Locksleigh

Chapter Two

I was an i***t.

I was a complete and utter i***t. Who did I think I was going to fool? I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t steal from the bandits. It was wrong. It was bad. It was so, so bad. God, I wished I never listened to Glitch, never let him talk me into doing this.

I’ve never been this deep into the forest and it unsettled every bone in my body. It was as if I could feel lingering eyes on me, as if every step I took echoed through the entire death trap that belonged to the bandits. f**k. s**t. f*****g s**t. I was in over my head. Maybe if I turned back now I could still back out. But what would Glitch say? Who the hell cared what Glitch would’ve said? He wasn’t the one risking his neck.

I was just about to climb down the tree and go back home when I heard the roar of an engine and my stomach stopped twisting for the first time that day. My trap was just ahead. They would stop at the fallen tree to examine it and I would steal the van. Easy. It was too easy. But I didn’t have time to think, to hesitate.

The van stopped and a scrawny man stepped out of the vehicle to examine mother nature’s cruel sense of humour, no doubt wondering how this could possibly have been his luck. That was my cue. It was now or never. Everything seemed quiet. There wasn’t another moving body in sight. If the truck got to the capital untouched by either me or the bandits, Glitch was never going to forgive me. I’d lose my best customer and my only friend. And searching the trees around me, there was nothing in sight. Not even an animal. Birds chirped of course but that was it. Nothing else. I took a deep breath. I had to do this if I wanted any sort of future. It was worth the risk.

Skilfully I climbed down the tree I was hiding in, tiptoeing towards the van, never taking my eyes off the driver who was kicking at the tree as if it would just roll away. Not looking where I was going was my first mistake. In a flash every door was slung open and a dozen men sprang out of the van. I yelped, backing up, but one of the men grabbed my arm and hissed in my ear.

Fuck. s**t. f*****g s**t.

I was in too much shock to move. Had Glitch set me up? Hell no. I felt guilty for the mere thought. But how? Why?

A commotion stole the attention of the man who held me, and in that instant my wits returned to me. I stepped on his foot, bit his hand and pushed myself backward until his back hit the body of the van. With a grunt he let go of me and before the others could grab me, I was yanked by the arm and ordered to run.

I didn’t have to be told twice.

I ran for dear life.

I didn’t look back as we dashed through the dense forest, ducking under low hanging branches and side-stepping overgrown weeds and tree roots. I didn’t stop to think who would possibly help a girl attempting to steal from the Imperials. It didn’t once cross my mind that I might have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Dashing through the thickets of trees, the branches nicking my skin and neck, messing up my perfect ponytail, the slightest sliver of doubt crept into my mind. Later. I would deal with it later. For now I had to get away from the Helmets. As far away as possible.

I didn’t pay the stinging sensation much head. Cuts would heal but a bullet in the head stays forever. I didn’t stop long enough to consider why strangers would help me. What did cross my mind was that they were not strangers. They were bandits. I knew it. I felt it in my gut. But regardless of what or who they were, I was too grateful that they saved me to worry about that now. Judging by the gunshots I heard in the distance, I’d say they were a moderate distraction. I was pulled farther into the forest and my legs began to ache. They became heavy and even when I started to slack, I was pulled forward by more force than I had in my entire body. I didn’t know where we were going, but as the trees passed in a blur and my chest burned for air, I became more and more suspicious of the person leading me.

When I was sure we were out of firing distance, I yanked my arm free. The man swung around, blue eyes blazing like fireworks on new years’ eve. I swallowed. Blue eyes, Blonde, slicked back hair and sleeves of tattoos on both arms. Descriptions that had been circled around in the capital, in both the wealthy and poor communities, together with wanted posters and warnings to stay as far away as possible. It meant only one thing and it made me whimper. It must have been audible because just then, the leader of the bandit crew was grinning maliciously at me.

Ashton Davie was my saviour.

And soon to be my doom.