She huddled in the darkness, squeezed in tight in the tiny hole behind the casks, holding her breath for fear of discovery. Footsteps echoed in the darkness. They were searching for her. They won’t find me here, she thought. The fact that nobody had ever been able to discover her hiding place made her feel safe even with the hunters on her heels. As long as she stayed quiet and didn’t give herself away, she would be safe. Footsteps wandered all around the large cellar, some even came quite close, but nobody found her. They started to move away when two sets stopped at the cellar entrance.
“Stay here,” a gruff voice ordered. “If she runs this way grab her.”
“Yes, sir,” a deep voice answered.
She cringed even deeper into her crevice. There was nowhere else to go. She was trapped here now. Maybe she could slip out of her hiding place unheard and smash something over the man’s head, she thought. She waited an interminably long time before she slid forward and uncurled her legs, letting them slide over the edge of the hole. Her legs felt numb as she slid down to stand on the cold hard-packed dirt floor. Silently, she tip-toed down the length of the cask and peeked around the end of it then jerked back with a gasp. The man was a huge mountain! She would never even be able to reach his head. Stifling a sob she snuck back to her hole and climbed back in. After waiting for what seemed like hours she heard footsteps again.
“Have you seen or heard anything?” Gruff Voice asked.
“No, sir,” Deep Voice replied.
“There’s someone here,” another man said thoughtfully. His voice was soft but the sound of it sent chills through her.
She heard them moving around the room again so she pulled tighter into her hole and held her breath. When she couldn’t hold her breath any longer she let it out slowly, softly. Then she breathed through her nose in small, shallow breaths.
