𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐄, e.williams¹

iii - another day, another slay. literally

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Slamming the door in the hunter's face was a mistake. I—sadly—only came to realize this when the blade of his ax came through the wood.

My eyes widened as the weapon retreated then appeared again, the door rattling with impact. I immediately drew back and reached for my pistol, raising it hastily with shaking hands. The door swung open, practically falling off its hinges now, and revealing the hunter on the other side.

"Bitch," he seethed, taking heavy steps in my direction.

Even with the long-range weapon in my hands, I backed up, my breathing beginning to turn shallow. I could barely see my dad behind the man, though I didn't have the time to check and see if he was alright and holding his own. All my focus was on the bulky hunter closing in.

The man continued to draw nearer. "Aren't you going to shoot me?" he asked, his black eyes narrowing. When I stayed quiet, he grinned. "Oh. You've never shot someone, huh?"

My face must've given him the answer he was looking for because his smile grew twice as big and a low chuckle turned into a full-on laugh.

I took another step toward the window behind me as he moved a little closer. "Don't worry," he started, setting the ax down gently. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Swallowing thickly, I said, "Then get the fuck away from me."

"Ah, so you can talk," he mused, still stalking closer and closer. A loud scream came from behind him, and he turned to look back at the absolute chaos that was in the hallway.

A tiny bit of relief spread through me when I caught a glimpse of my dad hacking away at a man. But my stress only multiplied when I spied a gun shoved into the back of the hunter's jeans.

Forcing myself to keep it together, I spread my legs a little, widening my stance. "Get the fuck away from me," I spat, repeating the phrase more harshly.

The hunter's focus returned to me, his eyes narrowing as he reached behind him.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" My voice was steadier than I thought it would have been, yet the man continued to go for his gun. Fear and exasperation started to mesh into one, and I was growing more and more scared with each passing second. "Put your goddamn hands where I can see them!"

"Okay, okay," the man finally said, opening his palms in front of him. "There's no need to yell, sweetie." His grin was sickening, and I wanted nothing more than to put that ax blade in between his eyes.

I frowned as a figure appeared where the door used to be. Another hunter, I realized quickly, not recognizing the clothing—or the face—that entered the room.

Fucking shit.

Trying to come to my senses, I placed my finger over the trigger a little more snuggly, cocking the pistol. The small click made them both freeze, though their smiles didn't yield.

"You don't even know how-"

I didn't give him the chance to finish his sentence before pulling the trigger, the slight recoil jerking on my arms. Staring down the bloodied hole in the first hunter's forehead, I watched as he fell to his knees, planting face-first onto the carpet. The man behind him snarled before going for the ax on the floor. I fired again, hitting him in the shoulder.

He grunted, still reaching for the weapon on the ground. I moved a little closer before shooting one last bullet, causing him to slump into his own pool of blood.

The silence that followed was still, and I looked up from the bodies as my dad came limping into the room, cupping the left side of his abdomen with his palm. He nodded toward the dead hunters. "You finished quicker this time."