𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄 ★ A. Warner

𝟎𝟎𝟎. war of hearts

˗ˏˋ andrea madden'ˎ˗

THERE WAS A fire.

The second the smoke hit my lungs I was wide awake, not a second was wasted. My back detached itself from the rough tree I had previously sat on with no hesitation. All survival instincts had been turned on. As I jumped down I kept my legs steady and bent to land onto the dirt with no complications.

My bag was thrown onto my shoulder and with no second thoughts, I left my spot.

As I ran I thought about departing from my tree. That was the longest I've stayed at camp, and it would've been longer if I never smelt that damn smoke. Yet, I knew I had to evacuate because if I was able to smell it, then it must mean it is near me–and that isn't good.

I have only killed five animals, two of them were coyotes, another two were deer ( the easiest to prey upon ) and the last one was wolf. I had twelve animals left and I have been out here for 5 days. It isn't looking good on my part.

Every year it seems to be getting tougher, and I have surmised that it is because my father is killing them all. He seems to be working harder to catch me before I get all seventeen animals. I won't let that happen though. Twelve is an easy number, I kill them all by day seven, I know I can.

I just have to stop being so damn tired, but of course my period had to land on my special day this year. Which meant no products. Nothing. I had the one I placed before the hunt, but I am not risking infections by using it all week. Instead, I snuck a pair of old sweatpants and an old T-shirt, which I cut up and double layered as a pad.

Call me an engineer at that point.

I keep my hand straight ahead of me pushing all the possible branches from my way. Every now and then I add a hop into my run to prevent from falling in any sort of trap, but if that does happen, I know how to escape one so it really is no problem.

I hear a yell after eight minutes of running. Distant, but I pick it up immediately which has me instinctively grabbing my bow and arrow. I no longer smell the fire, so I know I didn't accidentally run the wrong direction, yet I am not playing games when I am on the hunt. A small part in the back of my head is telling me to keep running, that it is my father, but the other side is intrigued. I am curious, because never in my thirteen years of doing this hunt have I heard yells that are so humane. I've heard cries, growls, sometimes whines, but never an actual yell.

Everything about this year is strange, and I am afraid it is about to be much stranger.

Footstep. Instantly, I felt my heart fucking drop.

My weapon stays steady, my legs digging themselves into the dirt, taking slow circles, staying aware of my surroundings. If this is my father, I am fucked. Five out seventeen is atrocious, unexceptable, disappointing, and any other form of vocabulary to showcase my weakness. I should've had my seventeen by day three, but instead I was looking for a river. God, what an idiot.

Just as I am about to let go and call it clear, a hand wraps itself around my mouth and knocks me off conscious, but I noticed something before my eyes went black.

The hand that gripped my mouth was gloved with emerald green embroidering and I have only come across one boy who wore the same exact glove with that detailing.

This was the Andersons' son.

I WAS WEARING a blindfold.

As I groggily wake up, I feel all the memories of the past couple of days return to me. Only when I finally remember what happened just hours ago, I stand up, only to fall back onto the floor because I was – of course – tied to the chair.

"Careful, Madden, wouldn't want to send you hurt to your daddy, now would we?" As soon as he started talking I deciphered who he was. Although I technically knew as soon as I noticed his gloves, this was confirmation. The only thing I couldn't put together was why he of all people kidnapped me.

I laugh, shaking my head. I knew he was trying to intimidate me by blindfolding me, but what he didn't know was that I have changed, and that I am no longer the scared little girl who sat behind his back while the adults fought. I wasn't weak, and I wasn't backing down from a challenge.

"Oh, how've you underestimated me, Warner." I added a grin at the end to make it more sinister. And when the room fell quiet, I knew it worked. He wasn't expecting me to catch on, but little did he know I never forgot him.

Light flashes my eyes, and it blinds me for a second before I slowly lift my head to face him. There he stands, still blonde, and his eyes greener than ever. He wears what I assumed for him to wear, the usual black suit– a tiring and boring uniform his father probably forced upon him – and hands in his pockets. ( besides the one holding the blindfold )

"Obsessed with me, then?" He says, his head tilting just the slightest.

I fight the urge to laugh, again. "Who's the one who had me kidnapped?"

"Bold of you to assume I did this because I wanted to see you."

"So you just kidnap people for fun nowadays? Daddy no longer let you play pretend in his office?"

He sneers at me, glaring through his disgustingly green eyes. "Maybe I should let you back outside with the poisoned animals, perhaps call a whistle so they can come running to you for dessert." He pauses for dramatic affect. "How's that sound, princess?"

"You must be stupid if you believe I cannot fight a couple of wolves off."

"Poisoned wolves," He points out once more.

I arch a brown, but I also won't fall for his little trap. I don't know how long I have been here for, and I need to return to my hunt. Once I am over a week I have to surrender, and I have yet to kill my seventeen.

"A challenge," I state, lifting my lips. "Just what I needed." He stays quiet, and when my hands suddenly lift off the chair they were tied to, his jaw drops marginally. "I hate to cut this reunion short, but I must return to my chief commander duties."

As I walk out to the front door I can tell he wants to say something, but he stays silent.

"See you next time, blondie." And I am gone.