Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
REON
“You’re late,” Soren says with a smug smirk etched on his lips, standing there with his shoulders back; and his mask in hand. I slide mine on and grab my axe from the car. He lights a cigarette and leans against his car as he watches me. “You’re never late, so what’s the deal, Reon?”
“I had plans, but I’m here.” Looking around, I see the car of tonight’s Hunt victim is not visible, which is not unusual since Soren usually has them removed.
“The Hunt has begun, and we all know you love to win. But you’ve let everyone go ahead of you tonight.” He shakes his head, takes a long draw of his cigarette, and I wait for him to finish. He blows out the smoke and looks down at the ground. “You better win this Hunt, Reon.”
“Why?” I ask, twisting the axe in my hand.
“Because it’s what you’re good at.” He drops his cigarette onto the grass and steps on it, squashing it with his black boots. “If I win this Hunt, I’ll take Earl.” His words shock me.
“What?”
“You heard me. I’ll take Earl. And we all know that you enjoy what he does for you, how hard he works.
Do you think he would turn down an offer to double his income?
Especially if it also means less stress?
” He holds his shotgun in his hand as he walks past me.
“Let the Hunt begin. And you better hope you win. Or I will take him.”
I want to laugh and tell him he’s crazy.
Earl would never leave me. He’s been with me for so long, and he’s loyal.
However, I’ve been distant lately, and I know Earl hates that.
Maybe he would change jobs if offered the right amount of money, not that I don’t pay him enough. I pay him very well for what he does.
Would Soren pay him more? Possibly.
The ring of laughter and footsteps echoes around us as I make my way into the forest, the night sky even darker tonight than usual.
Why didn’t she answer her door?
Why wasn’t she home?
That’s why I was late. I went to her place, and when she didn’t answer, I broke the door down.
She wasn’t there, and there was no sign she was hiding from me.
“Reon, you’re late.” Hank, one of the Forsaken’s long-standing members, taps me on the shoulder.
“Why aren’t you out there?” I ask, glancing behind me. I see Soren watching us, not too far from where we parked. He and Hank usually hunt together, so I’m not surprised he’s waiting. Hank’s weapon of choice is a knife, very similar to the one my caterpillar stole.
“Lord said we were waiting on you, and now you’re here. The boys already have a head start.” He nods to the woods. I hear laughter and know all the men are already out there. “What took you so long anyway?”
“I was busy.” I’m not admitting where I was. “But I’m here now, so let’s go.”
He grins and slides on his mask.
Hunting under the night sky while someone runs for their life is the most exhilarating experience ever. The Hunts have always been my favorite part of being in this Society.
Sometimes, I wonder how different my life would be if I hadn’t joined. If I hadn’t been young and eager and hadn’t had these needs: the need to track and hunt prey and watch as the life drains from their eyes.
Would I still have joined? Probably not.
Because once you’re in, you’re in for life. And there is no escaping. I can’t escape the Forsaken even if I wanted to.
The only way out is death.
A scream rips through the forest, and I pause.
Hank has walked ahead, and Soren steps up behind me.
“It will be the most interesting Hunt for you yet, I think.”
“You think?” I ask, the axe heavy in my hands.
“I do, actually. I think this will be one you will remember for a lifetime.”
Another scream rips through the forest, as Soren slaps me on the back.
“You better get going, Reon. You always love to claim your prize.” He strides off, and I go in the opposite direction.
While Soren doesn’t mind doing the Hunt with others, I prefer to be alone.
I casually rest the axe on my shoulder as I walk in the direction from which the scream came.
This one sounds like a woman—that’s a change, though not a first. They have had a woman as prey one other time.
She was bad news. Someone no one would miss.
She birthed several kids and then sold them in a pedophile ring.
It wasn’t long after that we managed to find all those people in that ring and bring them to the woods and hunt and dismember them, too.
We were glad to see her go, and her children were finally free from the horrors she put them through. But usually, it’s men we hunt. Men who think drugging women is acceptable, and those who think taking inappropriate videos is acceptable.
“Lilith.” Her name echoes through the trees, and my feet suddenly feel heavy.
Surely, I didn’t hear that right. “Lilith!” Arlo screams, and I move faster than I ever have before until I find Arlo slumped against a tree with his mask lying at his feet.
His dark eyes meet mine. “I didn’t know.
Fuck, I didn’t know.” He shakes his head.
Soren picks the hunted, and sometimes, we know who it is beforehand.
Usually, Arlo is informed. But it seems Soren kept him in the dark—this one is a secret, and now I know why.
My blood turns ice cold, fear gripping me tightly as I look down at him.
“Where the fuck is she?” I growl.
“She took my gun.” He nods down to his injured arm, where I see the knife she stole from me embedded there. I grab the handle and pull it out. Arlo grunts loudly as I pocket it.
“Which way did she go?” My voice is low and deadly.
No one will win this Hunt.
And if they think they will, I will kill them all.
If anyone so much as lays a hand on her, I’ll fucking end them.
“That way.” He points, and before I go, he grabs my arm. “She’s in the Hunt now, Reon. You know how this ends.” His words are sour, and if he weren’t already stabbed, I’d stab him myself. I shrug him off and look him dead in the eyes as I grip my axe tightly.
“They better hope by the time I find her, no one has hurt her. Because I will kill them all,” I declare.
Then I run, screaming her name, and hoping to God she knows it’s me.
Lilith, I’m coming.