To The End

Close call

She had just been relaxing, minding her own business when they struck silently. For once her defenses had been down and she was caught off guard. The crossbow bolt pierced her shoulder and then they swarmed her while she was distracted by the pain. Ambush.

She was lucky to even be alive. Blows had rained down on her from all sides, blades slicing flesh to keep her crippled. Her rage mounted but she refused to retaliate so she went on the defensive. She wasn't going to give them what they wanted. She wasn't an animal. So as soon as she had an opening, throwing dirt in their faces, she ran. Her blood painted the ground as she pushed herself faster, an easy trail they could follow. She got a few miles out when she started to slow, too tired to go any faster. Her injuries were taking their toll. She panted, heavy ragged breaths burning her chest. Jade narrowly avoided a tripwire that launched a net at her, changing course so sharply she slid and stumbled in a patch of mud.

She growled, hating how her only choice to flee into the woods wasn't helping her. They knew she would try to hide here and set up traps to catch her. She thought about backtracking through all the detonated traps, but the hunters were still hot on her heels and she would have to fight them if they caught up to her. She really didn't want to fatally wound them if she didn't have to. For Victoria's sake. Weak.

Jade grit her teeth against the accusation. Yes, Victoria made her weak. She could have already been safe if she had been paying attention to her surroundings. If she just let herself fight back. They wouldn't have stood a chance against the full force of her fury. She dodged two hunters ahead who were lying in wait. They tried to open fire on her, but she swerved out of the way in time. She cleared a log and ran several feet when she felt another tripwire. An explosion threw her off her feet and made her ears ring uncomfortably. Luckily, she had been running fast enough that she only got the tail end of the blast radius instead of being in the center of it.

She hit the ground and rolled back onto her feet to take off again. She only made it several feet when a rifle shot took her right leg out from under her, the bullet tearing through her calf. Fire blazed in heated agony with each step until she collapsed. She skidded through the dirt and undergrowth and came to a stop face down. Her labored breathing flew soil from her face while she paused for a short break. She attempted to get back on her feet and managed to stand but putting too much weight on her injured leg caused the pain to flare up. Her leg spasmed and gave out, sending her back to the ground on her hands and knees. Slowly but surely, all the hunters convened on her.

She glanced up at them, feeling helpless like a cornered deer. Injured and waiting for the final blow. She was surrounded on all sides. Beck's father parted from the group to approach her. She snarled threateningly but he only scoffed, leveling the barrel of his rifle at her.

"You killed my boy. You corrupted our leader's daughter. You made a mockery of us, killing us off like livestock to feed yourself. But it ends now. Everyone here will get a chance to punish you for your crimes against our people," he promised. Jade had nothing to say. Everything he said was true. So she only watched and waited, brow creased and grimacing through the pain.

"I'll start," he continued, stopping his pacing to shoot her in the gut. She cried out and collapsed, catching herself on her forearms before she could fully hit the dirt.

"Have at it men."

The circle of hunters restricted until she was further caged in. The elder Beckett stood off to the side and watched with his arms crossed. Each took a turn to deliver a blow in any form they chose. A kick to the stomach or face. The slash of a knife. A simple punch to the jaw. For all the damage they did, they were careful not to make it fatal. They wanted her to bleed out slowly. They wanted her to suffer. When she was left curled on the ground Jade thought they were done. But then the only woman among them stepped forward. Hate made her intentions clear, just as the others had. She grabbed Jade by her shirt and pulled her up from the ground so that she was on her knees and their eyes could meet.