Hunted in the Woods

The gunfire was deafening in the confined space of the cave. I threw myself to the ground, rolling behind a stalagmite as bullets chipped away at the stone above my head.

Kael's men were returning fire, but they were pinned. The Forgotten had the high ground, the element of surprise, and years of suppressed rage.

I looked for Felix. He was crouched behind a rock formation, firing calculated shots into the mercenaries' flank.

"We need to move!" he shouted over the din. "This is our window!"

"Where?" I yelled back. "The exit is blocked!"

"Not that exit!" He pointed deeper into the cave, where Vesper's team had emerged. "Through them!"

It was madness. Running toward a firefight to escape a firefight. But staying put meant getting caught in the crossfire.

I scrambled up, keeping low. "Cover me!"

Felix laid down suppressing fire. I sprinted across the open space, bullets whining past my ears like angry hornets. I reached the position where the Forgotten were entrenched.

A hand grabbed my vest and hauled me behind a barricade of sandbags.

It was Vesper. She looked older, harder, a scar running from her temple to her jaw.

"You're late," she growled, reloading her rifle.

"Traffic was murder," I gasped. "Thanks for the assist."

"Don't thank me yet," she said, nodding toward Kael's position. "They have thermal. They'll flank us in two minutes."

"We need to get to the lower tunnels," Felix said, sliding in beside us. "The old smuggler's route leads to the coast."

Vesper shook her head. "Collapsed last winter. There's no way out but through."

"Then we fight," I said, checking my magazine. Three rounds left.

"No," Vesper said. She pulled a small, silver canister from her belt. "We cheat."

She pulled the pin and hurled the canister over the barricade.

It wasn't a grenade. It was a flashbang, reinforced with a chemical irritant.

A blinding white light filled the cave, followed instantly by the sound of coughing and choking.

"Now!" Vesper shouted.

We surged forward. Kael's men were blinded, disoriented. We cut through them like a scythe.

I saw Kael stumbling, rubbing his eyes. He raised his gun blindly.

I didn't hesitate. I tackled him, driving my shoulder into his gut. We hit the ground hard. His gun skittered away.

He punched me in the jaw, a heavy, brutal blow that made my vision swim. I tasted blood.

I kneed him in the ribs and rolled away, grabbing his knife from his belt.

He lunged at me. I dodged, slashing at his arm. He roared in pain but didn't stop. He was twice my size, fueled by adrenaline and training.

He grabbed my throat, squeezing. My vision started to tunnel.

"Where is she?" I rasped, clawing at his hands. "Where is Elena?"

"Dead," he snarled, tightening his grip. "Just like you."

A gunshot rang out.

Kael stiffened. His grip loosened. He looked down at his chest, where a red flower was blooming.

He fell backward.

Felix stood there, smoke curling from the barrel of his gun.

"Nobody kills my partner," he said.

I gasped for air, massaging my bruised throat.

"Is it clear?" I asked Vesper.

"For now," she said, scanning the cave. "But Lucius will send more. We need to disappear."

"We can't," I said, standing up. "Elena is alive. He has her at San Lazaro."

Vesper went still. "San Lazaro? That place is a fortress."

"I know," I said. "But I have the key."

I pulled the drive from my pocket.

"And I'm going to trade it."

Vesper looked at the drive, then at me.

"You realize that key destroys everything we've worked for," she said. "If Lucius gets it, he wins."

"I don't care," I said. "He has my sister."

Vesper stared at me for a long moment. Then she slung her rifle over her shoulder.

"Then we better make sure he doesn't keep it," she said.

She turned to her team.

"Load up. We're going hunting."

As we moved out of the cave and into the forest, my phone buzzed.

I pulled it out.

A text message. From an unknown number.

*She's waiting.*

And below it, a video file.

I played it.

Elena was sitting up in the hospital bed. She looked terrified.

"Aria," she whispered. "Don't come. It's a trap. He's... he's doing something to the air."

The camera panned back.

Vents in the ceiling were hissing. A faint green gas was filling the room.

The feed cut to black.