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To me.
The grin disappears instantly, narrowing his eyes like my mere existence has personally inconvenienced him. Which, considering his reaction every time he sees me, might actually be true.
Leo switches his attention back to Amani and Lucas. “You guys heading for the furthest station?”
“That’s the plan,” I answer before either of them can. I gathered that it would be the safest option.
“You should come with us,” Amani chimes, desperation lacing her voice.
“Absolutely not.” The response leaves his mouth immediately, and the crowd’s not too thrilled about the answer.
“Good idea,” I state casually, stepping forward and past Leo like I know where to go. My hope is that he does. He looks like the type who can memorize a map by staring at it once, and to my fucking luck, I’m absolutely right.
“You’re going the wrong way, Summers,” Leo exhales, shaking his head as he starts walking the opposite direction.
“Damn, we’ll make one formidable team,” Lucas states, too cheery for the situation we’re in.
The forest grows denser around us as we continue toward the station. Not much is said as minutes slip past, faster than I’d like, and the closer we get to the flag station, the noisier it gets. Distant screams and shouts rip through the forest from all sides, far enough to not dart in all directions but close enough to be concerning.
“What if there are hunters at the flag station?” Amani utters, head bobbing side to side as if expecting one to fly out of the bushes any minute now.
Her words are hardly cold when a gurgling sound pulls our attention straight to the source.
A figure stumbles from the trees. Blood streaks one side of his face and soaks the collar of his shirt. He manages two more steps before his legs give out beneath him and crash to his knees.
How inconvenient…
Amani recoils, slapping a hand over her mouth whilst Lucas freezes beside her—exactly how I thought they would react.
But I’m watching Leo.
Disgust rolls over his facial features yet lacks any shape or form of shock.
The injured man tries to crawl forward, hands digging into the dirt, followed by a blur bursting from the shadows behind him. A hunter in overalls, high boots, and a distorted straw bag over his head pounces on the man and buries a hatchet in his back.
A shrill escape the man on the floor before he is dragged into the darkness.
I grab Amani by the wrist, ready to run. Leo does the same as he grabs a fistful of Lucas’s jacket, yanking him out of his daze and towards wherever the fuck he thinks the flag station is.
The hunter with the hatchet might’ve been preoccupied, but the rest sure as fuck isn’t.
Two identical women in full matching doll outfits and clown makeup jump from the tree line, one on either side.
“Ready to play?” one with a massive red bow states as she blocks our path forward.
The other one—with a blue bow—blocks our path at the back, gleefully stating, “The pretty doll’s mine,” as she keeps her gaze fixed on Amani.
Shit, this isn’t good. Not when half the group is paralyzed with fear.
The woman with the red bow laughs manically as she snaps something free behind her. She swings an arm wide—barbed wire whip glinting in her grip. With a single crack, she lashes it between Amani and me. I release her wrist instantly, shoving her aside before the wire can bite into limbs.
“Run, rabbits, run,” the other one laughs, pulling a chain whip free, rolling her wrists once before readying herself to launch.
“Run!” I bark, and nobody needs convincing.
The plan was never to split up, yet we scatter in all directions. Blue bow rushes after Amani and Lucas as the one with the red bow chases after me and Leo—who somehow ended up on my side. “Oh good,” she muses. “You two look fun.”
We charge through the forest. Manic laugher following shortly behind.
