Marked

Chapter Two

The pair of eyes that met Rachel's weren't human.

Their cheers and hollers reached her and it was with shock that she realized nothing lay beneath the poacher's gaze but cold and cruel determination.

She knew she should move, run, do something but fear had frozen her in her tracks. Worse yet was the sound of their laughter, like the cackling of hyenas, reminding her that she was now their prey, and they the hunters.

Ruth tugged on her wrist, forcing her out of her head and into reality.

"We're going to lose them in the river. Just stay close and don't look back."

Ruth made a beeline for the forest and Rachel followed closely behind her.

There was an overwhelming urge to turn around and see if Bane was following but her mother was leading too quick- too fast- to even think.

Every step sent a shooting impact up her legs.

Branches slapped her across the face while the forest became a blur of greens and browns, all melting together to create chaos.

A desperate thought gripped her then.

Will the river be enough?

They had cars, they were faster, stronger and armed and she knew they would stop at nothing to capture them. To the poachers, this was far more than a job, it was a sport, something ingrained deep into the mechanisms of their brains.

Hunt the unmarked.

And have fun while doing it.

Rachel cringed as her foot bent over a rock.

She pressed on, her breath as wild as the hair that escaped her bun and blinded her as she went.

A few yards out, she spotted a vast clearing where the trees had been cut down and the land lay bare and realized they were going the wrong way.

"Mom, the river isn't--"

"Change of plans," Ruth panted. "When I tell you to jump, you jump. You don't hesitate-you don't ask questions, you just jump. Do you understand?"

Rachel nodded her head furiously.

Behind them, she could hear the whirring of an engine and the delighted shouts of the poachers.

They were steps from the edge of the forest when it came into view--a steep slope, jagged and rough, leading down between two plates of land.

Panic rose in her chest.

It must have been a twenty foot drop.

A gunshot cracked against the air, ricocheting from tree to tree and Rachel ducked.

"Mom!"

"Just do as I say, Rachel!"

The engine was drawing closer.

Rachel stole a glimpse behind her and saw the white armor of the truck just visible between the breaks in the trees.

We're going to die.

My God we're going to die.

They reached the end of the clearing, their feet sending rocks skittering down into the abyss.

Ruth gripped her palm and Rachel bent over, her other hand braced against her knee.

"Now, Rachel!" Her mom shouted but Rachel yanked her hand back at the last moment, a gripping fear of heights overcoming self preservation.