Silas by V. J. Chambers Page A

thing to rush out into what you knew was
going to be an ambush.
    Outside the door, it was
empty. There was a clearing, dirt with patches of scraggly grass.
We were situated in a small valley. On all sides, the forest jutted
up, surrounding us like the walls of a bowl.
    I didn’t see anyone out
here.
    I ran, pumping my legs, still
yelling.
    And the first bullet tore into
me.
    It caught me under my rib, searing pain
ripping through me.
    I stopped moving, gasping at the
pain.
    And I was hit again. This time my
neck.
    Once they’d started, it
seemed that they wouldn’t let up. Bullets riddled my body, burning
into my torso, my arms, my legs, my head—
    Darkness .

 
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER NINE
     
    My eyes snapped open. I was lying on my
back, staring up at a deep blue sky. It was clear, not a single
cloud marring its perfection. I gazed at it for a second, taking it
in.
    The sound of gunfire
shattered my reverie and reminded me where I was and what was
happening.
    Rolf was hunting me. He was hunting
Christa.
    Christa!
    I leaped to my feet, looking
around.
    I could see that everyone had left the
makeshift prison. They were running towards the woods.
    I made out Emmett, dashing into the
trees.
    A few yards behind him were
Ken and Christa. Ken had Christa running in front of him. He was
shielding her body with his own.
    Good. She was okay. At least for the
moment.
    I looked in the direction it
seemed the bullets were coming from, hoping for a glance at the
hunters.
    But I couldn’t see anyone. I
had no idea where there were. They had taken good cover someplace.
It was as if they were invisible.
    No time to waste, I took off running
for the woods myself.
    Another bullet hit me in my
arm.
    It hurt, and blood poured out of the
wound.
    But I didn’t stop. I didn’t
let it faze me. I kept running. I needed to get to the
woods.
    I saw one of the guys ahead
of me. I was pretty sure it was Ross. He was puffing as he dragged
his leg behind him. He’d been hit. The bottom of his pants leg was
soaked in blood.
    I was going to overtake him. Should I
try to help him?
    Emmett had said it was every
man for himself out here. Not only that, Ross was the one who’d
made ugly comments about Christa. I wasn’t sure if I
cared—
    A bullet whizzed past me and
exploded into Ross’ skull.
    He turned, unsteady on his feet. His
gaze seemed to focus on me, uncomprehending and confused. Blood
gushed over his forehead, into his eyes.
    And then he fell, thudding into the
ground.
    I picked up the pace,
careening around his body.
    I needed to get to the
woods.
    Scanning for Christa and Ken, I caught
sight of them just outside the tree line. Christa had moved to the
right, and her back was wide open. She was a perfect
target.
    I wanted to yell at her,
tell her to take cover.
    But I knew that would only
draw attention to her. And maybe they weren’t focused on her right
now. Maybe they were focused on someone else.
    I ran faster. I picked up my legs and
pumped my arms and pushed myself.
    But I kept my eyes on
Christa and Ken. I needed to make sure she was okay. That she made
it into the woods safe.
    Ken stopped short. It was as if he
froze in midair.
    It took me a second to
realize that he’d been shot. I could hear the gun fire, but I
didn’t associate it with what was happening right away.
    They’d shot him in the
back.
    Christa screamed. I heard
her across the clearing. She caught Ken, holding him up so that he
didn’t fall.
    “ No,” I yelled. I couldn’t
help myself. “Leave him. Go!”
    Maybe she didn’t hear me.
Maybe she just didn’t want to listen to me.
    She wound Ken’s arm around
her shoulder. I could see that she was talking to him, urging him
on.
    The two made a few slow steps towards
the woods.
    I wished I could run faster.
They were too far away from me. I couldn’t get to
Christa.
    Another shot.
    Blood arced out of the back
of Ken’s skull. He went lifeless in Christa’s arms.
    She dropped him, too stunned to