Karter keeps on staring at Ashly who seems calm. Her nose is fully red from the cold, her lips had dried up. Nolan walks to Lucas and pulls out a gun "Listen, we aren't bad people" he said "I swear we aren't, we just want you and her to follow us. To a nice corner, we won't hurt ya. We are just cautious men that's all"
Karter then points at Lucas rifle "That's a nice rifle you got, would you mind handing it to us [Friend]" Lucas then gives up his gun to them, this makes both men smile "Good to know that you are cooperating with us, keep at it. We won't hurt ya" Lucas is then asked to open his coat. As he does they inspect him,he has nothing else besides money. "Well this man is clear, but we have a few questions for you"
Lucas is sweating a bit, his sweat is cold and sticks to his forehead. "Sure" Lucas managed to say "Go ahead, I'm going to be honest with you two." Ashly stays quiet watching as Nolan puts his gun away. They begin to walk to a more secluded area of the small town. "What is it that you want to ask?" Lucas says
"I want you two to sit down" Karter says and they sit on a bench "Alright where do you and your cousins live? I want the towns name or whatever it is that you call home"
"We live in Wozunix, sir" Lucas says
"Wozunix? That's pretty far away from here, a days worth of traveling" Nolan says
"We did travel far away, we rented rooms. I know it sounds stupid, but this is the best way for me to learn to hunt. I want to take after my father, I really do" Lucas lies
Why are they after us? Ashly thought to herself. I thought they wouldn't risk anything, no they must be certain that I'm that woman. There's no other reason why they will do something this stupid. No matter what we say they mostly likely had already made their decision. She thought as she looked at Lucas who was sweating a bit
"Hey!" Karter said "Why is she so calm" he points at Ashly "Isn't it a bit weird that she isn't nervous at all, anyone would in this situation unless…"
"It's just that I'm shy and weird" Ashly said "I was told a lot that I never show emotions. I usually get mocked for that frequently" she says but she knows by the look of their eyes that they weren't convinced
Karter and Nolan begin to laugh at them "A bunch of weird people around this are" Nolan said "I thought there wouldn't be anyone weirder that that old lady" Nolan said as Lucas laughs nervously
"Yeah what can I say, everyone is weird in their own ways. You just have to push around and find it" Lucas says but he can't help but see that Ashly is reaching for her holster.
"What a loser this guy is, can't kill a deer for shit. You must be an embarrassment to your father." Karter says "If my son was this pathetic I would have kicked him out without hesitation"
Nolan grabs Lucas shoulder and pushes him to the ground "Yeah, I can't believe boys like him exist. Your mother must regret giving birth to you" Nolan says as Lucas tries to stand up.
"You lady, Diana right?" Karter said "Why is your cute face so dirty? You don't seem like you bathe that often" he says as he examines Ashly's face "Gosh fix yourself up, your hair is messy and once you do" Karter then looks at Nolan "Then maybe I'll take you out for a date" Ashly gets angry at their insults, but calms herself down and turns around as she stands up
"Let's go, I don't want to be around these men. They give me weird feelings" Ashly said as she starts to walk away. In a moment Noland grabs her arm but she yanks it. "Don't touch me you ugly bastard" Ashly yells
Nolan is surprised by her performance "Well don't you have any manners. Didn't your father teach you anything?" Nolan says but Ashly in an instance punches him. Nolan is pushed back with shock "She punched me Karter, I got punched by a woman and I'm bleedind" his nose is dripping blood.
"Now that's no way for a girl to act" Karter says as he chuckles "Can't believe a woman hurt you man, I thought you were better than the rest" Karter then points his gun at Ashly "Then it must be true that your-"
"WAIT!" Lucas yells "Stop I'll give you all of my money" Lucas then grabs his pouch of money and throws it at Karter's feet "Don't hurt her, she was trained by her father to defend herself. You know that around these parts women need to be careful"
"Well you're right" Karter says as he lowers his gun "If I did have a daughter I would also want her to defend herself" Nolan looks at Karter while holding his nose
"What do you mean, I wasn't going to do anything to her" He then turns to Ashly and pulls his knife out "This is the woman, there's no way around it"
"Well you're right she definitely is, her action was what solidified my suspicions" Karter says but Ashly quickly kicks the knife off Nolan's hand. Ashly then kicks him straight in the balls, Nolan falls screaming
Before Karter can lift his gun Lucas kicks snow at his direction. The snow hits his face blinding him for a bit and he shots barely missing Lucas's left foot. Ashly takes this opportunity and grabs her gun but Nolan grabs her leg. Ashly misses her shot and scrapes Karter's ear. Ashly points her gun at Nolan but he stands and smacks her gun away.
