“What the hell was that?” he muttered to himself.

He paused, turning his back to me to look toward the stairs I had just descended.

This was my only chance.

I took a quiet step forward, then another, keeping my weight on the balls of my feet.

The mud muffled my footsteps, but the wet ground was slick.

I slipped slightly, my boot scraping against a loose stone.

The guard turned back instantly, the flashlight beam catching me dead in the center of my chest.

“Got you,” he whispered, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

He raised his gun, pointing it directly at my head.

I didn’t think.

I lunged forward, kicking out with all the strength left in my legs.

My boot caught him squarely in the shin.

He grunted in pain, his shot going wild and chipping the ceiling of the tunnel.

I threw my weight against him, slamming him into the dirt wall.

The flashlight dropped from his hand, rolling into the mud and casting long, erratic shadows.

He grabbed my jacket, trying to pull me down, but I tore myself away, desperate to protect the babies.