Princess SOS by Sara Page Read Free Book Online Page B

I’ve learned my lesson.
    I focus on the ground and my own feet.
    Another branch snaps behind me and then another. Whatever is behind me is rushing to catch up with me.
    Please let it be a bunny or something, please. I wish I could run. I wish I knew just where the heck I was going. As I keep moving forward, the mist continues to thin. I make it another dozen feet and thankfully the thing behind me hasn’t caught up to me yet.
    Rushing, I keep rushing. I see the trees thinning out in front of me. It’s hope. I surge onward. The going gets easier and easier. There're less trees around, less stuff on the ground to trip me up. Less stuff to snag my dress on.
    The trees spread, yards grow between them. The mist dissipates. Everything is lit up by the morning sun. The next thing I know I actually am running. I’m running and running, my shredded gown fluttering behind me. I’m running as if I actually have a chance.
    I make it, somehow I make it. I reach a clearing. There're several rocks and a small river of running water. I run up to the biggest rock and climb up on it. I whip around, expecting to finally see whatever it is that’s chasing me. There’s nothing there.
    Was I just imagining it? Freaking myself out?
    My eyes comb the trees, the ground, and even the sky. I could have sworn I was being chased, that something was trying to catch me. Why would it stop? Maybe it gave up awhile back?
    Well, whatever it is, I conclude, it’s not the alien. I have a feeling that if it was him chasing me, he would have caught me. Or, even if he didn’t catch me, he wouldn’t just stop. Hopefully, I was just running from my own twisted imagination.
    I hop off the rock and start to pace around. My heart is still racing and I have to give it time to slow. After a couple of minutes, I bend over. I start to retch. As the panic fades away, I feel the sickness. My breathing is loud and uneven. I pushed myself too hard and too fast, now I’m paying for it.
    I didn’t eat breakfast before I left so all I end up getting out is a lot of spit. My stomach eventually settles. I wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand.
    Okay, I found water, yay! But now I’m seriously lost. I look up at the sun’s position in the sky and I think at least an hour has passed.  Air in the nose and out the mouth. I think I’m done getting sick.
    I’ve been gone longer than I would have liked. This whole plan of mine has really gone to shit. If the alien checks on the pod, he’ll know I’m not there, what with the wall being down and all. He’ll have full access to the pod and everything in it. Or he’ll come looking for me. I don’t know which is worse.
    I walk over to the water and gaze into it. It’s crystal clear, so clear I can see the muddy bottom. I bend over and dip my hand in the water. It’s not exactly cold, but it’s not exactly warm. A cool bath is better than no bath at all.
    I have yet to hear another branch breaking and so far nothing has come upon me. Yet, I feel full of dread. I feel like I’ve gotten myself into quite a mess, and I’m not sure if this time I can get myself out of it.
    I lower myself down to the ground, cross my legs and just sit and listen. It’s peaceful, even relaxing here. The quiet is filled only with the sounds of the water flowing and splashing against the rocks.
    If only an hour has passed, there is still hope left, I reassure myself. The alien may not check on the pod for several hours. Perhaps I can still take a bath and get back. The feeling of dread eases a bit. The thought of finally rinsing the layers of yuck off my skin lifts my spirits.
    I slide off my slippers. They are beyond ruined, torn and caked with a mud that will never come off. I look down to my dress. I’m not even sure it’s still a dress. It’s ripped and shredded. It’s truly rags now, hanging on only by a few expensive threads.
    I set the slippers down to my left, uncross my legs, point my toes and test the water again. It’s