Erika didn’t sleep for long. She had to much on her mind and she simply couldn’t get it to shut up. Instead she pulled some of the water from the stream and was playing with it, thinking about the water helped her focus on her own thoughts. That’s when she heard it, the footsteps underneath them and a stop. Someone was getting water from the river.

“No one has sent up the signal which means those girls are still out there.” One of the men grumbled and a second responded. “100,000 reward for them, more if we can get them alive.”

“I heard their factories are having a hard time without one of them and they lost a lot of rich clients without the other. So I’m sure they are eager to punish them, themselves.” Erika swallowed hard. They wouldn’t just be killed, they would probably be tortured first, and then strung up as an example. The sun was still up, but the leaves hid them from view. Erika looked to Alena. If either of them moved to much they would call attention to themselves. Erika let the water flow into the trees and just remained still, hoping Alena didn’t wake up before they left.