My injured leg almost buckled underneath me as I jumped out of the train car and onto the ground.
We had waited until nightfall to make our next move, hoping that the darkness would help cloak us from the Club members that were undeniably nearby. I hadn't seen any of them, but there were footsteps in the muddy ground of nearby the wooded area that hadn't been there when we'd arrived.
I was careful to watch my step around the muddy earth. If the Club members had been in this area once, they could come back again. And if I wasn't careful, they would see the fresh imprints in the ground.
Jake hadn't told me where we were going. It was crystal clear that he did not trust me in the least and was only keeping me around for my abilities. I didn't care. Surviving this whole ordeal was first on my list of priorities.
So I broke the silence between us, asking quietly, "So do you happen to have a plan better than your last one?"
He didn't turn around to face me when he informed me, "My plan still stands. I need to put distance between me and Hundsen's men. As long as they're tracking our every move, we can't stop."
"We also need to figure out where we are," I reminded him. "And why we're here."
"That comes second," Jake decided firmly. "We need to make it out in one piece before we go digging for answers."
I gestured half-heartedly to my bandaged leg. "That's easier said than done."
His eyes met mine in a cold scowl. "You don't think I know that?"
Giving him a flat expression, I retorted, "I don't know, Evans. You refused to tell me anything about your connection with Hundsen yesterday."
"Yeah," he spoke, sarcasm dripping from his tongue, "I'm going to tell you, out of all people."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I hissed back through clenched teeth. If he was talking about my being an assassin, he wasn't so squeaky clean himself...
"That little show you put on back in Hundsen's lair," Jake sneered. "I haven't forgotten how quick you were to put a knife to my throat."
"But you seemed to have conveniently forgotten when I told you that I did it to get Hundsen to let the others go. I didn't think that he'd actually let me kill you."
"It wouldn't be the first time you've lied," Jake spat with quiet viciousness.
"I did what I needed to do to get us out of there alive." I was sure to keep my voice quiet enough that no one else could hear.
But he wouldn't let it go. "What a hero," he mocked in a low voice. "Sad that you underestimated Hundsen, though, and it failed."
I started to say, "At least-" but then I stopped when I thought I saw movement in the distance. Jake stiffened and spun to look in the direction of the lightly wooded area I was staring towards. Nothing appeared to be there, but the darkness of night was easy to hide behind. I knew that all too well.
Feeling like a deer in headlights, I forced myself to slowly pull my stolen knife out. My heart pounded at the realization that we could be completely surrounded right now and not even know it. I cursed myself for arguing with Evans when I should have been undistracted.
Wordlessly, he nodded to the silent and seemingly-empty open forest behind us. It was more heavily dotted with trees, making it impossible for the glowing rays of moonlight to show through.
Keeping an eye out for any warning signs, I began to make my way quietly after Jake. My heart beat quickly, like it knew something that I didn't. It, of course, did nothing to rid me of my anxiety.
We had walked for a while in utter silence without any incidents when I caught another flash of movement far out to my right. This time, I knew my teammate had caught it as well, because his sharp eyes stayed on the shadowy figure as he continued walking as if nothing had happened.
I recovered surprisingly quickly from my initial surprise, but my brain was still screaming at me to make a run for it and possibly escape with my life. But the man was too close now. Any sudden movement, and he'd see us.
Moving with fluid grace, I tucked myself behind a tree, not letting a single ray from the full moon hit me. As the man ventured closer and closer, I saw the rifle he held in one hand as it leaned against his shoulder. I felt as if I couldn't breathe as he walked painfully close to the tree I was masked behind.
I was aware of every crunch of his footsteps, every twitch and movement of his pale eyes, the unusually long knife strapped to his thigh. I was surprised that he couldn't hear the deafening sound of my heartbeat.
One more step, and he'd be able to see me. One more step, and the knife I had stolen would be buried in his chest.
But the gang member stopped in his tracks, apparently deciding that there was nothing left in the forest for him to survey. Letting my body relax slightly from the fighting stance I'd been in, I returned the knife back to its sheath but didn't let go of the handle.
The Club member was retreating now, and I looked toward Jake. To my horror, he was shoving off of a tree close to the one I'd been hiding behind, stalking toward the man like some predator hunting an unassuming deer.
I shook my head frantically at him, knowing that there were too many ways that his plan could go wrong, including the possibility that we could be captured again. But Jake didn't even turn in my direction, not giving any indication that he even saw me at all.
I stayed hidden behind the tree until Jake smoothly swiped the man's feet out from under him. The gang member fell to his knees clumsily, but spun around the best he could, holding his rifle out, ready to shoot. The barrel of the gun found any teammate's chest and Jake stilled.
Finally, I decided to step in, knowing that we would stand a better chance if the both of us fought Hundsen's lackey together. My injured leg gave a familiar sharp twinge of pain as I started forward, but I hardly noticed it anymore.
But Jake didn't need me to get the man's gun off of him. With a swift kick to the gun and a lunge sideways, Jake was out of the line of fire for a long enough time for me to come up behind the man and deal a blow to the side of his head.
Jake's haughty eyes flickered to mine for a split second as he said, "Finally," as if we weren't in the middle of a fight.
I didn't signify him with a response as I jumped out of the way of a swipe from the man's gun as he tried to knock me off balance. He caught Jake's knee with a blow, but my teammate hardly even flinched. I took the opportunity to kick the man in the side of the face and hold my knife to his thick throat.
With a lazy flick of his hand, Jake casually hit the man's gun with a bolt of ice that sent it skidding away from the gang member's grasp. I saw the Crepuscule Club member glance at the knife I'd forced him to drop. Jake picked it up, but that was a problem I'd deal with after the gangster was dead.
As I raised the knife slightly to slit the wide neck, Jake said in a slightly brusque manner, "Calm yourself, Tesla. We need him alive." So I hit the side of the man's head with the metal grip of the knife, knocking him out.
Only then did I stand and give Jake a cold glance. "What were you thinking? What if he had overpowered us and taken us back to Hundsen?"
"I was thinking," Jake spoke bitingly, "That we need information. This is how we're going to get it."
I closed my eyes in annoyance. "We have no idea if he came with more of Hundsen's men. They could be aiming at us right now as we speak."
Jake knelt next to the gang member's head, staring at the unconscious face with a calculating expression on his face. "Good. Then they'll know that we have one of their own as a hostage and will think twice about the consequences of sending their men out to attack us again. Help me lift him."
"You're impossible," I mumbled as I reached for one of the gangster's massive, scarred hands. With each of us gripping a chunky wrist, we dragged the man to hide him next to the rotting trunk of a fallen tree. With the sky beginning to lighten again with the coming of dawn, it was the best place for cover from possibly being seen by his friends.
From my pocket, I pulled out the small first aid kit I had stolen and whipped it open. My eye caught the roll of medical tape I had been hoping to find and swiftly bound the man's hands behind him, not knowing how much time I had left before he woke up.
Jake spent the time rummaging through the man's pockets for extra weapons or anything useful. When I was done, I sat back to admire my work. With any luck, the gangster wasn't going to be able to break away anytime soon. Satisfied, Jake flipped through the man's wallet, calmly counting the cash.
The gang member awoke with a start, his eyes gaping wide as he leaned forward in surprise.
Jake glanced up at him. "Oh good, you're awake," he stated cooly. "Now get up. We have places to be."