Chapter 100

The two of them huddled together, like they were nurturing a fragile flame of hope, carefully tending to it until it finally grew stronger.

"What do we do now?" Kaitlyn turned her head and asked.

"First, we burn the window frame, then we'll make a run for it," Christina said, her plan already formed, exuding calm confidence.

Kaitlyn nodded, picked up a piece of firewood, lit it, and placed it under the window frame, adding more wood piece by piece.

Christina made sure the fire didn't spread too much, holding a burning stick as she walked to the door.

Kaitlyn, anxious, kept checking to see if the fire was catching.

Through the crack in the door, Christina suddenly saw the trafficker who had captured them, chatting with someone as he walked down the dirt road towards them.

"Hurry, we don't have much time," she urged.

"The fire isn't big enough yet," Kaitlyn added more wood.

Seeing the fire blazing, Christina lit the straw piled by the door and shouted, "Fire! Help!"

The trafficker, seeing the thick smoke, panicked and ran over.

"Help! Water! Where's the water?"

Christina also shouted for help a few times, then quickly ran to the window. The two of them started smashing the window together.

The trafficker was frantic. If they got rescued but ended up disfigured, they wouldn't fetch a good price.

He hurried to find help to put out the fire.

Christina, while smashing the window, weakly called for help a couple more times.

They inhaled a lot of smoke, but driven by the will to survive, they finally broke the window open.

Christina helped Kaitlyn climb out first.

"Go! Run!"

Kaitlyn stumbled out, running clumsily.

Christina followed, ignoring the burning hot window frame, driven by her desire to live.

Behind them was a small mountain path, and they dashed into it, running for their lives.

The house behind them was engulfed in flames.

Villagers were bustling around.

"Rescue them! Quick, put out the fire!"

Christina glanced back. If those people thought they had perished in the fire, that would be perfect-no one would chase them. But if they did come after them, how would they escape these endless mountains?

They didn't know how long they had been running.

Kaitlyn, exhausted and thirsty, collapsed to the ground. "I can't run anymore."

Christina stopped too. "We can't keep running aimlessly."

"We don't know this place. Where should we go?" Kaitlyn asked in despair.

The dense forest made her want to cry. If they couldn't find their way back, they might die in these desolate mountains.

Christina looked up. "The car was in the mountains. We headed west when we came in, so if we go east, we might find our way back."

Kaitlyn asked, "How do we know which way is east?"

Christina replied, "The sun is setting. We go in the opposite direction of the sunset."

It was their only option.

Kaitlyn nodded. In the face of survival, everything else seemed insignificant.

They didn't know how long they had been walking, hungry and tired.

As night fell, the cold in the forest became biting. Christina and Kaitlyn supported each other, using their last bit of strength to keep searching for a way out. The last light of the day disappeared, leaving only the sounds of insects and the wind in the trees.

"What if we can't find our way out?" Kaitlyn's voice was on the verge of tears, her spirit nearly broken.

Christina took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "We will. We just have to keep going. We'll find our way home."

Just then, they heard a faint sound in the distance, clear in the quiet night. They exchanged hopeful glances.

"Someone's coming," Christina whispered.

They quickly hid in the bushes, holding their breath as they watched. Two figures with flashlights walked slowly along the path, dressed like local villagers.

Kaitlyn suggested, "Maybe we should ask them for help. If they have food, that would be even better."

Christina shook her head. "No."

"Why not? We'll get lost if we keep wandering," Kaitlyn asked, confused.

Christina explained, "The villagers here all know each other. If they see us, they'll know what happened. If they take us back, all our efforts will be wasted."

She had seen many stories like this on the news-rescued girls often faced the biggest obstacles from local villagers.

Each household knew each other well, forming alliances to prevent women from escaping.

Kaitlyn bit her lip and nodded.

They waited in the bushes until the villagers passed, then continued in the direction they had been heading.

Exhausted, Christina found some wild fruits. "These are safe to eat. Let's regain some strength."

Kaitlyn nodded, tears almost uncontrollable, and hugged her.

"If I had been alone, I would have been forced to have children. I'm so glad you're here to help me escape."

"Now's not the time for that, or for crying," Christina comforted her. They ate the fruits and kept moving.

The endless mountains were a huge barrier. After a whole day and night, they finally found a road by the next evening.

Christina observed for a while. With no cars in sight, they walked along the road.

Hearing a car, Kaitlyn's first instinct was to hide.

Christina watched from the side, seeing it was an out-of-state car, a nice model, not something a local would drive.

She ran out, waving her arms. "Stop! Stop!"

The car screeched to a halt, and a young man in travel gear got out.

"What you did was dangerous, you know?"

"We're in danger. Can you take us to the city? We need to call the police," Christina pleaded.

The man looked her over, seeing she wasn't lying, and nodded. "Okay, I'll take you to the police."