Page 89 of The Hunt

“We shouldn’t stay too long,” Nikki said, unzipping her backpack to load it up. “It’s not a proper safe zone. We should just take what we can and get out.”

We packed what we could and ate a meal of canned garbanzo beans on rice cakes in tense silence, keeping our ears tuned for any sign of movement outside. Then, with full stomachs and every pocket stuffed with food and supplies, we headed back to the mouth of the cave.

“Let’s go,” Nikki said, her voice firm. “Our target safe zone is only thirty minutes away, and it opens not long after that, so it’s almost perfect timing.”

We stepped out of the cave one by one, re-entering the forest with renewed energy but the same suffocating fear. Around ten minutes later, we stumbled upon a clearing, the dense forest suddenly giving way to open ground. There, sprawled on his back, was a hunter.

“Is he dead?” Jade asked in a low voice.

“I’ll check,” Nikki whispered. She pulled out the binoculars and focused on him. “There’s blood all over his head. Looks like someone hit him with a rock. There’s one right next to him, covered in blood.”

“Shit,” Cheryl murmured. “A player must’ve taken him out. Good for them.”

“We should grab his gun, or anything else useful he’s got,” Jade said. “Bulletproof vest, maybe.”

My stomach twisted as I stared at the scene. Something about it felt wrong. “I think we should wait a while before we do anything,” I said. ‘This could be a trap.”

“I agree,” Nikki said. “He could’ve seen or heard us coming and set this up with fake blood, just to trick us.”

Jade frowned. “That’s a pretty elaborate strategy, don’t you think?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t put anything past these guys,” I whispered.

“She’s right. We should just wait a while and see what happens,” Cheryl said.

We shrank back and crouched down, watching from the tree line as the hunter lay motionless. Minutes passed, and he didn’t so much as twitch.

“Come on, guys,” Jade finally said. “It’s been ten minutes now, and he hasn’t moved. He’s obviously dead.”

“He could be, but what if someone else is using him as bait to lure people out into the open?” Nikki whispered.

“My thoughts exactly,” Cheryl muttered. I nodded in agreement.

Jade scoffed. “We haven’t seen or heard anyone else lurking around, and we have binoculars now, so we can be pretty certain,” he said, rising to his feet. “But if you guys don’t want a bulletproof vest or gun… fine by me. I’m happy to take it all for myself.”

He stepped into the clearing and bent over the hunter, patting him down and shaking him. The body flopped like a ragdoll, completely unresponsive.

“See? I told you so!” he called over to us, grinning as he rifled through the hunter’s pockets. “Oh nice, he’s got a—”

With a sudden, brutal movement, the hunter’s body jerked upright, and in one smooth motion, he retrieved a hidden knifefrom a pile of leaves at his side and drove it straight into Jade’s back.

The blade sank deep, a sickening squelch following the violent impact. Jade’s eyes went wide in shock as he stumbled forward, gasping.

“Shit!” Cheryl screamed, her voice breaking the stunned silence. “Run!”

She turned and bolted back into the forest. Nikki and I followed, sprinting as fast as our legs could carry us.

As we fled, my heart pounded in my chest, the terror of what we’d just witnessed rushing through me in waves.

How much more of this could I take before I finally broke?

21

Everly

We finally stoppedafter what felt like an eternity of running, chests heaving and legs trembling from the exertion. Cheryl bent over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. I sank down next to a tree trunk, wiping the perspiration from my hairline with my free hand while Nikki unfolded her map on the ground next to me.

“Where are we now?” Cheryl rasped, voice barely above a whisper.

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