by Jenn Vakey
Trying to move as quickly and as quietly as I could, I started running back toward where I had left her. I didn’t make it far.
A man stepped out from behind a tree and directly into my path. No surprise in his expression. He had been watching me. Apparently not caring enough about his comrade to warn him.
I stopped abruptly, my feet sliding against the ground as I skidded forward. Raising the crossbow up, I tried to shoot him with the arrow that I had been loading as I ran, but he swung the baton in his hand out and knocked it out of my grip. Then, before I could react, he backhanded me hard across the face, causing me to slam into the tree next to me. My arm screamed from the impact, the bark ripping at my skin so roughly that I could feel the wet trickle of blood inching down my arm.
I waited for him to call for the others, but again he didn’t. He just stepped forward, a wicked look in his eyes as he backed me up against the tree. I had been getting used to the different looks that people gave outside of Eden, but there was something so different about this one. Something so wrong. It made my insides turn.
“Look what I found,” he said, talking at a normal level. “A Tainted little girl.”
“I’m not Tainted,” I said, trying to hide my fear from him, all the while knowing that it would be impossible. I didn’t even know why I was telling him that. It wasn’t like it would help. Anyone outside of the wall was either Tainted or a friend of Tainted. Either way, they were the enemy. His enemy.
“Out here all on your own?”
I looked around, trying to buy myself some time to think. Should I lie and tell him I wasn’t? That might make him call for the others. I could try to get to my bastons strapped to my thighs, fight him off, but he was too close. I would never get them out in time. I didn’t even have the space needed to put any force into a swing.
“You’re too pretty to be wandering around in these dangerous woods alone,” he said, taking my silence as an answer. “Anything could happen to you, and no one would ever know.”
He took a step closer, and I instinctively tried to move back. All it did was push me further back against the tree. I needed to put space between us. I had to get enough distance to be able to use the weapons I had.
I turned and started to run, hoping the move would startle him some. He was too quick, though. I only managed to make it a couple feet before I felt my head yank back as he grabbed ahold of my hair. Then I was falling. He was ready for that too, because my back had barely hit the ground before he was on top of me, his weight holding me to the ground where he sat on my hips. I reached up frantically to try to push him away, but he grabbed my wrists and slammed them down hard to the ground.
He had pinned me. I had been in this position before, but it felt nothing like it had with Rhydian. There was still excitement in his eyes, but this one just seemed wrong. Dangerous. Evil.
“I don’t see a ring on your finger,” he said, sliding his tongue out to lick his lips. I swallowed hard, pushing my fear down. It wouldn’t help me now. I needed to have a clear head. It was my only weapon now. “That must mean you’ve never been touched by a man. How does it feel?”
Anger mixed with the fear and surged through my body. He had no right to touch me.
I needed to focus on one thing at a time. I needed him off of me. Then I needed to get a weapon. Any weapon. I could do this. I had to do this.
“Disgusting,” I growled, then used the move Rhydian had taught me. I had never tried it, but I had managed to listen before he ended up on top of me and my thoughts turned to mush. Getting my first knee down to pin his ankle was easy, but the rest was a little harder than Rhydian had made it seem. That made sense, though. He had the fact that I weighed a good deal less than him at his advantage. But I planted my foot on the ground and lifted my hip, twisting until his weight was actually working for me as I flipped him over.
The move surprised him and I was able to pull my wrists free from his hold. His back had barely hit the ground before I pulled my arm back and delivered a punch to the side of his face. He gasped and I hit him again. My hand throbbed far more than it had when I had practiced on the bag, but I couldn’t think about that now.
Okay, now for step two. I pulled back and leapt over him. I could see the crossbow on the ground where he had knocked it from my hand, the bag of arrows just a few feet from it. I had to get there.
But I didn't.
My feet had just cleared him when he reached out and grabbed my ankle. The sudden motion as he jerked back on it was enough to send me falling forward to the ground. I hit hard, the world reeling around me. I wasn’t done fighting, though. I reached out as far as I could toward the bow, kicking back to try to get away from him.
The Sentry crawled over me, turning me in one violent motion so that I was on my back again. Once again, he was on top of me. And now he was livid.
He sent a fist flying at my face, payback for the ones I had given him. I tried to block, but I was only able to deflect it, feeling the sting as it grazed over the side of my cheek.
I attempted to use the move again, but he had learned from the last time. His knees were still at my sides, but his feet were pulled up over my thighs, making it impossible to lift my legs up enough.
“Get off of me!” I yelled, no longer worried about the others hearing. My hand stretched up over my head, desperately looking for anything I could use to stop him. To keep him from doing what he was planning to do to me.
“Maybe this will be easier if you take a little nap,” he growled, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth where I had hit him. I didn’t even have time to try to understand what he meant by that before his hands were on my throat. Squeezing.
No. No, this wasn’t happening. I had to do something. Stop this. I had to.
I kicked frantically, one hand up in his face trying to push him away. He just gritted his teeth and squeezed harder, ignoring whatever pain I was managing to cause him. My other arm was still up above my head, slapping down on the ground as I searched blindly. I needed a branch. A rock. Anything.
