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Tim climbed up the next hill and stood at the top, overlooking the land. He could see Audrey down below him, still struggling to get up. She wasn’t used to the snowshoes yet, and climbing a hill on her third trip out probably wasn’t the best idea. Still, they couldn’t stay where they were much longer. She needed to be able to move and move fast, and the only way he knew how to teach her was to have her practice even in difficult situations.
“You coming, slow-poke?”
She frowned, glaring at him. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to get there!”
“Good. Come on, we gotta make better time than this.”
“Tim! I can barely walk with these things.”
“I know, kid, but you gotta be able to. It’s our only way out.”
A gunshot rang in the distance, and Tim cringed. It was already time for them to go back, and they had only made it about halfway from the journey he wanted to take. No matter, he couldn’t change it now. Audrey looked up at him, then looked in the direction of the gun shot. “We’ve got to go, huh?”
He nodded. “Yup. Maxson must be back already. He’ll be wondering where we are if we don’t get going.”
She nodded and waited for him to come back down the hill, then followed him back to their campsite. Maxson wasn’t there yet, but she knew he would be there soon. Brinsley greeted them. “You made it! Just in time. Max should be back any minute now.”
“We figured. Audrey still needs a lot of practice, but we got in what we could.”
Brinsley nodded, keeping her voice to a whisper. “Well, we don’t have much time. She’s going to have to learn soon, or the snow will be melting and we won’t be able to get away until summer. It’s much easier for them to follow us then.”
Tim nodded. “I know. We’re trying.” They had it all planned out. They were going to leave in the dead of winter when the snow was at it’s highest. Their plans had been stalled with Aubrey not knowing how to snowshoe, and spring was just around the corner now. If they waited until summer, it would be easier for them to be tracked down. If they left soon, they could take all of the extra snowshoes out with them, and it would be much harder for Maxson and his goons to pursue them. Snowshoes were a necessity when the snow reach several feet in depth every winter. They didn’t have skis with them, so the shoes were the only way out.
“You could always just leave me and go.”
“Audrey, no! We would never just leave you!” Brinsley folded her arms over her chest and stared at the young lady.
My A-muse-ing Life 