(Romanna's POV)
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I ran to the garden at the back of the house, jumped the small wooden fence and heaved myself up on top of one of the large water tanks.
Without thinking I jumped two meters across to the second tank. My feet hit the top of the green water tank hard and I screamed out in pain as the glass dug deeper into my feet.
I fell to my knees and frantically unscrewed the lid to the filter. I shot my head up fast looking around, making sure no one was watching me. My forehead stung and something wet dripped onto the back of my fast moving hands.
'Oh no.' I whispered as looked at the bright red droplet of blood. I raised my hand to my forehead feeling a large gash above my left eyebrow.
'That's what happens when you run down stairs!' I scolded myself while quickly wiping away the blood.
Finally the lid opened and I ripped out the dry filter that was inside. The tanks stood about three meters tall and the opening was just large enough for me to squeeze through.
It was dark, the only light was coming from the opening which was now out of my reach above my head.
Unlike the water tank I first climbed up on to, this one had no water. We use this empty tank to store the small amount of weapons that we own.
One Shot Gun, a spare axe, a few work knives, a stock whip and my Long Bow. I grabbed my bow and hung it over my shoulders, then I strapped my quiver, which was full of arrows, to my waist.
Now having what I need to defend myself, I climbed the small step ladder and pulled myself up and out of the tank.
I didn't bother closing the lid because I was in too much of a hurry. I then carelessly jumped off the top of the three meter water tank, completely forgetting about the glass that was still in the bottom of my feet.
'Why Do I Keep Doing That!' I yelled as I hit the ground with a thud, causing more blood to run down my face. I wiped it away again, but this time with the bottom of my shirt, staining part of the light blue material dark red.
The thing I saw was about a Kilometre from the house and I can't run fast enough to get there. I whistled loudly and my horse Theia trotted happily over to me.
I mounted her and galloped as fast as we could into the 40°C degree heat. I was riding Theia bareback since I didn't stop to saddle her up. I had a feeling I knew what it was I saw but I hope I'm wrong.
'C'mon girl! Fasta! We need to get there before they do!' I yelled to Theia. She whinnied in response and galloped faster.
All I could hear was beating of my heart, the pounding of her hooves, the wind roaring in my ears and the cicadas buzzing loudly in the nearby trees.
When we came within range, I slowed Theia down so our cover wouldn't be blown. Peeking over the top of Theia's head I saw an old rusty, beat up Ute with a big blue tarp in the back.
'A tarp! I knew it!' I whispered to myself. There were four men with shot guns and rifles. They were kneeling in the grass and aiming towards the river that ran through our property.
They were hunters, and they were aiming at the kangaroos that were sitting in the shade next to the river.
'How dare they!' I quietly hissed under my breath.
These men are dangerous, I have to be very careful with how I deal with them. The smart thing would be for me to leave them alone and go back to hide with my sister. Just wait for them to take their kill and hopefully leave, without ever endangering me, my sister or my horse.
But I am not the type of person who just turns a blind eye and pretends nothing's happening, who let's crooks get away with their illegal acts.
I need to make a stand for what's right and what they are doing is wrong. I have to stop them and teach them a lesson! If they are smart, then they will learn, Do Not Mess With Me!
I rode Theia out into the open, right into the middle of the hunters group.
'What The Bloody Hell Do You Lot Think You Are Doing!' I yelled while swiftly aiming my bow at them. They all quickly jumped up pointing their guns at me.
Suddenly my bow doesn't seem that dangerous.
'Oh great! Look at wat ya went and did! I lose me target!' One of the men yelled out in anger as he turned to face me. He had a very, very strong Australian ascent, which in these parts is quite normal.
'This is Private Property how DARE you trespass and hunt here!' I spat back.
'Don't mind us, little girly. We're just lookin to get me some tucker.' The same man spoke as he waved for the others to come and stand closer to him. 'Get outta here while ya still can, brat!' He snarled back.
I wouldn't normally admit it, but I was scared, really scared. The last time hunters were here, they heard me coming and ran, not wanting to get caught. I was kinda hoping that this lot would do the same but it seems like they are going to put up a fight.
'No! You listen to me! Get off my property! NOW! I give you one warning and if I eva catch you here again, I swear I will shoot all of you with my bow!' My voice was loud and stern, it made them all take a step backwards. Though it didn't take long for them to all remember, I was only a child and the thing about children is that they are easily scared.
Not only was I a child but I am also a girl, and some people out here think women are weaker than men, so I guess that makes me a walking target.
'Why don't ya come down off that horse of yours and make us leave.' He threatened. He must be their boss or leader.
These men looked to be in their late 40s and they all had a horrific number of missing teeth. Two of the men had dirty grey hair and the other two had black. All four of them had their hair in a ponytail or rats tail under their old, torn cowboy hats. Their shirts were ripped and stained with car grease, gun powder and fresh blood from their last kill. And they all had loaded guns pointed at my head.
