Page 6 of Sohut's Protection

It was almost time.

Gripping the cage tight, her pulse beat in her throat as things her father taught her replayed in her head.

If your surroundings are harsh and dangerous, you’ll have three hours to survive without shelter, Cleo.

Three hours.

Maybe a little more with this metal weapon under her foot.

Why? Because she was going to use it to stab anyone or anything that stood in her way.

If she managed to survive the fall from the cart and reach the cover of the jungle, she’d have three days to live without water.

That’s three days to find water if the aliens didn’t come after her.

Staring at the orcs’ backs now, she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

They were huge and looked unfit.

She could outrun them.

She was sure of it.

Her father’s voice came into her head once more and she swallowed hard.

If you find water, Cleo, you’ll have three weeks to survive without food.

Fuck.

What she planned to do was hard enough if she’d been lost in the wilderness on Earth.

Only an insane person would contemplate executing this stupid, stupid plan.

The aliens operating the cart obviously didn’t think she was insane enough to throw herself off a moving cart. Otherwise, they would have restrained her better.

Well, they didn’t know Cleo Barlow.

Another jolt of the cart pushed her cage a little closer to the edge.

It was now or never.

Eyes on the green backs of the orcs at the head of the cart, Cleo took the piece of sharp metal from underneath her foot.

She’d have to hold it in her hand and hope it didn’t cut into her palm during the fall.

Bracing all her weight on the side of the cage that faced the road, she waited.

With her weight and the help of gravity, the next jolt would no doubt tip her over the edge.

Beside her, the little Chihuahua-monkey stared at her with interest, as if it knew what she was going to do.

She eyed the thing. It looked cute in a weird way, but she didn’t trust it.

She didn’t trust any of these aliens.

She could only hope the little creature didn’t raise an alarm and cause the big green aliens to look behind them.

Just one more jolt.

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