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For a moment nothing happened and Taylor started to move forward again but I caught hold of his arm and pointed at the ridge on the other side of the opening. A dark shape was outlined against the bright sky and as I squinted into the sun, I managed to pick out several other shapes.
"Ambush," I mouthed to the others.
Taylor pointed to his red stripes and shrugged but I wasn't convinced they’d protect us. I looked at Evan who shook his head and pointed back the way we’d come. I nodded in agreement and tugged Taylor's sleeve to make sure that he followed as we snuck back along the path to the crossroads.
"Shall we just keep heading back?" Evan asked, obviously not keen on the idea of following Grey. "I don't think running into him would make for a happy reunion."
I started to agree with him when gunshots sounded from the direction we were about to take.
“Ambush, Grey or gun fight?" I asked pointing in the different directions as I named the dangers down each of the paths. We all looked towards the sound of the gun fight just as a merciless screaming joined the sound of shots.
"Grey is probably long gone by now," Taylor pointed out.
I pushed away a shudder as we headed in the direction my attacker had taken. The gunfire was moving closer and we broke into a run, taking several turns to escape. We pulled up short inside a dug out alcove and tried to catch our breath as we listened to see if we’d been followed.
It seemed like we’d finally managed to put some distance between ourselves and the shooters and we all sagged in relief.
"Has anyone else noticed that we haven't exactly been doing much message carrying?" Evan asked.
“I get the feeling it's just a pointless title. How can they expect us to be passing around messages in this maze? We're just here to be scared straight… assuming we don’t die in the process," I replied.
"If I tell them it's worked already do you think we can go home now?" Taylor asked hopefully.
"Give it a try when we get back tonight," Evan joked and we all laughed.
"Now where?" I asked, peering around the corner.
The thudding of feet approaching reached us and we shrank back into our hidden crevice. I pulled out my pistol and took the safety off. Taylor did the same.
The pounding got louder and three members of our unit swung into view being closely pursued by seven of the opposing team. They sped past our hiding spot and out into the wide, open area outside it.
I knew we weren't supposed to intervene but before I could stop myself, I’d taken a step forward and levelled my gun at the lead pursuer, my finger on the trigger. A hand clasped around my elbow, fingers digging into the tender skin and I gasped as I was dragged back into our hiding spot.
"Do you want to get us all killed?" Evan hissed.
His gaze burned into mine as I glared at him. The moment had passed and the pursuers fell on our men with knives drawn. It was over before I could look away and their screams echoed on the wind as blood spilled over the dirt. Evan yanked me back into our hiding place.
"I could have helped them,” I growled, snatching my arm back out of his grip.
"No. You could have killed one man, then there would still be six of them. Three would have turned our way and opened fire and we have no cover here beyond these shadows. The other three still would have killed those men," Evan snapped.
"You can't know that," I spat at him. My hands trembled as I flicked the safety back into place and holstered my pistol.
"It wasn't worth the risk. If those men were here to fight then their crimes meant they deserved that punishment. Ours did not."
"So we should just let them die? Even if we could have helped?"
“Who are you to say the other men deserve death more? Just because they aren't on our side in this death game we’re being forced to play?"
I could hear the truth in his words, but it still felt wrong to let people die in front of me when I could have done something to stop it. I gritted my teeth and turned away from him as Taylor stepped between us, growling in a way that told me he agreed with Evan. Which was just perfect.
“Let's keep moving," Taylor said finally, tugging on my hand to get me moving again.
I sighed in defeat and let him lead me away from the dead men. Evan may have had a point, but that didn’t mean I liked it. And when I made it back to the city, I knew I’d never watch the Lawless Trials reports on the TV so casually ever again.
We took the path the enemy fighters had arrived from, reasoning that it should be empty now. We walked in silence, taking turns to check around corners and keeping an eye out behind us. I had the feeling that we were being watched, but no matter how much I looked there was no one in sight.
After about fifteen minutes of wandering in silence, we turned into a narrow trench which was almost entirely disguised against the dark bank. The sun had started to move across the sky and clouds had closed in to further obscure the light.
