No Mercy

Chapter 18

I sprint through the forest, desperately trying to outrun the chorus of feet chasing me. I push off the tree immediately in front of me to try and go faster, having to continuously dodge these monstrous obstructions the deeper I get into the forest. Instead of maneuvering around the next tree that gets in my way I launch myself at it, wrapping my legs around the trunk as I propel myself up its length. 30 feet higher I pause to get my barrings, looking around to see which way I should go next. I decide to move east of the way I was previously going, flinging myself from tree to tree to move even further away from my pursuers. I hope the sudden disruption of my scent will throw off my trackers long enough to make my escape safely.

I freeze when I hear the trampling of multiple steps of footsteps below me. My arms remain wrapped the trunk of a cedar tree as I duck lower, my body obscured by the leaves surrounding me. I slow my breathing so that it is almost indiscernible from the sounds of the forest and wait. Minutes pass and the people have left, most likely trying to figure out where I went off to. I carefully I push myself out slightly to try and see if anyone else is around. Rylan stands at the base of the tree, her furious eyes already locked onto me like she had no trouble spotting me from my hidden position.

"You're going to have to do better than that Mediana." A harsh frown takes over her features before her fist flies into the trunk, the vibrations reaching me all the way up here. "Try fucking harder."

A second later she is gone, her mane of wild curly hair following her retreating form to wherever she appeared from.

I remain crouched in the tree, unsure of how to proceed. I thought my plan to move through the trees was ingenious. My head whips to the side when I hear the sound of footsteps moving in my direction. Instead of hiding like I just failed to do I start to move again, this time moving slower so that the branches don't shake as I shift my weight. I've moved about 15 trees in the opposite direction Rylan was heading when a shift in the breeze has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and my nails digging into the tree. The wind carries with it the scents of a foreign settlement; namely the smell of freshly baked bread and something metallic. Also is that...sweat?

It must be Torrence Territory. It can't be any more than half a mile away. I never realized how close Torrence Territory is. I can't be any farther than 10 miles away from New Mercy. I can do it. This is it. All I have to do is make it onto their territory before I get caught. Everything will work out perfectly.

The probability of you dying before all of this is over is very high.

I don't pay her any mind, forcing her out of the way so that I can focus on finishing the plan. I close my eyes so that I can focus on listening. Crunching leaves and snapping twigs echo from all around me, belonging to even more than the number of people Rylan said she was bringing in her hunting party. I heave a relieved sigh when I realize that a Torrence patrol must be nearby. This is working out so much better than I thought it would be. Now all I have to do is find them before I get caught.

I remain hiding in the tree for another 10 minutes, hoping that the longer I stay here the closer the patrol will get to me. Once I feel that I have a higher chance of making it to Torrence alive I slowly start to make my way down the tree, taking extra precautions so that I don't almost fall like last night. As soon as my feet hit floor I can sense the mistake in my actions. My head darts up, but I can already feel all the eyes locked on me. I recognize too many of the faces in front of me so I immediately turn to flee in the direction of the conflicting smell.

I thought that they were farther away. How did they get here so quickly without me noticing?

"Stop!" Deniel yells louder than necessary, disturbing the silence of the forest.