The ditch was deep, but the dark wood beyond beckoned with the possibility of safety. Alice tried to climb the embankment, but the rain had turned the earth to mud. She slipped and fell to her hands and knees. As she fell, she scooped up a handful of mud to throw at her pursuers.
They were on her before she could regain her footing. She fought them, using the martial arts skills she had learned from Master Sun Yat, but the accident had weakened her. She pummeled them with her fists until they seized her wrists and secured them with handcuffs. She was kicking and biting as they dragged her to the ambulance, but her bare feet had little effect on their shins. They threw her face down on a stretcher and restrained her there with wide canvas straps. They loaded the stretcher into the back of