Then I felt it. The lip of the bag that held the spare arrows.
Everything around me was starting to grow darker as I fought to pull in even the smallest amount of air. My fingers inched into the bag and grabbed the first thing they found. I could tell just by touch that it wasn’t the one I had been looking for. It was wooden, not a sedative. But things were getting too dark. My brain was screaming for oxygen, threatening to shut down on me at any moment. Letting go of that one in an attempt to find the right one could cost precious time that I didn’t have.
Then I heard a deep voice in my head. One that brought me comfort even in this horrible situation. You have to remember that you have to do everything you can to save your life and the people with you.
So I didn’t think. I gripped the arrow and pulled it out of the bag, then swung it up at the man’s neck. I felt the pressure of it piercing skin, but I didn’t stop until his grip slackened. Then, in one fluid motion, I ripped it back out.
I realized the moment the warm blood sprayed across my face what I had just done. He was still alive on top of me, his hands moving from my throat to his, but he wouldn’t be for long. I had known that was what would happen before I made the decision to stab him in that spot. I could have tried to hit him somewhere else, somewhere that wouldn’t be fatal. I hadn’t.
And it made me feel… hollow. I knew I was going to kill him, and I did it anyway.
Coughing and trying to bring the world back into focus, I shoved forward to knock him off of me. Then I grabbed at the ground around me and pulled myself back away from him. I had to get away from the blood that was still showering down onto me. I didn’t want to feel it.
What had I become?
I didn’t go further than out of his reach. All I could make myself do was sit there, still struggling to steady my breathing, and watch as his body toppled to the side. Stare back at his pleading, desperate gaze. Watch as the last bits of life left his ey
es.
Minutes dragged on, maybe longer. I just looked into his empty eyes. This was now the second man that I had killed. Rhydian was right. It didn’t get any easier. In fact, this one was harder. So much harder.
A scream ripped through the air, pulling me back to the moment. Reminding me what I had been fighting for in the first place. Not just for me. And she was in trouble.
Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed the crossbow and bag, gripped one of my bastons in my left hand, and started running toward her. Her screams continued, drowning out the sound of me thundering ahead. I could only be grateful for that. There were still two left, and I could only assume that they would have no qualms about shooting at anything that moved.
I didn’t slow before bursting into the clearing I had left her in. When I did, I saw one of the Sentry pulling the woman out from the bush I had left her under by her feet. She was screaming and thrashing, trying with whatever energy she had left to keep him from taking her. My focus was on him, though, barely even registering the second man that lie unconscious just two feet from them.
“Let go!” I roared, finding more strength than I knew I had.
His eyes whipped to me, just now taking note of my presence. Then they widened in shock as they moved over my face, his jaw hanging open. The breeze hitting me chilled my damp flesh, and I could only imagine how I looked right now. Although it did manage to work in my favor. There were a few seconds there that he just gaped at me before releasing his hold on her and reaching for his gun. He never made it. I already had the crossbow aimed at him, sinking the tranq dart into his chest. Then he dropped.
Her screams had turned into deep sobs. If I was being completely honest, I wanted to just sit down and join her. But I couldn’t. I had stopped the men that I had seen, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more coming. We also needed to get as far away from the downed Sentry as we could. So I had to tamp those feelings down for now. I could cry about it later. Right now, I needed to get us out of there.
Fastening my baston back to my leg and reloading the crossbow, I let myself take a few much needed breaths. I grabbed my bags and hers from the ground and threw them over my shoulder, then reached down and gripped the woman’s arm and pulled her to her feet. “Can you walk?” I asked.
Her eyes moved to me, that same look in them the Sentry I had just dropped had given me. Horror, disbelief. I thought for a moment that she was going to shrink back from me. But she pulled in a breath and held it for a moment, her cries stopping with it, then she nodded.
I didn’t let go of her as we moved out of the woods and onto the path. Not until I was sure that she could actually manage on her own two feet. Then we started moving as quickly as we could in the direction of Alkwin. I wasn’t sure how much time we had before the guys found us. I couldn’t bring myself to look at my watch. Not if it meant taking my eyes off of our surroundings. I knew the men were down in the woods. I knew that. But it didn’t make me feel safe. It didn’t take away that deep feeling that we were still very much in danger.
We didn’t move as fast as I would have liked. She tried so hard, but we were barely able to go at more than a brisk walk. “What’s your name?” I asked, trying to distract myself just as much as her.
“Nysa,” she answered. “Nysa Diederich. You really found my baby? I told her to keep walking until she found the archway. I didn’t want to let her go alone, but I knew I wasn’t going to make it.”
She was starting to panic again. I couldn’t blame her.
“She was at the archway when we arrived,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm and soothing. “I checked her out myself. She was unharmed. The man I was with took her straight back to Alkwin. No one can get to her there.”
Nysa started to cry again, but it was different this time. It was quiet, more tears of relief and exhaustion than fear.
We moved for what felt like close to twenty minutes before our footsteps were overshadowed by the sounds of others. A lot of them.
