The Hunted

Saving Your Life

The first signs I found of Derek were a set of footsteps going through the small crick that eventually ran through one of the hiking paths. The footsteps were a good mile from the path. I crouched down, looking for signs of which direction he had headed in.

I looked up slowly. The forest had fallen silent. The birds that had been calling out to one another were no longer heard. The squirrels were no longer darting from tree to tree. Even the wind had stilled.

Slowly, I rose, gripping my knife in my hand while slipping another one from my boot. My body tensed as my eyes scanned the area around me. Nothing stood out as being out of place. That didn't mean that something wasn't there, though, hidden beneath the brush. Up high in a tree. Behind a bush.

I backed away from the woods in front of me, stepping through the ice cold water of the crick. I only turned my back as I scrambled up the bang.

Crack. I flattened down on the bank as a bullet flew over my head. I dug my fingers into the mud, willing myself to blend in with the brown earth.

Another shot rang out, hitting the bank a few feet from where I lay. I pushed myself to my feet, scrambling the rest of the way up the bank. Another shot rang out, hitting the trunk of the tree to my left.

I ran, tripping over the branches and roots on the ground. The shots kept coming. I darted in and out of the trees, trying to keep myself from panicking. I had never been shot at like this before. Never by the people who had trained me to dodge the bullets.

I screamed as someone shoved me against a tree, their hand clamping down over my mouth. The rough bark dug into my cheek as I fought against the person restraining me. Their body pressed against mine firmly, pulling my hands behind my back.

"Shut up," the person hissed. I could feel their heart racing against my back.

The shots had stopped coming. I could hear the shouts of the Guardians several feet away.

"Come on," the person said, grabbing my upper arm and pulling me from behind the safety of the tree.

They shoved me in front of them, a hand on my back pushing me forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life," Caleb replied. He grabbed my arm again, pulling me into a part of the Recreation Zone I didn't recognize.

"Why are they trying to kill me?" I asked as we ran. He kept glancing over his shoulder. Only then did I see the gun he held in his hand. "How did you get away?"

He shook his head. "Not now, Belle."

I grit my jaw and followed him through the woods, the shouts of the Guardians fading as we went deeper into the Zone. We reached the side of a gulley, its sides jutting down into the rocks below.

"Caleb?" I questioned.

"Just climb," he replied, lowering himself over the side of the gulley. I hesitated. He was my brother, but that didn't mean he still wasn't leading me into a trap.

He paused, looking up at me, waiting for me. I glanced over my shoulder to where we had left the Guardians behind before I slipped my knives into my boots and lowered myself down after him.

It was hard to find sturdy footholds and handholds. The rocks kept breaking off, tumbling down and hitting off the rocks below with a thud. When we made it to the bottom, Caleb led me to a small cavity in the side of the gulley, a sleeping figure already in there.

"Where did you find him?" I asked softly, crouching next to Derek. Beneath the fabric of his shirt, I could see a lump where he or Caleb had made a makeshift bandage.