I wouldn't have expected anything less.
- Unknown (again)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"Release us," Blake tries yet again, as we continue our trek the next day. "The consequences you face will not be as severe."
"Blake, shut up," Brayden says offhandedly, shoving him in the back to usher him along.
"You're going to regret that, Caulfield," he seethes.
"I've arrived at the conclusion that there is a strong possibility you have anger-management issues, Blake," I chime in, purposely giving him shit.
"I hate you Bryant."
"We established that the moment we met. You know, it's not healthy to be so full of hatred and anger all the time."
"Don't counsel me."
"I do admire the way you attempt to continue to seem threatening, even when you have no control over the situation whatsoever."
"Bryant, I'm warning you-"
"Consider me warned."
"And I thought he hated me," Kale murmurs beside me,
"You've got nothing on me," I assure him, smiling. My smile drops when I look to Kale's face to see his eyes blindfolded and unable to meet my own. His cheeks are red from exertion and a thin layer of sweat has formed on his forehead.
"Drink break," I announce.
"Since when did you give the orders?" Brayden teases.
"Since I observed that most of us look like we could drop dead from dehydration at any moment."
Each of us retrieves our small water bottles, of which we keep refilling at the various streams along the way.
"Open," Brayden demands a second before he tips his water bottle onto Blake's mouth.
Water runs down Blake's face, more of it seeming to soak into his shirt than enter his mouth. The eldest brother splutters slightly as the water rushes ruthlessly.
"Brayden..." I say disapprovingly.
Brayden looks at me wearing an innocent expression, before rolling his eyes. "More?" He asks Blake.
Once again, Blake is given no time to respond before the water descends. This time, however, he is ready and manages to consume a large portion of it.
After satisfying my hydrative needs, I turn to Kale, water bottle in hand.
"I'm assuming you want some," I state.
"You talking to me?" He asks.
"Yeah, I'm talking to you. Open."
Carefully, I lift the rim of the water bottle to his lips and gently tip it up.
"Thanks," Kale breathes, managing not to spill much on his shirt. The same cannot be said for Blake, who stands with a completely drenched front. Brayden is smirking at him cruelly, Blake unable to see the gesture.
"How far?" Kale questions.
"Not long now."
"This is your last chance," Blake says, in a voice that is deadly-low. We've more than pushed him past his limit. "Release us."
"Forget it," Brayden says. "If you don't keep quiet, you get the gag. Capiche?"
"My time will come," Blake mutters, mouth seemingly turned down in a permanent frown. Brayden pushes him forwards, causing him to stumble slightly off-track and stagger into a tree.
"Whoops," Brayden says unapologetically, tugging at Blake's rope to make him head in the right direction. "Sorry."
<><><>
A bird squawks loudly overhead, momentarily drawing my attention away from our trek. The sun is shining brightly, casting a definite level of heat over the forest of which none of us seem to be enjoying.
Blake grunts against his gag in protest, mouth turned down into a scowl as he continues to stumble forward blindfolded, hands secured behind his back. Brayden holds the additional piece of rope attached to Blake's bonds, ensuring he cannot attempt anything unexpected.
I steal a glance at Kale, where he walks cautiously beside me, the tip of his boot connecting with a tree root. He releases a breath yet refrains from commenting, pushing on down the trail. His extension of rope is held loosely in my hand, his gag absent leaving his mouth free to move around.
All of a sudden there is a loud grunt as Blake kicks Brayden mercilessly in the stomach, causing him to keel over in pain. I shove Kale's rope into William's hand before moving to the front of the line to stand before Blake. He's breathing heavily, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Harper, don't," Brayden wheezes from below, clearly still winded from the sudden attack.
"Caulfield, you really need to stop treating me like I'm a little kid," I reply, not letting my eyes leave Blake's as he sends me a silent challenge.
"Look at this, the baby trying to stand up for herself."
"Shut it, Blake," I growl.
I know I should have listened to Brayden for once the moment Blake's foot connects with my face, faster than I can even comprehend my own name.
Stumbling backwards, I instantly clutch my nose in my hand as I release a cry of pain. When I pull my hand away, there's the distinct evidence of blood.
"I've had enough of you, bitch."
Blake takes off, holding he extension of rope in his own hands to keep it up off the ground. Wiping my hand on my pants and then proceeding to lift my shirt up to wipe my nose, I begin running after him. The protests issued by both Brayden and Kat fall on deaf ears.
I've never been much of a runner, but when it comes to getting what I want, I've always been pretty good at finding a way.
Blake darts between the forest's trees, his tied up hands causing his movements to be slower and more drawn-out than they would be otherwise. His blonde head ducks a low-hanging branch, and a few seconds later I copy the motion, gradually gaining on him as I easily dodge the trees and other obstacles.
Seeming to realise I'm on his tail and his bonds are serving to slow him down, Blake comes to an abrupt halt, and I have just enough time to duck out of sight behind a nearby tree as he turns around.
