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remembered my knife. Madly, I reached for it, and began slashing at the rope entangling me. I hacked, again and again, fighting my way out of the snare. Finally, I punched free, crawling forward into the darkness.
    I was the only one free - the others around me were locked into place. The men did not have flashlights, and did not at first notice that I was free. I used this to my advantage, crouching low and heading for Samuel first, since he was closest. His eyes widened upon seeing me crawl next to him. I began cutting through his binds.
    A large hand grabbed me by the shoulder, pulling me back with a snarl. I tried to wrench myself free of the man’s grip, but another pair of hands grabbed me and threw me on the ground.
    But by this time, Samuel had slinked out of the net. He fired two times, and the man gripping me screamed. I felt his hand loosen, and I ran forward, out of his grasp. I reached for my Beretta, still holstered on my belt.
    I drew it, pointing it into the darkness. Samuel and I were alone. From the forest ahead, I heard both Makara and Anna screaming, and the shouts of our attackers. Accompanying the screams was a rustling, dragging sound, leading away from our position. They were fleeing.
    That was when I noticed two large men barring our path. They had stayed behind to make sure we didn’t follow. I could see each was holding a knife that glinted in the darkness.
    Quickly, I brought up my gun, but not fast enough. One of the men charged forward, swiping it aside. It landed on the ground a few feet away and was obscured by darkness. As Samuel grappled with the other attacker, my own adversary advanced, stabbing toward me. I dodged. One of the girls screamed again, more distant. We had to take care of these guys, fast. And I had no way to reach my gun without leaving myself open.
    The man took another jab at me. I jumped backward, my back slamming against a tree. Wincing, I dodged once more when the man came at me again. His knife plunged into the tree’s bark. Cursing in Spanish, he struggled to wrest it free.
    I didn’t waste another moment. I took my own knife, slashing wildly toward him. My blade connected to his arm. He screamed, and I felt his warm blood splatter on my hand. He staggered away, meaning to run. His back turned to me, the rest was easy. I jumped him, sending him crashing to the earth. With gritted teeth, I pinned him and gave him a deep gash in his throat. Blood spewed out, his scream silenced by my blade. His body grew still under me as what was left of his life ebbed away.
    Right next to his body was my gun. I grabbed it, and turned to help Samuel, who was still going hand-to-hand with his adversary. I ended the fight quickly by placing my gun on the back of the man’s head. He paused in shock right before I shot. His body fell forward, sprawling on the ground.
    Samuel looked at me with wide eyes. He picked up his own handgun from the ground, and charged away in the direction the girls had been taken.
    We ran for thirty seconds or so, pushing aside foliage and branches that slammed and scratched our faces and hands. Uncaring, we sprinted on. It was only a matter of time until we caught up to them, and we couldn’t let either of them get away.
    A scream came from our left.
    We turned, and ran in the direction of the sound. A few seconds later, we came across one of the girls, netted in a clearing. She was alone, having clearly been abandoned.
    “Anna, get Anna!” she yelled.
    It was Makara. Not understanding, I ran forward to cut her binds.
    “They left me here, and took Anna with them.”
    “Where?” I asked.
    “To my left,” Makara said. “Opposite direction you came from.”
    I bolted away. Samuel could take care of Makara while I went after Anna. I had to catch them before they really got moving. Stealing a look behind, Makara was now out of the net, running with Samuel after me. Up ahead, I heard a whinny. They had horses. If they had horses, there would be no catching