My chest aches and I know she's right. If I hadn't stalled us, we would have already made it to the tunnels.
We are going to die.
All because of my stupidity.
"F*ck, that little one back there is sexy," I hear a man say, his voice echoing throughout the forest. I can't see them, but they're close. These men are regard us as prey. One sudden move, and we're dead meat. I can feel my knees buckle in horror, the sensation rippling through my chest like a powerful electric burst; triggering a sudden surge of adrenaline in response.
"No matter what, remember what I told you, Mellie. Don't hastily hop into things. If you're going to make any dire decisions, think carefully before you act. Fight for your survival, but know when to quit. Don't attempt to flee if you know the outcome is dire, alright? There will always be an opportunity in the future, you hear me?" Mom grabs my arm and pulls me to her side, giving me the advice that she knows I'll need to keep me going. I feel like she's saying goodbye, in her own, brave way. She's talking like we won't see each other again.
We hear footsteps and watch as four men come out from the bushes. They're dressed like soldiers; camo suits, brown military boots, and guns strapped over their shoulders. They seem carefree and completely at ease. They obviously know that we're defenceless. Besides the knife, there's nothing else that could save us.
"You'd think the older one was a man with her slim build and short hair. The little one though...she'd be pretty sweet to shove myself into," one of the men chuckles heartily, his eyes sizzling with lust. He has black hair and blue eyes, smooth pale skin but with blotchy red cheeks. His youthful appearance might have been attractive under different circumstances—if it wasn't for him being a cold one.
The three men laugh in response.
"Hello there, loves. Care for some sausage?" the eldest looking man jostles his pant leg and grabs his crotch, his English accent prominent. He has a long brown beard and matching dark eyes. The other two men have light brown hair and green eyes; most likely father and son from the similarities of their looks.
"Piss off you bastards!" Mom yells, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Oh, we have a naughty bitch here. I think she needs to be taught a lesson, don't you agree?" Mr. Blue eyes smirks evilly, making me step back in alarm. Mom grabs my hand, preventing me from taking another step.
"They only want us to flee. It's the chase they want. Don't give them it," Mom instructs quietly so only I can hear.
I don't say anything and focus on the men slowly moving towards us like predators eying their prey.
But the one thing that happens when the target is cornered and fears for its life...
It fights for it and does anything it can to survive and live another day.
And that is what we were going to do.
"Aha, something new, eh? Standing your ground," the man with the beard says, his eyebrows going up in mock surprise.
I look at Mom to see if she's formed up a plan, but her face is completely passive. The only way I know how she is feeling is by the intense emotion in her eyes: fear, anticipation, anxiety.
All negative.
"The knife," I whisper, but she nudges me gently in the stomach.
"No," Mom replies, not looking away from the men in front of us.
"Stubborn. Fuck, that's hot. All the women lately have been so f*cking boring, jumping to suck me off like it's a delicacy. I want one I can smack around a bit, get her all riled up for me. Bet you bitches would just love that, eh?" Mr. Blue eyes shouts, his wolfish grin settling an intense burning in my gut. He's f*cking disgusting; all of them are.
"Go f*ck your dead aunt!" Mom yells, anger rolling off her in waves.
All of the men laugh at this. "B*tch, I already have. But she was alive when I f*cked her brains out. And then when I had enough, I slit her throat open and then f*cked her senseless for days until I couldn't handle the smell of her rotting corpse. Isn't that right, guys?" Mr. Blue eyes informs, his lips turning up at the corners.
"You're evil," I say without thinking. I can't believe what I'm hearing. I can feel bile rise up my throat and before I can stop myself, I spit out the acidic substance.
The men don't even seemed phase by my moment of sickness and take off their gun straps, pointing their weapons at us.
"We think it's time you run. We'll give you a head start."
"Ten."
"Nine."
I look at Mom with worry. Yet in this moment, I'm grateful she's strategically skilled. She's injured, but I feel like it won't stop her in the slightest. She'll know what to do. She has to. Our lives depend on it.
"Run," Mom hisses, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the left.
I do as I'm told and run along with her, knowing that this is our only chance at surviving. When I hear "one" being shouted, my heart nearly explodes out of my chest.
"Bad girls, bad girls, whatcha gonna do when we come for you?!" I hear Mr. Blue eyes shout, his voice sounding close.
"F*cking hell," Mom coughs, her leg becoming a nuisance for her. She can barely run, but she's forcing herself through this. I don't know how she's held on this long. I would have given up ages ago. My ear still aches, but it's not like it's affecting the way I walk. Having a leg injury during this era is serious.
