Reyna stared at the wall for several long moments before quickly searching for a way around.
She pushed through the trees and bushes, ignoring how they dug into her flesh as she searched for a path forward.
She had forgotten that Harlow was on higher ground compared to Osfieldge.
It had been so many years that it was easy to forget about the terrain.
After searching for a while, she finally spotted a path heading up in what she assumed was the right direction.
With a relieved smile on her face, she walked towards it, ready to continue on her journey when she spotted something strange.
In her earlier relief, she hadn’t noticed it at first, but the path was strangely even, like it had been used often.
That didn’t make any sense.
No one would choose to go through the forest when there was a proper route unless it was for shady reasons.
Also, for the path to look so flat, it meant there was constant traffic.
Basically, the entire situation screamed danger.
Reyna heard something in the distance and quickly ducked behind a tree, clutching her bag.
Her heart raced as she listened carefully.
The sounds were getting closer, and she realized it was voices.
“Are you sure you heard right?” one person asked.
“Yeah, apparently, someone spotted a woman walking into the forest of her own accord,” another person said.
“Was she pretty?” a different person asked.
“They said she had burgundy red hair and hazel eyes.
She’s also quite the looker.
She should fetch a good price,” the previous person said.
Reyna forced down the bile rising up as she listened to the vile words they were spouting.
She didn’t expect to end up in a situation like this.
Had the kid possibly been part of this gang of criminals?
It didn’t matter.
What mattered was avoiding getting caught by the criminals and getting to Harlow to find her son.
“Has no one found her yet?” one person asked.
“It is a big forest, but there’s no way she’ll escape.
We control all the paths here.
She isn’t going anywhere,” a different person said.
Her heart lurched at those words.
They had the whole place surrounded?
How was she going to get away without being discovered?
If she had known this would happen, she would have gone with her other idea and just risked going by the official route.
Now she had to figure out a way to get away without being caught by these criminals.
The question was how.
She searched her surroundings as if hoping to find some clue to get her out of her current predicament.
Unfortunately, all she could hear was the criminals getting closer to her position.
Reyna covered her mouth, fearful that they might hear her breathing as she anxiously waited for them to pass her by.
The footsteps got closer and closer until they stopped near her hiding spot.
Had they found her?
“I’m going to have to head back now.
Don’t want to get caught slacking,” one person said.
“Sucks to be you,” another person jeered.
“Tell me when you caught the woman,” the previous person said.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll make sure,” a different person said.
Reyna listened for the others to get going too, but she was sorely disappointed to not hear any more footsteps leading away from her hiding spot.
“He’s gone?” one person asked.
“Yup,” a different person said.
“Good riddance.
He acts all high and mighty, thinking we are beneath him.
There’s no way we’d tell him,” the previous person said.
“I know, right.
What makes him better than us?” the second person said.
They continued to make light conversation with seemingly no intention to leave the area any time soon.
She could feel her legs cramping up from her awkward position and shifted slightly, hoping they wouldn’t hear.
It was that moment that she accidentally stepped on a twig and froze.
“What was that?” one person asked abruptly, changing their conversation.
“What was what?” the other person asked.
“You didn’t hear that?” the previous person asked.
“No.
What did you hear?” the second person asked.
“I thought I heard movement,” the first person said, stepping closer to Reyna’s hiding spot.
“You think it’s the woman?” the other person asked, following them.
“Let’s take a closer look,” the previous person suggested.
Reyna clutched her bag, prepared to use it as a makeshift weapon against the criminals when she heard shouting.
Her eyes darted in the direction of the sound, and she heard the criminals stop in their tracks.
“What’s that?” one of them asked.
“No clue.
Maybe we should go check it out,” the other said.
With that, the criminals disappeared in the direction of the noise.
Even after she could no longer hear them, she didn’t dare to move from her spot just in case.
After several long moments, she finally dared to lower her guard and move out of her hiding spot.
She stared in the direction the criminals had gone and frowned.
That had been a close one.
She had nearly been caught.
She had to be more careful next time, but what should she do now?
Obviously, she should avoid going in the same direction as the criminals.
That was just asking to be caught.
Should she head back the way she came and return to the town?
It would waste valuable time, but it would be much safer than sticking around in the forest filled with criminals.
She barely thought about it before turning to head back towards the town.
There was no way she could take the risk when her son was waiting for her and hurried to get out before she was spotted.
Reyna briefly wondered what the criminals were doing in the forest.
What could they possibly be up to?
She quickly disregarded such thoughts, as it was none of her business.
Once she found her son and left the country, it would have nothing to do with her, as she would never come back ever again.