Source: Pixabay
As he dashed through the forest in the evening light, he could barely see. He knew not where he was going. He didn't care. All that mattered to him was to make it as far as his legs could carry him. He looked back, there were beams of light shining through the tall grasses. Those were flashlights of his pursuers. They were catching on. He had been running for almost forty minutes. His legs had become heavy. His body weight felt as though it had doubled due to the sweat he was covered in. The cold air of the night also worsened his predicament. Slowly, the brisk pace of his feet began to fade until it came to a stop. He was sapped of the strength to continue running. He held his breath as he crouched behind the trunk of a big tree, muttering a word of prayer.
Soon, he could hear the footsteps of his pursuers as they drew nearer. He knew it would not be long before their dogs pick up his scent and trace it to the spot where he was hiding. He couldn't stay in hiding for long. The warders searched desperately, waving their flashlights around hoping to discover the prisoner's footprints. He was quite a runner, they'd give him that. But no prisoner had ever carried out a successful escape from Lockheed Penitentiary.
"Aaargh!" an agonising scream coming from behind one of the trees alerted the warders and they all caught sight of the figure that had jumped out, running like a terrified deer. That was their game, the escaped prisoner!
They chased after him, and it was only a matter of time before one of the dogs leapt at the fatigued prisoner, knocking him to the ground, his face buried in the mud. Seizing him, they bundled him back to the prison yard. Other inmates peeped from their cell holes as the gates of the prison creaked open. They were all sorry for the doomed man. They knew he was going somewhere tougher this time around. He had just bought himself a one-way ticket to solitary confinement for attempting to escape.
An hour later, he was sitting in isolation, staring sadly at the beam of light shining from the moon into the dungeon. If he hadn't been stung by termites while hiding behind the tree, his escape would have been a success. He heaved a sigh as he remembered how he ended up in prison in the first place. It was for a crime he knew nothing about.
PS, this is not my submission for the weekly prompt.