"I know you're here, Bryant," he says menacingly. "Show yourself."
My chest rises and falls rapidly as I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing I can't face Blake head-to-head. His strength and experience would be my undoing. I've made it this far; I can't throw it all away now.
For some reason, Kale flashes before my eyes. I think of the first time we'd met, and how he'd come from the top of the tree and scared the life out of me. And just like that, I have an idea.
Quietly, I turn around, jumping to grab the lowest branch of the tree. Using muscle I didn't even know I had, I manage to awkwardly haul myself up onto the branch, mentally reminding myself not to make a habit of carrying out this exerting manoeuvre.
As Blake's eyes scan all around him, I see his gaze beginning to divert upwards and know I need a diversion. He's smarter than I'll ever give him credit for.
I grab an acorn hanging from the branch above my head and launch it through the air when Blake isn't looking. It lands on the ground with a bigger thud than I would have liked, and sounds so different from that of a footstep it isn't even funny. I mentally berate myself, cursing profanities and wishing, not for the first time, that I had better luck; that for once, things actually go the way I want them to instead of having me improvise all the time.
Blake smirks from his position a few metres away, still scanning his surroundings. There is no humour in his face at all.
"Do you really take me for an idiot?" He asks rhetorically. "Now I know that you're over here somewhere..."
And to my utter horror, Blake begins to move in my direction.
"How's the nose, little bitch?" He taints, his face conveying one of small victory.
I'd completely forgotten about my injury. now conscious of it, I can feel a fresh wave of blood trailing down my upper lip, a metallic taste invading my mouth. Once again, I wipe it on my shirt and decide to deal with it later. The thought of my blood nose only makes me want to catch Blake more, reigniting the fire of determination inside of me.
Blake is still heading in my direction.
"I should have guessed that the baby didn't have the guts to follow through with this. You're a coward, Harper."
He's asking for it, I think to myself, as I prepare to pounce. I grasp the tree branch tightly, readying myself to spring with my legs like that of a frog.
And suddenly, I'm doing it. As Blake walks fairly close to my tree branch, I launch myself off of it and land on top of him, forcefully bringing us both to the ground. I don't even have time to comprehend that I just jumped out of a tree like some sort of crazed animal, before my knee is pressing into the middle of his back, holding him down.
"How does it feel, Blake, to be bested by a baby?" I whisper tauntingly in his ear, my hair brushing his cheek.
The look of hatred Blake throws at me can never be matched by anyone else.
As I calm down from the height of the chase and attempt to figure out how to get Blake back to the group without allowing him to escape, I hear a voice in the distance.
"Harper!"
Then another, distinctly Kat's.
"Harper!"
"Harper!"
"Over here!" I yell, wincing as a sudden pain shoots through my face and I soon find myself shooting my own look of absolute hatred at Blake. "Keep going East!"
The sound of footsteps crunching noisily on the leaves soon reaches my ears, and relief washes through me.
I'm not going to be stuck alone in a forest with a murderous Blake after all.
"You're crazy!" Brayden exclaims the moment he sees me.
"Yeah but if I wasn't, this jerk would have escaped."
Brayden looks like he doesn't know whether to be mad or proud. He opts not to react, instead holding Blake for me.
Kat immediately envelopes me in a hug. "Your nose looks really bad," she cringes. "Let me fix it up."
"Later. We're almost there, right?"
"Yeah."
"Let's finish this thing."
Brayden hauls Blake up, shoving his blindfold over his face and his gag back in his mouth.
"Why was his blindfold off anyway?" Kat asks, looking pointedly at her brother.
"He said he had something in his eye," Brayden responds grudgingly.
"Allow me," I state as I take a step forwards, retract my fist, and push it forwards with everything I have to connect with Blake's jaw. His head is whipped to the side, a red area instantly swelling up from the impact.
A wave of pain shoots through my hand, making me cry out. "Fucking Jesus!" I curse, not having the prior experience of punching someone.
As I cradle my right fist in pain, I hear Brayden smirk as he says, "I fear you will never learn."
"Hit the deck!" Kat hisses suddenly, dragging us to the ground. "We've got company coming from the South."
The four of us crumple to the ground; a place I can't help but think that Blake will be getting very familiar with.
True to her words, three armed men walk our way, looking serious.
"I didn't think Ash's troops came this far out," I whisper.
"They don't," Brayden states.
"Well they're not ours," Kat says in confusion, attempting to figure it out.
And then it must hit her.
"The Illuminants."
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Bit of action for you all. I'd intended to make this a longer chapter, but that didn't happen.
This month marks my one year anniversary of being on Wattpad!! Go me! Therefore, I'm dedicating this chapter to the occasion. I hope you enjoyed it!
**Please note that all of the chapters in this book remain unedited :)
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- ConfusingIllusions.