¹epiphany ─ j. miller

By Any Means

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
WINTER
BY ANY MEANS

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Ellie grabbed her bag, reloading her gun and walking over to the garage door. Elva looked towards Joel, brushing his choppy hair off of his forehead.

"We'll be back." She smiled sadly, knowing that he could hear her.

The older woman grabbed her bag as well, pulling up the garage door and letting Ellie through before sliding under herself. The winter chill was harsh against their faces as they got onto their horses.

"-you even sure they're here?" One of David's men asked. They were standing directly on the street, leaving Ellie and Elva to duck down on their horses to the best of their ability.

"Man, there were horse tracks down the fucking street." Another replied. "They're here."

Suddenly, a third hunter grabbed ahold of Ellie, trying to pull her off the horse. He began yelling, alerting the hunters on the street of the two girl's presence. Elva jumped off of Liam, sliding across the snow and sending a shiv through his neck.

"What are you waiting for?" One of the hunters on the street yelled, gaining Ellie and Elva's attention. "Shoot her!"

"But David said-"

"Fuck David, shoot her now!"

Gunshots narrowly missed Ellie and Elva as they rode through the deserted resort, avoiding cars and barbed wire to the best of their abilities. Hunters passed them, only to be kicked away by the snow kicking up from the horses' feet.

The icy lake was almost visible as the hunters continued to yell. Elva stayed close beside Ellie, only for two shots to ring through the two horses' bodies.

"Shit!" Elva yelled, trying to grasp onto Ellie as they fell down a rocky bank. They dusted themselves off quickly, gathering their bearings as the two dead horses fell limp to the snowy ground.

"They're running for the cabins!" A hunter screamed.

"Ellie, grab my hand, run." Elva instructed, holding her handgun with one hand and Ellie's palm with another. They leaped in through a cabin window, taking refuge from the hunters as best as they could.

Walking through the house, Ellie grasped out David's stolen rifle, crouching down to avoid the sight from the windows.

Elva led her out towards the porch, more of the hunter's voices calling out. "Are we really killing them? David said he wants them alive." One stated.

"He doesn't get to make that call." Another replied. "James told me it's the couple from the university." He explained. "How many of our guys were killed there?"

"Oh, shit. I didn't know that was them." The first one exclaimed. "Screw David, then. I ain't taking a chance with this."

Ellie pulled out her bow, Elva doing the same as they walked into a gazebo. The three hunters talking earlier stalked by the girls, their handguns raised in alert. Elva sniped the front one, letting Ellie take down the other one.

"Where do we go?" The young girl whispered.

"Let's just try to get to the lakeside, we can figure out a plan from there." Elva replied, sneaking through the bushes and back into the snowed road.

They walked behind a public bathroom, leaning back onto the road and trying to scope out any more hunters. Elva quickly sniped one of the enemies with her bow, letting Ellie take down the other one with her tactical knife.