Anastasia was a little touched when Angelina said We instead of just You, but there was no ti to start feeling emotional. She’d killed soone because she needed to protect herself, or else she would have been in the sa position her victim was if she hadn’t acted fast.
"Let’s go," she said.
Due to the groaning sound the dead man had made before he died, the two girls were sure soone had overheard them, so they ran as fast as their legs could take them. They even had to run in circles, making it confusing for anyone who would want to trace their steps.
"Ana, killing that man will put us in trouble," Angelina said when they finally stopped to take a breath.
"Would you prefer you were in his position inside?" Anastasia questioned, her tone harsher than she’d intended it to be. When she realized her mistake, she sighed and then placed her hand on Angelina’s shoulder. "In this ga, it’s kill or be killed. With this..." She pointed to the quiver that was resting behind her back and the bow in her hand, all ready to release the arrow if she needed to. "There’s a high chance we can survive tonight, and even...escape from here."
Angelina’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and they stayed like that for a second longer before she finally gave a reaction.
"We can’t escape from here unless we’re courting death." Her tone was laced with terror that Anastasia could completely relate to. Although she hadn’t escaped yet, she could already feel her heart threatening to jump out of her chest due to how fast it was beating.
She’d only stayed in that house for a month and she couldn’t wait to escape from there and return to her life beyond those trees.
"Think about it. If we’re able to escape from here, then we will be able to report the cri we’ve witnessed and get all these people arrested. Don’t you want to get back to your family?" Anastasia asked, her tone hushed, in case soone was near.
Then they suddenly heard a branch snap, and their heart dropped to their legs. Anastasia pulled the arrow, reading to kill again.
Luckily, it wasn’t a human she saw. It was a white bunny. When the creature saw her with the bow, it stiffened, as if identifying the object in her hand to be a threat to its life.
Anastasia slowly lowered the bow, still high on alert for any sound as she watched the bunny hop away.
Then she glanced around, assured no one was nearby before she released a sigh of relief.
"I’m an orphan, and I don’t have anyone who could be waiting for outside this fence. Unless my landlord, because my rent is due and I suddenly disappeared." She chuckled lightly at the end of her words but Anastasia didn’t find anything funny. "As ugly as it may be, getting sold to a man here is the only way I can find happiness."
Anastasia froze, unable to believe what she was hearing from Angelina.
"You can’t be serious." Anastasia wished Angelina could be joking but the girl didn’t chuckle as she’d silently hoped she would. "You know what it’s like to live in that house. They treat us like animals, and they’re currently hunting us down like one."
"I’m aware," said Angelina, wiping the tears that’d subconsciously flowed down her cheeks. "But...." She suddenly drawled, her eyes strained on a tree behind Anastasia as she tried to co up with a word that would explain her decisions. "I don’t know what the future holds for , but if this is how my life will turn out for , then I might just accept it. I might get chosen by soone who has a good heart, and he’ll take care of ."
"Do you think any of these n have the conscience of treating you like a human?" Anastasia questioned her hands on Angelina’s shoulder now, resisting the urge to shake her back to her senses. "Look around, they’re hunting us like animals."
"But....I just can’t..."
Anastasia sighed. It was obvious Angelina had made her decision and it seed there was nothing else she could do to convince the latter, but only hope she got the man she wanted even though it was impossible since they were being hunted by these sa n.
Anastasia sighed once more, patting Angelina before heading to the forbidden area where she was supposed to et with Avery.
Then all of a sudden, she heard the shriek echo in the forest. One of the girls had been caught and if blood had already been drawn, she would get killed.
Anastasia didn’t stop in her tracks, instead, her speed only increased.
She looked behind her to be sure no one was chasing her and also to be sure she wasn’t leaving any steps behind for tracing when she suddenly collided with sothing solid, forcing her butt to kiss the muddy ground.
"You should watch where you’re going Ana."
That voice sent shivers down her spine, and she was forced to grit her teeth silently before raising her head and making eye contact with Julian De Luca.
He glanced at the quiver behind her back and a smirk stretched on his lips.
"You killed one of them?" His expression was etched with amusent—sothing Anastasia didn’t think he should be feeling at that mont. "I’ve always known you were different. From the very first day, I just knew you were tough."
"Tough enough to kill you?" She asked, scowling at him as her hand clenched her bow and arrow.
While Samantha was explaining the rules, she’d never ntioned the hunter and the hunted could engage in a conversation. Now, she wondered why Julian wasn’t pulling his arrow and shooting her dead.
Despite his weird behavior, she was glad he hadn’t shot her dead yet.
Julian scoffed at her remark, and Anastasia noticed his grip loosen on his arrow. "You could try, but I won’t guarantee you would succeed."
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