As soon as she turned to leave, a gloved hand shot from behind.
It clamped firmly over her mouth.
Before Yesu could react, another arm wrapped around her waist.
She struggled.
The grip tightened.
She was being dragged away, her feet a few inches above the ground.
Yesu wriggled desperately, kicking her legs back and forth.
She could hear footsteps approaching with stealth.
Her legs finally found a delicate spot.
She gave her attacker a powerful kick in the crotch.
A groan.
The grip loosened.
Yesu burst out of his hold, landing with her hands to the floor.
She sprang up and ran.
The footsteps were getting closer.
A punch slamd into her head from one side.
She fell.
Soone grabbed her arms, pinning her to the ground.
Another hand pressed her face hard against the dirt.
She could hear hurried whispers. Sothing zipping open.
Yesu struggled with all her might.
"Keep her steady." A quiet order ca.
The hands held on tighter.
A shadow was leaning towards her.
"Steady now."
Yesu kicked frantically. The grips on her almost loosened.
She could feel the slight panic around.
"Oh, fuck it." Ca the figure squatting next to her through clenched teeth.
A needle stabbed into her neck.
Yesu went stiff for a mont. Then she started struggling again.
The world slowly beca faint.
The hands on her were slackening.
Her limbs beca too heavy to move. Her eyelids even heavier to keep open.
She was rolled onto her back.
There was a small opening in the canopy of trees above.
Yesu saw the sky. It was a clear blue.
She could also see the sun. Shining brightly.
Warm.
She thought of lifting a hand up.
To grab hold of it.
But her body no longer received signals from her brain.
She just lay limp.
Then darkness slowly took over.
***
Back at the Vault area, squad 11-D were setting traps in haste.
Finch was working on his primitive alarm system. Strings connected to cans, tal scraps, bottles, etc.
Which would let them know exactly where 12-B was approaching from.
Mid line, he stretched out a hand to the side.
"String." He said.
No response.
"String." He said again.
Still no response.
He turned and sure enough, Yesu was not there.
Finch sighed.
"She never seems to stay in one place." He chuckled in fondness. "And I'm the unreliable one."
He produced a line of string from his pocket.
"Good thing I have backup."
He continued working.
Suddenly—
Finch paused.
His eyes widened.
He snapped his head in the exact direction Yesu had wandered off to.
He dropped everything in an instant and took a few hurried steps toward the location.
Then he stopped abruptly.
Contemplated for a minute or two.
And returned.
Soraya was already standing close to his alarm system.
She looked a bit on edge.
"Where were you going?" She asked.
Finch barely glanced at her, hesitating.
"No where." He said quietly, deep in thought.
Soraya observed him. Her slight suspicion from the day before had returned.
"Guys…" Ca Jas, in the midst of the trap area.
Everyone looked at him.
His head was tilted, an ear upward.
"I think I hear sothing." He said cautiously.
The squad grew alard.
"What?" Soone asked, almost in a whisper.
Another student with Heightened Senses had also tilted her head.
"I hear it too." She said,
That didn't help them much.
"What?"
Everyone leaned in.
"Voices." Jas answered, listening intensely.
After a few monts, his ear relaxed.
"It's gone."
The squad didn't look relieved one bit.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Jas nodded. "It's completely gone now."
"Where did it co from?"
Jas's eyes scanned the environnt. Then rested in the direction Yesu had gone.
"I think it was coming from—"
"That's enough chattering for the day." Soraya cut in abruptly.
The squad faced her.
She was more edgy than she had been since the day began.
"We don't have much ti. If you heard voices it could an that 12-B is well underway. We need to be fully prepared."
Her gaze was shifty, not settling on anyone.
The whole squad noticed.
Soraya walked briskly past the grounds and went to sit on a fallen log far aside.
Her squad mbers were puzzled.
"What's up with her?"
"She's not losing her grit, is she?"
"We're dead at if she does."
"Get a grip guys. Maybe she's just exhausted. Leadership is hard."
"Right. She needs rest."
"She can do that so other ti…"
Isaiah left the troop and went over to Soraya.
"Hey," he called gently, sitting next to her. "What's going on?"
Soraya sighed deeply.
"Nothing."
Isaiah studied her closely.
"Are you sure? You didn't sleep at all last night. If you need to rest, just say it. We have hours left."
Soraya snapped her head to him, looking offended.
Though partly.
She seed more defensive.
"Stop worrying about all the ti. I'm fine."
Isaiah shifted. "I'm sorry."
Soraya didn't reply.
Sothing had caught her attention from across the trap area.
Finch.
He was tying the next set of strings but his attention was on her.
They held each other's gaze.
Both expressions uneasy.
Like they knew sothing was off about each other.
Sothing irregular.
Suspicious.
Soraya looked away first.
Finch never did.
***
Yesu awoke in darkness.
The space around her was tight. And swaying.
For a few seconds she lay still, disoriented.
Then she felt it.
Thick cotton pressed against her arms, legs and shoulders.
A bag.
She was inside a bag.
A thin line of light seeped through a partially closed zipper above her.
Yesu blinked.
She didn't know how long she had been unconscious.
Slowly, she pushed a finger toward the zip head.
And pulled.
The opening widened.
Through the gap, she saw two black-clad figures carrying the bag between them.
Sothing jingled in her pocket.
The Scales.
Yesu froze.
The Scales were still with her.
Back at the vault, her squad was already preparing to claim it.
What would happen if there were no Scales?
Her eyes shifted to the zipper.
She took a breath, then moved.
The zipper shot open.
Yesu exploded out of the bag.
The sudden movent caught the carriers completely off guard.
Both stumbled and crashed to the ground.
"How is she awake?" one shouted in shock.
Yesu hit the forest floor, rolled twice and sprang upright.
And ran.
Imdiately, footsteps thundered behind her.
Fast.
Too fast.
A bat swung toward her head.
Crack.
The blow landed cleanly.
But Yesu didn't stop. Didn't stumble.
She didn't even feel it.
The attacker slowed in disbelief.
"What—?"
The second pursuer reacted instantly.
Air blasted beneath his feet.
He launched forward and crashed into Yesu's back.
Both slamd into the ground.
Hands grabbed her arms.
Pinned her.
Yesu struggled violently.
A needle plunged into her neck.
Then another.
And another.
The fight drained from her limbs.
The forest blurred.
The voices beca distant.
And darkness swallowed her once again.
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