Run for your fucking life

“Come on come on come on!” Artyom yells and waves me on. I duck down when a bullet shatters a tree branch.

Adrenaline rushes through me. This is the fastest I have ever run in my life. We run through thickets, forests and fields, trampling anything in our way. My lungs burn but the quieting sounds of shouting and barking push me forward. The sun is beginning to set. We just might escape!

Eventually we lose our pursuers. “Hold on!” Artyom gasps as we near the edge of a field. We both stop and fold over. I try to catch my breath and calm my racing heart. Artyom looks at me. I look back at him and slowly start to stand up.

We crash together with ****. He wraps his strong arms around my back before share a deep, hard, animalistic kiss fueled by surging adrenaline and passion. Artyom squeezes me tighter before tackling me into the snow. We make out with a furious intensity, rolling around on the ground and grabbing at each other before finally breaking from the kiss. We take a moment to look into each other’s eyes before Artyom rolls off of me and we both look up at the sky through dead branches, laying on our backs in the snow, gasping for breath, our hearts thumping.

“I can’t believe we made it out of that.” Artyom says, steam escaping from his mouth.

“We’re not out of the woods yet.” I say.

We come up to our knees and rearm ourselves before creeping up to the edge of the woods.

“What do we have here?” Artyom whispers to himself as we look out across the field at what looks like a small farm. Snowflakes blow across the darkening sky as the wind begins to pick up.

“They can’t be far behind us.” Artyom tells me. “I’m going to see if it’s safe. Stay here and cover me until I give you a signal.”

“Okay.” I tell him before getting down and crawling up to the edge of the forest. I shoulder my rifle and look out across the field as Artyom crawls out into the open. When he is about halfway to a large hay bale he comes up to his feet and rushes across the field in a low stance. He dives down behind the hay bale and stops for a moment, peeking around the side.

Artyom makes a break for a small barn, rushing through the snow before sliding down on the side of the barn. He creeps up to the corner, before disappearing out of sight. My heart starts to beat faster. I look around frantically. It feels like he’s been gone for a long time.

I hear the sound of hooves beating just before Artyom rounds the corner atop a sleek, black horse. He races across the field towards me.

“Let’s go!” He yells with a wave. I come to my feet and run towards him as I sling my rifle across my back. Artyom slows his horse and stops next to me, reaching his hand out. I grasp his hand and he helps pull me up. I swing my leg over and wrap my hands around his body.

“Hold onto me!” He says, before slapping the reins and digging his feet into the horse’s side.

“We need to get out of here then circle back to the rendezvous point!” He says as the horse starts to pick up speed and work its way into a gallop. I hold onto Artyom tightly as we race through the falling snow and the blowing winds.