Without hesitating, I moved Nysa off of the path and out of sight. I couldn’t make myself hide this time, though. I knew that I should, but it felt like I had affixed a dozen adrenaline patches to my body. I felt like I was vibrating, my heartrate unable to return to its normal level. And I refused to let anyone get the best of me like that man had almost succeeded in doing.
Never again.
I took my stance, aiming the crossbow with a surprisingly steady hand toward the path before me. And I waited.
There was a curve ahead, so I didn’t see the source of the heavy, fast paced footsteps until the group of men stepped into sight ten yards from me and stopped abruptly. Their own weapons were out, two with crossbows that were pointed back in my direction. They lowered quickly at my sight. Through the haze, though, it still took several long seconds for their faces to actually register.
Rhydian, Auggie, Zaydan, Nevin, and Jaron. My people. Safe people.
“Shit,” Rhydian said, taking a step forward. Then he stopped again, his eyes moving to my crossbow. The one that was still pointed at them. I looked at it myself, blinking several times before letting it fall to my side. I couldn’t let it go, just as much as I couldn’t make myself pull my finger off the trigger.
The moment it fell, Rhydian started running toward me. The others were close behind. I watched him, feeling strangely numb, taking in the utter terror in his green eyes. Watching the way his golden hair flowed around him as he moved.
“Where are you hurt?” Rhydian asked, his hand hovering over the side of my head like he was afraid to touch me. It was an odd look on him. I had seen him worried, always hidden just below the surface of the controlled mask he put on. But there wasn’t any of that now. He looked terrified, maybe even as much as I had felt. Just behind that, though, I could see a burning anger. Like he would tear apart anyone who had hurt me. It should have frightened me given the violence I had just experienced. Instead, it made me feel safe.
I shook my head. “Just a scrape on my arm. I’m okay.”
That didn’t ease his tension at all. His eyes went wide as he looked quickly around, then his head ducked down to my level, staring deeply into my eyes. Just behind him I could see the others shifting around cautiously, their gazes moving in all directions. Looking for the danger that was certainly around. “Leeya, whose blood is this?”
“A Sentry,” I answered, looking back at Rhydian. My voice sounded strange, low and empty. “He asked if I’d ever been touched by a man.” I knew then that I was having a harder time processing all of this than even I had thought. I could hear it in my tone. In the fact that I had said that in front of all of the guys, not waited to tell Rhydian when we were alone.
Anger surged through his green eyes, while the rest of them had looks somewhere between shock and horror. I didn’t wait for them to say anything. I didn’t really want to talk about it. To hear words meant to soothe me. I needed to get back to Alkwin, away from the feeling that I wasn’t safe. Then I would figure out how to deal with all of this.
Leaving them standing there, I moved back to the edge of the path and stepped into the tree line. Rhydian called my name, but I didn’t explain.
Nysa was still where I left her. I reached down for her hand to pull her up, then led her back out onto the path. The guys all shifted their gazes between the two of us, none of them having found their words yet. Nysa held tightly to my hand. She was trembling with fear, but she seemed to trust me enough to know that there wasn’t a need to panic. Not with them.
“She took out one with a sedative patch,” I said, filling the tense silence. “I got two with the tranq arrows. I don’t know how long they’ll be out, so we should go.”
That managed to snap them all out of whatever thoughts they had been lost in. Jaron stepped forward and looked down at Nysa’s leg. Then he met her eye and gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said, then picked her up and started carrying her back down the path. She looked back at me, clearly uncomfortable, but I nodded to
let her know she was okay. She relaxed a little after that.
Nevin started to follow, but Rhydian, Zaydan, and Auggie all stayed with me.
“How many were there?” Rhydian asked, grabbing my arm.
“Four.”
He looked back down the path behind us, then nodded and started leading me back toward Alkwin. Auggie and Zaydan followed closely behind. Rhydian didn’t let go of me until we reached the archway again. He was still tense, but I could feel that subtle shift in him. The one that told me he also felt the security that came with being inside the wards.
Nysa looked confused when Jaron placed her gently back on her feet. I was too for a moment, then I remembered the state I was in when I had been taken into Alkwin.
“The clothes?” I asked, looking up at Rhydian. He didn’t look happy with it given everything the woman had been through, or maybe with the delay in getting us back to camp, but he still nodded. “I’ll help her.”
“Did anyone have the opportunity to put anything on you?” he asked, looking even more unhappy than before.
I thought back over the encounter I had with the man in the woods. He’d had his hands on me, but not my clothes. Not really. My hair, my wrists. My throat.
I shook my head. He nodded, then walked back over to the guys. Auggie and Zaydan moved back to the archway so they could look out at the path. The rest moved further toward the direction of Alkwin. They all had their backs to us.
“What’s going on?” Nysa asked, her fear taking hold again.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “You just need to change out of your clothes. It’s a rule just in case one of the Sentry managed to slip a locator on you.”
I expected her to argue, especially with five strange men around, but she simply nodded and took her bag when I held it out for her.
It took a little longer than expected. Before she put on a new pair of pants, I helped her wash the blood off of her leg with the remains of a water bottle she had and the shirt she had been wearing.
“She's done,” I said when she was dressed again.
