in
May 19th, 2004
I couldn't breath. Thoughts flashed through my mind. What would happen when we were found?
What could we do? My heart was pounding. Angela was crying and shaking. I managed to take a deep breath.
"Run."
"What?" Angela asked in a shocked tone.
"Run."
"I can't just leave you here."
"I said t' run, Angela. Run back to the plantation. Lie and say that you was there the whole time. They won't give you as bad of a beatin' for not workin' as they will for runnin' away. Hurry! Go!"
"But,..."
"Just go, Angela! Run! Hurry!"
Angela took off and ran faster than any horse could. Faster than any dog could. Faster than anyone could. She jumped over tree stumps and tumbled down a hill, but she still kept running.
By then I knew that they had spotted me. I knew that they would suspect something if I just waited for them to catch me, so I did what I would have done if Angela hadn't come with me. I ran.
I scurried the opposite dirrection that Angela had run, away from the plantation. Sweat poured down my face. I breathed in heavily. I could hear the hooves of horses beating down onto the ground. Men behind me were yelling. Dogs were barking. I didn't stop. I just kept on running.
Soon, I was caught. Hunting dogs had pulled me to the ground. I felt every time they sunk their jaws into me. Screaming out in pain was all I could do. Soon the men joined into beating me. I was tied up. It was hard to move. Blood and sweat fell to the ground.
I remember hearing a man say, "He won't be runnin' anytime soon." Suddently, I heard a loud bang and I felt a pain in my foot. A man stood with a gun in his hand that had been fired. My foot bled.
They dragged me all the way back to the plantation. There they tied me up and whipped me. Tears filled my eyes. The men left me on the ground when they were done. I don't think they would have cared if I had died. I felt someone dragging me. I found out later that it was Tim. He had pulled me into the room where we slept.
Something cool went on to my head. I heard a soft voice say, "It just wasn't our time. Someday, George. Someday." I knew it was Angela.
See more stories by Julia
