Chapter 293

I take a moment to memorize the location of the enemy soldiers before I set my binoculars aside, pulling my gun over to me. When I put myself in position to fire and again look down the scope, I find the soldiers quickly, moving down the ravine towards the river, not bothering to try to be sneaky anymore. I guess since they made a great deal of noise taking out the other team, they know that there’s not much point in stealth.

No, speed is much more important.

Still, none of it’s going to do them any good at this point.

“Any notes?” I ask Rafe and Jackson, centering my scope on the man in the lead.

“Fire at will, Cadet,” Rafe says, pride already ringing in his voice.

I smile, take one final moment to aim, and then pull my trigger.

A bright spot of neon blue appears on the chest of the man in the lead. He skitters to a stop and then curses vehemently, punching a fist down towards the ground in his frustration. The men behind him skid to a stop too, trying to process what happened, but I’m already pulling my trigger before they can figure it out, blue splattering across the second man’s chest as well.

The three behind him panic, but I’m ready for them, shifting my gaze and my aim a little higher and taking out the man in the back of the line next as he makes a run for the treeline, paint appearing suddenly across his back. This has the effect I wanted, with the last two men nearly tripping over themselves, not knowing who I’m aiming for next and blocked by the man who stops in front of them.

One spins, looking for me across the river, while the other makes a mad dash to the left –

But it’s too late. Before either can really process what has happened, I’ve hit them too.

“Five down,” I say, pleasure sweeping through me at my accomplishment and my wolf pouncing victoriously inside me, emitting vicious little yips of joy.

“Nicely done, trouble,” Rafe growls. Jackson doesn’t say anything, but inwardly I hear his wolf howl his pride. It makes me break into a ridiculous smile, even though I know our job isn’t done.

I set my rifle aside, marking the KO of the men on the map before picking up my binoculars again, scanning for more movement.

My earpiece beeps and then Rafe’s voice comes back on. “Ariel, what are you seeing?”

“Rafe!” I gasp, horrified at the use of my real name, my binoculars fumbling from my hand.

“I’m alone, dummy, and it’s a private channel – just me you and Jacks – just…tell me what you’re seeing.”

I scowl, thinking that he probably could have divulged that information as soon as he switched, but I scan the treeline ahead of me and report what I see. “Honestly it’s quiet, Rafe. Why? What’s up?”

“It’s just fucking weird,” Rafe says, thoughtful. “Jacks? Do you feel like this is…”

“No, you’re right, Rafe,” Jackson says, his voice deep and wary. “It has been way too quiet. There should have been much more action so far.”

“What do you think is happening?” I ask, suddenly wary myself.

“No clue. Just…keep us abreast of anything unique you see, Ariel. And if Jackson tells you to get down to the base you go – fast, all right?”

“You got it.”

“Switching back to the main terminal,” Rafe murmurs, and then the earpiece beeps again.

The time passes slowly after that; and as Rafe said, not much happens. The most interesting bit is when a whole troop of Ambassador cadets appear at the riverside, carrying white flags of peace, moving forward towards us. I watch them curiously down my scope as Rafe and Jackson discuss how the third team, captained by two Cadets whose names I don’t recognize – invested in a large Ambassador contingent as part of their strategy.

My mouth falls open when, after a short bit of discussion, Rafe orders me to take them all out.

“What!?” I gasp, horrified. “Rafe! I can’t kill the ambassadors!”

“It’s not real, Ari,” he counters, growling. “Follow your damn orders –“

“But they might come with good terms!”

“We haven’t lost a single soldier, Clark,” Jackson cuts in, smooth. “They don’t have any prisoners and we don’t need any supplies. There’s nothing to negotiate. Take ‘em out.”

“But –“

“It’s an order, Clark,” my mate snarls. I smirk a little, liking that tone a little too much for…maybe the wrong reasons, in a battle scenario.

“Yes, sir,” I sigh, refocusing my sight and then quickly taking out all eight of the ambassadors before me with as many shots. They groan, frustrated and angry before turning away, back towards their base.

I sigh, reporting my kills before setting my gun aside and picking up my binoculars, listening to Jackson and Rafe talk over the earphones as I scan the walls of the ravine across from me. The earpiece beeps once, letting me know that we’re back on the private channel.

“What’s that full count, Jacks?” Rafe asks, sounding worried.

