Page 2 of The Hunted

1

Prey

Blood rushes in my ears, beating out a pounding rhythm. My lungs burn as adrenaline courses through my veins. I gulp for breath while I struggle to keep up this stride. They’re behind me. Their collective stomps shaking me to the very bone. Fear wraps itself around me like a leaden blanket, it’s weight nearly dragging me down. If I can just maintain good distance between myself and the Hunters, maybe they won’t catch me this time.

I’m not certain I could bear that again.

I pass one of the many cottages that litter the grounds of this vast estate. Through the large window, I catch a fleeting glimpse of a woman strapped to a St. Andrew’s cross. Her arms tethered above her head and her splayed legs place her sleek nude form on full display. With her head thrown back and her eyes closed tightly, her breasts rise and fall with every hard breath she takes. A man kneels in front of her with his face buried in her core. This isn’t the time to feed your curiosity, I admonish myself. No matter how many times I see the carnal acts that take place here, I’ll never become accustomed to it. Things such as this don’t exist in my world of campaigns and sales pitches. It only further proves just how very far in over my head I am here.

The men and women who stand outside the window observing the couple turn to watch me as I glide by. Their eyes bore into me, and a cold chill prickles my flesh. I face forward again. No more time to think about them right now. The Hunters are gaining on me.

My bare feet pad over the lush expanse of manicured lawn, carrying me toward the forest. I hope I can evade their pursuit long enough to compose an escape plan.

“You can run, but have no doubt, you will be mine.”

A voice booms from behind me. The deep tone washes over me, twisting my stomach into knots with anxiety.

The late autumn wind whispers through the trees, whipping my hair around in the air. I’m not certain the chill is completely due to the fall weather in the Tennessee mountains.

I tear through the forest, the long skirt of my white dress snagging on brush and tangling around my legs as I try to escape. I make it to a copse of trees and nestle behind a large oak, trying to calm my ragged breaths. Stalks of the long dead grass surround me, shimmying on the breeze, their seed pods tickling my face.

They’re approaching.

My heart pounds violently, trying to leap from my chest. I lie as still as I can.

Please just let them pass.

I plead silent prayers for myself, for my sister, and hope that this nightmare is going to end soon. I’m not certain how much longer I can continue to stay here, participating in this charade.

The Hunters race by me, oblivious to my hiding place. The last Hunter passes me, and I expel a relieved gust of breath as I bolt upright, springing into a run in the opposite direction. The grass and undergrowth lash into the skin of my cold, bare feet, but I can’t slow down. Not yet. I try to outrun the recurring thought in my mind that soon, my time will come. One of the Hunters will catch me.

---