Chapter 17: The Hunt
457 Words
Darkness swallowed the room.
Emma’s breath hitched as she pressed herself against the wall, heart pounding like a war drum. She couldn’t see anything — only the faint outlines of furniture against the dim glow seeping through the cracks in the boarded-up windows.
But she could hear them.
Soft footsteps on the porch. The creak of old wood.
The woman’s voice, a lilting whisper in the blackness.
“You thought you could take her from us?”
Emma’s pulse thundered in her ears. She crouched low, reaching blindly across the floor until her fingers brushed cold metal.
The knife.
She gripped it tight, swallowing her fear.
A hand grazed her shoulder.
Emma lashed out.
The blade met flesh. A sharp gasp. The woman stumbled back, cursing.
Emma didn’t wait. She lunged toward Sophie, fumbling with the ropes around her wrists.
“Emma,” Sophie whimpered, her voice weak.
“I’ve got you,” Emma whispered, sawing at the binds with trembling hands. “Just hold on.”
The door banged open.
Heavy boots thudded against the wooden floor.
More of them.
Shadows moved through the room, shapes looming in the darkness.
Emma cut through the last rope. Sophie sagged into her arms, barely conscious.
They had to run.
But the exit was blocked.
And the woman was already standing again, a gleam of teeth in the dim light.
Emma’s grip on the knife tightened.
“We can’t leave,” Sophie rasped.
Emma shook her head. “I’m not leaving you.”
Sophie’s body shook with quiet sobs. “No, you don’t understand,” she whispered. “There’s no way out.”
The woman stepped closer, blood dripping from her arm where Emma had cut her.
She smiled like it didn’t even hurt.
“You belong to us now,” she whispered.
Emma’s chest constricted.
But then —
A gunshot split the air.
The woman’s head snapped back, and she crumpled to the floor.
The door burst open again.
Daniel.
Blood soaked through the hospital gown he still wore, his face pale and gaunt, but his hand was steady around the pistol.
“Come on!” he shouted, voice raw.
Emma hauled Sophie to her feet. Together, they ran.
Bullets shattered windows. The cult members scattered like rats, their figures disappearing into the forest as Daniel covered their escape.
They didn’t stop running until they reached the car.
Emma shoved Sophie into the backseat, her fingers fumbling with the keys as Daniel collapsed in the passenger seat, chest heaving.
The engine roared to life, and Emma sped down the dirt road, gravel spitting behind the tires.
She didn’t look back.
But she could feel them watching.
Even through the trees.
Even in the shadows.
They were still there.
- Writer
