Amity and Enmity

Chapter 37

Day: 1230

Days Left: 4250

Lives Saved: 6

"She should be over here," mumbled the woman with Lili still walking behind, sword to her back.

"Where?" asked Lili, looking around to find no one else in the forest.

"Over..." the woman paused, then pointed over to a tree where at the ground was a pile of rope, parts of it cut.

"Seems like she escaped," Lili sighed, unsure whether to be relieved as Corinna could still be in danger. She guided the woman over to the tree and picked up the rope, tying the hands of her captive. "Come on," Lili said, prodding the woman with her sword. "You're still not off the hook yet."

"I don't know where she is," said the woman, huffing and wincing as the rope around her wrists tightened and dug into her skin.

"But I imagine you might have friends nearby." Lili glared. "You're from that big group based at the drop-off, right?"

The woman hesitated, then replied meekly, "no..."

"I advise you to try not to lie to me again." Lili shoved the woman to start walking again. "If your friends dare attack, I'll use you as a hostage or maybe even a shield."

"You're not going to let me go, are you?"

"I'll decide when I find Corinna; she's more likely to spare you than I am, so your best option is to help me find her-"

"Oh, thank goodness!" cried a voice, followed by a rushing of feet on crunched leaves.

Lili turned to see Corinna, the young woman panting and catching her breath by leaning against a tree, her hand clutching onto her chest.

"I've been so worried! I couldn't find you!" Corinna looked to Lili and then to the tied-up woman.

Lili paused for a moment, then glared at her captive. "Sit and behave," she growled.

The woman glanced at Corinna, then to Lili and obeyed, sitting down on the ground with her tied hands up in surrender.

"We need to find the others!" said Corinna.

"We will," said Lili calmly, approaching the young woman.

"The village has been attacked and-" Corinna gasped as she was pinned against the tree. "What are you doing!" Corinna spluttered for breath as Lili's elbow dug into her stomach, struggling to break free.

"You're not her," Lili hushed into the fake Corinna's ear. "You're a shapeshifter."

The fake Corinna forced a laugh as if attempting to hide her fear. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Corinna can't talk," said Lili. "And she has prosthetic hands that can't move by themselves." She motioned to the fake Corinna's hands, that whilst they looked exactly like the wooden prosthetics Corinna had made, they moved like they were animatronic instead of still and had to be manually moved.

"Damn, just my luck," the fake Corinna coughed. "You're into the mute. I can never tell what form I appear to people-"

"Where is she!" hissed Lili, tightening her hold on the siren's wrist. "What have you-" She let go of the shapeshifter and stepped aside as the captured woman rushed at her from behind.

The fake Corinna whipped out an electric taser from her pocket, attempting to appear threatening, but she was still shaking and gasping for breath. "It's two against one!" she spat.

"Correction," said Lili, rolling back her shoulders. "There's two of you, one with her hands tied and no mask, and you whose mask just lets you look like someone else." Lili tapped her tiger mask that was on the side of her head. "How about you rethink this? Just tell me where Corinna is."