She knew exactly, precisely where she was going and her running was not panicked, not thrashing and wild. She ran like she had been trained to, tight,...controlled with not a movement wasted. She was aware of the burning in her throat, chest and muscles. She could hear her breathing, hard and ragged and she could feel her head getting lighter and lighter. Still she ran. If you do need to run, you will need to run hard. Head straight west to the gorge and don’t stop. Don’t even look back. Ahead of. Mom had gotten me a job at a law office, running errands,filing but mostly just gopher stuff and making coffee.Still the pay was surprisingly good, enough to buy booksfor college in the Fall with some pocket money to boot. Piddling sum, though, compared to what I was makinga year and a half earlier from my affluent 'clients.'I showed up at work in trousers and white shirt, mystill feminine waist and hips showing through theattempted camouflage.I knocked on the boss's door and entered after. He hated the miserable, leaden gray skies, heavy with snow, that glowered over the mountains during the northern winter. He hated how his breath hung in a cloud in front of him. He hated the raw winds that blew through these hills, abrading his cheeks like the sting of a lash, and he hated these miserable, smelly barbarians they had come to subjugate, and, if necessary, destroy. Most of all, he hated the rugged hills and forests of this miserable country, which hampered the efficiency of the. You could tell who had arrived late by the layer of dust on their shoes and the perspiration on their faces after trudging up the hill under the summer sun."Kristen," Zach said two years before."You don't have to say it. I know." Not this time." He got down on one knee. "I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Ever since you hit me with that water balloon at your tenth birthday party, I've known you were the only girl for me. I want you with me forever. When we're old and grey, I want to.