Huntress Read online

  She guessed Amy’s most likely direction of travel and took off into the clearing.

  “Amy!” she shouted.

  She paused as the paths split into two directions and looked at the ground for any clues.

  “Hands up.”

  Claudia froze at the sound of the male voice behind her. She slowly raised her hands, the note still gripped in her right.

  “Now, slowly turn around.”

  She took a breath and slowly turned around. A man in his late twenties with short, black, and spiky hair pointed a gun at her face.

  “You’re Claudia McAllister?”

  Claudia nodded. He was professionally trained; his stance and his handle on the weapon were military. But he was nervous. Something that Claudia knew she could use to her advantage. She took in a deep breath, judged the distance between them and then made her move. Snapping her head up she looked beyond his left shoulder. She watched as he quickly turned around to see what had caught her attention.

  She launched herself at him, sending him flying face down into the ground. The gun clattered away. Before she had a chance to get a hit in, he was on his feet and elbowed her in the ribs, winding her. As he turned, she kneed him in the stomach and he fell to his knees.

  She tried to make a move for the gun. He grabbed her foot, roughly twisting her ankle and causing her to cry out in pain as she felt the muscles twist in directions they ought not.

  She crashed to the ground, her face heavily impacting the hard forest floor. Things moved slowly. Her vision blurred. She tried to push herself up, but her body refused to respond. She felt blood streaming down her nose, blocking her airway. Turning onto her back to get some breath, she opened her eyes to see him standing over her. He’d managed to retrieve the gun and was again pointing it at her face. He wore a furious expression.

  Claudia knew that she was no use to him. There was no need to keep her alive. She was a loose thread, nothing more. She resigned herself to a quick and painless death. Her eyes fluttered closed. She waited for the sound that she knew would be coming.

  A sound did come. But it wasn’t the sound she had expected. There was a scream, a woman’s scream, but it wasn’t her own. Then the sound of something solid hitting flesh. She opened her eyes to see Amy stood over her, a large, bloodied branch in her hand. The man was unconscious on the forest floor.

  “I hit him really hard,” Amy explained, staring down at his body. “I didn’t know how hard to hit him. Like, what if I didn’t hit him hard enough? And I just pissed him off and he shot me? But now I’m wondering if he’s dead. Because I thought go big or go home.” She looked at Claudia. “Is he dead?”

  Claudia struggled to sit up and look at the man. She blinked a little to clear her vision. “No, he’s not dead,” she said upon seeing the leaves under his nose twitching. “Get his gun.”

  Amy stepped over him and picked up the gun between her thumb and forefinger. “What do I do with it?”

  Claudia held up her hand expectantly, and Amy handed her the weapon. She quickly disarmed it. Putting her empty hand on the ground, she attempted to stand up. She winced at the shooting pain in her ankle.

  Amy noticed and rushed to her. She pulled Claudia’s arm over her shoulders and gently helped her to her feet.

  “He might not be alone,” Amy pointed out. “We should get out of here.”

  Claudia was struggling to focus her thoughts. She distantly recognised the disorientation of a head injury but pushed it to one side. The situation was too dangerous to fall apart now. They had to get to safety.

  “Why were you here?” Claudia asked.

  “I got turned around, I saw you and ended up following you. I figured you’d never be able to follow me if I was already following you. Then I realised he was following you as well. You’re pretty easy to follow. Like, you were following me, but two of us were already following you. It’s funny when you think about it.”

  Claudia rolled her eyes. The girl really was an idiot. “I’m sure I’ll laugh about it at some point.”

  “Come on, we have to get going,” Amy told her.

  “We?” Claudia asked. “You’re... helping me?”

  “Yeah, you’re hurt. And he had a gun. And despite that hair, he might have friends.”

  “Have you forgotten that I’m supposed to be arresting you?” Claudia asked. Of course, she had no intention of doing such a thing now she knew the truth of the situation. But Amy wasn’t to know that.

  “I thought you might overlook it, seeing as I saved your life. But if it makes you feel better, you can arrest me later,” Amy joked. “Can you walk?”

  Claudia tested her weight on her ankle. “Kind of.”

  “Kind of will have to do,” Amy told her. “Put your weight on me.”

  Claudia wasn’t used to relying on anyone else. She attempted to let some of her weight rest on Amy.

  “More than that, I’m a big girl.” Amy shifted her into position. “Come on, let’s get clear of the woods.”

  33

  Out Of The Woods

  Claudia wasn’t fat. Not at all. In fact, Amy thought she was probably the perfect body shape and size. She was tall, but not too tall. And she was well built but not stupidly muscular or too big. Amy shook her head to rid herself of thoughts of the perfectness of the body that she was helping to support. Claudia wasn’t fat, but she was getting heavier the further they travelled.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Amy asked, for the eighth time in the last twenty minutes.

  “Yes, fine,” Claudia replied through gritted teeth.

  Amy knew that she wasn’t okay. The way Claudia limped indicated the ankle was far more painful than she was letting on. Amy was also a little worried about a possible concussion. She’d seen Claudia hit the ground hard, and her replies claiming good health were becoming more and more slurred.

