Kane
Hunting is something I’m good at. Before booze destroyed him, my father would sometimes take me hunting in the mountains whenever he had a day off. He taught me how to track. How to move silently to avoid spooking the prey.
I put these lessons into practice as we move through the trees like ghosts. Angelo hasn’t said a word since we split from the Irish fuckers. He’s a tight coil of aggression, and I pity the poor bastards who cross our path.
Milo informed us that the women are being dropped off at different points across the estate, which covers thousands of hectares. Looking for my girl is like searching for a needle in a haystack. But we’ll find her.
Ronan checked in five minutes ago to say the scream we heard was the first kill. Not Chiara, but I already knew that. I’d recognize her voice anywhere.
From the gleeful way Ronan laughed, whoever killed the first woman didn’t live long to enjoy his achievement. Well good. I hope Ronan gutted the bastard and left his corpse in plain sight for whoever’s watching.
One thing Ronan confirmed was that each hunter has a GPS tag and a camera so the organizers can track their progress and likely stream it. Thankfully, Ronan had the good sense to approach from behind before he attacked. Whoever was watching will know a hunter’s gone down, but not the person responsible.
I figure we have maybe thirty minutes before anyone heads in this direction to find out what’s going on, which means we need to speed things up.
Milo’s voice murmurs in my ear, letting me know another woman in a bunny suit has been dropped off about half a mile from our location. He couldn’t ID her, but there’s a one in ten chance it’s Chiara.
Angelo nods at me, and we turn to track the new woman.
The game trail we’re on is barely a trail at all. Just an indentation between thick clumps of bracken and gorse. Since time is now of the essence, we move faster.
Snow falls thicker as the trees thin out, and high above heavy clouds descend, obscuring the mountains.
The temperature has dropped several degrees since we first set out, and I’m grateful for the thick jacket and hat I’m wearing.
Angelo’s a few steps in front of me when he stops dead, raising one hand to warn me we’re no longer alone. I slide behind a tree and watch as a heavyset man in a gray-green camo outfit lumbers into view carrying a rifle.
“Run, rabbit, run!” he calls in a singsong voice. It’s creepy as fuck. Like a low-budget horror movie. Sweat cools on my skin as we stay hidden behind the trees, watching and waiting for the man to come closer.
If I were a deer, I’d be miles away by now. This idiot has no clue how to stay quiet. He trips over branches and swears when his sleeve snags in a bramble thicket.
Finally, he’s less than a foot away. The stupid fuck turns at the sound of a twig snapping, raising his gun to take a shot at whatever he thinks is coming.
“Is that you, little rabbit?” he calls. “I promise I’ll make it quick if you show yourself.”
The man takes a giant step back while cocking his gun. With his attention on the bushes ahead, I slip a serrated knife from the holster on my thigh. A gunshot would draw too much attention. The fat fuck flails in panic when I slice the blade across his throat. Thick, coppery blood sprays out, painting the path and nearby bushes red. He tumbles forward, gurgling in vain.
Once he’s lying face down in the dirt and with the body camera out of action, Angelo steps out from his hiding place. He gives me a thumbs up, and we continue. There’s no sign of any women. The fat bastard probably mistook an actual rabbit for a human. I almost snort at the thought.
One asshole down. Many more to go.
“Three kills to me,” Ronan crows in my ear, laughing like a lunatic. I clench my jaw in annoyance. If he doesn’t pipe down, we’ll end up being hunted ourselves.
Declan tells him so, and he goes quiet before cackling some more. Honestly, the idiot is deranged. A fucking psychopath. I pity his poor wife.
Still, the more fuckers we take out, the better for everyone. I don’t care if these bastards are rich and powerful.
They bleed just like everyone else.
7
Chiara
I’m the second rabbit to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Snow’s falling much harder now. If I weren’t about to die, either of exposure or something worse, I’d be admiring how pretty it is out here. Whereverhereis.
It occurs to me I should have asked someone where we are. Too late now.
The bunny suit doesn’t provide much protection, but I grit my teeth and vow to murder the bastard who laughed when he pushed the first woman out of the back of the truck. Not long after that, they moved us into a smaller trailer attached to a quad bike, which could better handle the rough terrain.
