There were only ten miles left to Canada. Charles stopped he was out of breath. I stopped too we started walking.

I heard footsteps behind us again, it was the same person as it was before. I pulled Charles behind a tree. The man stopped at the tree we were hiding behind. I held my breath and put my hand over Charles mouth to quiet him. He pushed my hand away and ran out into full view of the man.

I started running after him, I was scared. We didn't know who the man was and I didn't want to take any chances. Charles had disappeared. I started screaming his name when I felt a hard hand on my back.

"What's your name kid?" He said with a rough voice. I didn't answer. "I said what's your name." The dog started sniffing me. I still didn't answer. There were footsteps behind the man and the man tumbled forward. I turned around to see what it was. It was Charles.

"Let go of my brother!!" He yelled. I had never heard Charles be so loud. I pulled my shoulder out from the mans tight grip, grabbed Charles and we started running again.

Charles started up a tree, I went up after him, right on his heel. The man had gathered his balance and was running after us. When he got to the tree he stopped. So had Charles. I started to panic. The man grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. Then he tried to reach Charles, but he was to high. I yelled to Charles to keep climbing but he had gone into shock. I grabbed a stick off the ground and threw it up at him. He jumped and looked down at me. I repeated what I had said before, and he climbed three feet higher.

The dog jumped up on the the tree and was barking furiously. "You did wrong not to answer me, now what's your name?" I still didn't answer. Charles yelled down from the tree. "His name is Billy, now leave him alone!"I had forgotten to tell him never to tell anyone our names.

"Brave kid, now what's your name?" I was hoping Charles could hear my thoughts. "Charles, and I said leave him alone!" I looked up at the sky in annoyance.

"You are the two I've been looking for." He smiled an evil smile. The man pulled something out of his belt and started poking Charles feet with it. Charles slipped, he fell to the ground with a thud, a huge scrape on his cheek from it running against the trunk on his way down.

The man grabbed Charles and marched us both down the trail. Eventually we came to an old gray car. He pushed us into the back seat. It was a whipping for both of us when we got back.

Charles had seen a half open window behind us. He was trying to squeeze through. I started pushing him through. As soon as he had gotten out, I had started squeezing through. It was harder for me because I was bigger. Charles was trying to pull me out without falling off the car.

Once I had gotten out we both jumped. The car hadn't gotten far, in fact it got us closer to the border.

The Run


I could feel the wind on my face, my bare feet cold against the rocks beneath me. I was home free, not very far left. Someone fell behind. I stopped and looked back to see my six-year-old brother on the ground, his bare feet scarred from running so far.

He ripped a piece of his sleeve and gave it to me. I started to wrap his feet up, but he shook his head and pointed at me. He wanted me to wrap my feet up.

I had to bite my lips to stop from crying.

“Charles, hop on my back.” I said to him because I new he couldn't run any longer. He climbed up my back, witch made the pain in my side start throbbing. I grabbed onto him tightly and started running

It was almost dawn and we were almost to the border of Canada. We would be free in a couple of hours.

When we stopped at a river to drink I heard someone coming up behind us. From the sound of his footsteps I could tell I was a husky man with a dog padding beside him. I pulled Charles into the river and under a log.

The river was frozen because it was in the middle of winter. I was praying for him to pass by quickly so I could get Charles out of there. Luckily He did.

When we got out I gave Charles my thin jacket to warm him up. Charles stopped drying himself and looked at a tree. I went to stand next to him and I couldn't believe my eyes. Charles had found what we had been looking for. The peg leg next to an arrow. I turned my head to see an old rusty house.

Charles started running towards it while I kept an eye on every fifth tree to make sure we were going to the right place. When we reached the house, an old man answered. He looked like a pirate to, with his eye patch and peg leg.

We gave the signal and he did it back and then hurried us inside. He gave us a drink and a piece of bread. He picked up a floor board and told us to go under. We were to be quiet until he came to get us again.

We had been with our mother and father and their friends before, but in a little while we had been separated from them. And now it was just us Charles and I. Two young boys finding their own way to freedom.

After a time that seamed like forever, the old man came to get us. He hurried us outside and pointed us in the right direction again. Before we left he gave us a last drink and a piece of bread each. We were on our way again.