The crack of gunfire exploded through the forest, sharp and jolting. My heart raced, an unsettling flutter in my chest, as the sound felt too close and too fast. Muzzle flashes flared between the trees, the bursts of light stark against the oppressive darkness, heightening my panic.
"Down!" Tristan's voice boomed, slicing through the chaos. He yanked me behind a fallen log just as bullets tore through the underbrush, splintering the bark above my head and sending down a rain of wood like stinging hail.
My breath came in ragged gasps, lungs still stinging from the river, but the adrenaline surged, forcing me to focus despite the overwhelming fear. My knife felt pitiful in my hand, utterly useless against the relentless storm of gunfire.
Charlie crouched low on the other side, already firing back with frantic precision. "They're circling!" he shouted, dread creeping into his voice. "At least five, or maybe more!"
Tristan's jaw tightened, his arm instinctively shielding me as he leaned out to fire. Each shot rang out with a chilling precision, and I couldn't shake the feeling of dread that hung in the air.
"Ellie, stay close!" he shouted, urgency lacing his voice.
I nodded, my breath coming in quick, shallow gasps, too scared to argue. Pressing against Tristan's side, I gripped the knife tightly, my heart racing as I desperately hoped I wouldn't have to rely on it again.
-
These bastards moved like hunters, their shots precise and methodical, designed to flush us into the open. They wanted us alive, which meant Ellie was their prize.
"Over my dead body," I growled, my heart racing.
I fired again, hitting one silhouette that tried to flank us from the left. But in a split second, another shadow lunged from the right, and Charlie managed to catch him with a bullet just in time.
"We're boxed in, Tristan," Charlie said, his voice tight with panic. "We need to break through before they close the net!"
My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, calculating the next move. The river felt impossibly far behind us, and the slope was too steep. The only option left was to push forward, but that meant dragging Ellie through a living nightmare.
I turned to her, my voice low but urgent, the gravity of our situation weighing heavily on me. "When I say run, you run, and don't stop unless I tell you to. Do you understand?"
Her eyes were wide with fear, locking onto mine, but she didn't hesitate. She nodded bravely, her courage shining even in the midst of terror. My heart ached for her; this was my Ellie, so brave, yet we were standing on the edge of chaos.
-
Then the next volley hit closer, splinters slicing my cheek, sending a jolt of panic through me. Tristan's hand squeezed mine, fierce and grounding, but I could feel the urgency radiating off him as he shouted...
"Now!"
We bolted, scrambling as the forest erupted around us, gunfire, shouts, and the chaotic pounding of boots drowned out everything else. Tristan pulled me with a strength that felt surreal, yanking me from the ground while Charlie's cover fire cracked behind us like thunder.
Branches whipped against my face, and the ground was uneven, cruel beneath my frantic feet, but I clung on to Tristan's hand and definitely to hope.
Then a figure lunged from the shadows ahead, gun raised, and a scream caught in my throat. My heart raced as Tristan slammed into the man, both of them crashing hard into the dirt, the sound echoing in my ears.
"Go, Ellie!" he shouted, struggling under the man's weight. "Run!"
But my legs felt like lead, frozen in place. I couldn't run, not when Tristan was down, not when he was fighting for us.
My grip tightened on the knife, and my chest burned with a mix of fear and fury. Without thinking, without that conscious decision, I stepped forward to fight, madness coursing through me like a wildfire.