In Too Deep

Nineteen

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Nova never knew that she had to run for her life, that she would find herself being chased by people with guns to kill her. But here she was, running through a forest with a man almost as dangerous as the ones behind them. A man who was running with her, holding her hand securely as they fought to stay alive.

Her hair whipped back and forth behind her as they sprint deeper into the forest. They had no clue where they were, nor did they have any idea where to go. The pounding noise of gunshots in the air matched her heart throbbing inside her chest with fear. The forest hummed with life around them; twigs and leaves cracked under their shoes.

Vicious wasn't willing for them to stop, and Nova was not a fan of the idea either considering the men were almost catching up to them. They had nothing to defend themselves with. They were outnumbered.

Her feet slipped, and she almost tumbled over, the breath knocking out of her, but Vicious was fast and caught her before she could fall to the ground. He didn't stop to ask if she was okay, which she perfectly understood. They couldn't afford to waste any time. They could hear yelling and screaming of the enemies as they followed the same path. Her face was flushed red, and her expression was just pure panic.

They kept running, and her heart kept pounding out of her chest. She had no idea how many men were after them, but they were fast, and they had guns. Branches attacked her and brown logs seemed to appear out of nowhere as if to try and stop them.

"Wait." Vicious halted their run as he stared around them, but everything looked the same. His forehead was sweaty, and he was breathing just the same as Nova was. He glanced at her with a wild look, but no fear was inflicted in those green eyes. It made her wonder how many times he had been in this situation.

"We can't outrun them."

Her blood ran cold. Was he suggesting they give up their lives? No, Vicious didn't look like the kind of man who went down without a fight.

His eyes locked with hers. "You need to run."

"No!" The word was expelled on a breath. "We have to keep running together. Maybe, we would find a road or a cabin—"

His expression was void of emotion as he gazed down at her. "If we stay together, we are going to get caught. But if you run now, I can slow them down."

Nova's surprise was evident. He wanted to stay back and hold off the men to save her? He would risk his own life for her?

"I liked you better when you were a selfish prick who won't die trying to keep me alive." She was frustrated enough to speak out loud. His smile was nearly blinding in its brilliance, but he was silent as if being tongue-tied was a whole new experience for him. "You're not going to fight them alone when they have guns."

"I've never been afraid of guns before," he finally retorted, as he held onto her hand and trapped it between their bodies.

One part of her wanted to chuckle; the other part was angry for his foolish suggestion. "You can't fight that many people alone, Vicious. You aren't indestructible, you can die. It's a no for me."

"I can, and it would be unfortunate for them."

"Vicious..."

"Get down!" He moved her out of the way so fast and roughly that she ended up rolling on the ground, hissing when a twig pierced through her cheek.

Nova lifted her head. Vicious was slamming his fists into a dark haired's face. The man stumbled backwards, but before he could get his barring, Vicious' left fist slammed into his stomach. He recovered quite fast and threw a few hits. All Nova knew was that every punch the man landed on Vicious, she felt it inside her. Another man crept up behind him with a knife in hand, but he twisted around in time to kick the knife out of his hand.