We clear a few more traps, and after several minutes, I hear Phoebe’s footfalls coming to a sudden stop. I skid, turning to see her bent at the waist, panting so hard, she’s nearly choking. Her face is as bright as her hair, and her eyes seem to cross.
“I can’t keep running,” she chokes out, and then gags. “I can’t.”
"No, no, you can do it! Come on, Phoebe, you got this.”
She shakes her head again, and I can't help but take a step back when I see a shadow dart to the side about ten yards away or so. A scream tears from my throat when the arrow goes flying, piercing Phoebe straight in the back of the shoulder.
She falls face first, an agonized wail following suit. Groaning, she manages to pick herself up and charge past me. Confused, I chase after her, then come skidding to a halt again when she steps over the tripwire, collapses to the ground, and grabs onto the string.
"Addie, fucking go!" she screams, her voice breaking from the force. My face contorts and tears spill over my eyelids, both from denial and guilt. But an arrow cutting through time and space has me diving ahead, another arrow coming within scant inches from my head.
My hands grapple at the cold ground to propel me forward, nearly face-planting again in my pursuit to get back on my feet.
Run, little mouse. They're coming for you.
I make it about fifteen feet before a loud cracking noise echoes in the brittle wind. Gasping, I turn my head in time to see a rope snap around Ben’s ankle, sending him flying straight up into the air. His crossbow drops from his hands, thudding to the ground next to Phoebe.
My mouth drops, a shocked laugh tinkling out as Ben’s shouts of fury fill the air, wiggling like a worm on a hook as he swings from above. Even from hundreds of feet away, you can hear the gasps of shock and outrage from the house.
Phoebe must’ve waited until Ben approached her and then released the wire right when he was in the crosshairs of it.
"Let me down right now!" Ben shouts, and though the shadows conceal his face, I know it's cherry red. "I will fucking kill you for this."
And he will. I know it.
Phoebe knows it, too.
Our eyes clash for a moment, and then her gaze slowly drops to the crossbow.
“Phoebe…” I warn.
“I’m dead, anyways,” she rasps, grabbing the crossbow in her hands, and stumbling through reloading it. Glancing around nervously, I tuck myself behind a tree, wary of another arrow flying my way. I need to run—like ten seconds ago, but I can’t pull myself away.
“Don’t do it, little girl,” Xavier calls out from the depths of the trees. I bristle, warring with the need to run and stay by Phoebe's side. Neither of us can see him, but his attention seems to be focused on the girl loading a dangerous weapon with the desire to kill on her fingertips.
"Help! Fucking help me!" Ben screams, wriggling fiercely but getting nowhere. He's suspended above a deadly angel, and her arrow will show no mercy to the wicked.
"God fucking dammit, Xavier, GET HER! GET HER—"
She ignores them both, takes aim, and right when she pulls the trigger, another arrow is zipping through the air and plunging into her other shoulder.
She cries out, the scream echoing, but her own arrow strikes true, embedding directly into the top of Ben’s skull and killing him instantly, the rest of his sentence silenced by a metal arrowhead.
Covering my mouth, I watch as blood pours down like a waterfall directly on top of her, but she’s too busy laughing maniacally to notice.
Once more, she meets my wide stare. So many words rise to the tip of my tongue, none of them sufficient. Goosebumps rise on my skin, and all I want to do is tell her how proud I am. How fucking admirable and brave she is. We both know she’s not going to make it through the night, but this was her choice.
“Go,” she mouths. With one last lingering look, I take off, hoping she can see everything I couldn’t say in my eyes.
"You can run, little girl. But you can't escape me,” Xavier shouts, his threat following me as I sprint through the maze. Phoebe’s distraction provided me with the head start I needed to get away.
Determination takes hold, and I kick my legs as hard as I can. I continue to weave through the maze, holding my breath as another whistle pierces the air, and an arrow embeds in a trunk only a foot away.
These men may be skilled in hunting, but what they don't know is that I've been hunted by a far scarier man. I was a mouse caught in a trap before, scared, and helpless as I was taken between the teeth of an apex predator.