Page 2 of Ravaged Saints

She nods, and I work the rope with my knife. It’s taking its damn time; the rope is thicker than I anticipated, and my hands are slick with sweat. I can feel her trembling, but I finally cut it, and she whimpers, her wrists bruised from her pulling on them. When I help her up, she winces, clutching her ribs.

“Can you run?” I ask.

She nods, determined despite her injuries. Good, because we don’t have time to waste.

We move fast, pausing only to grab my bag.

The forest is quiet behind us, for now.

“Oh my God, thank you,” she whimpers, wiping the blood from her face. I pull one of my spare shirts from the bag and hand it to her.

“Put this on. We need to move; they’ll come for us both.”

She grabs it, her hands shaking, and she winces as she pulls the shirt off; her body is full of bruises, and I swallow the knot in my throat. How much did she have to endure?

“I’m Brynlee,” she whispers, bringing me back from my thoughts.

Her voice shakes, her fingers trembling where they clutch my sleeve. I don’t have time to reassure her. I pull her with me, pushing her into a run, though she struggles to keep up, but we need to put as much distance from the Hunters as we can, so we head toward the river

“I’m Aspen,” I say.

I try to offer her a reassuring smile, but it’s fleeting—she’s still scanning the darkness, her breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. She’s looking for my group, expecting more people.

There’s no time to explain. The Hunters are close.

The sound of rushing water pulls my focus. The river.

I skid to a stop. “Take off your shoes and roll up your pants,” I say, already kicking off my own. “The river will hide our tracks.”

She obeys, and I see the panic in her eyes, but I can keep us safe… I think…

We walk into the cold water, the current tugging at my legs as we follow it downstream. The sun starts to set, shadows stretching between the trees, turning the forest into a maze of black and grey, and I think that maybe we lost, but then we hear it, a gunshot cracking through the air, sharp and sudden.

Brynlee flinches, a tremor in her words. “Oh no! They’re going to catch us.”

Her eyes dart to the trees, wild with terror. I swallow hard, forcing myself to keep moving.

“Not if we keep running,” I say, keeping my tone steady. I need to stay in control—panicking now won’t help us.

“They’re still far,” I tell her, tugging her forward. “The shot was probably just to scare us.” But we don’t slow down. If it comes to it, I’d rather put a bullet in my own head than let guys like that take me.

The freezing water claws up to our knees as we push through. My lungs burn, my mind racing for an escape.

Then I see it—a break in the rocks up ahead. A narrow tunnel. It might lead deeper into the woods, but it’s better than staying out here, exposed.

The shouts behind us grow louder. We’re too slow. No time to second-guess. I grab Brynlee’s arm and pull her toward the opening.

“Are you sure about this, Aspen?” she asks, and I can see the doubt in her blue eyes.

“Of course,” I lie. “Just follow me; they will think we went up the river.” I smile, grabbing her hand gently and making her follow after me.

I don’t use any lights to prevent the men after us from seeing where we went, so I just feel the rock, every crinkle, every drop of water, the breeze coming from the other side.

It’s pitch black inside, and it smells like still water and dead fish. The rocks are slick, and we slip more than once. Brynlee mutters a curse under her breath, but we don’t stop; the only sound inside this place is our ragged breaths and the water under our feet. It’s almost peaceful.

“We are almost there,” I say, trying to sell her the idea that I know exactly where we are, but the truth is I have no idea where on earth we are right now, but at least I don’t hear the shouting anymore, so let’s stay positive!

Don’t know how long we walk inside this godforsaken tunnel, but finally, I see the flicker of moonlight in front of us, and Brynlee gasps, “Thank God!” she whispers, clenching my hand.

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