Chapter 31
OLLY
Ikeep running, darting through the shadowed trees, but my legs don't feel like they belong to me.
They're numb, shaking, and sluggish, from whatever they put in my system, but adrenaline slices through the fog hard enough to keep me upright, at least for the moment.
Branches whip against my bare, chilled skin, as cold, wet leaves slap my feet, and every breath is a painfully sharp stabbing in my chest. Still, I force my body harder, knowing my survival is hanging by a thread, and I don't want to be theirs for the taking.
I've gotten a brief glimpse of them through the trees, wearing those fucked up LED masks with the eyes crossed out, like psychopaths in some horror movie, and so far I’ve been able to evade them.
A thrill races through my bloodstream; something deep within me, the darkness I hide from the outside world, is enjoying this chase, even though I know I shouldn't. These three are sadistic psychopaths who mean me harm, yet at the back of my mind, a part of me wants them to catch me, to see what they’d actually do.
It's a sick fascination, born out of fear and desperation, but it's there, gnawing at the edges of my mind with the temptation to stop running.
Cross can't actually kill me, regardless of being butthurt that he's no longer an only child, at least that’s the conviction I hold firm to.
River might talk a big game, and while he is frightening, the only one I'm truly worried about catching me is the pretty vampire. Damon’s got an ax to grind from each time I've managed to thwart him, and something tells me a guy like him can't handle that blow to his massive ego.
Behind me, their voices rip through the night, loud, dangerous, and careless, giving me a good idea of how far behind me they are, as I dart into a bunch of dense bushes, and crouch down long enough to catch my breath.
"Where the fuck is she?" Damon's loud and eager voice breaks through the night air. Does he genuinely believe that I'm still helpless, and he'll be able to catch me? Fucker, not a chance, even if I were dying, I would still find a way to defy them. I refuse to be a pawn in their sick game.
"Spread out!" Cross's fury cracks like a whip in the brisk night air, as he forcefully lifts his mask to sit on the top his head. "She couldn't have gotten far!"
I hear footsteps darting in the opposite direction, and they're like a herd of elephants running through a china shop.
Gone is any pretense at stealth mode; they have to have realized by now that they've fucked up in underestimating me.
It brings me a ray of satisfaction, and pure enjoyment, to know they're worried I might escape their clutches.
I almost laugh, almost, because I did get far and I'm still moving, ensuring that I'm putting as much distance between us as possible.
The forest is black and endless, the trees crowding around me like they want to protect me, or swallow me whole.
I can't tell which, but the darkness works in my favor.
They drugged me enough to slow me, not enough to blind me.
Stupid men, always underestimating a woman's hunger to survive.
My vision pulses in and out, but I make it work, as the shadows become shapes, which then become paths.
I attempt to slow my breathing, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth.
I'm no longer feeling the cold like before, now my blood is heated from the chase.
I know that if I stop for too long, my limbs will lock up, and I'll start to feel all the aches and pains.
Every few seconds, I hear them crashing through twigs and leaves behind me.
All three of them are loud, careless, and overly confident.
It's evident that none of them are trackers, otherwise, they wouldn't be floundering in the woods looking for me.
They're just predators who think their prey will break first, but I'm not breaking for anyone.
They picked the wrong woman to play these games with.
I'm about to change the rules, and turn the board upside down on them.
I hope they enjoy surprises. In the back of my mind, I hear my trainer warning me not to get too cocky.
I need to defend rather than be the aggressor, and to ensure I close all avenues of attack.
I dart behind a fallen log and crouch low, forcing my breath silent.
My heart slams so hard it shakes my ribs.
My skin feels like ice, both from the cold air, and the clammy moisture lingering on its surface, and my hair sticks to my neck with sweat and dew, adding to my irritation as it keeps snagging on branches as I run.
I frantically knot it up at the back of my head, but without a hair tie, I know it's only a matter of time before it falls down again against my back in a thick cascade.
The vicious fall temperature seizes me, sharp and cruel, but it also gives me an advantage.
I can finally think, not as clearly as usual, but at least now I'm not a vegetable just waiting to be tortured by these Mayhem idiots.
Every part of my body aches, but I push through the pain, knowing that my survival depends on it.
The pain is a constant reminder of the danger I'm in, but it also fuels my determination to escape.
Cross stomps into the clearing first, his breathing heavy with rage as moonlight catches the wild, cruel twist of his handsome face.
From my position, further ahead, I can see and hear him clearly, but he hasn't figured out how close I am.
"She's naked, drugged, and barefoot," he snarls. "How the hell is she this fast?"
"You're underestimating her," River says from somewhere deeper in the dark, too calm and controlled, like he's listening to the forest breathe. Maybe I need to rethink who the bigger threat is; the angel fucker is cunning.
Cross kicks a tree trunk so hard that the bark splinters off, the crack loud in the silent night. "I'm not underestimating her. She's not as smart as she thinks she is. When I catch her, she's going to pay me with that pretty hide of hers for all this additional aggravation."
"You would have lost interest immediately if she were like the other women we encounter, and you know that's fucking true, Cross.
Her defiance is your drug of choice, brother," River's voice slides out from the darkness, as I crawl slowly into another crop of trees, cautious that I don't announce my presence with my movements.
A branch snaps behind them, and they both instantly turn in that direction, ready to capture me. Damon's voice rings out with amusement, closer now than I'd like him to be. "She's playing with us. What a smart little bunny rabbit, running and hiding from the wolves."
