Chapter 152

Judy’s POV

I didn’t really have a plan for attack during this round.

Everybody was kind of everywhere and if I didn’t move fast, I would get hurt by one of the many flying weapons. I ducked when a sword went spiraling through the air, nearly nipping my ear in the process. I ignored the gasps and cheers from the crowd around me as I ran, trying to find an opening so I could take in my surroundings and find the weakest.

My eyes found Tabby; she had a bow and arrow and was shooting it in the direction of one of the largest guys. He had a sword and was able to whack the arrow off course, making it shoot another competitor in the back. He went down almost immediately.

He was dragged away by the on-scene medics; my stomach churned at the sight. The medics wore gear that prevented them from getting hurt by most weapons, including bulletproof vests.

I couldn’t watch the scene long because someone else ran up to me with a sword in hand. I managed to dodge the attack. When I spun around, I clenched my fist and punched him in the face.

I heard his nose cracking from the force.

I ignored the pain in my hand and did a backflip away from the attacker, kicking him in the process and making him stagger backward again. Though blood poured from his nose, once he got his footing, he ran towards me, anger clear on his face as he swung his sword at my feet, trying to get me off balance.

I jumped over the sword and kicked his chest again, doing another backflip and landing effortlessly on my feet behind him. He went down within the second, unable to catch his footing a second time, and dropping his weapon to the ground.

I grabbed the sword off the ground and pointed it at him, my eyes blazing with fury.

He stared up at me, blood caked on his face and his eyes wide.

For a second, I thought he’d fight me again. But he didn’t; he was surrendering.

Just as I was about to head to the next competitor an arrow flew straight at me and pierced my left shoulder. I hissed in pain as the arrow wedged itself in my flesh and I heard the crowd gasping in shock from the impact.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gavin standing to his feet.

I paid him no attention though.

I spun around to see a man in the distance, his bow pointed right at me as he readied another arrow. I grabbed the end of the arrow sticking out of me and pulled it out of my shoulder, wincing at the pain. It would need to be bandaged before my wolf could properly heal me. Blood seeped into my shirt, and I started to feel hot and lightheaded from the loss of blood, but I knew I needed to maintain my focus.

I dodged the second arrow that came flying at me, aiming for my other shoulder.

I grabbed one of the knives that was tucked in my boot, and I threw it at him without a second thought. The knife spiraled through the air and took out his leg. He went to the ground in an instant. I ran towards him, grabbing another knife, ready to stab him again, but I was tripped by another competitor. I fell to my stomach and immediately rolled to my back. Just as he was about to lunge at me, I kicked my feet and got him right in the stomach, making him stumble back.

I jumped to my feet and punched him in the face before he could make another attack. I got him in a headlock and we both tumbled to the ground. I grabbed a knife and put it to his throat.

“Surrender!” I growled, my wolf surging forward, giving my voice that extra force.

“You can’t kill me,” he rasped out. “You’ll be eliminated.”

“I can make it so you can never talk again,” I seethed, pressing the knife firmly against his juggler. I felt blood trickling down his neck and onto my forearm. He was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out if I was serious or not.

I felt his body relaxing and the weapon he held fell to the ground.

He was surrendering.

I released him and got back to my feet. He made the right choice because I was seriously considering making him mute.

Within the second, medics came and escorted him off the battleground.

I fought my way through the other competitors, dodging and counter-attacking. I ignored the blood oozing from my shoulder and the pain that came with it. Getting shot by an arrow really sucked and I was determined to get him back for that. I had my eyes set on that cocky son of a bitch as he released more arrows at the others, a smug smile on his lips.

My eyes shifted to the other side of him and they grew wide when I saw what was happening.

Tabby was surrounded by a ton of men, each of them with a sick look in their eyes. She was shorter in her human form, but in her wolf form, she was fairly large. Too bad she couldn’t shift; I knew she’d be able to take them all out in an instant. She held the bow to her chest, her eyes wide as larger men surrounded her.

I grabbed the rest of my knives and ran towards them, no longer interested in my main target.

As I jumped through the air, using some of the other men as a way to get higher into the sky, I released all the knives, making them fly through the air at a fast speed. Each knife hitting the guys that were surrounding Tabby.

I aimed them perfectly so they would hit a non-critical point on their skin, but hard enough that it would take them down upon impact.

