𝙃𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙎 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙎𝘾𝙍𝙄𝘽𝘽𝙇𝙀𝘿 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝘿𝙎; 𝙃𝙊𝙊𝘿𝙔

Chapter 20

The knife screamed as it swung past my ear. I had managed to move out of the way just in time, but Hoody quickly stuck his leg out, taking out the backs of my knees, causing me to collapse.

Pain shot through my spine and the rest of my back before spreading into the rest of my body, especially my head. I shriveled up into myself immediately, stretching my back out in an attempt to relieve some of the pain.

Heavy breathing came from me as I lay on the forest ground, eyes clamped tightly shut. My face burned before my hands that had come up to block it. The skin of my cheeks and forehead pricked in random spots, almost making me want to itch it.

"You're getting better." Was all Hoody said as he stood, staring down at me; the handle of the knife held loosely between his long fingers. His voice was a little breathy, a tribute to the fact that we'd been doing this for an hour now in the open space behind his house.

It meant that we were more vulnerable than usual, but it couldn't be helped.

Reaching down, he helped me up from my position, and I unsteadily swayed on my feet. His grip on my arm was firm, and hurt a little until he let go, watching me carefully.

Peace ran between us, until a loud gunshot echoed through the air. The bullet whizzed between our faces and lodged itself into the doorframe surrounding the back door. Hoody swore under his breath as he shoved the knife into my hand and pulled out his gun. "From the lack of precision, that shot wasn't Tim."

A bit of blond peeked out from behind a tree, and I guessed it was probably Hunter. My guess was confirmed to be right when I heard his swearing.

Another shot rang out, but this time, it was from Hoody's gun. The bullet sank into Hunter's right arm and he let out a yell in response. "Go get your stuff from inside and run. Skully will find you." I touched his arm and ran back to the house, rushing inside as he covered me.

I slammed the door behind me and I grabbed my phone from the kitchen. The knife in my hand felt heavy, yet light at the same time as my stomach dropped and my heart raced. My mind raced as I tried to think of anything else I had, but couldn't come up with anything as I took the front entrance out into the forest.

A bullet landed near my feet and I screeched in terror when I saw Masky running toward me. I took a sharp left into the trees, running the opposite way of him. The crowbar in his hands wasn't as bad as a gun, but holy fuck was it bad for me if he caught up. He wouldn't be afraid to use it on me either in a slow, painful way.

I had a feeling that if I thought Hoody was bad, then Masky would be ten times worse, and the Operator would be a million times worse than both.

Branches snagged on my clothing and arms as I tried to brush them away at the same time. He was gaining on me and I knew that. I tried my best not to fall or slow down while running, but it was hard on uneven ground. I held the knife tightly in my hand, the leather handle rough against my skin. Fear and adrenaline were purely what I was running on as I tried to get away from the masked man behind me.

"You're not getting away from me, Starlight!" His voice and the use of my nickname was so much more threatening than Hoody's, and I never wanted him to say it again.

But first, I needed to be focused on getting away from him.