  Luckily, Amy had a St John’s Ambulance badge. It was fifteen years old, but she’d earned it fair and square on the away day with school. Although, the more she thought about it, the more she realised that everyone had gotten one that day. Maybe they were a whole class of soon-to-be doctors.

  “I hear traffic,” Amy said. “We’ll head for the road and then hitchhike.”

  “Dangerous,” Claudia mumbled.

  “Yeah, but is it really more dangerous than being in the woods with a guy I clobbered with a branch?” When no answer came, Amy paused and looked at Claudia. “Should we rest a bit?”

  Claudia took a couple of deep breaths. When Amy had first supported her, Claudia had been careful to not lean her weight fully on her. Now, Amy felt that Claudia would crumple to the ground if she wasn’t holding her tight.

  “No, we should get out of the woods,” Claudia admitted.

  “But a minute or—”

  “We should go now,” Claudia cut her off.

  Amy understood. Claudia was worried about how much longer she’d be able to keep up the pace. She was pushing herself to get them both to safety, and when she was there, she’d rest. If she stopped now, she was worried she might not be able to start again.

  “Okay, but before we do…” Amy reached into her coat pocket and rummaged for what she was looking for. She pulled out a bag of M&Ms. “Eat these.”

  Claudia stared at her.

  “Seriously, a little sugar hit.” Amy held out the M&Ms with no intention of taking them back.

  Claudia sighed. She held her open palm out, and Amy shook a few of the sweets into her hand.

  They started to walk again. Claudia put a couple of M&Ms into her mouth.

  “I’m not bad for a terrorist, am I?” Amy grinned.

  “You’re not a terrorist,” Claudia said around a mouthful of chocolate.

  “Oh, you admit that now?” Amy couldn’t hide her surprise.

  “I saw the CCTV footage of your getaway at the services in Wakeham.”

  “And that made you believe that we’re not terrorists?” Amy frowned.

  “No terrorist would get
them self into the predicament you got yourself into.” Claudia chuckled. “How long were you dangling out the back of the boot?”

  “Hey, I was doing my best.” Amy smiled.

  “How long?”

  “The longest thirty seconds of my life,” Amy admitted. “I did tell her to go, go go.”

  “Oh, well, then you got what you deserved because she certainly did that.” Claudia looked up. “I can hear traffic.”

  Amy wondered if Claudia remembered that Amy had already pointed that out just a few moments ago. “Do you have any money with you?”

  Claudia shook her head. “No, I have my bank card, but I’m loathe to use it. They’ll track it immediately. Same with my phone... but I have to call Mark.”

  “Who’s Mark?”

  “I usually keep some cash on me, but I’ve spent it,” Claudia continued.

  Amy scrunched up her face. It shouldn’t be relevant, but she needed to know. “Who’s Mark?” she repeated.

  “My colleague. He’s an analyst, but he is on his way up here. To keep Kerry safe.”

  They were nearing the edge of the woods. Amy smiled. “You kept your promise.”

  “I kept my promise,” Claudia acknowledged. “But I need to tell him what’s happened and arrange a coded message so he can pick us up. Preferably just before we get a ride out of here. We have to assume they’re tracking my phone.”

  “Won’t they know what you say to him? They’ll target Kerry...” Amy started to worry.

  “They can’t listen to the details of the call, just triangulate where the call was made from geographically.”

  “Oh.” Amy suddenly realised how little she knew about the spying powers the government had. As far as she’d been concerned, everywhere had facial recognition and everything was powered by androids. She wondered just how little she knew.

  Just a single line of trees stood between them and the main road. She’d been watching the traffic flow, seeing how many cars went by a minute. Judging how quickly she could get them out of there.

  “Make the call,” Amy said. She gently extracted herself from Claudia and helped her to lean against a sturdy tree.

  Claudia frowned. “Once I make the call, it will only be minutes for them to get a location on us...”

  “Are you doubting my ability to convince someone to give us a ride? Have you learnt nothing these past few days?” Amy chuckled and lowered her rucksack to the ground. “Make the call, I’ll get us a lift.”

  Amy turned and climbed up the small bank towards the road. She stood on the edge of the road and waited for a car.

  As she waited, she replayed in her mind the memory of Spiky standing over Claudia, pointing a gun at her face. Amy had been in no doubt that he was about to kill her right there. She’d rushed in without thinking about herself or her own safety. Spiky had terrible hair, but he was definitely some kind of elite-trained secret agent. Amy knew she was lucky that she had managed to knock him out. She still felt sick to her stomach when she recalled the sound of the thud that had rung out when branch and head collided.

  Amy shivered at what would have happened if she hadn’t got turned around. If she hadn’t found herself suddenly behind Claudia and following her, allowing her to see Spiky and his attack. Claudia would surely be dead. And Amy would be skipping through the woods being pleased as punch at her evasion skills, not knowing that a cold-blooded killer was getting closer with each passing minute.