I landed on the ground in front of Tabby as the men around her whaled in pain on the ground with stab wounds.

Tabby’s breathing was heavy as she looked up at me.

“I thought I was a goner,” she admitted. “Where did you even come from?”

“I thought you could use some help,” I brushed the dirt off her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

“Thanks,” she breathed.

Just then, we were both bombarded with more competitors. I grabbed my blood-soaked knives on the ground and turned to Tabby who was readying an arrow.

“Come with me!” I ordered as I ran towards the forest ground.

She ran with me until we were in a clearing; I was well aware that there were others following us, trying to take us down but I refused to turn around and give them an opening.

I reached the tree that held the zipline; the zipline went from one side of the arena to the other and nobody had dared to use it yet.

Until now.

“What are you doing?” Tabby asked as I started to climb up the giant oak tree.

“Come on,” I told her as I reached the halfway point. It was effortless on my part, and I didn’t have to look down to know that we were being chased; I could hear their rapid footsteps close by and if Tabby didn’t hurry, she would find herself on the opposite end of the battle.

She hesitated for a moment, but as another arrow flew by her face, catching her attention, she immediately started to follow me up the tree.

She struggled to keep up, but she managed.

Soon, we were on top of the great oak.

I grabbed hold of the zipline, waiting for Tabby to catch up.

I stared down at the competitors who were fighting with one another. There were many who passed out on the ground already; some too injured to move on and others just surrendering. The medics were trying to round up the injured and get them off the battleground.

My eyes found Gavin who wasn’t watching the fight with everyone else, he was watching me. His eyes remained on mine and for a moment, I saw a flicker of worry in them.

“What’s the plan?” Tabby asked, staring down at the ground. There were a few others who were trying to climb the tree as well; they weren’t as fast though, so I knew I had a bit of time to come up with something.

With a pounding heart, I turned to her, glancing at her weapon.

“How many arrows do you have left?” I asked.

“About 3,” she told me. “I wasn’t able to collect the ones I used.”

I nodded and stared down at the arena. There were a few really strong men who were fighting effortlessly, and I knew if I were to fight them one-on-one, I wouldn’t stand much of a chance. I was a skilled fighter, but I was aware that others were better than me and stronger.

If I wanted to make it out of here on top, I would need to eliminate those men.

“How’s your aim?” I asked her.

“Better than most,” she told me proudly.

I nodded as I grabbed the zipline handles.

“See those men over there,” I asked, pointing at the two who were ganging up on another woman who was struggling to maintain her stance.

Tabby nodded.

“Aim for them,” I told her. “I’m going to aim for those guys over there,” I said, pointing at another set of men who were fighting with one another.

She looked uncertain as she nibbled on her lower lip. The ones who had followed us were almost at the top of the tree. We didn’t have time to debate this any further.

“Grab my waist,” I ordered loudly.

Without hesitation, she grabbed a hold of my waist.

I jumped and allowed the zipline to take us through the air. Tabby grabbed her bow and arrow while keeping a tight hold on me and she aimed for the men I told her to aim for. She released the arrow, and it flew into the air, piercing one of the guys in the back of the shoulder, careful not to hit his heart.

He went down in an instant and she cheered at the sight.

She prepared another arrow as I readied one of my knives.

I whipped the blade at the first guy who shot me with an arrow, and it pierced him in the arm, disarming him and injuring him in the same instant.

He let out a howl and fell to the ground.

Tabby managed to shoot another man and then prepared her last arrow in the same instant. She really was good at aiming; we’d have to share strategies when this whole thing was over.

I threw another knife and pierced someone in the lower back, making their back arch and then fall to the ground.

The crowd “oofed” at the sight.

“I don’t know if I can hold on much longer!” Tabby said, fear is evident in her tone. Her hand was startling to loosen around my waist, and I knew she was struggling. We were only halfway to the other side. This zipline wasn’t fast enough and I knew it the second we started moving.

I didn’t give her a chance to prepare.

I released my hold on the handles and we both fell through the sky.

Her screams pierced the arena and silenced the crowd.

The ground approached fast, and I landed with a loud thud, trying to cushion Tabby’s fall. She landed on top of me and immediately rolled off as pain shot through my body.

It wasn’t from the fall though; it was from an arrow that shot me in the back the second I landed on the ground.