No, psychotic asshole, I'm not just running, I'm surviving you. There's a huge difference. I'm not just fleeing from you, I'm fighting to stay alive, and I won't let you win. My defiance is my strength.
I wait until they crash past, going the wrong direction, and I slip out from behind the thick grouping of eastern white pine trees, silent as I can be on the wet leaves.
My skin stings from the coarse and sharp branches cutting into me, and I can feel scrapes dripping blood along my back and thighs.
The remainder of the drug in my system swirls in my head again, trying to pull me back under.
My vision blurs, and I feel my knees buckle. No. Not now. Not again.
I bite my lip hard enough to taste iron, and the immediate pain cuts through the haze just enough to push it back, and allow me to get back to my feet.
I move as quickly as my shaking legs will allow, heading toward a thicker part of the forest with denser underbrush, thorny brambles, and uneven ground.
A place that will slow them more than me.
I can slip through tighter spaces. I'm smaller, lighter, and terrified enough to be inventive. My strategic thinking is my weapon.
Behind me, Cross roars, an actual roar like a wounded animal, and it causes sleeping birds to rise in a panic from the trees, and take to the air for their own safety. "She doubled back! Bitch doubled back! She's fucking with us!"
His fury pushes me to move faster, and I slide down a slope, mud slick under my feet.
I catch myself on a sharp branch that scratches my palm open, but I don't care.
I scramble forward on hands and knees as the slope flattens, and then I wedge myself between two thick boulders with just enough space for my body to fit if I breathe shallowly.
The stones are freezing, and rough against my already chilled skin, and I almost change my mind about where I've wedged myself. My only comfort is knowing that none of them will fit in here to retrieve me. I reach forward and grab handfuls of mud, coating my limbs in their slimy, cool texture to further disguise me from the moonlight, and my captors’ eyes.
I hear them again, closer this time as Damon crashes down the slope, slipping and swearing as his knees break his fall. "This mud, fuck, it's cold, where'd she go?!"
"Quiet," River snaps from above with irritation.
"She's close." My heartbeat spikes with the sound of his voice, and it does something horrible to my spine.
I can't see him from my position, but in my mind's eye, I picture him searching all of the shadows for me, with a look of deep concentration on his angelic features.
Then Cross's voice breaks through the night air, ragged and livid as it booms across the trees. "Olivia! You're making this worse for yourself!"
Good. Let it get worse. Let him lose control.
I won't submit willingly to him, or anyone.
The fragile girl, who once would have surrendered, died that night years ago at the hands of a monster, and I was reborn.
I'm no longer fragile like a flower; now I'm destructive like a bomb, and willing to take everyone down with me.
I press my body deeper between the stones, pulling in my arms and legs, making myself small and invisible, as they move closer to my hiding spot.
Cross barrels down the slope next, and with amusement, I hear him slip, fall, and slam against a tree, and his yell of frustration almost makes me smile.
"She's fucking with me," he spits. "She's doing it on purpose.
When I catch that bitch, I'm going to tie her to one of these trees and fuck her raw, until she's bleeding from all her holes, before I let the animals at her. "
River's voice is low and firm, and I can't tell if he's actually upset that I'm managing to evade them, or if he's enjoying the chase and hopes I get away.
"She's not doing it on purpose. She's surviving.
She's not weak, and you should have realized that from the beginning.
You won't be able to bend her to your will, Cross. "
River's words cause a fluttering in my chest. He sees me, the real me.
He understands that I would rather die than surrender.
It both exhilarates, and disturbs, me that he's managed to read me so profoundly.
I need to snap out of it and not romanticize him, though.
If he catches me, he won't be any more forgiving than the other two.
He's a monster just like they are, and he participated in drugging and kidnapping me.
They get too close, and I feel their shadows across my hiding spot, causing a trickle of cold sweat to slide down my back.
My skin feels too tight and itchy with the caked mud, and my chest is demanding air, as I hold my breath until my vision goes white.
My muscles cramp with the effort, protesting the tight space I've wedged myself into.
A branch cracks behind me, too close, too fucking close, and for a horrifying second, I think Cross is reaching in to yank me out.
I have to press my palm against my lips to silence a whimper of fear.
After moments that feel like an eternity, they move on.
Slow. Searching. Predators who don't like being denied.
The moment they're far enough away, I force myself out of the crevice and bolt again, deeper into the forest where the trees bend low, and the ground dips sharply.
Cross howls behind me with wrath in his deep voice.
"I swear to God, when I find you..." I don't hear the rest, because I'm not stopping, or bothering to look backward.
Not for the pain, or the cold that invades every part of my body.
Not for the drug crawling through my blood like poison, and trying to cripple my survival attempt.
Not for the fear tearing holes in my lungs, and forcing my heart to gallop in my chest.
The forest is a deep labyrinth, but I'm learning it one rushed step at a time.
I'm finding its angles and hiding places, its sharp edges that I can use to my advantage against my captors.
I'm not just running or fleeing anymore, no, now I'm hunting for the places where they can't follow, and I'm strategizing.
I'm planning my escape, finding the weak spots in their pursuit.
I'm hunting for a way out, and for revenge.
For the first time since waking, something fierce and bright cuts through the terror.
They thought I'd be easy prey. They were wrong.