Another
howl pierced the dark, this time much closer, and I started looking for a way
to save myself. It was too late for the others now, thanks to Petyr. I wished
there was a way to take his gun, but there was no time. I just had get away and
hide.
Our path cut through dense forest on either side. I
guessed we were still on the old highway, judging from the way the depression
meandered gently over the landscape and over the horizon. About 50 feet wide,
its imprint wound through the trees like a smooth, icy serpent. To my right, a
small creek ran parallel to the trail twenty or so feet into the woods. I
slowed until I was near the rear of the group, then I darted into the trees,
stepped into the swiftly running creek, and then jogged back out to rejoin the
group.
Layla was the only one who noticed my momentary
absence, but she just looked at me quizzically before turning her attention
back to KiKi. I felt bad about leaving, but all hope for them was gone. I could
only save myself. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it either.
I lagged behind, letting the group get farther ahead
of me, and when I thought no one was looking, I backtracked, using the tracks
the group had already made in the snow for my footfalls. Once I made it back to
the spot where I’d gone into the woods the first time, I carefully used my own
footprints to get back to the creek. I paused only long enough to take off my
fur boots and roll up my pants before stepping into the freezing water, wincing
as it hit my bare skin. Then I ran as fast and quiet as a I could up the creek,
using the water so I wouldn’t leave any traces of my escape.
I looked to my left through the trees, seeing the
group’s flickering torches bob as they continued up the old road’s path. I had
already caught up with them. Behind me, likely on the road as well, came more
howls, now accompanied by excited whoops as the Hunters closed in on their
unsuspecting prey. They were closer than I’d realized. I ran a little further
to an outcropping of rock jutting out over the creek. Here the creek widened
and deepened. I sat on the rock and used an old shirt to quickly dry my feet
and put on my boots. Carefully, shuffling my feet to disguise my tracks and
stepping on rocks or brush whenever possible, I went further into the forest, hoping
to find someplace safe to hide.
A branch snapped behind me. I whirled around and
brought my bow up, an arrow nocked without my even thinking about it.
“Whoa!” said a small voice. “It’s just me!”
“Who?” I hissed, squinting into the night at the short,
hooded figure before me.
“It’s me, Pip,” said the girl, stepping forward. “I
heard what you said to Petyr. I want to come with you.”
It was one of the teenagers from the group. A
slight, waifish girl, probably around seventeen. She had a shock of short, dark
hair she obviously cut herself and huge brown eyes. Her real name as Angela,
but everyone in the group called her Pip. I never asked why. Now she would get
us both killed.
“I followed your tracks and stepped in them, and
then followed the river, just like you.” She said, surprising me. At least she
was smart. Maybe we actually had a chance.
“Well, come on then, and don’t make tracks. Step
like I do, see?” She nodded. I turned back and surveyed the trees, spotting one
I liked. We had to get out of sight, and right away. I high-stepped it over to
the huge pine I’d selected, with Pip right behind me. “Here,” I said, “we need
to climb up as high as we can. I’ll give you a boost.” I set my pack on the
ground and my bow against the tree and bent, cupping my hands to make a step
for her.
She placed her right foot in my hands and used the
lowest branch on the tree to hoist herself up. She scuttled up the tree like a
spider monkey, impressing me with her dexterity. About half-way up the
fifty-or-so-foot tree, she paused and looked down at me. I waved at her to keep
going and grabbed my bow and my pack, strapping them across my back with my
quiver; then started up the tree myself.
I was a bit slower than Pip, but I made it up just
in time. I saw she had ensconced herself into the crook of the tree’s upper
branches, deep in the cover of the fronds and out of direct sight of anyone on
the ground. I nodded. Good girl.
I joined her, out of breath but otherwise unharmed.
She opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly covered it with my hand,
shaking my head and looking toward the ground. Pip saw and froze as still as a
statue. A man stood directly beneath us, wearing thick furs and carrying a
large gun. He grunted, sniffing the air and looking around. A scout for the
larger hunting party. A moment later he moved on without looking up, and I
settled back into the branches, removing my hand from Pip’s mouth.
When the slaughter began, Pip cried and shook
silently as brittle screams and futile cries for mercy ripped through the
otherwise still night. I placed an uneasy arm around her and she leaned against
me, burying her face in the fur of my collar. Petyr’s shotgun went off once,
Pip flinching at the sound. There was nothing to do now but wait for the end.
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