We run and run, and I swear it feels as if my legs are limp as jelly. Mom's face looks pale and sickly, and I know her injury is really outdoing her.
"Here!" Mom collapses behind a bush, making me flinch. Her breathing is ragged and face drenched in sweat.
"Mom, I know you need rest, but we can't stop here. Those men are hot on our trail. They know where we are. We can make it to the tunnels if we hurry. Come on," I try pulling her up but she swats my hands away.
"No, we can hide here. They'll think we'll be further up ahead and run passed us," Mom rubs the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and licks her lips. I nod, knowing that she won't leave unless she believes she wants to. I wouldn't leave her here alone either; she's my mom, my life. Even though we aren't that close, we're still connected through blood ties. And she'll always be my Mom.
I lower my body to the ground and hide behind the bush, the intense atmosphere suffocating.
"Do you see them? Where the fuck could they have gone that fast?" I hear the man with the beard say, his voice recognizable due to his English accent.
"They're hiding around here somewhere," another voice says, I assume belonging to one of the related pair.
I turn to Mom with wide eyes. I take what I said back.
She has horrible strategic skills.
And I'm just as wrong for listening to her. But I caused this. This is all my doing.
Tree branches sway in the wind, birds chirp to and from each other, and the soft sound of the creek flowing far off in the distance makes its way to my ears. But there is no other sign of the men, not a sound.
I listen quietly for what seems like hours, but really only a minutes.
"Do you-" I start, but cry out when my hair is yanked back by a strong fist. It feels so painful I almost black out. It's like part of my scalp is being burned.
"Here you are," Mr. Blue eyes smiles wickedly, his hand still wrapped in my long, red locks.
"No!" Mom screams, grabbing the knife from her pant pocket. Before he can react, Mom stabs him in the side of the neck. He cries out and grips the wound, his blood shooting out in spurts. The crimson liquid splatters over my face and hair, but I don't feel sympathy. Or even fear at seeing such violence. He deserves it.
All the cold ones do.
"F-F*cking b-b*tch," he stutters before collapsing to the ground in a heap of red, the blood still spilling out from the stab wound.
"You deserve it, ba$tard," Mom hisses as I pull his body behind the bush. She's too weak to even stand at this point.
The man seems alive, but not for long. His face is pale and his eyes have a faraway look to them, as if he's picturing he's somewhere else.
"Jenna," he mutters before his blue eyes go lifeless and his chest stops moving.
He's gone.
Mom and I share a look but don't remark on the man's last word.
"Carson!" I hear the Englishman call. He must have heard all the shouting from our spot. Thankfully, he doesn't sound as close as before. They must have split up.
Mom moves her hand up to her lips and lifts her finger, signalling me to be quiet. I nod and lower my head as we crawl behind the bushes.
Mom shakes her head when I point behind us, hinting that we should leave from our official hiding spot. I feel something wet hit my cheek and notice its starting to rain.
We continue to crawl along the ground on all fours at a faster pace, listening for any threats as we go. The men are close by and we obviously need to learn to never let our guard down. I was stupid for talking back there; my voice probably gave us away.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Jesus Christ! Malcolm, Justin, get your f*cking asses over here! Those bitches killed Carson!" I hear the Englishman snarl angrily.
Oh God, we'll definitely be killed now.
I look back where we came from. They're probably on our trail by now. We only have a minute to get the hell out of here, or we're toast.
My heart thuds.
I can feel it shudder.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sky roars to life with the sound of thunder, a reminder of the storm brewing. And not just the climate.
"This way!" I hear the harsh accent of the Englishman and then a stomping of multiple feet. Judging by the sounds, they're running.
"Run," Mom tells me in a low voice, her back facing me. I watch her limp to a standing position, and she's struggling might I add. She leans forward and cries, truly cries. Little whimpers coming from her. She shakes her head and then grabs my hand, rushing us forward into a sprint.
"Oh, when I get my hands on those c*nts!" The Englishman roars.
Mom stops suddenly, her face showing immense relief. I don't say anything and listen to my instincts: talking usually gets us into trouble. She tightens her hold on my hand and pulls me to a broken down shack, which truth be told has my lips turning up at the corners.
The tunnels. This is what has been keeping it hidden all this time. On the map it just looks like a bunch of fallen logs over top of the tunnel symbol.
We're saved.
For now.