I sigh with relief. HUGE mistake. Danny and Jase both turn around. I hold my breath. Danny’s eyes scan the surrounding forest and his gaze stops on my tree. Gulping, I slowly backed away. I’ve gone three steps when my foot lands on a dry branch. It snaps, the sound like a gunshot in the stillness of the forest. I turn and run. “We’ve got you Lukas,” Danny yells crashing through the underbrush after me. “Only if you can catch me!” I yell back. Ducking under a branch I see another place to hide. I turn towards it then stop. Something was pulling at me. It felt familiar. I take a step away the hiding place I have seen and gasp. The tugging sensation has gotten stronger. I look back the way I have come, Jase and Danny have almost caught up with me. Acting on impulse I turn and dash off through the woods, again.
I want to stop, I have to stop, but I can’t. The sensation is too strong. It drives me forward. Every time I feel like I am going to fall over with exhaustion the sensation tugs at me harder than before. Distantly I realize that I have left Jase and Danny far behind, and that I should rest---get my breath back, but I can’t stop. I have to keep