Page 20 of The Hunt

“Stop it.I don’t want to hear that kind of crazy talk right now.It’s just insane, and I don’t like it.”

He liked that she cared.

“You know, you looked pretty badass with that crossbow,” he said.

Calliope sent him a look.

“What?You did.Did you keep practicing even after you and I fell out?”

“No, I didn’t.That is the first time I held a crossbow since our last trip.”

Jaxson let out a whistle.“You were always a good shot, but that was just fucking fantastic.”

He saw her smile.

“It was pretty good.”

“Do you ever miss it?”he asked.

“What?”

“Hanging out with me.Doing the whole adventure stuff?”

She didn’t answer right away.She was putting some food onto a plate for him.Thankfully, whoever was in charge of The Hunt had felt they deserved a reward today.He got a nice piece of steak, and Calliope got chicken, as she didn’t like beef.

“Yeah, I do.Today, I mean, all of this is scary as hell, but it is kind of fun.Don’t you think?”she asked.“It’s strange, but it’s like I know this place.”

Jaxson frowned as he looked around.“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.I’m a woman.”

This made him laugh, but then he started to think about it.“Wait a minute.We created this place?”

“No, we had nothing to do with The Hunt.”

“No, not The Hunt specifically.The bear.The stream.Even the first day we were here, something was chasing us.Think, Calliope.Think back to when we were kids, playing out in the yard.We were in a damn forest or jungle.We’d scream at each other what the place would look like.”

Calliope’s mouth opened.“Holy crap.That summer, when we were like eight years old, it was hot as hell, and we were playing out in your yard, and I imagined the waterfall.”

“We created this place,” he said.

“What does this mean?”

“Well, if we remember what we thought about, it might help us figure out what is coming next.We did get attacked by a bear, remember, and you hit it with a crossbow.”

She pressed her lips together.“We’re on our childhood adventure, only this is real.”

Jaxson laughed.“You have got to be kidding me.”

“Then that means this is different for everyone, right?I mean, this is our imagination manifested.”

Which also explained the mermaids, sharks, and sea creatures in the lake, on pause.Calliope rarely got trapped in ...he stopped and looked at her.

“No,” Calliope said.“You’ve thought of something and I really don’t like this.”

“One of our ...games was quicksand,” he said.

She pressed a hand to her face.“Is it wrong to hate us as kids right now?”

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