“Ariel’s taken out thirteen, including…I think every ambassador except Ben and our guy,” he murmurs. “Your team took out three more…” he hesitates, and I can tell that something’s wrong.

“Numbers are…fucking off.” Rafe growls. “And not a single person from Wright and Blythe’s team has made an appearance, except those few across the river that the other team took out.”

“What are you thinking?” Jacks murmurs.

“I think they’re trying to lure us forward,” Rafe sighs. “And that if we don’t do it, we’re going to be out here for hours. They’re waiting for night – when Ari’s sight and accuracy are going to be way down.”

“Wait, seriously?” I ask, going a bit stiff. “We stay out here all night if someone doesn’t win?”

“We stay out here until it’s done,” Jackson informs me, cold.

“Shit,” I whisper. But then movement catches my eye, down by the river, and I curse again, going stiff. “Shit, shit!”

“What?” Rafe asks, his voice tense. “Report, Cadet.”

“It’s fucking Luca,” I breathe, refocusing the binoculars and watching as my mate comes to the edge of the river and then – nimble as a leaf on the wind – begins to dodge across it, his feet barely touching rocks and logs before he leaps, about halfway across, into the river itself and begins to wade the rest of the way across.

“Can you get him!?” Rafe barks out.

“I can’t shoot Luca!”

“It’s a fucking game!”

I snarl but grab my gun, whipping it around so that I peer through the sight, taking aim as fast as I can – but by the time I focus on the area of river that he crossed, all I see is his boot disappearing back between the trees – on our side.

“No, I’m sorry,” I say, guilt running through me. “He crossed the river and I lost him in the trees. But he’s on our side now.”

“All right,” Rafe murmurs. “It’s something. We’ll go and hunt him down. Can you give us a more precise location, Ari?”

I do my best, using the coordinates on the map to report the place where I think Luca went through the trees. Rafe switches back to the main channel and more voices come on as the boys all concentrate on Luca, taking Rafe’s advance team down towards the river.

But as they do, something shifts behind me.

I snap up from my position, turning, noting the little rock that’s rolling across the ground towards me, perfectly innocent.

I stare at it for a long moment, trying to figure out how it got here.

And then I shift my eyes slowly…upwards. To where shadows move along the ridge above me.

“Shit shit shit,” I whisper into my headpiece, using my feet to push myself back into the bushes, grabbing my gun and my binoculars and my map as I go. “Rafe, Jacks – they’re above us –“

“What?” Rafe breathes.

“I don’t know who it is,” I hiss, suddenly desperately afraid as I see the shadows growing larger, closer. “But they must have spent the day going the long way around – crossing the river way north or way south and then trekking along above the top of the ravine.”

“Get the fuck down here, Ariel,” Jackson snaps, livid. “Right now.”

I make to move but my head snaps to the right when suddenly a bright flare of green lights up across the river and to the south, puffing out into a green cloud.

“What’s that?” I whisper.

“Get down here!” Jackson barks.

“It’s Jesse,” Rafe murmurs, sounding confused. “He must be in Wright’s camp – but that signal means…all clear? No one’s…there…”

My heart begins to pound as I look again towards the growing shadows coming down the ravine towards me.

“Run, Ari!” Jackson barks into the headset. “Fucking run!”

“It’s too late!” I whisper, knowing that they’re close enough now that if I run they’ll hit me easily – and then…I don’t know what. If it’s Wright, and he really does want to hurt me? “I have to hide.”

“Ari!” Jackson gasps, desperate. Then a savage snarl rips down the line. “I’m coming up for you!”

“That little sniper’s up here,” someone says, not twenty feet from me, making my head snap to the left towards the voice. “He’s our first priority – take him out first and we’ll take the base next.”

My hand shakes a little as I raise my gun to my shoulder, looking down the scope, but realizing as I hear the number of footfalls that it’s too much. That even if I do shoot…there’s no way I can take out all of them before they find and swarm me. Because, I mean, if they shoot me it’s not like I actually die and slip out of their grasp –

No, I’d still just be a girl that they’d found all alone in the woods.

And if it’s Wright…he could do anything to me.

Still, if I can just stay quiet enough…

I exhale slowly, my hands shaking with adrenaline as the first of the enemy troops steps onto my plateau.