My Brothers Best Friend

23

*Piper*

"What was that?!" I said panicked. In the distance, another shot sounded.

"Maybe it's part of the game? Maybe it's an acting exercise?" Said Eva wistfully.

"I don't care about that right now! We're getting out of the forest now!" Shouted Liam. We ran in the same direction we came from until we came to a fork in the road.

"Which way?" I asked the rest.

"Left." "Right." Said Eva and Peyton at the same time. So that doesn't help anything either.

"Okay, then we'll just go straight." I said.

"How do you plan to do that? There's no path straight ahead." Said Liam. I ran ahead and jumped over a fallen tree trunk. There was indeed no path, but straight ahead was the best chance we had. As I ran, the branches snapped under my feet. The rest caught up with me quickly and we ran forward together.

"Uhm, guys." Said Peyton softly. I looked in her direction and saw that her torch, the only one we had at the moment, was starting to flicker. Within five seconds, the light broke and we stood in pitch darkness. That too.

"I suggest we just keep walking, but now be extra careful. Okay?" Said Eva. I nodded and carefully placed my foot in front of me. It went well for a while, until Peyton went through her ankle. She moaned out in pain.

"Can you stand on it?" I asked her as me and Liam carefully lifted her up. Peyton put her food down gently, but immediately fell through her legs again.

"You guys go ahead." Said I. "I'll stay here with Peyton? Just get an attendant or something." And so our group was split up in the dead of night. I had Peyton propped up against a tree so she could lean against it, and I walked carefully up and down the trail.

"What a day, huh? Dropped in a forest, with no lights and we have no idea if we're going to get out of here soon."

"And don't forget the shooter." Peyton added. I had forgotten that in all the fuss. What if it was the same people who attacked our moving van?

"How's your ankle?" I asked worriedly. She tried to move her ankle, but her face twisted in pain.

"Not good," she sighed. I sat down next to her and listened to the sounds around me. I heard an owl in the distance and something scurrying through the bushes. I was trying to stay calm when some beetle ran across the sleeve of my coat.

"I hate the woods." I sighed. Suddenly I heard something rustling. It sounded like leaves being trampled.

"Are they back already?" I asked Peyton. She shrugged her shoulders briefly. We sat closer together and tried to be as quiet as possible. Softly we heard a few voices.

"Can I have my been back now?" I heard a man with a heavy Russian accent say.

"No, you idiot! You almost shot an innocent student!" Shouted another.

"Well in fact, we should also shoot an innocent student." Said the Russian man again."

"That's different. We have to shoot her in the leg, so we can take her away more easily. I've heard, she's a feisty aunt. We certainly mustn't shoot her, because then the boss will kill us."

"Why?"

"How would you like it if you shot your daughter, idiot!" Hissed the other man. The Russian man kept his mouth shut. The rustling came closer and I held my breath. I was sure those men were looking for me and I didn't want to be kidnapped again. Peyton and I were now lying all over the wet canopy. I quickly threw a few leaves on Peyton's light blue coat so that it would no longer stand out. Fortunately, I had put on dark clothes. The moonlight shone on the bass path, a few dozen metres from us. Two shadows emerged from the darkness. One of the men was tall and muscular, the other was smaller and thinner and carried two shotguns on his back. Fortunately, they were walking in the opposite direction. The little man turned around again, but fortunately couldn't see us.

"What was that?" Peyton asked when the men had been out of sight for a while.

"At least we now know where the shot came from." I whispered. I sat up straight again and brushed some leaves off me. "I think we'll be here for a while." I sighed.

—————

The night had been very cold. I stretched and pulled a few twigs out of my hair. Peyton was still asleep on the moss. I felt incredibly dirty and desperately wanted to take a shower. In the distance I heard a dog barking. Peyton woke up and banged her ankle against a stone. She cried out in pain. The dog heard us and quickly came into our field of vision. Some men ran after it. My first instinct was to run, but I couldn't leave Peyton alone. As the men approached, I saw that it was the police with a forester.

"Are you Piper and Peyton?" Asked a policeman. I nodded to the man and wrapped my arms around myself to keep myself warm.

"We are taking you back to your camping spot. Everyone is very worried." The largest policeman gently lifted Peyton. Another man wrapped a blanket around me.

"What exactly happened?" He asked me.

"We were participating in a scavenger hunt until we heard a shot."

"I have indeed heard more students about that." Said the man as he took out his notebook from his inside pocket.

"We ran back to the camp, but our torch broke and Peyton went through her ankle. Then Liam and Eva went to get help." I continued.

"Did you see anything last night?"

"Yes, there were two men here with a rifle. One was tall and muscular and spoke with a Russian accent, the other was short and thin." The man wrote everything down in his little notebook.

"Thank you for the information." He went back to his colleagues and left me alone. The bass keeper escorted us to the edge of the forest, where the rest of the group was already waiting. Liam came running up to me and fell on my neck.

"Oh Piper. Sorry I couldn't help earlier. I feel really guilty now." he said concerned.

"It's okay Liam. We're all safe again and that's the most important thing." Peyton and I were taken to the cabin so we could take a shower. Peyton had to shower in her underwear because an attendant had to help her stand up. when I finished showering an ambulance was outside."

"What's going on?" I asked Eva.

"Peyton is being taken to the hospital so they can look at her ankle." She said. Peyton was indeed lifted and put in the ambulance. I quickly walked over to her.

"Shall I come with you?" I asked her. She looked very anxious and nodded gratefully. I jumped into the ambulance and the paramedics closed the doors.

—————

"It's not broken, but it's extremely bruised." We apply a pressure bandage and it has to be changed every few days. Keep the bandage on for three weeks and walk on crutches and everything will be fine." The doctor clicked the notepad on the bed and walked out of the room. I sat on the bed with Peyton.

"Get well soon." I told her. Her parents had just walked into the room and rushed over to Peyton. Immediately she was ambushed with hundreds of questions. I decided it was my time to go. I waved one last time at her and walked out of the room. I left quickly. took the elevator down and headed for the exit

"But you don't get it" I heard someone say "She must be here somewhere!"

"Listen sir!" The woman behind the counter said annoyed. "There's no Piper Williams in the hospital here, or it would be in my computer!" I walked closer and saw Jason and Luca standing at the counter. Jason was about to rip the computer off her desk and Luca was ready to blow the woman's hair. I coughed excessively. Jason and Luca both turned towards me.

"Piper!" they cried. I was almost squashed by their sandwich hug.

"Suddenly we got a phone call that you were at the hospital!" shouted Jason. I broke free from the embrace.

"No, a friend of mine had a lot of trouble with her ankle. There is nothing wrong with me." Luca kissed me softly on the lips.

"Happy." he whispered.

"But I did discover something." I said softly. the boys looked at me curiously.

"Daddy hired two men to shoot me in the leg and kidnap me."

**

1474 words

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