Company

Chapter Nine

I ran once the bell went off. I pushed and shoved my way to the front and ran as fast as I could to get away from my team. Fiction was soon becoming very real. I wasn't Jane anymore, I was Oswin, the most wanted criminal in all of-

Wait. What was this place called again? Never mind, I have to get away from Orsnick and Abby.

The cloak fluttered brilliantly behind me, looking pretty bad-ass as I ran. I knew I would have to get rid of it soon, knowing that I would trip on it sooner or later. For now, I let it fly in a great magnificent glory.

To my right, there was a small cluster of trees, to my left, a fence. Up ahead I could see a castle-like structure with a red flag on top of it. That was probably where Abby was going to hide out. I had a sneaky feeling that Orsnick's castle was probably in the woods. Even though I knew there was a chance of getting captured, but I could feel the adrenaline leaving me and my breath growing short. I needed to rest.

I ran into the woods and sat down by a large log. I was impressed with how far I ran in that short amount of time. My middle school PE teacher would have been so proud. I could picture him grinning and saying, "See Jane? I knew you could do it! Having duck feet doesn't prevent you from running!"

I heard a few people rushing over and my pride quickly left. I realized that I was currently in an extremely vulnerable position. It was a really stupid move. I couldn't do anything but hold my breath and hope that whoever was coming would pass by the log.
I curled myself into the smallest ball I could form, hugging my knees to my chest. I focused on my breath, hoping that would calm me down and prevent myself from freaking out. I listened intently as the group ran past, laughing and chattering. I could hear some tidbits of their conversation, like "overwhelming the king" and "causing a commotion". My panic subsided a bit, it sounded like they were from Abby's team, so I wasn't totally screwed they found me.

I slowly stood up, taking in the wooded area. I watched as the group ran away, looking over their shoulders. I began to follow them, starting into a jog, when I heard someone call out from behind me.
"If you take another step, we will fire, theif!"

Shit.

I stopped moving and stood very still, thinking about how I could get out of this. I knew I needed to take off my cloak, so I slowly untied it, but I didn't let it fall to the ground. I let it sit on my shoulders, and it gave me an idea of how I could escape this mess. An excellent plan formed in my mind as someone walked up to me, and placed a hand on my shoulders.

"You really suck at this, don't you?" he whispered, giving a little chuckle. It was Matt, and he was finding a strange pleasure in my demise.

I laughed. "Well, I haven't practiced in a while. Been busy hiding in Camelot," I replied.

Matt was impressed that I was staying in character. It made me really, really happy to see him impressed at my limited acting abilities.

"Curse Arthur for keeping you hidden there. Makes our job a lot harder."

"Captain! Stop the jabbering! We've got a fortress to take!" one of the boys yelled. Matt turned to look at him, loosening his grip on my shoulder, giving me a moment to slyly grab a fake knife that was situated in my belt. I spun around and grabbed Matt, placing the knife under his chin. The cloak fell to the ground.

"Gentlemen!" I announced, grinning like an idiot. "It has been a pleasure seeing you, once again, but for now, we must part ways as unlikely friends."

"You fiend!" one of the boys yelled. I just laughed in response.

"Save it for Estrella. I'm not worth your breath. Now, you're going to let me go, or else your beloved captain will die." I pressed the knife, a little bit harder to Matt's throat, and he slightly gurgled.