𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 , 𝐫. 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

eighty four -

EPISODE TEN
"be my grave"
SEASON 8

GREY KINGSTON

my chest heaves, my breath mixing with the cold air as i run. i run as fast as i can, as fast as my body will allow with a pounding head, sore throat, and stiff muscles from cold nights spent on the hard earth.

their voices shout out from in between the trees all around me. i don't know which direction they're coming from, behind me, beside me, did they somehow pass me and are ahead of me, waiting for me to run right into them?

before the sun sank into the horizon, i went out to hunt and came across a deer. a lucky find. i haven't seen one in so long, i almost forgot what to do next—draw the arrow and release. instead i just stared at its beauty from across the field. the doe's brown eyes aware of everything and nothing at the same time as she ate from a patch of grass.

i couldn't do it, didn't want to, and that's when they appeared. a group of four guys, all seemingly around my age from what i could tell. we noticed each other after their spike went into the deer and i didn't duck into the woods fast enough.

when two hunters meet; but i realized quickly i was the new prey. they watched me from afar, took out the metal spike from the animal and faced me like i was next. whiskey ran off despite my efforts of calming him, and i had no choice but to run the other way unless i wanted to meet the same fate as the doe.

i've been running since, sneaking behind trees to catch my breath and then cursing when i realize they're still coming.

a gasp flies out of my mouth as i trip over a fallen branch and go tumbling down a slope. the earth spins as i grasp for anything to stop myself, and when i finally do, my head pounds even harder and a wheeze rattles in my chest as i groan. leaves are crunched and scattered as thin flakes in my hair, the braids rosita did for me long fallen out, and i taste the heady iron of blood.

but i don't let myself make sense of anything more before i'm hobbling to my feet and nocking an arrow like i should've done earlier.

and then they come, from all directions as i thought they would. i'm surrounded by the tall, dark figures of four men who have stalked me through the woods all for this very moment.

"you done running?" one of them asks, a grin visible on his smooth face even through the dark night.

i slow my breathing, my eyes darting from one to the next, to the next, to the next as we all slowly circle each other. i make sure to never have my back to one of them at any point.

"do you have a name?" another asks, earning chuckles from the rest.

i have enough arrows for each of them, but i know if i go for one, the others will push, and if they're too close, i'll miss.

if i miss, i could be dead.

"i will shoot you." my voice is steady, low. "so tell me what you want or you can spend the rest of the night digging these arrows out of yourselves."

they're silent for a moment, and i notice they all glance at one another.

"just wanted some fun." the one in the dark beanie shrugs.

"some fun." i repeat, making note of how they've stopped pushing me deeper from the hill. "your idea of fun is chasing someone for an hour? you spooked my horse, you assholes."

it could've been over an hour, well over, considering the deer went down in that field when the sun was warm and orange in the sky and now the stars are bright above our heads.