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WIND DANCER [ part 1 ] Across the small dirt road, the tiny nude human body sprinted, hopped over a rusty piece of farm machinery without missing a step and dared into the old stand of trees beyond. Jumped over low branches or bush, ducking under higher ones or driving through larger bushes, ignoring scratches to the body and cuts to the lower limbs and feet, until the sudden appearance of a hidden stream gave a chance. Stepping from slippery stone to stone upstream. Hopped onto a rotting trunk partially blocking it further upstream and sprinted up a deer run until the line of Hawthorne bushes was directly ahead across another clearing. Then ran as if life depended on it, and if the ravenous dogs baying not far behind, caught up, it would. As the tanned little body reached halfway across the clearing, the pack of hounds appeared. The hunted bent forward, legs at full stride, toes digging into the dead grass, inspired by the barking of the hunters as they spotted their prize. A little hand reached out, gripped the knob of the almost obscured by the bushes wooden plank line shack. Pulled it open and slammed it behind her just as the bodies of the three hounds bounced off the door. In the dimness, chest heaving, sweat oozing out of every pour, eyes discerned the adult male calmly sitting in a camp chair, a stopwatch in his hand. "Not bad, you shaved five seconds of your time since last week." |