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"It's the dogs."
"Holy shit."
Not murmuring after all.Growls.Loud and menacing. I rushed forward, a light in the distance guiding the way.
Peering through the dense underbrush, I caught glimpses of shadowy figures moving in the clearing. A pack of vicious dogs encircled something—a figure hunched on the ground. Panic surged through me as I recognized Hannah's blond hair.
My body moved forward without thinking, but a rough hand held me back.
"Wait. We gotta be smart here," Rick murmured, his eyes scanning the dense tree line. "You circle left, I'll take the right. We box her in."
"Got it," I said, not wanting to waste a single moment.
"You take the lead. It's your girl."
I nodded, an understanding passing between us.
Without hesitation, I burst into action. Adrenaline fueled my movements as I charged into the clearing, screaming at the top of my lungs to distract the snarling beasts. The dogs turned their attention towards me, their eyes glowing with feral hunger.
"Fuck off!" I shouted at the dogs, my voice a harsh slash against the quietude.
"Sawyer!" Hannah cried. Her face was bruised, her blond hair a tangled mess. Her hands were tied together in front of her, the ropes cutting into her skin, blood staining the fibers. She struggled to stand, but two of the dogs jumped on her, taking her down.
"Hannah!" I lunged forward, but three of the other dogs pushed between us, snarling at me, bared teeth dripping with saliva.
"No, Sawyer. It's okay. It's not their fault."
Confusion washed over me as I watched Hannah's interaction with the dogs. She seemed strangely calm, stroking the dog as it jumped excitedly. I realized then that she had managed to hold off the most vicious of them.Of course she had.
"It's not their fault," she repeated. Hannah's eyes met mine, and I saw a mixture of fear and determination in her gaze. "Sawyer, they're not the real threat," she repeated, tears in her eyes. "She is." Hannah gestured to the right with her head and my eyes followed.
"Ellen."
"Oh you're just in time for the show. The young doctor thinks she's a dog whisperer. Thinks she can hold them off just by being kind." Ellen laughed, a sickening high-pitched cackle that echoed through the clearing. They're trained fighters. They're vicious. She'll see soon enough."
"Call them off, Ellen." My stance was solid, ready to bolt or brawl—whichever would end this faster and make Hannah safe.
I crept forward, my pulse hammering in my throat. Ellen Landis was a viper cornered, her eyes flicking with dangerous intent. I could see she was calculating, planning her next desperate move. And then it happened. The metallic glint of a gun barrel peeked from beneath her bright pink lipstick-stained sleeve. She pointed it right at Hannah.
"Ellen, don't be stupid," I said, locking my honey brown eyes onto hers, trying to project calm I didn't feel. "No one has to get hurt."
"Like hell!" Her voice cracked like splitting wood. "I worked for years under that imbecile Bruske, building up my business with him none the wiser. And then he goes and sells it to her?" She pointed with the gun, her finger sliding over the trigger.
"That's just how it is sometimes, Ellen. It's not Hannah's fault."
"Oh but no, she had to stick her nose in. And you helped her."
The gun leveled at me, its dark eye promising nothing but oblivion.
"Think about what you're doing," I pressed on, my mind racing. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to spring. "Cold blooded murder is a lot harder to get past than what you've done so far."
Ellen's finger tightened around the trigger, her face contorted with rage and desperation. I watched as her grip on reality slipped further, the lines between right and wrong blurring in her twisted mind.
But then, the corner of my eye caught a flash of movement.
"Ellen!" Rick barked suddenly, his tone slicing through the tension like a knife. "Drop it!"
She spun around, surprise etching deep lines into her face, her finger tightening on the trigger. But Rick was faster, a blur of motion. He lunged, his body colliding with hers, sending them both crashing to the ground. The gun skittered away from their tangled limbs, sliding across the damp earth until it nestled against a tree root, harmless now.
