Then, at approximately twelve o'clock, I hear a small voice. This time I really get freaked out because there is definitely people, and close. I whirl around to see the dim, flickering light of a lantern and the smiling face of Harriet Tubman, also known as "Moses", and her group. I sigh to myself silently. David and I have been lucky because we haven't been caught yet, and being with general Tubman, almost all of my fear of being caught diminishes, though not all of it. She explains to David and I which way to go, which houses are safe and how to get to them. She also told us that a house with a lantern on a hitching post was safe.

Finally, after many hours of hurried walking, the sun starts to come up. David and I had left Moses some time ago, and now, from following her instructions, we sight a small cabin. I see a small flicker of light and notice that there is lantern on a hitching post. This house is supposedly safe. My whole body screams at me not to go. Before I can even begin to protest, though, David starts to run up the path. I scowl, David has always been the trusting type, and now I'm starting to think that he is a little too trusting. I scramble to catch up with him anyways, and by the time I have, David has already knocked on the door. There is still a small voice inside my head yelling at me to run away with David. I open my mouth to say something, that we don't need any help, that we can make it without any safe houses, but I know that's not true. I think about how we need the help, and bad. We're coated with dirt and grime and have small cuts from scraping our arms on low tree branches. My stomach is aching for a real meal, the only food I've have had so far is nuts and berries and small snacks that we had saved up from meals at the plantation. I close my mouth and hope for the best.

When we had left, I was in much better condition than when I had come. David and I had been given a warm meal and we each had been lent a bed that was small but comfortable to rest in. They had also given us some more directions.

We've been walking and camping out for a week now and the grueling work has made me exhausted. I am still always scared, afraid that we'll get caught, or that one of us will get hurt and the other won't be able to help, but I push my fears aside and keep going.

By Gracie Wessels

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