The next twenty minutes are a nightmare of near misses and course corrections. Every time I think we've found a clear path, another heat signature appears on my tablet. They've got at least six men in the field, maybe more. They're not just searching—they're herding. Driving us toward something.
The realization hits me like a punch to the gut. They know we'll run. They've planned for it.
"Deck." Vivian's whisper is barely audible. "They're pushing us south."
She sees it too. Smart woman.
"I know. We need to break the pattern." I scan the terrain, looking for options. There's a creek bed about a quarter mile east that leads to a series of caves I've never shown anyone. If we can reach it?—
The shot comes from nowhere.
The round hits the tree beside my head, spraying bark into my face. I grab Vivian and drag her down as more shots crack through the air, suppressed but still audible in the quiet forest.
"Move!" I shove her toward a rock outcropping while laying down cover fire. She runs, staying low, and I follow, my rifle barking into the darkness.
We reach the rocks and press ourselves behind them. My heart is pounding, my breath coming fast. Blood streaks on my face where the bark cut me.
"You're hit." Vivian reaches for my cheek.
"Just a scratch. We need to keep moving."
"Which way?"
I check my tablet. The heat signatures are converging on our position. We have maybe two minutes before we're surrounded.
The caves are our only option. But the path to reach them crosses open ground.
"When I say go, you run east. Don't stop for anything. There's a creek bed about two hundred yards out. Follow it north untilyou reach a rock face with caves. Hide there until I come for you."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to draw them off."
"No." Her hand closes around my arm. "We stay together."
"Vivian—"
"You told me once that protection fails. That people you're supposed to protect die." Her eyes bore into mine. "Don't make me one of them by leaving me alone out here."
"If we both run, they'll catch us both. If I draw them off?—"
"They'll kill you. And then they'll find me anyway." Her grip tightens. "We do this together or not at all."
There's no time to argue. The footsteps are getting closer.
"Fine. Together. Stay on my six."
We break from cover and run.
The next sixty seconds are a blur of gunfire and adrenaline. Rounds snap past us as we sprint through the trees. I fire back without aiming, suppression more than accuracy. Vivian stays close, her breathing harsh but controlled.
The creek bed appears ahead, a dark gash in the moonlit landscape. I grab Vivian's hand and pull her down the embankment, our feet splashing through shallow water.
"North. Go."
We run through the creek, the water masking our footprints. Behind us, I can hear shouting. They've lost visual. But it won't take them long to figure out where we went.
The rock face looms ahead, dark and jagged. I spot the cave entrance I've memorized and push Vivian toward it.
