he used the heavy iron part of his belt and hit me hard on the knee. I believed he'd slightly dislocated it and now I was limping. "Hey, beautiful." I said, caressing the horse's mane, "I guess our journey ends here. I have to fight to survive in these woods. And I'm to weak to fight for your survival too." I limped my way to the trunk where I untied her. "You go back home now. I guess you know the way back. Thanks for helping me escape." I hugged the horse, "Go home. Take good care of Heather for me. I'll– I'll be back." I smiled at it. "I hope. I don't even know if I'll survive. I won't be negative though. God, dad and uncle Ken are watching over me. Bye." I hugged Dove tight one last time. I let go the rope and watched the horse gallop away as fast as possible. When it'd disappeared into the woods, I turned and began limping away in the opposite direction . I had to find a cave or a place where I could stay. I was lost in these woods but I didn't care. It was still better than aunt Christina's place. To me, my escape was the biggest luck of my life. If I'd been caught, I would probably be dead. Little Heather's POV: I was gloomy and quiet the next morning, Sawyer had gotten up finally and my mom looked more than satisfied with the escape of Sheridan  because she'd prayed for his death in some sort of way. My mother now scared me a lot. I saw her in a completely different way. We were having breakfast when all of a sudden, an employee came in. "Ma'am?" "Yes, what is it?" "The horse that was stolen just came running into the ranch. We've taken it back to the stable." Mom smiled. I knew why. She probably thought Dove had deserted Sheridan. "Thank you." The employee left. I knew better. Sheridan had surely sent dove back home because he couldn't take care of her, wherever he was. He wasn't dead. He wasn't in danger. No. *** Little Sheridan's POV: I'd walked for a long time in those woods without finding any cave or place where I could find refuge. My feet hurt and my body too. I was tired. I'd walked all afternoon in my bad state. I sat down underneath a tree and began to sob. What was going to happen to me now. I rested for about thirty minutes and came up with the decision that giving up now was useless and so I got up and continued my search. At about 5pm, I was more than glad when I found a spring in the woods! Without thinking, I ran to the spring , got on my knees and drank as much water as I could. I was glad I'd found fresh water. I'd walked the whole day with wounded feet and a dislocated knee. I needed energy. I drank to my satisfaction. While I savored the taste of fresh water, I heard thunder. I stopped drinking and looked up at the sky. Black clouds could be seen beginning to cover. Heavy rain was on it's way! I had to find a place and fast!