Heartbeat Away from Death

Chapter 6

(A/N: Moodboard by knock-knock-let-the-devil-in)

Feet Straight. Head turned. Bow at eye level. Deep breath. Release.

And miss.

She only remembered bits and pieces from the archery lessons she took at camp once when she was younger, but it still didn't seem to be working. Grace hadn't hit the target once. Her father and brother didn't seem to be doing much better. She could hear Hal cursing under his breath every time the arrow whipped past the centre of the crudely drawn figure and landed in the bushes behind. The three of them had been learning how to kill skitters quietly in order to rescue Ben from the hospital without being noticed, but right now they seemed hopeless at it. Grace always felt safer with a gun in her hand anyway. She went to grab another arrow from the crate in front of them when a sharp pain suddenly made her wince.

"Maybe you should take it easy," Tom suggested as he glanced up from his own bow. "Those skitter claws went pretty deep."

"I'm fine," murmured Grace, placing the arrow on her bow. "I can do this."

Tom hesitated. "I mean maybe you should sit this one out – getting Ben. We can handle it."

"What? No, I'm not sitting out. I'm fine. Doctor Glass even said so. They're just a few scratches, dad."

He hardly even blinked, staring at her with that familiar look of worry he so often had on his face these days. "It was more than that."

"Why are you so worried about me anyway? What about Hal? He's the one you should be worried about. What he saw..."

"I can hear you," said Hal, beside her. "And I'm fine too. I'm over it. I'll be even better once we get Ben back."

Angry, Grace released another bow. To her surprise, it hit just to the edge of the figure's head. Hal looked at her, impressed, and she smiled triumphantly.

"You belong in medieval times," Maggie quipped, emerging behind them and giving Grace a timid smile.

"Oh, hey," she replied.

Hal explained to Maggie what they were doing while Tom collected the arrows. "Got any pointers?" asked Hal.

Grace watched as Maggie got close to Hal and showed him how to stand. She was less interested in the method Maggie was trying to teach him and more intrigued by the way Hal responded to her as she softly instructed him and adjusted his stance. He looked almost too accepting of her advances, and Grace had the uncomfortable urge to tug her away from him.

"You feel that? Mm-hmm. Okay. There. And it's a slow, steady pull on the trigger, and the kick comes from the front."

Another miss. Hal glanced down, embarrassed, and Grace raised an eyebrow. Well, at least he wasn't thinking about Karen anymore.

"Here's another idea - make sure you're close," smirked Maggie.

Hal didn't often blush, but if he had ever been close, this was it. Grace still wasn't sure what to make of Maggie, but she definitely had something about her if she could make Hal seem bashful. Maybe she ought to keep an eye on her.

Especially now it seemed like Maggie knew the hospital's layout, pointing out to Tom which was the best ways in and out of the building on a crumpled map. She'd barely been here five minutes and she was already taking over their missions. It took months for Grace to be allowed to fight, but then again she had Tom Mason as a father. Anyway, maybe it was a good thing. The way Grace saw it, anything that helped get her brother out of there safely was a positive.