And all the kids cried out,
"Please stop, you're scaring me"
I can't help this awful energy
Goddamn right you should be scared of me
— Control, Halsey
➵
[ GRENWICH HARBOR, 12:23 AM, PRESENT DAY ]
Ari was being followed.
Whoever it was, they weren't doing a very good job of being inconspicuous. She'd already caught glimpses of her pursuer—or pursuers; flashes of black ducking behind an alleyway, the sound of footsteps disappearing as soon as she turned around. She could sense them, could feel their presence in the eerie silence that had fallen over the harbor, as if the world was holding its breath. The calm before the storm.
In her hiding place behind a dumpster, she silently nocked an arrow. It was humming, desperate for release as she raised the bow, drew the string back to the tip of her chin. The buzz spread to her nerves, flowing through her veins like blood. In the dead of night, her senses always seemed to heighten. Out of the corner of her peripheral vision, she caught a blur of movement. Her head swiveled, searching, and paused as she spotted a silhouette on a rooftop, outlined against the moonlight. A smile carved it's way across her face. You have a smile made for killing, Artemis, she remembered her father telling her. A smile made for killing, indeed. Ari could already smell the acrid scent of blood in the air.
Another sudden motion grabbed her attention. Black shadows, darting through the night, barely visible in the darkness. She was being surrounded. A shiver ran down her spine. There were more than she expected. Pushing away the thought, she tried to focus.
She surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes had adjusted well enough to the darkness, and the moonlight was bright enough that she could just make out the number of figures that surrounded her. About a dozen, from what she could tell. Not including the figure on the rooftop. There were six arrows in her quiver—she convinced herself it was more than enough. She aimed her loaded bow. A heartbeat passed, all the time she needed to pinpoint her target, and let the arrow fly just as they started moving.
She knew she'd made her mark when she saw one of them stumble, then fall over on to the ground. Her smile widened into a grin as she turned and ran. Footsteps followed behind her, and the silhouette upon the rooftop jumped, rolling over and standing, unfazed, and came running at Ari from her side. She nocked another arrow, her pace slowing as she aimed and shot an arrow at the figure's leg. They staggered, and Ari put on a burst of speed.
She took a sharp turn, onto a dock where a boat was tied up. It was a stupid idea—now she'd have nowhere to run, but she didn't care. She needed somewhere to stop so she could load her bow and take them all out. She risked a glance back, her heart jumping into her throat as she saw how close her pursuers were. Clutching her bow, she launched herself on to the stern of the docked boat, feet scrambling for grip as she nocked another arrow and fired, taking out two as the one who'd been hit fell over on to another.
Ari fell back, losing her footing as the ship rocked with the force of another body jumping on board. Gasping she reloaded her bow, shot blindly and scrambled away. She landed inside of the boat, her head sitting a seat, and through her haze of pain she felt a hand grabbing at her leg. She screamed, rearing, and jabbed her elbow backwards. She grinned manically as it came into contact with soft flesh and a resounding groan followed.
She whirled around, breathless, and nocked another arrow, shooting it as another one of them came over the front of the boat. A line of blood followed him as he fell into the inky black water. Before she could reach for another arrow, a glimpse of black flashed across her vision before something knocked into her, and she fell back. She struggled to get the weight off her but whoever it was held on tight, knees holding down her arms. One hand was tugging painfully at her hair while the other closed around her neck. Ari gasped, and when she looked up she saw that it was a man in a black mask, everything concealed except for his eyes.
