He and Jake exchange a glance, looking deeper into the woods behind us. Nodding their heads, they both motion for us to begin running. We all take off into the tree line even further. Both of the men on either side of us run backwards with their guns trained on the woods. Samantha and Magi are dragging Morimoto behind them.
He is refusing to run.
“The truck has stopped,” Zac almost yells the words as he looks over his shoulder while running.
“Be quiet, they could hear you,” Mar tells her brother. He shakes his head ever so slightly, confirming that he understands. The look in his eye would suggest something more than fear.
Moments later, we have reached a clearing in the woods, but a ravine stands between us and our escape. The hole in the ground is about fifteen feet wide and twenty-five feet deep, so we could never jump it. It would be possible to climb, but not with Chi and that would only be if we had all the time in the world.
The sounds coming from the truck have stopped now, and in the distance a figure begins its decent into the woods. Whoever they are is now out of their vehicle and headed in our direction. Panic fills my heart and the eyes of everyone with us. I try to think of something to do as everyone looks to Jake and me for guidance.
“Hide,” is all I can get out.
We all scramble into various directions, some of us dodging behind trees while others attempt to scale down the ravine. Leah, Mar, and I have ended up in a small cluster of bushes surrounded by boulders. As Mar and Leah huddle together to make themselves less visible, I can’t help but peek out for confirmation that everyone has made it to safety. I can see well enough from between two rocks, the person pursuing us is a man, but I can’t see him well enough to know if we should know who he is or where he has come from, but what I do know is he is not wearing anything like the people from The Force or The Force Field. He has on a light brown pair of pants and a multi colored shirt with buttons and a collar.
At first glance, this man does not look like a threat, but for some reason, he is following us. I look from side to side to make for certain each of the members of our group has made it to safety, but then I see him, sitting on the ground and only twenty yards away from our intruder.
I hold my breath as I see the stranger coming closer and closer to him. He is sliding backwards to get further away from the man coming into view. I know now I have no clue who this new man is, but he is becoming increasingly aware of the member of our group on the ground, trying to get away with every second.
The stranger reaches behind his back, bringing forth a large gun that must have been holstered back there. It is like no gun that I have ever seen. He raises it up to his eye, centering it straight on the man on the ground. Pleas ring out from the man at the end of the gun to not shoot, but to no avail.
I close my eyes with sick satisfaction, hold my breath, and hear the shot ring out. I open my eyes just in time to see Morimoto’s lifeless body hit the ground. I guess his brother, the President of The Elected, will never see him again. I wonder if Samantha left him there on purpose or didn’t think she had enough time to hide him and her too? Before the thought can process in my mind, a deep voice calls out into the woods.
“Alright, I know you are out here, come out with your hands up!”
Chapter Three
I look from Mar and Leah to Morimoto Chi’s body. Besides a small sketch on parchment paper of a map to The Elected Headquarters that I keep in my backpack that Gavin gave me, Morimoto was the only one who truly knew how to get us there as well as our only leverage we had against his brother.
A sick feeling hits me, and all I want to do is throw up. Morimoto is dead, and my backpack is back in the utility vehicle, I didn’t grab it! A hopelessness creeps in, knowing I may have cost us our only way of ever finding Syl and Shae, or ending The Division. Knowing yet again I have stood between my family’s success and our loss, I slowly reach into the air and become the first one from our group to step out and surrender myself to the stranger.
I have a plan…I think.
Mar tries to grab at my ankle as I stand up taller, passing her and Leah to expose myself. It takes the man a moment to see me. I toss my gun down at his feet, letting him know that I don’t have any intentions of shooting him, but I do keep it in mind that Jake or Samantha could take him out if they had a good vantage point. That would comfort me more if I actually knew where they are hiding.
“Who are you?” I ask, mustering up every ounce of bravery I have. It doesn’t work though; my voice still cracks a bit.
“Don’t mind who I am just yet,” the man says. “Jake Anthony,” he yells out in the direction of the ravine. “I know you are out here too. Come out with your hands behind your head.”
I look at him, puzzled. How can a man I have no idea who he is know who Jake is? There is only a handful of people I am aware of who know what
