Our footsteps echoed through the empty canyon, propelling the sound around every corner of the rocky labyrinth. Our breaths came out rapidly, lungs burning from the strain put on them. Our muscles ached with an undying pain, built up from the seemingly endless run. Behind us ran three pursuers, men wearing black cloaks and ski masks to hide their identity.
    Glancing to my right, I saw my friend, Sakura, trying desperately to keep at pace with me. I was determined to outrun the three, to escape this canyon, to get to our destination, but Sakura didn't share this determination. Instead, she looked about ready to give in to the exhaustion of the run.
    "The valley should be up ahead!" I yelled out to her, hoping to up her motivation to run. This, however, got no response as she stared down in immense focus at the stony earth, apparently trapped in thought. Up ahead, I could finally see the place where the cliffs parted to reveal a grassy valley. Our escape.
    But just as we came upon the canyon's mouth, something rammed into me from above, slamming me into the ground and pinning me down. I twisted my head to the side just enough to find that the thing on top of me was a fourth cloaked man, far bigger and stronger than I.
    Then, a few feet ahead of me, I noticed the other three men circled around Sakura, fists at the ready. She had her back up against the massive wall of stone, eyes darting back and forth in search of an opening to escape through.
    "Sakura!" I called out, struggling against the man holding me down. But it was to no avail, for he held much more power, making me feel as if there was not a person, but a boulder on top of me. I gazed back to the circle of men once again, just in time to see Sakura strategically use the canyon wall to scale over the men, making a beeline for the valley as soon as she set foot back on the earth.
    Then she paused. Looking back, she caught sight of me, trapped underneath the man. I thought that she was going to sprint over, somehow force the man off of me, and help me to escape with her into the valley. But instead, she gave me a glare of hatred and spite, before turning and bolting off into the plains, leaving me in the hands of the four men.
    "Sakura?" I repeated in a confused tone, her actions taking me by surprise. She didn't even look back. As I stared, bewildered, I felt a rough tug on my arms, forcing me to my feet. The man had my hands fastened behind my back, two of the others standing by my sides and holding my shoulders in their firm grips.
    "Well, at least we caught one of the two stubborn, little runts," spat the man holding my hands back, voice gruff.
    "Yeah, but we need 'em both," pointed out the one to my left.
    "We know where she's going," said the third in a cool, smooth voice. "We'll just follow her and grab her before she gets there."
    "Liars!" I yelled, causing their focus to return to me. "You don't know where she's going! There's no way!" The men grinned at me, snickering beneath their breaths. Then the fourth man, who I had forgotten was there, strode up to me, a paper in his hands. Opening the stained, torn sheet, he revealed a map. Our map. "H-how'd you get that?"
    "We don't have to tell you nothin kid," he said, stuffing the paper into a pocket he had concealed in his cloak. "Now, let's get going." He then turned, beginning towards the valley. "We need to catch up so we can catch her before she gets there."
    "You know you can't catch her, right?" I asked, staring at the man angrily. He turned back to me, leaning down so his face was right against mine, his hot, sticky breath brushing over my skin.
    "And what makes you think that?"
    "Well," I began, gazing at the man behind me, mentally planning my escape. "If you can't keep me in your hands..." I then back kicked the man behind me, causing him to lose grip of my hands just enough for me to free them. Not wasting a second of my newfound mobility, I pushed the men to my sides away with as much strength as I could muster, punching the man in front of me square in the face. In their momentary surprise and confusion, I bolted to the canyon mouth, stopping and turning back triumphantly.
    "Then how will you get her?" I finished, a victorious smile on my face. Recovering from their shock, the men turned to face me, the one at the group's head thrusting a pointed finger out in my direction.
    "Get him!" He commanded, and all of them set off after me. Realizing my mistake in not running when they were distracted, I took to speeding out into the valley, coming to a wide, open plain of tall grasses. Not the best place to lose them in, but at least the sea of green could conceal me.
    I began weaving myself into the field, staying crouched low in hopes that they'd lose sight of me. Yet I kept moving, knowing that I would not only have to get away from them, but find Sakura as well. Behind me, I could hear the men calling out orders or information to one another, but luckily their voices were fading, until they were just lost whispers on the wind.
