🐺Wolf Creek:Volume One🐺

Chapter Twenty-Six: Brave Or Crazy

"Kelsey." A voice called from behind me. I looked around curiously. I was at the edge of a cluster of small cabins. I stood with one shoulder facing the buildings, and the other facing towards a vast field full of targets. Archers and gunmen were lined up along the side closest to me. There was something peculiar about them, though. They were all young. The oldest couldn't have been older than their twenties.

"Kelsey!" The voice sounded urgent. I spun around. It was Cecil's sister. She pointed towards the field in a panicked motion. I spun to see where she was pointing. A teenager was loading a gun. Another boy stood next to him, laughing casually. They were too distracted to see one of the younger kids running towards the line of fire, looking behind them and laughing as a tagger pursued.

"Hey!" I boomed. They couldn't hear me over the noise of the crowd. The older boys didn't hear me either-they both had on noise cancellers for the gun. I began to sprint over towards them. I wasn't sure if I would make it in time, and began to doubt as I hurried past dozens of people. The first boy raised his gun and took aim. The little ones were getting closer, but so was I.

          His finger tightened on the trigger just as I lunged for him. I snatched his wrist before pulling it and the gun's aim skyward. BLAM! The gunshot echoed amongst the handful of others. The momentum from my run caused us to collide and fall to the ground in a heap. BLAM! Debilitating pain seared through my arm, and I let out a scream. It felt like a big moment, and yet everyone continued as they had been.

          "You two!" I roared as I clutched my arm. The little boys stopped dead in their tracks. "Get off of the field and go to your counselor. Now!" They scampered away in terror and ran over to Cecil's sister. The boy shoved me off of him and ripped off his muffs. His dark hair was a mess. He looked enraged, but his face changed the instant he saw my arm.

          I could feel warm liquid trickling down my hand. He looked almost catatonic, with his warm blue eyes wide as saucers. His mouth fell open yet no words came out. Clank! Suddenly the bullet from the first blast fell from the sky and clocked him on the top of his head. It seemed to snap him out of it.

          "MEDIC! We need a medic over here!" He shouted above the din. Somehow it was able to cut through the noise, and people started to look. A few screams rang out, and the crowd began to rush about. I watched the cabins carefully as medics began to swarm towards us. Suddenly I was hoisted into the air by a pair of strong arms. I spun my head to see who had picked me up. It was the boy who had shot! I opened my mouth to inform him that my arm had been shot, and not my leg when I was interrupted.

          "I'm so sorry. I should have been watching better." He told me.

           "So should those little ones. It's fine." I assured him.

           "Fine?!" He asked incredulously as he glanced at my arm. Blood was beginning to soak into his shirt and drip down onto his pants as he walked. The medics met us at the edge of the cabins and took me from the boy. He followed us with a concerned look, paying no attention to the crimson staining his clothes. I was surprised they didn't stop him, but they paid him no mind either as I was carefully sat down in a chair.

          "I'm not sure if you're brave or crazy." He admitted.

          "Who says the two can't go hand in hand?" I grinned through the pain.

          "Fair enough!" He laughed. "I'm James, by the way. James Acuna." I tried to keep my eyes from bugging. The son of the richest man in town had just accidentally shot me. I had never seen him before, but I had heard the rumors. There were dozens circulating about his father, mother, and best friends. Also about his face-particularly how gorgeous it was. Those were certainly confirmed by my observations.

          "I'm Kelsey. Kelsey Hayes."