Page 16 of The Hunt

Where had they come from? Had this person always been there?

“As the game warden, I’d like to personally welcome you all to the Annual Serenity Falls Halloween Hunt. I’d personally like to thank you all for your sacrifice. When I open this cage, you will be hunted. So my suggestion to you all is to run as fast as you can.” The cloaked man chuckled as if he’d told a hilarious joke.

“Hunted? What the fuck? Hunted for what? I didn’t volunteer for shit!” Peter yelled. His eyes were wide, and lines of terror etched his face. He was on the verge of losing it and Kaliah empathized because she was slowly starting to unravel as well.

“We are a sporting group. There are opportunities to evade capture such as the numerous hiding places in the forest andaround town. If you manage to get out of Serenity Falls by dawn, then consider yourselves free.”

“So, we only have to survive the night?” Kaliah asked tentatively.

“Of course. You have my word.”

“How do we know we can trust you?” Peter demanded.

“Because you have no other choice,” the man in the cloak replied, retrieving a set of keys from his pocket and unlocking the cage. “The hunters are approximately two miles out from the cage which should give you a nice head start. I suggest you little rabbits start running.”

He pulled the cage door open and stepped back.

No one moved right away.

Kaliah worried about her chances. Her limp made it difficult to run so she wouldn’t be very fast. Her only hope was to find a decent hiding space and hope no one found her until the morning.

“Well, fuck all of you, I’m out of here.” Peter shouted before running off.

Gary shook his head and headed out the cage. “Well, I don’t see any point in waiting around for whatever is out there to come get me. I wish you all luck.”

Brianna still sat in corner rocking herself back and forth. “We’re going to die. We’re going to die. We’re going to die.” She chanted.

Regardless of what happened for the remainder of the night, Kaliah wanted to be in control of her own fate which meant getting the fuck out of here. “Come on. We’re going to die for sure if you stay here.”

Loud howls in the distance cut through the wind and Kaliah had a feeling they didn’t have much time to make their escape.

Brianna looked up at her with tear stained cheeks. “I can’t move.”

Kaliah reached down and grabbed her by the arm and yanked with all her strength. “Well you’d better figure out how and quick or else we’re monster chow. Do you hear those sounds? We don’t know what’s out there and I don’t want to find out.”

With Kaliah’s help, Brianna made it to her feet.

“Let’s go.” As they were stepping out of the cage, Kaliah looked over her shoulder. The redhead woman stared at them hesitantly. “Come on…”

“Amy. My name is Amy.”

“Let’s go Amy.” Kaliah motioned her to come with them. She glanced at the older couple still clinging to each other.

The woman, smiled slightly, with her head resting on her partner’s shoulder. “You go ahead. The two of us have lived a long life and these old legs can’t carry us the way they used to. We’d rather be together when it happens.

The old man nodded with a grunt.

Kaliah’s heart broke for them. In that moment she wished she’d lived life where she could experience a love so fulfilling that there was no fear of death as long as she had her soulmate. But she didn’t know if she’d make it through the night.

“Let’s go ladies.” She practically had to drag Brianna along with her. Amy trailed behind them.

The three of them ran, weaving through trees and bushes. The further into the woods they got, the darker it became, because the branches blocked out the moon’s light.

Running with a limp was challenging enough but she did her best to keep up with Brianna and Amy who were starting to outpace her.

The howling sounds were getting closer and she didn’t know if she could go any faster.

“Brianna!” Someone called out from a distance.

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