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I throw my free hand against my forehead like a damsel in distress. “This is the worst kidnapping experience of my life. Did you go to training for this? Am I your first job?” I’m putting my weight on my feet again, carefully, becoming more confident, I can escape these men if I time it right.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be," the man on my left says as he squeezes my arms harder.
If he’s trying to hurt me, he’ll have to be a lot stronger than that.What does this asshole expect me to do? Just walk into this shithole of a house where I’m sure the lot of the Summer Court’s criminals reside?Yeah right, buddy.
“If you were any good at this, it wouldn’t be so hard.” I look around at the forest that surrounds us. It’s dense, full of great hiding spots. I consider if I’d climb a tree to hide or just run like hell to lose them.
Run. Always run.
“Is there any way I can request new kidnappers? Maybe a pair with more experience and a better bedside manner? Neither of you has even introduced yourself to me. It’s so rude.” I turn to look at each of the men. They’re all masked faces and focused eyes. They’re staring at the back door of the house like it’s their freedom lies just behind it.
“Why’d you stop the cart so far away? If you’d stopped it right up to the house, we’d be in right now.” I laugh at myself this time. It’s true. Why the hell are we a hundred feet from the house? These guys must be amateurs.
Kidnapper One turns to Kidnapper Two and says, “We should have Etha handle her, this was her bright idea.”
Kidnapper Two lowers his voice and leans in closer to his buddy, “Do you have any idea what Etha will do to us if we can’t even get her in the house?”
Etha! Finally a name I can use! One that probably belongs to the woman involved in this shitty kidnapping mission.
Then, they’re whispering together. Distracted. Only one loose hand on me.
It’s time.I need to run west until I reach the Summer Court, no matter how long it takes to get back home.I plant my feet firmly on the ground, try to calm my racing heart, and jerk myself out of his grasps. Then, I run as fast as I can. There are no shouts behind me, nothing but the sound of my racing heart in my ears as I dart into the forest, moving faster than I’ve ever run in my life.
My will to survive kicks in, even harder, and I run with all my might, fear a cloak around me so heavy that it'd suffocate me if I let it. The trees are nothing but a blur, their low-hanging branches whip across my face, my arms. The colors blending together in a way that almost feels surreal, but I don't slow. I run so far that I can’t sense the house anymore... I can’t even sense the men behind me. Nothing. There’s just the woods rushing around me.
But I know they wouldn’t have given me up that easily.
Then, I sense it. Movement in the woods. Not around me, but behind me. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. I chance a glance behind me and see nothing, yet I know they’re there.
Damn it.
I keep going as the minutes fly by, trying to tell myself not to look back, that doing so will only slow me down. My lungs scream for me to stop. My legs burn, and my feet throb. Deep down I know I can’t go on like this forever, but I keep pushing myself as the sun makes its way lower in the sky.
The alternative is to lose everything. My safety. My family. Even the princes, in a strange way.
I slow down as I approach some thick bushes. This is the first place I’ve seen that I can hide in, so I don’t hesitate. I leap into the bushes, hitting the ground hard, but I don’t slow, I crawl forward into the darkness of the tangled bushes. The thorns scratch my arms and legs, and leaves tangle in my hair as I push deeper, but I focus on staying hidden.
They’re close. I don’t know where, but I know they are.
Sweat covers my body, and I can’t seem to calm my racing heart or my racing mind. I don’t know if I should stay here and just hope they don’t find me or if I should find a better hiding spot. I’m as deep in the bushes as I can get when I see spots of sunlight hitting my dress. Damn it. If I can see the sunlight, they can see me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I’m crawling, then running again, slower this time, keeping the sun in sight. Not just running to run. Running to hide. Knowing that I can’t run forever.
I’m not sure what I’m searching for until I come across what looks like a huge, dead tree, still mostly upright. There's a hole in the trunk low to the ground, a hole that’s partially concealed by bushes… one that I might fit in.. Running toward it, I kneel down and peek my head in. To my relief, I see that it’s completely hollow and more than big enough to hide inThank the gods!Without hesitation, I crawl in and let the briefest moment of relief wash over me.
This place is safe. I’m safe. I got away… unless they saw me. What if they’re coming to get me right now?
The instinct to stare out of the entrance of the tree isn’t smart, I know it isn’t, so I shuffle back deeper into the tree. There’s no point in hiding here if I’m going to be that dumb. The problem is that I found this hiding place fairly easily. If anyone searches close by, they’ll spot it too. Yet, it was the best spot I could find and I couldn’t keep running.
“For now though, I’m safe. I think,” I whisper.
I listen, but I only hear the wind, the birds… and buzzing?
Buzzing? How did I not hear it before?It’s almost deafening now.But where’s it coming from?The cracks in the tree let some sunlight shine in, allowing me to look around the dim space, but I see nothing to explain the sound.
Frowning, knowing I’m missing something, I continue to listen. As goosebumps run down my arms and a strange awareness hits me, I crane my head upward. I’m suddenly looking directly into a massive wasp’s nest.
