Page 25 of Insanium
“Go, Kennedy! I’ll find you!” Hael shouted after pushing Brandon to the side, just as an axe swung down where his head had been seconds before.
I caught a glimpse of Eryx and Raphael. They had already taken off, vanishing into the trees with the kind of swift, decisive action that left the rest of us scrambling to react.
“Kennedy, now!” Aisha’s grip was tight on my arm, her urgency pulling me back to reality. This was no time to dwell. We had nothing to defend ourselves with. My lone knife was no match for a gang of killers hidden in the trees.
Glancing back one last time, I caught sight of Jerome, his body utterly still, likely having passed out or worse, already dead. A sense of relief washed over me—he wouldn’t suffer any longer. I didn’t know him well enough to be torn up about the loss, but it still sucked. That was the price we paid, though. If you couldn’t beatJudicium, it would most certainly destroy you.
We sprinted away, Kristy and Juno a few paces ahead, while Maya was forcibly separated from us by Liam, who had pushed her in the opposite direction for reasons I couldn’t fathom in the chaos. As we ran, the air filled with the sounds of branches snapping, shouts, and a chilling silence that fell every now and then, punctuated only by heavy breaths and the distant thuds of our pursuers.
“This way!” Kristy called out, her voice strained but determined as she led us through a less dense part of the woods.
We navigated the undergrowth, the branches scratching at our faces and arms. It was a frantic, blind race against an unseen clock, with the threat of capture—or worse—looming over us.Kristy glanced back at me, her expression grim but focused. “We need to keep moving. They’re herding us like cattle.”
“Then let’s not make it easy for them,” I replied, pushing forward with renewed determination. Aisha’s hand was still clamped tightly around mine, her presence a small comfort in the madness. The woods seemed to stretch on forever, each twist and turn ramping up my irritation.
Seriously, what was the deal? If they wanted us to learn something about being prey, they were targeting the wrong demographic. We were here to become hunters, not the hunted, no matter what twisted lesson they thought they were teaching.
Kristy suddenly slowed, pressing a finger to her lips. She pointed through the trees to a structure just visible in the distance—some kind of shed or garage. Cautiously, we crept towards it.
“There’s a side door,” Juno whispered, her voice barely audible.
Moving as silently as we could, we approached the door and found it unlocked. Kristy surprisingly stepped in first. From our short stint together, I’d already clocked she wasn’t the type to be daring or bold about anything unless it involved running her mouth. I exchanged a wary look with Aisha as we followed.
Inside, the place was rather unimpressive. There were no hidden treasures or secret exit routes. All that was left to see were stacked totes, a riding lawn mower, a wall filled with various garden tools, and an area where chains dangled from the ceiling, ending in sharp hooks. On second thought, those were rather nifty.
“Looks like we found one of their storage spots,” I murmured, my eyes sweeping across the room for anything that might spell trouble.
Aisha nodded in agreement, her gaze sharp and assessing.
Juno eased the door shut with a gentle nudge, her voice hushed but with a hint of optimism. “Well, at least the windows are covered,” she pointed out, nodding toward the boards that only partially obscured the glass.
“Or this is exactly where they wanted us to end up,” Kristy interjected, her voice flat as she moved toward the wall lined with garden tools. “Or maybe I just led us all into a trap.”
I raised an eyebrow, a half-smile tugging at my lips. “Kristy, I doubt you’re that cunning.”
She glanced back over her shoulder, smirking with mock indignation. “Oh, but I am,” she declared, her tone playful yet laced with a hint of challenge.
“All things considered, she did point this out,” Aisha lilted.
I shrugged, keeping my eyes on Kristy. “You’re right. She seems oddly proud of it, too.”
Kristy stopped fiddling with a particularly nasty-looking pair of shears and faced us squarely. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously,” she accused, her voice tight.
“Oh, I takeJudiciumvery seriously,” I replied, brushing off her concern with a wave of my hand. “I’m just not overly worried about your little villain monologue right now. Can we wrap this up? I need to go find my better half.”
Kristy’s expression soured. “Everyone thinks you’re a psycho, Kennedy.”
“Me? That title’s already been claimed by my brother.”
“Him too. That sick freak should be—”
“Hey now, aren’t we all just sick little freaks? Who else would willingly participate in this twisted kind of entertainment?” Aisha cut in again.
I leaned in, a playful smirk spreading across my face. “Psycho and sick freak? What’s this, Kristy? Are you in love with him too? I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Wait, actually, Ifucking love it, because there’s no way I’d let you be my sister-in-law. My brother already has his sights set on someone.”
Her expression became something akin to horrified, and I was starting to feel a bit insulted. My brother may have been a sick freakanda tiny bit psychotic, but that only made him more of a great fucking catch.
“Then I hope she has friends. That poor, poor girl.”
