Twenty Four Shades Darker: The Hunt

(5) Thirteen to Five

There were white figures darting through the trees behind them. Every so often she could make out the crackle of a radio transmitter and she allowed herself a small grin; Lawrie's jammer must still be working if they were relying on the old-fashioned radio tech. She sent back a whispered order to bunch up, just in case, and dropped to the back of the group. Erik followed her and, after a pause, so did Holly. She gave her a pat on the shoulder and tried not to look scared.

The Peacekeepers seemed to be shadowing them for now, perhaps waiting for them to get into open space, and every so often the setting sun glinted off a gun holster. Her hands itched to take the blowgun from her back. Next to her, Erik and Holly were getting jumpy.

"What are we going to do? They're waiting for us to stop."

"How did they fucking catch us up?"

She shrugged off their questions, thinking fast. It was obvious how they'd been caught up. They couldn't have carried on moving south so they'd turned and started to head east, uphill, towards the sunrise. The Peacekeeper unit hadn't taken such a rambling route. And there would be more of them. The units would have been spread out like spokes on a wheel; now that they'd been sighted the others would be heading towards them.

Things weren't looking good.

She checked around the group, now huddled together and looking nervous, even the Careers. They were all armed: Lincoln with his throwing knives, Satine with the sword and Alix with the machete. Holly was hugging her axe to her chest. The young lad from Nine had a hunting knife tucked into his belt but she doubted that either he or the weapon would be any good in a fight. She had her blowgun and a pouch of ten darts, a lucky find from the smouldering remains of the bloodbath. The whole thirteen-strong unit of Peacekeepers would have guns.

They were going to have to fight. It wouldn't take long.

"Jute? Plan?"

She risked a look at Erik's face and regretted it instantly. He was doing a good job of looking confident but behind the glasses his eyes were wide and frightened. His bottom lip was trembling.

"I'm thinking."

"I know. And I don't mean to rush you, but the longer we carry on..."

"What can we do?" She said nothing, just ducked under a low branch. He sighed. "Do we have to?"

"I can't think of any other way. At least this way some of us will make it out. Spread it forwards. On the cue, those with weapons are to turn around and attack. Everybody else is to run, find somewhere to hide and wait."

"What's the cue?"

"You'll know," she said grimly, surveying the surrounding area. There was a thick tree about five feet to the left; that would have to do. "Tell them they don't have to fight if they don't want to, but the more people who do, the more who'll get away."

Whispers darted up and down the group. Holly swore under her breath, her shoulders sinking, but she didn't put up a fuss and Jute gave her a half-smile that she hoped looked more confident than she felt. Heads turned to stare at her, flickering straight back to the front without so much as a sign that they'd understood as soon as they spotted the ghostly figures behind them. At least the Peacekeepers were in white. In the half-light they'd stand out more.

"You're going to fight," Erik muttered. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. If this went wrong...

"Yes. And you're going to run, understand? If anything happens to me or Holly it's up to you."

He glanced at her, a flash of blue in the gloom. "Your family is waiting for you. Be careful."

"I will. Now run."