The Hunt

Chapter 33: Naya

 The forest is dark. The canopy of pine trees is thick, so I must be closer to where my scheme took place, farther away from Tanek.

Why am I here?

I try to get up, but then realize I'm bound by the ankles and wrists, with thick rope. I fumble with my bound hands in my coat for my knife, but it isn't there. Neither is my sack.

I sit there, trying to break the ropes or cut them against the pine trees, but the bindings are thick and I am falling and stumbling and very weak.

"Well she's not screaming, like they usually do," a voice says.

I realize with a start that my hood is down, and bend my arms, desperately trying to throw it back onto my head. But it's no use. They've seen my face.

The people are the ones from Tanek, who let me go. The pack. Is this their territory? I don't see anything fancy, like I was imagining.

I recognize the bald man, the woman, and Mikkel in the group. The young man with the shaggy dark hair who had been injured is not here. There are a few more people.

"We were surprised to see you alone. Young girl like you, must have somebody helping you survive," the bald man says. I feel more vulnerable than I ever have, with this many eyes staring at my uncovered face.

"Aksel, you saw her kill that man the other day. I have a feeling she can fend for herself," the woman argues.

"She wasn't doing so well when we found her," the bald guy, Aksel, turns to me, "Isn't that right? Starving, freezing, covered in blood."

I hold my gaze on the ground.

"Alright, let's do what we need to do," a darker skinned man says gruffly, and nods to the woman. The woman takes out my sack, and dumps the few remaining possessions of it out.

There's only two things in it. My knife and the tracking device.

I curse inside my head.

"So," Aksel says, "Who are you working for?"

I don't respond.

"Are you some sort of spy, sent in by the military? Did the Surga officials put you up to this? Or did you just, happen to stumble upon a functioning MBT?"

I don't understand anything Aksel is saying, so I just keep my gaze steady.

"We can do this the hard way, or the easy way," he bends down and growls.

I bite the inside of my lip. I truly have no idea what they're talking about.

"Mikkel," Aksel stands up, "I'll give this one to you."

This is the first time my attention really goes to him. His short hair and crisp blue eyes brighten his angular face. The closer I look, the younger he seems.

Mikkel glances up. He's leaning against a tree, seeming to have not been paying attention to what was going on just now.

"I'll pass," he says matter-of-factly.

"Come on Mikkel, just rough her up a bit. She could be dangerous, we need this information," Aksel says to Mikkel.

"Elias would be better suited for the job," he nods to the dark man.

The woman sneers, "What, you scared of the girl?"

Mikkel steps away from the tree, closer to them, "When the time comes, I'll kill her. But it seems as if we need her alive. So until then, I'm not touching her. Elias can."