Page 83 of The Hunt

“Dammit!” Nikki hissed, moving after him. “I didn’t say split up! We need to stay together!”

The rest of us followed her, our steps quick but careful, the weight of impending danger pressing down on our shoulders. Nikki finally motioned for us to get down when we came across a thick group of shrubs.

“We can hide behind here for now,” she whispered, scanning the forest around us with sharp, calculating eyes. “Whoever fired that arrow is still close.”

I crouched low, my heart thumping so loudly that I honestly worried it might give us away. The others shifted uneasily, and Nikki held up a hand, signaling for us to stay completely still.

Through the tangled branches, I thought I saw movement—a shadow gliding silently between the trees. My stomach clenched. Was it a hunter? Another player searching for the safe zone? Or was Rhett still out there, watching, waiting?

Nikki’s eyes narrowed. “Stay low,” she murmured. “Don’t make a sound.”

Every second stretched unbearably as we huddled behind the shrubs for what felt like forever, barely even breathing. My legs ached from crouching for so long, but I didn’t dare move.

Finally, Nikki let out a sigh of relief. “I think he’s gone. He must’ve given up and moved on.”

“Thank god,” Kanako muttered. “My legs are killing me.”

Cheryl turned to look at Jade, forehead creasing. “Why did you grab the arrow?” she asked. “It’s not a good weapon without a bow.”

“Better than nothing,” he replied. “But that’s not why I took it. I saw something. Something I guess the rest of you missed.”

“What?”

He lifted the arrow to show us. A piece of paper was wrapped tightly around the shaft, secured with black tape. Carefully, he peeled it away, his hands trembling slightly as he unfolded it.

A singular word was written on the paper in block letters.

STOP.

A chill ran down my spine as I stared at it. It had to be another message from Rhett.

I groaned internally, mind reeling. I knew I couldn’t admit that he’d contacted me earlier without the group suspecting I was a mole and potentially exiling me from their presence, but still… I had to saysomethingto warn them about his twisted little game.

“Do you think it’s some sort of trap?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Someone trying to trick us into turning back so they can catch us?”

Nikki frowned, her gaze darting around the dark forest. “Of course that’s what it is,” she replied. “The only people out here with bows and arrows are hunters, and they aren’t on our side, are they?”

“What if another player found a weapons cache?” Chris asked, brows rising. “They could be warning us that we’re going the wrong way.”

“If it’s another player, why wouldn’t they just reveal themselves and tell us in person?” Cheryl said. “Why would they fire an arrow over our heads and scare the shit out of us?”

“Oh. Right.” Chris scrubbed his hand over his face. “Fuck, I’m really not thinking straight.”

“Let’s just keep going,” Nikki said, slowly rising to her feet. She jabbed a thumb toward the right. “This way.”

After another few minutes of careful, quiet navigation through the forest, we stumbled onto the edge of a large clearing. The moonlight filtered through the sparse trees, casting long, eerie shadows over the open space.

“Is this the clearing you saw when you were a kid?” Nikki asked, looking at me with raised brows.

I shook my head. “It can’t be. It’s the wrong shape, and it seems a lot bigger too.”

“Damn.” She sighed and rubbed her eyes before scanning the trees on the other side of the clearing. “All right, everyone. We should cross over.”

“But it’s an open area,” Ava said anxiously. “Won’t that make us vulnerable?”

“It will, but we don’t really have a choice. The safe zone is directly on the other side of this clearing, and as you can see, it’s fucking massive,” Nikki replied, gesturing to the shadowy expanse of land. “If we try to go all the way around it, we’ll be adding an extra twenty minutes onto our journey. Maybe even more. Also, it wouldn’t surprise me if the hunters have left traps all around it, because they’ll be expecting people to avoid open spaces as much as possible, right?”

Ava glanced nervously at the tree line toward our right, her lips pressing into a thin line. “But what if someone’s watching us right now? Waiting for us to step out?”

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