Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Forty Three

Zarah didn't know what to do.

She had seconds to decide whether to go after Arelie or stay and help Brenton and Cassandra. Arelie had taken Cassandra's gun. She was armed and Zarah wasn't. But most importantly, it was Arelie they were talking about. She was unpredictable and dangerous and someone Zarah definitely couldn't take on alone.

But seeing Brenton had shocked Arelie enough to make her shoot him and flee.

And Zarah had to know why.

Something about Brenton and Arelie's interaction just sat wrong in her stomach.

So, with no plan other than to keep Arelie in sight, Zarah careened out the door, following the flash of Arelie's blonde hair down the street.

"Zarah!" Cassandra yelled after her. "Come back!"

But Zarah was already gone.

She glanced over her shoulder, checking to see if Cassandra was following, but the street was empty behind her. Maybe Cassandra had been injured in the fall. Maybe she'd run back upstairs to get more weapons before pursuing like Zarah should've.

But it was too late now. If she stopped, she'd lose Arelie, and there was something deep in her gut telling her she couldn't do that.

Cursing herself for her terrible cardio and absolute lack of a plan, Zarah turned and ran full pelt, chasing Arelie from the bitumen of the road onto the hard packed dirt of the bush tracks.

The trees flashed past her, the ground uneven and scattered with twigs. She stumbled and lurched, every step threatening a broken ankle or a quick introduction of her face to the dirt. But Zarah barely let herself think about it. Her eyes were focused ahead, following the flashes of loose clothing and blonde hair.

Arelie flickered in and out of sight ahead, rounding corners and ducking under branches with an expertise Zarah couldn't match. The only thing that kept Zarah on track was the noise, the thumps and crunches of heavy footfalls and breaking sticks, the screeches of birds as Arelie zoomed past and they took off, startled, to the skies.

Zarah could only hope there weren't any creatures from the in between still in these trees hearing those noises too. If there were, Zarah could only assume Arelie and herself had effectively lit a homing beacon.

She could feel herself slowing, feel her movements becoming sloppy and Arelie drawing further ahead. It felt like she'd been running for hours, though she knew she wasn't even half way to the beach yet.

She was just beginning to think she'd lose Arelie completely when Arelie skidded to a stop and spun around, searching for pursuers.

Zarah dived behind a tree, slamming a hand over her mouth to muffle her heavy breathes. She pressed back against the trunk, holding still as the silence dragged.

Arelie's breaths were loud in the quiet, only intercepted by scuttling animals and rustling leaves. Zarah squeezed her eyes shut, her lungs screaming with the urge to let out big, gasping breaths.

Eventually, there was a crack of sticks — Arelie moving again, slower this time — and Zarah let out a breath of relief.

"Shit!" Arelie swore, the word was punctuated by a dull thud that Zarah assumed was a punch to an innocent tree.

The swearing started in earnest then and Zarah dropped her hand from her mouth and peaked around the tree.

Arelie was pacing around a clearing about twenty meters away, swearing and kicking up dirt and sticks. As Zarah watched, she fumbled a phone from her pocket and put it to her ear, tapping Cassandra's gun against her thigh with her free hand.