When she felt like all the sickness had gone -being replaced with frailty and exhaustion- she carefully raised her head. Staying on her knees, she gazed at the thick layers of trees in front of her. She couldn’t see their end and she found them strangely soothing.
She’d got so used to their stillness that it was very easy for her to spot the sudden movement fifty feet away in the dull light, from behind a trunk. It wasn’t an animal; that she knew straight away. The figure hadn’t moved between trees, disappearing from one tree trunk to the other. Whoever it was had leaned out to look and then hidden back behind it. She squinted at the tree.
She then sensed her aunt move away from her and for some reason it made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. Something was wrong.
She slowly eased herself up onto her feet. Even at that speed, she still felt dizzy and wobbled on her heels before regaining her balance. She noticed that there was a strange heaviness in her ankles. It moved down to her toes filling them with a shooting pressure, as if all the blood in her legs had gathered there, pumping vigorously. It wasn’t painful, just unpleasant, like pins and needles. She ignored it, on edge from the man she’d seen in the forest.
She looked back at the car.
Jaz’s suspicions were set ablaze by the cautious look on Aunt Erica's face. Uncle Bo's usually jolly expression had also become very rigid and guarded. He was staring in Driver's direction. Jaz's eyes flickered to Driver. He was stood stiffly. She could see the tendons on his neck protruding. His jaw was clenched, his hands balled into fists. He wasn’t looking at her. He was glaring into the forest.
She whipped her head round, her back now facing the road. She focused her tired eyes on the shaded trees, finding not one, but two dark figures moving hastily between the thick trunks.
Towards her.
She gave Erica one last panicked glance, catching the look of deceit in the woman's bright eyes as they darted between Jaz and the two approaching men, before Jaz bolted back down the road towards the exit.
She nearly fell forward as her jelly legs tried to propel her down the hill. She forced her body to balance, almost snapping tendons as she sprinted as fast as she could down the dusty path. The sound of her black, studded flats crunching furiously against the dust, grit and scattered stones was countered by several sets of raging footfalls.
She didn’t look back. The terrifying sight of the men’s approach would only weaken her determination to get the hell out of there.
She whimpered through her panting, willing her legs to move. She knew they weren’t working as well as they could; as they should. Something was wrong with her.
So many thoughts rushed through her head but they were all incoherent babbles. Only the sound of the men's heavy footfalls as they got louder and the exit she could see hundreds of yards ahead, were all that mattered.
Then the sound of another pair of shoes thumping against earth seemed to overtake the other two. These ones were louder and that meant, closer. She swivelled her head round automatically and was horrified to see Driver was only a few feet away from her and gaining.
She tried not to squeal as she forced her body to push forward. Faster. Her weakened limbs couldn’t take the extra strain and her balance was lost. She fell forward, landing on her front with one lazy hand held out as she tried to stop herself from falling. Instead, the weight of her body crushed her arm and her clenched fist slammed into her diaphragm as she hit the ground, winding her. She inhaled dirt as she took a ragged breath to force the air back into her lungs and choked.
Two big, firm hands grabbed her by the waist and rolled her over as she coughed violently.
Even between fits of coughs, her first instinct was to kick out, making contact with meaty, solid flesh. She caught the top of his leg and he fell forward. But he was quick and strong, and managed to hold himself up with his hands. They slapped against the ground either side of her hips and stopped him from falling on top of her.
She rasped in fright, whilst dragging her legs away from his body. She then swung around and pushed herself up with her trembling hands to run. She made it two steps before he was on her again. The force of his weight made her lose her footing and she dived to the floor. Before she hit the ground, he got a grip around her chest with one bulging arm. As they both fell, his elbow knocked against the ground and he let out a sharp grunt.