    Sucking in a breath of air, I mustered up the courage to peek above the tall stalks to see if they were still anywhere nearby. Luckily, they were nowhere to be seen. Letting the air out of my lungs, I began trudging onwards, not letting my guard drop one bit. For about an hour I traveled, until trees came into sight. A forest.
    I smiled, knowing I was heading the right way, and began to sprint over to the shadowy thicket. As I came upon the towering columns of timber, I realized how in need of a break I was after the chase and hour long walk. So I climbed up one of the first few trees I came across, settling on a higher branch. Though it provided less comfort than the ground would've, it was safer and more hidden, just in case those men came back.
    Staring off into the distance, my mind wandered back to Sakura leaving me the way she did. She seemed mad for some reason that was beyond me, and possibly even ditched me. But she wouldn't do that, right? I was so confused. Why would she leave like that that? I wasn't sure if she was mad at me for something or if someone manipulated her into doing it or if it was just part of a secret plan she had of getting us to the safe lands. But on any case, she still left me with them, and didn't help.
    Then I remembered the map that the man had showed me. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a stained, torn, raggedy, old piece of paper, folded into a small rectangle. Carefully, as to not damage it further, I unfolded it crease by crease, until I was gazing upon a map. Our map. The map Sakura and I had drawn.
    It depicted a canyon, which opened into a valley, a plain on the first half and a forest on the other. Then, at the end, the land closed back into yet another canyon, before opening into a land which held features unknown to us. A place where these men could not track us down. A place where we could live in peace. A place where we were to call home.
    My eyes trailed over to the bottom right corner, where two smudged names were sloppily written. The names Tyke and Sakura. Our names. This was our map. I'd recognize it anywhere. But if I had it, how'd the man get it?
    Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes below me, causing me to poorly refold the map before cramming it back in my pocket, standing up on the branch. I stood, poised on my perch, staring down with the eyes of a hawk as I watched the bushes that had shook. They rattled again, and I was ready to fight whatever was there, or flee if it outsized or overpowered me. Then it came out.
    A deer. I sighed in relief, so glad it wasn't the men. But that relief was short lived when a spear lodged into the tree I was on, mere inches from my face. My eyes darted towards the direction from whence it came, spotting one of the cloaked men. Immediately, I scrambled down from the branch, jumping off when I was a few feet above the forest floor. Then I took off, hoping with my dear life that I was going the right way.
    Risking a glance behind me, I saw not only the one man who had almost pierced my head, but the other three from before as well. Yet, unlike before, they all had spears, which they threw in hopes of hitting their target. Thankfully, they had poor aim, missing me every time they feebly thrust their weapons forwards at me. Turning my focus back to where I was heading, I began to weave through the trees, moving in zigzags to try to confuse them.
    Again I looked back, surprised when I saw no sight of them. Wondering where they went, I looked back in front of me, just in time to catch sight of something falling in my path. I skidded to a rough stop, backing away cautiously. The thing that had fallen rose, revealing itself to be one of the men. This confused me further. How'd he get ahead of me?
    I turned to run in the opposite direction, but was stopped by the sight of my other three pursuers surrounding me on all sides. My gaze shifted between them, who all held spears at the ready, unsure who was to be first to strike. We stood in silence for a minute, before one man stepped forward, trying to jab the pointed weapon into my shoulder. Luckily, I was able to barely dodge it, moving off to the side. The other three followed the first, all trying to strike me down with their weapons. I avoided every attack, but knew I couldn't keep it up. I had to fight back somehow.
    Then I noticed a long, sturdy, and surprisingly straight stick lying on the ground a few feet beyond the men. Knowing I had to get it, I ducked below one man's swing at my head, racing forwards and snatching up the piece of wood. I turned and held it horizontally above my face, just in time to block an attack. With my new weapon, I held back every attack they thrust at me, getting a few hits on them from time to time. But what I really needed to do was escape, not fight.
    So as soon as I was no longer surrounded, I took off, keeping the stick, for it was my only weapon. The men didn't follow. They just stood, watching me go. Still, I was afraid that they had another trick planned, so I sprinted with all the speed I could muster in hopes of getting away. By the time I had reached a rocky wall, I was too out of breath to keep running. However, I kept moving, using the stone as a guide to where I was to go.
