"GET DOWN!"
The knife embeds itself in the bark of the tree behind where they were standing, seconds ago.
Another knife follows shortly after, hitting the spot right below it.
Axel grabs Stella as gently as he can, pushing her behind him protectively, as they duck under a bush.
"Stay behind me," he instructs softly, as he holds up his gun once more, following a sharp movement behind the trees.
BANG!
His bullet lodges into another tree, narrowly missing the shadowed figure.
"I can defend myself just fine," Stella mutters, but her eyes keenly follow the movement of the figure that darts behind the shrubbery, as she tucks her daggers back in.
In the scarce rays of sunlight in the clearing, she could barely discern any features.
But something metallic glints in the pale light once more, and it takes her a moment to recognize the object, before another knife whizzes straight towards their ducked figures.
BANG!
Hurried footsteps echo across the clearing as another bullet lodges itself into a tree, missing the figure again. Axel's low muttered curse is muted by the rustling of the bush behind which they had ducked.
Stella reaches for the knife that had embedded itself in the bush, pulling it out and towards her in one sleek movement.
In another swift step, she reaches for the two knives buried in the bark of the tree, tugging them out and ducking just in time, as another knife zips past.
"What are you doing?" Axel hisses, glancing away from the figure for a moment to look at her.
He could only see her features faintly because the clearing was dark. It always had been, with the thick greens and looming trees- and that was the reason Axel has chosen it as his spot in the first place.
To see the stars, one must welcome the darkness.
But right now? It was more inconvenient than ever.
"You'll see," Stella murmurs in reply, twirling the knives, before hurling them straight towards where he had last seen the dark figure.
They sail through the air, in perfect synchronization, implanting themselves into one of the thin, higher branches of the tree- centimeters apart, but completely missing their mark.
"Stella," Axel says, as his finger curls around the trigger when he spots the figure underneath the same tree, "As much as I appreciate the effort, you've got terrible aim."
BANG!
Another bullet roots into the tree, but the figure doesn't move from behind it.
"That's false," Stella twirls the last knife in her hands, with a firm glint in her eyes green eyes, before flinging it in the same direction.
"My aim is perfect."
The last knife lodged right between the two others, in one straight line.
The branch cracks.
It takes both Axel and the figure a second to realize what she had just tried to do.
But that was the point, for the element of surprise always worked the best against an enemy.
As the wood splinters, and creaks as it falls, the sound of scurrying resounds across the clearing.
Except this time, the footsteps are retreating. The figure was running away.
Axel and Stella turn to face each other, and as the same understanding passes between their expressions, they're both leaping to their feet to follow after the footsteps.
Their feet pound against the forest floor as they run, dodging sharp branches, ducking between leaves, twisting and turning through the thick trees. In front of them, the figure darts between the spaces with surprising agility, but the darkness still prevents them from discerning any features- except for the all-black attire.
Stella's tiny frame zips through the vegetation with ease, while Axel remains a hair length behind, as his arms push through the branches and twigs that were constantly in the way. A broken branch swings into his face, cutting across his cheek and making him hiss, but he doesn't allow himself to slow.
The figure ahead begins to take an oddly specific route, jumping over certain roots, ducking under only some branches, and stepping over precise positions on the ground- while navigating through the dense foliage.
While it was odd, it gave them an advantage because now it meant that they were drawing closer, much faster.
Stella grits her teeth, pumping her legs in an attempt to catch up, until-
"Wait!"
The panicked undertone in Axel's voice has her instantly skidding to a halt.
For a second, she's almost annoyed at his intrusion but then her eyes catch sight of the silver glinting near her feet, and she draws in a deep breath.
Spikes.
Long, sharp, deadly ones by the look of them, scattered across the ground, only inches away from where her feet were.
They could have easily impaled their way through her shoes, injuring her terribly, if it were not for his warning.
"Oh, stars," she breathes, as her heart thuds in her ribs. She can feel Axel's breath right behind her, along with the distinct scent of dark chocolate and citrus that seemed to always surround him.
"This is why I told you to stay behind me," he says, and even in the obscurity, she could feel his eyes boring into hers.
She could hear his heartbeat too. It was faint, but just as frantic, as his warm hand curled around her upper arm and tugged her back gently until she was behind him again.
The figure was no longer in sight, having disappeared into the darkness.
"Traps?" Stella asks quietly, as her own fingers instinctively wrap around his lower arm.
