Alone

Reunion. Again.

PREVIOUSLY

They turn around. "Piper!" She exclaims and pulls me into a hug. "Ezrie?" I say.

CONTINUED

"Yes!" she exclaims pulling away. "I'm so glad I found you before he killed you!" She cries pulling me into another hug. "Okay let go." I say pulling away. "Sorry." She blushes. "Do you know who it was that was trying to kill me?" I ask. She looks a little more concerned.

"I do." She says avoiding eye contact. "Who was it?" I ask after a pause. She looks at me and I see a tear in her eye. "It was my brother." she says the tear falling. "Henry....Henry killed him." She says turning away. "What?!?!" I ask surprised. "He didn't know it was him until....it was too late." She says her tears hitting the branch we sit on.

I turn away and look at the ground a long ways down. "I don't know how to feel." I say not turning my attention away from the ground. "I don't know either." She says sadly. "Part of me wants to kill you, because he was trying to kill you, so Henry tried to save you by killing him, so now he's dead." There's a long silence.

"What does the other part of you say?" I ask a little scared. "I guess there is no other part of me." She says sighing. My eyes get wide and I turn to her. "I think I should listen to the only part of me but, I don't know if I can get myself to kill you." She says sobbing a little.

She shrugs and starts for my throat. I shriek and start to fall but grab another branch. "This will be for my brother!" She yells as she climbs after me. My hand slips and I hang by one hand. I look down and I am still too far to jump.

I stretch my leg our to touch the branch just underneath me. I let go of the branch I clutch with my hand and hit the branch hard with my back. I sit up and rub it. I look up and she has gained on me. I need to move faster.

I move down more branches and once I'm around 3-4 feet from the ground I take a deep breath and jump. My feet ache and I grit my teeth before I start to run. I hear her fall to the ground when I start to gain speed. I hear her footsteps behind me and I run faster.

Twigs scrape my legs but I push through the pain. It's either that, or death by Ezrie. Wow. Never thought I'd say that. Death by Ezrie, the girl who begged me for help. The girl who could barely pull back an arrow, couldn't stand to see a dead animal, and who's hazel eyes begged me to not leave her.

Now she is chasing after me wanting me dead. Why does everybody want to kill me?

Suddenly, I am struck hard from the front. I groan and clutch my head. I sit up and see Asher sitting in front of me clutching his head. "Asher!" I exclaim hugging him. "Piper!" He says back relieved. I hear a scream from behind and soft cold hands wrap around my throat.

I let out a shriek as Ezrie kicks Asher in the face knocking him on his back. She pins me to the ground with her hands around my throat. "This is vengeance for my brother!" She yells as she tightens her grip. I gasp for air. I grab he wrists and start to yank as my body starts to go weak. I tug on her wrists as hard as I can but my body is losing energy as dark circles surround my eyes. I try to blink them away but that makes my eyes heavy and the circles grow.

I roll my hand into a fist and punch her face with all the power left in me until...everything is black.

🌀🌀🌀🌀🌀🌀🌀

I wake up inside the comfort of my home. Haha. No that's a lie. I actually have no idea where the heck I am. I am in a shelter though. I crawl out of the opening and see that it is near a stream of water. I stand up and brush myself off and take a look around. This stream looks oddly familiar.

This is the stream that is near my house! That means I'm close to home! I whip around and try to find the amazing person that brought me here because they are AWESOME. Hopefully not Ezrie or Henry, but I would assume they wouldn't bring me somewhere close to my house so I could escape.

Maybe they would. Maybe they are hiding at my house, waiting for me to return so they can murder me! That is exactly what they are doing. But what about Asher? Wasn't he there before I blacked out? What if he brought me here, wanting me to return home because he killed Ezrie and Henry. This is so confusing. I should just look around to find weapons to use in case of a surprise attack.

Or, I may be able to make it to my house, and grab a weapon or two before Ezrie or Henry can kill me! That way I will already be familiar with the weapons!

I take off running in the direction my house is in and once I get close I stop and crouch. I peak over the top of the ferns and brush in my way and don't see anybody. I sprint to my house and quickly grab my bow and arrows, and a knife. I quickly shove the knife into my holster and sling the arrows over my shoulder. I run as fast as I can back to where I was before.

I'm in the brush when I hear yelling and people running behind me. I knew this was a trap. I duck behind a tree and set an arrow. I take a deep breath and look from behind the tree. I can't really tell who it is. What if it's Asher? I keep the arrow pointed and wait to see the face. I never see the face until it's too late. The are standing right in front of me and look into my eyes with a devilish stare.

"Who are you?!" I yell not putting my bow down. "Why do you care? You're going to die anyway." he shrugs. It must be Henry. "Tell me what your name is, or I will shoot." I taunt. Their eyes do not change from their deathly stare. "Fine, it's Henry." He sneers. I knew it. "Give me a reason not to shoot." I say. "I have no reason." He replies. "Fine then." I shrug. "I guess it's time for you to die." I say getting ready.

"You won't shoot." He says confidently. "What makes you so sure?" I growl. I want to kill him so badly. He deserves to. Or does he? He did save my life. "I saved your life, and Ezrie will never forgive you. I may have killed her brother, but I'm the only one she has left. She will want to kill you even more than she already does." He says smirking.

"You're the one who killed her brother! I'm sure she wants to kill you more than me!" I yell. "She would probably thank me for saving her the trouble of killing you." "That is true. But, she will want someone she knows better than you to comfort her. She will get over me killing him. You are the one that is the cause of his death. If you hadn't been so stupid, everybody would be alive and happy." he grins.

"You didn't have to kill him, you could have told him to back off or else you would kill him. But you chose to take the easy way out and just kill him." I say feeling proud. He doesn't say anything. I've won. When I think he has finally given up and is going to just let himself be killed he kicks at my bow to get it from my hands but I move it so he misses. He falls to the ground on his back with a thud. I aim the arrow and shoot.

He grunts with pain and I see the life fade from his face. I watch him until his eyes close tight and his body weakens. My breaths are heavy from the rapidness of what happened. I sit down next to his lifeless body until my breaths become even. What if Ezrie is mad that I killed Henry? She would probably want to kill me even more. Wouldn't she?