Lucas runs and grabs his riffle and points it at Karter who runs behind a wall. "Crap" Lucas says as Nolan pins Ashly to the ground, he is to strong for her. "Let go of her"
Ashly poked Nolan in the eye which makes him loosen his grip on her. Karter then peaks around the court, but Lucas shots at his direction. "Can't shot blindly or else I might hit Nolan." Karter stays put while Ashly kicks Nolan and stands up. Lucas runs behind her, pointing his gun directly at the area where Karter is.
Ashly grabs her gun and is about to shot Nolan but Karter shoots her in the stomach. Lucas looks and sees that Karter has ran to the other side of the building. Nolan stays in the ground and pulls his gun out, but Ashly shots him in the head. Lucas rushes to Ashly who is on the street, he lifts her up and they get on a corner
"This hurts like hell" Ashly says as she clenched her stomach. "I can't believe this at all, I should kill him right now"
"Don't Ashly, we have to run. It's better for us to get to safety and get your wound treated" Lucas says but Ashly tries to go back but falls "You can't walk properly, how would you expect to kill him"
"I don't know but he has to die, that bastard must know who I am. He has to if they questioned us, maybe they would of killed me after the small talk." Ashly said
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked
"You're naive Lucas, if they didn't suspect that I was who they were told-" Ashly coughs a bit of blood "Then they wouldn't have risked causing a scene with randoms they don't have a reason to kill. I should have never underestimated them, this is the price that I have to pay" Ashly falls to the ground
In the distance "Nolan is dead and those bastards are around the corner. Can't let them live, especially that woman." Karter then takes deep breaths. He reloaded his gun and begins to move behind the walls. He is determined to kill them. He continues to run pass houses and finally arrives to were Lucas and Ashly were hiding. He grips his gun, finger on the trigger and then turns the corner.
Nothing, nobody is there except for blood and footsteps. He slowly follows the footsteps and comes back to where he and Nolan first saw them. The horse is gone, they had escaped. "I have to tell the others, that woman is going to be problematic."
— —-
Away in the snow covered land Lucas is riding the horse. Ashly is holding onto his waist, she is breathing deeply. The pain is unbearable and she is starting to lose consciousness. It's cold and warm at the same time, her whole body and the air are cold. The wound in her stomach feels scorching hot. She is angry
"Lu-Lucas" Ashly says "You should have let go of me…" she can't speak well "I-I won't die, not pathetically like this at least." She says "Shoud…of…killed that-" Ashly can't concentrate, her vision feels blurry. The horse continues to, run but Lucas can feel her grip loosening.
"Stay with me Ashly, don't pass out just yet" Lucas says "I'll get you to a doctor, you won't die at all" Lucas trembles as his voice doesn't sound confident. He starts to tear up, he doesn't want to. He tries to hold them in but fails, Ashly can see tears sliding down his cheeks
"Crybaby" Ashly manages to murmur. "Should…of killed them bo-both" she says
Lucas stops the horse and hops off, he grabs Ashly and places her gently on the ground "Listen" Lucas says as he grabs a cloth, he reaches for her coat and says "Sorry" and opens it. He lifts her shirt and a bullet wound can be seen on her lower abdomen. Luca doesn't waste time and applies pressure to it as he wraps the cloth around it tightly. "This will slow down the bleeding alright"
"S-sure" Ashly says, she stands up with the help of Lucas and gets back on the horse
"Ashly Iriage is nearby, just hold on alright, I'll get you to a doctor and you'll be treated" Lucas says as the horse runs faster. Ashly holds onto him with all her strength. Lucas doesn't know when she will pass out or if she will. "Deep breaths alright, take deep breaths, and every thing will be alright.
After what seems like hours Ashly passes out and luckily Lucas holds onto her. In the distance Iriage can be seen, Ashly is going to be saved.