"Traps," Axel murmurs in affirmation.
The spikes weren't the only traps laid out, hidden in the crevices of the undergrowth. Axel would never have noticed if he hadn't caught sight of those metal death pricks first.
There were clear signs of the land that had been dug out, which meant land mines, though he couldn't see the others hidden in the shadows- it didn't mean they weren't there.
"This doesn't make sense," he hears her murmur from behind her, "Why would someone lay out traps in here?"
"Right?" Axel's own eyebrows furrow in confusion, as he frowns at the ground. Why would someone take the time to lay out such extensive traps in a space that was supposed to be a crime scene?
He opens his mouth to voice just that, but a sudden buzz has him tensing again.
"Oh no, do not worry," he hears her say softly, "That's just the communication device Beatrix gave me."
Axel looks over his shoulder at the black burner phone in her hands that lights up with one new message, but a distinct crack on its screen has him pausing.
"Hey wait, that's Bea's burner phone," he tells her, frowning at it.
Stella looks up at him, confused. "What?"
"That's Bea's," Axel repeats, and he's sure of it because he clearly remembers how that crack on its screen appeared. "Why d'you have it?"
"She gave this to me," Stella responds, sounding equally baffled, "She said this was for me."
"Huh?" Axel thinks back to when they were sitting at the breakfast table, just before they had left.
Bea had pulled out two phones from her pockets, among the other things. She had probably confused hers for the new one and handed Stella hers.
"I think she gave you the wrong one," he tells her with a shrug, "What does the message say?"
Stella offers him a confused shrug of her own, holding the phone up so he can read the message that had popped up on the screen.
K.D: Done?
K.D? Axel blinks at the screen again.
There wasn't a K.D at the unit.
Moreover, there were strict orders to have only official contacts on the burner phones, saved under their initials.
So, who was this?
"Who's K.D?" Stella asks, as she peers at the phone half-fascinated, half mystified.
"I..." Axel swallows the sudden unpleasant feeling that creeps up his throat, "I don't know."
Stella stays quiet. He doesn't know what's more unnerving, her silence- or the unknown contact on the phone with a weirdly ominous message.
"Axel," she says quietly, after a few moments of muteness, "What weapons does Bea specialize in?"
"She's good with guns," he murmurs back, still staring at the message on the phone, "but she's the best with knives and daggers."
As soon as the words slip past his tongue, the apprehension, and dread set in.
Oh.
Oh no. She was his best friend- No, that couldn't be, could it?
"An odd message with... strange timing," Stella says, as he slowly turns towards her, "and talent with a certain weapon. You don't think it's peculiar?"
Axel forces his voice not to waver.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She meets his gaze, unfalteringly.
"You tell me."
He wanted to yell at her. Tell her that it wasn't true. Tell her that she was his best friend, and she'd never do something like that to him, even if they constantly bickered.
But he can't.
Because a week ago, he would've said the same thing about the rest of his unit and only days before- he lay in the same clearing, underneath the same skies- thinking that death was near, because of a traitor. Someone among them.
"Even if we have our suspicions," he clears his throat, "it still doesn't answer my previous question. What was the point of setting all this up, in a place no one was allowed to visit?"
"Hiding evidence?" she offers, but her tone indicates that she isn't convinced of the answer either.
"They had already done a sweep of the area," Axel muses softly, and Stella nods in agreement, "and the rain washed a lot of it away. What more would they have to hide?"
Something didn't sit right with him.
The person had flung the first knife at them, several hundred meters away from where they were now standing.
Why had the traps been set that far away from where they began?
His eyes scope out the area once more-
-and then, a flicker of red catches his gaze, almost completely concealed in a bush of leaves.
Red?
His eyes widen.
"Stella," his grip on her arm tightens. "We need to get out of here, right now."
"What?" her eyes snap to his face, "Why? Aren't we leaving evidence behind?"
Axel can see it clearer now, but it only makes the panic rise. The numbers are a bright glowing red, despite being supposedly hidden.
00:17
"There's no evidence here," he tells her, as her eyes follow his line of vision. When they finally see it, he can feel her stiffen.
00:16
"This is a trap."
00:15
A bomb rests between the leaves, seconds away from detonating.
Thank you for reading! Do vote and comment! :)
Question: What are some tropes that you'd like to see in this book? I've already planned out most details, but I'll try to incorporate what you'd like, if you'd want me to o.O