Hunted, Sarah Cornett [classic fiction .txt] 📗

…..My heart pounded in my chest, a slow, audible rhythm that I swore they could hear. Them. The enemy.
“Find her! Don’t let her get away!”
I flinched at the loud barking voice of their leader, Flint. He was the reason I was being hunted. Like an animal. I hate him.
I shifted my weight in the hiding place I was in, and winced. My arm had a bullet in it; probably broken. The white and red of my bone and blood was visible. My blood dribbled onto the cold stone of the cave and I hastened to wipe it off; it only smeared. Shoot. A sharp stinging pain shot up the length of my arm, and a single tear trailed its way down my dirty and bloody face. I had to get someone to look at it, get the bullet out. But since that probably wasn’t possible at the moment, I would have to take it out myself.
Bracing myself between two rocks, I got a grip on the slippery bullet protruding from my arm. Then I stuck my backpack strap in my mouth, bit down, and yanked.
***
They were gone by the time the steady stream of blood and tears had stopped. Luckily, I hadn’t screamed loud enough for them to hear me.
The bullet lay strewn on the ground beside my leg. The pain had increased when I had pulled it out, but if I hadn’t, it might have gotten infected.
I glanced at the mouth of the cave; I needed to move.
I struggle to my feet and slowly approached the entrance. I listened. Two male voices came from outside; guards. They still thought I was here. I backed up and opened my backpack pulling out my gun. My dad had given it to me when I had turned thirteen; he believed in me being protected.
The cold metal of the pistol bit into my hand. It was the first time I had used it since going on the run.
I inched to the edge of the cave, and ran out.
The guards yelled and I heard gunshots around me. I twisted around and didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
The first shot struck one of the guards in the chest. He had a black beard and pasty skin. The other had close-cropped blonde hair, a large nose, and small, black, beady eyes. I shot him in the neck. They both crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap.
I ran.
My footsteps pounded on the wet leaves and dirt. My breath was coming in short gasps. There was a pain in my side. I ran on.

"Don't stop running." I whispered to myself. I heard shouts behind me and the sound of dogs barking. A gunshot hit a tree and I gasped. They were close. Too close.

"We got her now!" The voice was loud, high-pitched. It was a girl. I spared a glance behind me, me, my neck painfully twisting, and almost stumbled. It was my cousin, Rika. Her long blonde hair fell down to her lower-back and her brilliant eyes held a mixture of glee and triumph. She was thinner than I remembered, her waist half the size of mine, and she was taller.

"Surprised twerp?" she called in a mocking tone. I spun back around and ran faster than ever. She wouldn't get me. Not today. I run fast, faster than them, and race towards a clearing. I relized too late what it really was.

I can't stop myself soon enough and I tumble off the cliff. The wind rushes past me in a desperate attempt to escape the white rapids coming up to meet me. I close my eyes, and hit the water. The cold rushes through my body, chilling me to the bone and leaving me shivering as my body is thrown cruely around in the rapids. I hit a rock and gasp in pain; I taste blood. There is a pain in my side again and I start slipping under the water. The water goes down my throat and I cough it up, sputtering. I slip under again. Black and red spots waver in front of my eyes. The darkness takes me.

Publication Date: 10-25-2012

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