    Finally, I had reached the opening, the beginning of the last obstacle between me and freedom. I just hoped that Sakura had made it this far, if she wasn't already there. Cautiously, I crept into the canyon, staying vigilant in case those men decided to show up again. But it wasn't only that. I had this nagging feeling that something was wrong.
    Only after about ten minutes, I saw an opening up ahead. That must be the free lands! I thought excitedly, picking up my pace. But seconds after, I skidded to a halt. All it was was a wide, arena-like opening in the canyon, the other end harboring the path to freedom. The only problem was that it was blocked. I heard movement in the rocks around me, causing my eyes to flash by at everything in sight as I slowly stepped back towards the path I had come through.
    Yet before I could even come close, boulders fell from above the path, blocking it. Frightened, I scampered back, knowing that whatever caused that wasn't natural. Then, around me from the sides of the cliffs, cloaked men emerged, circling me from both on the canyon edges and the ground lining the walls. All of them looked identical, except one. This one was in front of the path that had been blocked when I came, their cloak embroidered in a glinting, silver thread in the patterns of stripes and zigzags.
    "W-who are you?" I asked, taking a step back from them. They chuckled at me, stepping closer.
    "What, you don't recognize me?" I paused. That voice, I'd heard it before. It belonged to someone I knew, someone close to me. Then, I realized who it was.
    "Wait, Sakura?!" The cloaked person snickered, pulling down their hood and slipping off the ski mask. It was her. "What are you doing with them?!"
    "Still haven't figured it out yet, have you?" she asked, sly smile upon her face. I thought for a second about what she meant, but nothing came up. Then her smile dropped as she growled, "Too caught up in your stupid little fantasies about your stupid little safe lands, aren't you?" She sighed, looking down upon her clenched fist. "It's not like you ever payed any attention anyways."
    I stared at her, thinking through about what she said. Too caught up on fantasies about the free lands? Then it hit me. Though the whole time we had searched for the land, I had never cared about anything but the map. Like one time, the men were chasing us, and Sakura had fallen and twisted her ankle. But instead of going back to help, I yelled at her to get up and go. When she didn't, I ran back and dragged her with me, scolding her for not getting up and almost costing us our lives. I had always thought so much about that map, that I never considered how she felt.
    "Sakura, I'm sorry," I said quietly, looking down at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry for ignoring you. But why? Why would you join them?"
    "Because they don't treat me like dirt," she spat out, the venom in her voice stinging my soul. "With you, I was nothing but a burden. But with them, I'm more powerful and important than I ever was before. And now, I get to take you down, so you never make it to your dreamland." She reached to the ground, picking up a spear and twirling it, before pointing it at me. "Get ready to fight."
    I wanted to try to convince her to do otherwise, but she was already charging me, spear at the ready. I dodged, hitting her with the stick I still possessed. She cried out in pain, whipping around and bashing me back. The force knocked me backwards, the tip cutting my side and tearing my clothes. I tried to find my bearings, but she was already on top of me, cutting my arm with the spearpoint.
    Hissing in pain, I hit back. But I missed, giving her another opening to attack me from. She bore down on me with all her strength, bruising and cutting me unrelentlessly in her fury. I tried fighting back, but I couldn't, partly because I was weak from her attacks, but mostly because I couldn't bring myself to do any real damage to her. With a final blow to the face, she had me on my back, pinned down by her foot. I panted, staring up at her with fearful eyes, her spear's tip inches from my chest.
    "A-aren't you going to end it?!" I asked, my voice shaky and weak. She stared at me with narrowed eyes, shaking her head.
    "No, but I will tell you this." Grabbing the back of my shirt, she lifted me up, pushing me towards the path back. "Run. Run back to whence you came, and never return to this place again." I stared at her, mixed emotions swirling through me. She wasn't coming with me. She would never come with me again. All I could do now was run.
    And That's what I did. I ran through the canyon, the forest, the plains, all the way back to where I had started, never stopping. As I ran, I pulled out the map, staring at it with teary eyes. Then I crumpled it into a ball, throwing it behind me as I sped onwards. There was no point in keeping it. All it was was a map of lies.