The Huntng: Ch 16

Instructions

TW: guns, bl00d, implied death I try to ignore it, but the icy knot in my stomach refuses to unravel. I hate it. I hate it so much. I wish I could magically teleport to the Wilds, grab Amber, and get her away from there, but the truth is it’s going to take us at least a week on foot, according to the map. “What’s wrong?” Onyx brushes my skin and I jump. She’s wearing practical clothing-dark cargo pants, an olive green tank-top and a black leather jacket. “Today’s the Hunting,” I mumble. “What? How do you know?” “My mother told me,” I adjust the mask on my face. They can’t see me. “Oh.” Onyx looks curious, but they don’t press it. Zara and Winter are in the lead, cutting their way through the dense forest. Zara side-eyes him and slips her fingers through his. He doesn’t resist. “Winter is acting very strange,” Onyx remarks. “He never lets people touch him. Ever. He must really like her.” I think of how Winter blushes every time she flirts with him, and seems to grimace with pain at the same time. “Out of curiosity, are you…attracted to anyone?” Onyx shrugs. “I don’t really understand love, to be honest. And I don’t think I would really need it to be happy. But yeah, I could be in a relationship with a girl or an enby, and it would make me happy.” “Cool,” I say. I never really thought about dating before because I had Amber, and that was all I needed. But now that we’re separated, I can’t help but wonder- If I dated someone, would Amber be mad at me? Would she feel betrayed or hurt, or would she be happy for me? Even if I do date someone, I’ll still spend as much time as possible with Amber, I tell myself. “Stop!” Winter hisses, breaking my train of thought. “Get down!” “What’s going on?” Nadia whispers. “Look.” We’ve reached the edge of the forest. It stretches miles ahead to in front of us, but stops abruptly at the right. There’s a town bordering the forestline. Not the city me and Amber used to live in. We must have traveled a long way. Much more ominous is the presence of nine or ten Hunters, eating soup and meat around a cooking fire. One of the vehicles I’ve seen Hunters driving around in (made of steel, with glass separating the drivers from the occupants of the back) is parked next to a cottage. Their guns are strapped onto their hips. They are prepared to open fire at any moment. I press my knees against my chest and pray that they won’t notice us. “I heard somethin’ in those bushes,” a lanky man with a hooked nose grumbles. “Then you’re stupid. Probably just a rabbit or a fox.” “But if it’s one of those furry kids? Last time we captured six fresh young ones and Dawkins let us stay six days at his lodge, no pay. It’s a glorious place, the Wilds.” “Oh, I don’t care,” The hunter rolls his eyes, talking out his gun. “Go ahead, look then.” My heart skips a beat as I watch the Hunter make his way to the cluster of bushes where I know Winter is hiding behind. He moves them back. “RUN!” Zara yells, bursting out of a patch of ferns and shoving Winter forward. Everything that happens next happens in slow motion. The gun firing. Something long and sharp making contact with Zara’s chest. She stares in shock as the tiniest drop of bl00d blooms on her skin. Her eyes seem to empty out and she collapses, like a puppet with its strings cut. I don’t know if she’s de or alive, can't think of anything but the growing panic threatening to take over. Before I know what to do with my body, I'm already running.