Elchanan realized that Avi had probably never climbed a tree before. But they were in grave danger
Elchanan’s palms stung. Mud and little stones from the scramble out of the cave’s second opening clung to his skin, but there was no time to stop to brush them off.
Follow the wide path until the fork. Then left. Narrow trail. He repeated Matt’s instructions to himself, over and over . Avi was running right behind him; Elchanan could hear the panting of his friend’s breath, the uneven pounding of his steps.
“Elchanan. Wait-a-minute,” Avi gasped. “This path — they’re gonna come after us. They’re faster than us. Stronger. We need to hide. Stefan… he knows we’re missing by now. They’ll be here soon, the path is too obvious.”
He was right. Elchanan had hoped they would get a head start, make it far enough before Ivan and Stefan realized what was happening, but the precious minutes he’d counted on had slipped away all too soon. Matt couldn’t hold him off for long; even now, Stefan could be hauling himself up out of the other entrance and coming after them.
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