THE CEDARVILLE REVIEW 57 edge of the water, leaves started shuffl ing behind me. “Niki!” I jumped as Pat hurdled towards me. “Jerk! Don’t scare me like that!” “We’ve gotta hurry, I’m being followed!” Pat fl ung our bags over the fence, and I pulled off my shoes. As the last bag landed on the other side, leaves started rustling again. I dashed into the water, the warm, sticky mud seeping into my socks and between my toes as I rounded the fence. Pat tried to scramble up the chains, but he got stuck at the very top, like he wasn’t exactly sure how to swing his leg over. “C’mon, Patty!” I called through my teeth. I could hear the bushes shifting. Heart pounding, I grabbed Pat’s hand and pulled. He landed with a thud next to me just as a fi gure burst through the bushes. We both screamed. “Are you trying to break your neck, MacGyver?” “Sean, you freakazoid!” Pat yelled. “What are you doing out here?” “If you both die, I’ll be grounded for the rest of my life, so I’m coming too.” His bag fl opped down next to me. “Besides, I’m the only one with a compass.” Sean pulled himself up and over the fence easily, jumping down and giving Pat a smug look. We ran along the fence to the road, tripping over roots and grass, then a dog started barking. “They stuck the hounds on us! Run!” Sean screamed, sprinting down the road, me and Pat in tow as we imagined the vicious hounds chasing us down.
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