Hunt and Pray by Cindy Sutherland Read Free Book Online Page B

waiting for the shot, the one that would be the last thing he heard.
    It never came.
    He walked determinedly until he got into dense underbrush and then slowed a little. No sense in being caught because he twisted an ankle ten yards from the cabin.
    He hiked without stopping for about an hour until he came to a small clearing. He slipped the backpack off and set it on a broken tree. Opening it, he saw it contained two bottles of water and a couple of protein bars.
    Guess that’s enough for six hours of survival.
    He grabbed a bottle and noticed it was still sealed, so he popped the cap and took a drink. It wasn’t cold, but it tasted good after walking in the heat of the day.
    Drew looked around a little. For the moment, he was grateful for the trees and dense undergrowth. Without it, the heat would be unbearable.
    He sighed. Of course, later on he knew he’d be freezing in his jeans and Chance’s T-shirt and hoodie, but it probably wouldn’t matter for very long.
    He repacked the bag and slung it back onto his shoulders before checking to make sure the knife was secure in his waistband. He knew it probably wouldn’t buy him more than a second or two, but it seemed important somehow.
    Looking at his watch, he saw that it was midafternoon and checked the location of the sun. His dad had taught him a little about navigating by the sun and the stars when he was younger, and he was pretty sure he’d been steering himself to the east. He figured picking a direction and sticking with it was his best bet. At least, it made him feel like he had some sort of plan.
    He kept walking, glad he’d been wearing his sneakers when he was taken instead of his flip-flops or dress shoes. Walking through the brush would be dangerous enough as it was without having to worry about inappropriate footwear.
    He kept a wary eye out for snakes, hoping to avoid any of the slithering creatures because he wasn’t sure which ones were poisonous and which ones weren’t and both species lived in the area.
    It was quiet in the woods. The occasional birdcall and the buzz of insects were the only noises he could hear. At least it would make it harder for Chance to sneak up on him… he hoped.
    Walking along, Drew tried to pay attention to where he was going, knowing that getting distracted out there in the wilderness could be dangerous, if not outright deadly.
    Drew seemed to lose sense of time. He glanced at his watch every once in a while and unconsciously counted down the minutes until the colonel would unleash Chance.
    He just kept walking, using the sun as a guide, and hoped to find some sign of life to give him hope.
    There was nothing, though. Not a road or path of any kind, no campsites or mountain cabins; nothing to offer him any shelter. There was nowhere to hide and only so far he could run. Chance was well trained, and Drew was quickly running out of stamina.
    He grabbed one of the protein bars from the backpack and ate it slowly. He knew he’d been pushing himself and didn’t want to make himself sick eating too much at once.
    Drew absently noticed the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky and tried not to let it frighten him too much. The thought of slogging around in the dark was terrifying.
    It was bad enough when he could see where he was putting his feet, but the thought of that being taken away from him was almost enough to make him curl up under a log and try to hide.
    When he looked at his watch, his heart gave a sickening lurch. His six-hour head start was up, and now it was only a matter of time before Chance caught up with him.
    He tried to walk a little faster, but as it grew dark, he had to slow down. He’d passed tired a few hours back and was heading toward exhausted, and he knew that he was going to have to sit and rest for a while at some point.
    But as soon as he stopped moving, he started to shiver. He was damp from sweat, and with the sun going down, he would soon go from uncomfortably cool to numbingly cold.
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