I was about to reply when an air horn blasted outside. “Let’s go, sunshine!” Sophie yelled through abullhorn.
Abullhorn!
“I’m going to kill her,” Igrowled.
* * *
Two hours later,I wanted to die. Everything burned, my legs, my lungs … weird muscles in my shoulder I didn’t even know I had. Sophie and Ruben had set up an obstacle course with druid dummies made of clothes stuffed with leaves, akin to lopsided scarecrows. She stacked piles of wood I had to jump over, mud puddles I had to crawl through, and the worst … a ten-foot-high wall I had to climb over. It was slick cob over hay and had zero handholds. My elbows were torn to shit. The only good part was that Nadine had taped one of Sophie’s pictures over the dummy and I got to shoot it in the chest with a paintballgun.
I was just coming up to the wall when she used to the bullhorn. “Come on, princess. I’ve been through this course a dozen times already! It’seasy.”
I flipped her the bird and she just smiled as if it made her happy that I was pissed off. The entire pack had pulled up chairs to watch. All except Logan and Gear. They were off dealing with trying to find my car and Eva. Even Isaac had come to watch, eating sunflower seeds and gazing at the spectacle as if it was a sillysport.
Ruben was in the trees with a druid dummy on a string. He would launch it down at me from different angles each time. I was running on some major cortisol and adrenaline. Not knowing when or where the druid would pop out from, made me super jumpy andparanoid.
Just as I was approaching the wall, a druid was flying down from the trees at me. I popped off two paintballs. One hit his chest and the other went over his shoulder, missinghim.
Not toobad.
But he was still coming at me. The force of falling from the tree kept his momentum, and I knew he was going to slam into me. I pulled my knife from my thigh holster, and with a battle cry I shoved it into hisgroin.
A collective “Owwww” came from behind me as every malegroaned.
“That’s my girl!” Sophie screamed. “Now get over that wall! There are five hunters behind you and your pack is on the otherside.”
I’d lost my running start, which was the only way to get over the slick stucco-type wall. The five hunters behind me were pretend, but I had to act like it was real in order to pass the run. Looking down at my hand, I smirked at the huge blade in my grasp. With a groan I shoved it deep into the mud wall about three feet off theground.
“Great job! That wall looked really dangerous,” Sophie commentedsarcastically.
“Shut up, boobs!” I screamed, and heard Keeganchuckle.
I gingerly put my left boot onto the knife handle and tested my weight. It held. Barely. From a crouch, I used all of my energy to spring up, jumping off of the handle embedded into the wall, grasping the topledge.
Hell yes,bitches!
I went to pull myself up, but my arms were shaking from fatigue. I didn’t work out. This was basically hell on earth for me and my stupid arms weren’t able to hold myweight.
Cooperate, arms!I yelled at my weak biceps as they quivered under the strain. My feet were sliding and … no! I fell down, landing on my heels and falling backward, lying there looking up at thesky.
Sophie came over her bullhorn: “That would have been so badass if you’d have pulled it off. But unfortunately you’re dead. The hunters just killedyou.”
I gave her the middle finger for the hundredth time that day as Nadine’s face swam into view. “Hemlock is ready for dinner. You want to take a break and come feedhim?”
Yes. Something other than this torture.Anything.
She helped me stand and Sophie rolled her eyes. “Fine. Rest your weary muscles, but we start up again first thing in the morning.” She had used the bullhorn again even though I was standing ten feet fromher.
“Someone take that bullhorn before I shoot it!” I called out over myshoulder.
Danny grinned and ripped it from her hands. “Sophie, go make dinner!” he yelled in her ear through thehorn.
Sophie looked positively murderous at him and it made me feel a little bit better, but I was still dying. Was I limping? Everything was numb at this point so I couldn’t tell. “Nadine, I think I need to see a doctor. Everything shouldn’t hurt, right? Shouldn’t I behealing?”
I whined as a muscle in my thighcramped.
She laughed, tossing her long black hair over one shoulder. “You’ll be fine after dinner. It’s good for you. Sophie may be annoying, but that knife in the wall move was totally badass. That’s the kind of thinking that will keep you alive the next time theyattack.”
Meh.I guess I was learning some cool moves, and best of all gaining confidence that I could maybe hold my own in a fight with a druid. Maybe. But shooting Sophie’s dummy was really the highlight of theday.
