On the Run Together

Chapter 7: Who Are You Running From?

"Betcha I can knock the pinecone down with this one," Clint said with an easy grin as he stooped down to pick up a perfectly-shaped rock on the path they were walking.

"Yeah? Prove it."

He grinned even wider at K and tossed the rock up in the air again to catch it before he sized up the pinecone and tossed the rock, knocking it off the branch and taking half the needles with it for how the rock lodged in the crook of the branch and bounced the limb. He giggled delightedly. "See?"

"Not bad," she said before she ruffled his hair. "Getting better all the time."

"So you'll let me throw something pointy for my birthday, right?"

"You bet," she agreed. "How pointy do you want it to be?"

"Well, I mean, I really just want to learn how to throw a knife but if you wanna get me something cool like a sword or ... or I could be like, like an archer or something or a ninja or I bet I could do all of 'em!" Clint said, gaining more speed the more he thought about it and grinning happily.

"Yes," she said, nodding. "I like the all of the above option."

"You always like that option," Clint laughed before he waded a bit into the bushes to grab the pinecone he'd knocked down, tossing it up to catch it over and over again as he tried to get it a little higher and in a little better arc every time.

They were moving toward a small stream that crossed the path when K heard something that wasn't part of the usual forest ambiance. She tipped her head to the side to listen a little harder, and it only took a moment to realize that yes, those were helicopters.

"Clint," she said in an urgent whisper, but Clint wasn't paying her any attention. He had already climbed onto a couple of the rocks to wash his hands off in the cool water. "Clint!" she said, a little louder this time, but once more, he didn't seem to have heard her at all.

The helicopters were getting closer, and K was sure they'd spot them out in the open in the stream, so she darted forward to pull Clint under the cover of the trees — which was no small feat, considering the second she had grabbed a hold of Clint, he instinctively pushed away from her with a wide-eyed look of terror.

"I'm sorry, bud but we have to hide — now."

Clint stared at her, but he stopped fighting her too and followed her into the trees, watching with his shoulders drawn up to his ears and an obvious look of panic as the helicopters passed overhead. Clint's chest was heaving, and he was fidgeting and not daring to speak a word until the low roar had moved further on down the stream. And even then, it wasn't until K had heard the last of the choppers that she relaxed even the slightest bit, though she was still looking out for any sign of more of them.

"Who are those guys?" Clint asked very quietly.

"Very bad men," she replied.

Clint looked up at the sky again and nodded. "What are they doing way out here?" he asked. "Is there... some kind of secret lair?" He looked toward K, his head swinging around. "Did we find a secret bad guy lair?"

"I sure hope not," she said.

"It would be kind of cool though, right?" Clint asked as he cautiously peeked around the trees like he might find a secret entrance somewhere.

"Maybe if it was different bad guys with a secret lair," she replied. "Not these, though." She looked deeper into the woods, following the line that the choppers had used. "We should get out of here."

Clint nodded. "Right. Yeah. Probably can't take on a whole lair just us, right?"

She smirked over at him for a moment. "Well, it wouldn't be easy."