Samantha gulped and nodded. Prudence came down the path and gasped when she saw Pryde and his dogs. "There you are. It's time for chores," she said. "Come on." Prudence took Samantha by the arm and tugged her through the brush and onto the main path. "Do you know what almost happened?"
"I know. I'm sorry. Thanks for looking for me."
Prudence stopped and looked Samantha in the eye. "Samantha, you have to be more careful. Please."
"I will. I'm definitely not going to go running around in the forest anymore."
"This isn't funny. His dogs could have killed you."
"He told me that."
"Did you see the notches on his hunting knife?"
"What about them?"
"Those are for people who weren't as lucky as you."
"You mean people he killed?" Prudence nodded. "I could have been a notch on his knife?"
"No, of course not. You're under the reverend's protection. He's only allowed to kill outsiders."
"Then why didn't he kill me before?"
Prudence shrugged. "Maybe he thought you were one of us."
"Maybe," Samantha said, but she doubted it. Pryde didn't seem like the kind of man who made such mistakes. There was something she wasn't being told. If only she could remember what happened to her.
As she and Prudence started back towards town, she heard the dogs howling; she and Prudence ran the rest of the way.