The Hunted

Set Up

Why they had framed us, I had no idea. At first I thought it was a test, but as the days passed and I still sat in a cell, dread began to consume me. We had not been undergoing a test. We were going to become the test.

I crouched down behind a bush, waiting for Derek to arrive. Now we were going to have our revenge. We were going to be the ones who did the deceiving. We were not going to be the victims of their game.

x.x.x

The snap of a twig. The crunch of a leaf. A short intake of breath. The thump of my heartbeat in my ears. He was getting closer. I could see him through the branches of the bush. His bow drawn, an arrow resting in it, ready to be shot.

I swallowed hard, watching as Derek crept forward, his eyes peeled for any sign of me. We used to play an outdated game where one of us would hide while the other hunted us out, placing stupid bets on what we had to do if the other was found. This was that same thing. An outdated game with a lot at stake.

And it was so hard to be the winner.

I gripped the handle of my knife tighter and took a deep, shaky breath. I had to do it. I had to be able to protect our people from the cruelty of the Elders. I had to kill him. I pushed the thought of who he was from my mind. I blocked out the memories, both good and bad, of us growing up. I was a hunter. He was a deer. Killing him would bring an end to all of this nonsense. Killing him would make everything right.

They would end it for us. They would kill our families one by one until there was no one left but the two of us. Then, then they would choose which one of us was stronger and kill the weakling. Just like they did with everyone in the society. The weak ones had to be exterminated. There was no room for weakness in a society that wants to be the strongest.

Then they would kill the one of us that remained when we were no longer useful to them. It could be years, months, weeks, or even just days. What the job they wanted the winner for had not been told. It was just a job that was promised for us. Maybe there was no job. Maybe they would wait until one of us killed the other and then kill the one who lived before killing our family.

We were weaklings, after all. We had given into the lure of crime in a society that did not allow for such a thing. We were not strong. We did not give a good example for the perfect society. We had failed ourselves and our people and the world. We were being taught a lesson. Pin two people who loved each other against one another and see which one doesn't love the other enough to not kill them in favor of keeping their own life.

It was all a mind game. A good mind game. A game that we were going to end.

Slowly, I moved away from the bush, my eyes locked on the back of his head as he moved forward, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. He had stepped on the twig and the leaf, trying to make it seem as though he was attempting to lure me out. I was supposed to end all of this.

I moved cautiously, glancing down to make sure I didn't give myself away before I was meant to. He paused, his eyes scanning the woods in front of him, as I crept up behind him. Ten feet. Seven feet. Three feet.

With the knife in my hand, I pounced. He hit the ground with a groan, the bow falling from his hands and the arrow dislodging. I yanked his head up, the knife pressed against his throat. My hair fell down into my eyes, obscuring my view of his face. Just as well. I didn't want to see the fear in those large brown eyes. The fear of what the Guardians or I may do. My heart thudded in my chest as I pressed the knife more firmly against his throat.

"Belle," he whispered. I froze, my body refused to respond to my mind. The woods were silent except for the sound of our heavy breathing. "It doesn't have to end like this, Belle."