"Oh, so mean-spirited conversations are allowable, but not harmless jokes? That's stupid!"
"It's the way things are."
"Maybe it's time for that to change." Samantha got to her feet and despite Prudence's warnings, started to zigzag across the meadow. "I'm it! Come and get me!" None of the other children stood to chase after her as she scampered across the meadow. Finally, Samantha stopped to catch her breath. She stamped her foot and said, "Fine, if you won't come get me then I'll race you back to town. Last one there is a rotten egg!"
With that, Samantha took off running into the forest. She veered down the shortcut she and Prudence had taken earlier, determined to make it back to town before anyone else. The reverend and all his stupid rules. Why couldn't they be allowed to do anything fun?
She heard a growl and stopped running a moment before a black beast leapt from the brush. The beast hit Samantha in the center of the chest, knocking her to the ground. She found herself looking up at rows of sharp, yellow teeth that dripped brown foam onto her dress. A pair of yellow eyes glared at her with hatred. The beast's jaws snapped at her as a snarl rose from its throat. Samantha put her hands to her face and screamed for help.
"What have you got there?" a voice more like an animal's than a human's said. Samantha lowered her hands in time to see a man crash through the underbrush with three other beasts like the one pinning her to the ground.
A wide-brimmed hat covered most of his shoulder-length gray hair and cast a shadow over his face. A pair of yellow eyes glared out from under the hat's brim. The man wore a long black coat that appeared to be the hides of some of his former hunting partners stitched together. A foot-long knife lined with tally notches hung from his belt. From Prudence's description, Samantha guessed this was Mr. Pryde.
"You're supposed to be in the meadow with the others," he said. He let out a short bark and the dog on her chest climbed off and sat at his heels. "What are you doing here?"
"I got lost. I'm sorry. I'll go back now."
"You're the new one, aren't you?"
"Yes. My name's Samantha. You're the one who found me."
"The dogs found you. They would have torn out your throat if I'd arrived a second later."
Samantha instinctually put a protective hand to her throat. "Then I owe you my life."
"Don't let me catch you out here alone again. Next time I'll let him shred you."