Playing with Fire

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

I lowered my head and ran even faster, heart pounding in my chest. The resonating sound of bullets throbbed in my ears, and rain covered my body and left me feeling cold and miserable. Darting back and forth through the eerie forest, the sharp stones and undergrowth tore at my feet, while the sickly branches and tall trees cast dark shadows over the warped terrain which lay ahead of me. I could hear them getting closer, shouting and giving orders as they played their part in the most terrifying game of cat and mouse I'd ever played in my life.

I couldn't risk looking back, it would just slow me down, but as I leapt over a fallen log and slid down a bank I threw a glance backwards and past the swaying trees and against the watery moonlight, I could see one of them. Dashing from tree to tree and sending bullets soaring into the night sky, I could tell he couldn't see me, so when I reached the bottom of the slope I welcomed the mud with a grunt and continued to drag myself through it and into the closest bushes, which kindly greeted me by scratching my skin and pulling at my clothes. 

Peering through the bushes and up the slope, I saw one of them, dressed in soldiers' uniform, scanning the very area I was hiding in. Lightning struck nearby and I felt the ground rumble with sheer anticipation. He was holding a gun that was likely to leave me full of holes if it was used, and was equipped with ammo draped over his shoulders, and knives and grenades strapped to his belt.

Frozen with fear and gasping for breath, I let him glare right past me, then right at me, and into my soul. His eyes glowed bright blue in the dark, and I could see from his irate expression that he was not in the mood for a nice chat, and he certainly didn't seem to be the forgiving type. I only managed to thaw out when he raised the gun to his shoulder and began to let loose a thick spray of bullets into the wet earth and thick trunks around me, each one slamming into the ground with a soft thud, or causing bark to fly off the dilapidated trees like missiles as they cut through the timber.

As I leapt back up and continued on my way through the treacherous landscape, I felt the scorching heat of a bullet as it whizzed past my face, and had to restrain myself from collapsing in a heap and crying my eyes out. I ran onward, and I could feel my legs beginning to buckle under the constant strain of running and jumping over obstacles through the night. I could feel myself slowing down with each step, and almost didn't realise when the forest gradually changed into shrubs and the thick mud turned into damp grass which crunched and crackled under my feet.

I heard an abrupt piercing squeal which brought my hands to my ears, and I was taken swiftly down the ground by a raging pulse sent through my entire body. Paralysed by fear yet again, I could hear the roars and screams of the Manicks as they celebrated their victory over me. But it wasn’t over yet. I hauled myself to my feet and tried to gather my bearings, but my vision was blurred significantly. I spun myself around, and with flashes of bright blue in front of me, I turned in the opposite direction and dashed blindly forwards, uphill it seemed, where the wet grass changed yet again into sloshy mud, and my vision gradually cleared as I was given what I thought would be my last look at the dazzling night sky above me.

Reaching the top of the slope I forced myself to toss another look backwards, and was astounded by how fast these guys could go. I bounded forwards yet again, only coming to a sudden stop when another bullet whirred past my head again. I froze for the last time, and put my hands in the air as I twisted around slowly to face my certain death.

He yelled out a bunch of nonsense, which I depicted as “Give us the gem!” and made his way towards me with his eyes glaring at my bag. I frantically made a few steps back, and was quite surprised when the ground suddenly dropped away from me as I fell off the cliff and began to spiral downwards towards the icy river which lay below. My screams were replaced by gurgles as water filled my lungs, and the last things I saw where the bright blue eyes of my enemy gawking at me, and the glistening stars dancing around in the sky, as I was knocked unconscious by the rocky bottom of the shallow river.

I awoke to the sounds of chirping birds and running water. I pried my eyes open and saw the beaming sun staring back at me, beckoning me to get up and stretch. With a moan, I picked myself up and let out a wail as a sharp pain rose in my head, and then I realised how dry my mouth was, so I lowered myself back onto the ground and crawled back along the pebbly shore to the river, and then lapped up some water.

Peering down at my reflection, I was shocked by what was staring back at me. I was a complete mess, covered in mud and grass, scratches and bruises all over my arms and legs, and bags under my eyes. My plain clothes had been transformed into filthy rags, and my hair was crusty with mud. I rubbed my eyes and grunted with exhaustion.

I shook off the all too familiar urge to collapse in a heap and cry, and stood back up and began to take in my surroundings. Across the water and to the left I could see the cliff I'd fallen off the previous night, and I was surprised by how far I'd fallen and somehow still managed to survive. The river was quite shallow, only 2 or 3 feet deep, and the bottom was scattered with slippery green rocks and long spindly reeds, which I guess helped break my fall a bit.

To the right of the river lay thick bushes and leafy trees, which formed somewhat of a wall protecting what I assumed was even more trees behind it. Behind me was an open clearing filled with dry wavy grass, and fallen trees and branches slept among the vegetation.

I decided I had to get moving if I wanted to survive, so I took a chance and followed the river downstream, occasionally jumping in the water and scrubbing off mud and filth off my aching body and tattered clothes. I hated the way the sand stuck to my feet and got in between my toes, but it probably would have been easier than travelling through the midst of another forest.

My headache began to settle and my cuts and bruises stopped stinging, then I began to really appreciate my circumstances. The chances of the Manicks finding me here were 10 to 1 and I’d bet they wouldn’t even bother trying to find me, no-one could have survived that fall. Except me. Even if they did I could just leap back into the forest and hide amongst the trees. I stopped in my tracks, remembering what I was running from. I frantically fumbled around in my shoulder bag and felt like I was about to faint when I finally clasped my hand around the item, and heaved a sigh of relief when I pulled out what I went to so much trouble to get.

It twinkled in the sunlight, and reflected coloured beams of light in every which direction as I turned it over again and again in my hands. I took it down to the water and rubbed some excess dirt off, then smiled as it shone even brighter. Now I just had to figure out what on earth this thing was, and why the Manicks went to so much trouble to stop me from getting it.

Feeling a rumble in my stomach, I wandered over to a suitable spot in the shade. I opened my bag and swapped the stone for my measly lunch of wild mushrooms and leftover rations from the safe house, and as I munched  on protein paste and fungus flesh, I sighed up at the cloudy sky and thought to myself that taking that stone was the start of something huge.