I am only 16 and yes I am really tall being a little over 5'9 in hight, also having a slightly bigger athletic build (From working out on the farm.) But I still have a small frame compared to them, so there was no way in hell I was getting off this horse! It was my only advantage. I had the higher ground and a loaded bow that was ready to fire.
'I WON'T ASK YOU AGAIN!' I yelled, full of fury and anger. Stretching the draw string of my bow even more back than it already was, I aimed it at the boss guy who was leading the hunting party. I had a very clear shot of his forehead under his hat, so that's where I was aiming.
I would never ever fire the first shot, or the second. I will shoot only to defend myself. Unless it was a warning shot to show them I mean business.
'Little girly, didn't ya motha teach ya not to talk to strangers?' The boss taunted.
Oh damn, I wish she was here to back me up right now, but she was in town and that's 2 hours away! So it looks like I'm on my own.
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(Jack's POV)
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I slowly opened my eyes to see Bunny and North staring down at me. I looked around the room from where I was lying and all I saw was ice.
I can't believe how cold it was in here! Awesome!
'Its nice to see ya back in that land of the livin. How are ya feelin mate?' Bunny asked while placing his hand under my arm, helping me sit up.
'What's going on where are we?' I asked while brushing the thin layer of ice off my hoodie and running my hands through my hair, as an attempt to shake the frost that had somehow grown in it, off. Both Bunny and North rolled their eyes, smiled and shook their heads at me.
'It is nice to see you are back to your normal self. You had us really worried.' North spoke happily.
Now that I was sitting up I instantly knew I was in North's freezer. I like it in here. It's a great place to get away and think, also it's a great hiding place from Bunny, because it's really cold and he would never intentionally walk into a freezer.
Also, during the warmer months in Burgess I live in here, but my real home is on my pond. There is a large tree I have grown rather fond of and have lived in for the past 302 years of my spirit life.
But why I liked North's freezer so much is because it is the perfect home for me, super cold ice, a comfy table to sleep on and all you can eat ice cream, chocolate, cookies and fruit cake!
I'm not sure how happy North would be if he found out a stowaway was living in his freezer and eating his treats. At the moment I have fooled him into thinking the Elves are the ones who are somehow getting in.
'So, are you going answer my question? What happened and why are we in your freezer North?' I asked while childishly dangling my legs of the edge of the table.
'You don't rememba?' Bunny asked.
'Wait how did you know we were in my freezer?' North blurted out.
Oh crap!
'I... Umm...' I started.
'North, it's a room covered in ice and full of ice cream. It's not hard to guess.' Bunny said in a sarcastic tone. I just nodded my head agreeing with him. Thank the moon! Bunny had no idea he just saved my ass.
'Ok, moving on. You passed out possibly from heatstroke. We brought you in here to try and cool you down and I think it worked.' North spoke with a happy voice.
I looked back over at Bunny and noticed that his fur was all frosted and frozen as if he had been in here for hours. North's clothes were also frozen and icy.
'We have to find the girl you are linked to because she lives somewhere in Australia. That is why you over heated, she was hot, so you felt it and I think you might be a little more sensitive to the heat than she is.' North explained as I hopped down from the table.
'So this link thing is trying to kill me. By linking me the coldest person on the planet, to a girl that lives in one of the hottest places on the planet! All of you know I have never been good with heat that's why I leave when winter in Burgess ends.' I said while reaching my hand into a box of half frozen cookies and shoving a palm full into my mouth. Bunny and North just glared at me because of what I was doing.
'What? I'm starving!' I told them while taking another hand full of the tiny treats. Bunny sighed and snatched the box from my hands.
'Hey! I was eating that!' I complained.
'Yeah I know.' Bunny growled back.
'Are you going to answer my question? Why does the link want to kill me?' I repeated. North chuckled at my confusion.
'Jack, mate, the link isn't tryin to kill ya. The fact she lives in Australia is simply a coincidence and it doesn't change a thing.' Bunny told me as he opened the big door so we could leave the freezer.
I suddenly felt a sharp pain in both of my feet causing me to lose balance and slip over.
'Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!' I yelled as I sat up inspecting the bottoms of my bare feet.
'Jack stop messin around! We have work to do' Bunny said annoyed.
'I'm not messing around!' I snapped back. 'Something hurts.' I tell him.
North knelt down and gestured for me to show him the bottom of my feet.
'You have got to be kiddin me! We have more important things to worry about. Jack what eva you stood on it can't be that bad. Just suck it up and let's move on.' Bunny exclaimed walking back over to me.
A/N
Thanks for reading! Sorry about any mistakes, I am writing this on my phone and spellcheck likes changing my words.
Xoxo
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