  A car appeared over the hill in the distance, and she took a step forward so she was more visible. She waved her arms in the air and looked pleadingly at the driver. As often was the case, the car started to slow down and stopped beside her. The male driver was in his forties and wore a business suit. He opened the passenger window and leaned over.

  “Hey, everything okay?”

  Amy plastered her biggest relieved smile onto her face. “Hi, thank you so much for stopping,” she gushed. “My friend and I were walking in the woods, and she’s hurt her ankle. Could you give us a lift to civilisation?”

  The man looked her up and down, and Amy did her best to look safe and a little pathetic. It always helped to look like a kicked puppy.

  “Just the two of you?” he checked.

  “Yup, and my rucksack which is as big as a ten-year-old child, but I swear, it’s just a rucksack.”

  He laughed. “Sure, I’m heading to Airth. Is that okay?”

  “Perfect,” Amy said. She had no idea where she was and no clue where Airth was, but it wasn’t here so that was fine. She jutted her thumb towards the tree. “I’ll get my friend; I’ll be one minute.”

  Claudia was quiet in the car. Amy kept talking to their driver, Darren, and occasionally looked over at Claudia to check that she was doing okay. Of course, Claudia maintained that she was fine, offering a tight smile at any enquiry as to how she was doing.

  Darren was thankfully happy to talk about his work. He sold something, Amy hadn’t been listening. Of course, Darren thought she was intrigued by the way she leaned forward and made all the right noises. But she couldn’t really bring herself to listen, she was far too busy watching Claudia from the corner of her eye. Not that Claudia didn’t know exactly what she was doing. She suspected that nothing passed Claudia by.

  “So, I can drop you off on the high street?” Darren’s voice caught her attention.

  “Oh, no, could you drop us on the edge of town? I have a friend who lives near there, and we can get her to pick us up,” Amy lied smoothly. She didn’t want to be dropped off in the middle of a CCTV-filled high street.

  “Sure, you mean by the hotel by the roundabout?”

  “Yes, that’s perfect,” Amy said. She hoped it was the right answer. Judging from Darren’s silent nod, it was.

  She chanced another look at Claudia.

  “Stop fretting,” Claudia mumbled to her.

  “You definitely have a concussion,” Amy murmured in return.

  Claudia looked away, gazing out of the window. Amy surmised that being perceived as weak wasn’t one of Claudia’s strong points. If Claudia wasn’t about to admit that she was ill and needed to rest, then Amy was going to have to take charge.

  “You know what? Here is perfect,” Amy told Darren.

  “Here?”

  “Yup, here’s great. I recognise it now. Right here is great.” It was a deserted country lane, but there were empty fields on either side of the road and Amy had a plan.

  Darren looked confused but pulled the car up regardless. Amy opened the door and got out. She dragged her rucksack out, and, waiting for Claudia, she leaned in through the open passenger window. “Thanks for the lift.”

  Darren looked around the quiet country lane. “Are you sure you want to be dropped here? It’s a fifteen-minute walk into town.”

  Amy indicated the old post office building on the other side of the road. “My friend works there.”

  “You sure?” Darren asked as he looked at the building.

  Amy looked at it again and realised it was completely derelict. It had probably been closed for fifty years.

  “She’s, um, a decorator. Doing it up.” Amy added.

  Claudia snorted a small laugh.

  “Okay, get home safe,” Darren said. He drove off, and Amy waved until he was out of sight. She turned to Claudia and let out a breath. “Okay, how far do you think you can walk?”

  “As far as we need to, what’s your plan?” Claudia replied, leaning on a stone wall for support.

  Amy knew that Claudia wouldn’t be able to get far, which was why she had asked Darren to stop the car where they were. The road was lower than the open fields on either side. A short hike to the top of one of the hills, and they could easily set up Amy’s tent away from sight of the road. It wasn’t ideal, but she didn’t want to take Claudia into town in her current condition. She was doubtful how much further Claudia would make it; the woman clearly needed a rest, whether she was up for admitting to that or not.

  “We’re setting up my tent, o
ver that ridge,” Amy explained.

  Claudia’s head snapped up to look at the field. She looked back at Amy, as if half-expecting her to be joking. “What?”

  “We’re setting up my tent, over that ridge,” Amy said slowly.

  “I’ve twisted my ankle, not had a lobotomy, you don’t need to speak like that.”

  Amy rolled her eyes and heaved up her rucksack onto her back. “You may not want to admit it, but you’re in a lot of pain and you need to rest. Your Mark person won’t be able to get up here for hours. We have very little money. There’s at least one man after us, probably more. If we go to town, then they will probably find us, or we’ll be trying to avoid CCTV and whatever for hours. This way, we get off the beaten track, off the radar, and we can sit and wait it out in a safe location, where no one will find us.”

  “You... want us to camp?”

  “Yes, we need to set up now. It’s going to get dark soon.”

  Claudia looked at the sky as if only just realising it was coming up towards the end of the day.

  “I’m just trying to be sensible and get us—well, you—somewhere safe. So, we can wait it out. Because I kinda need you and you kinda need me. We’re in this together now.” Amy finished tightening the rucksack straps around her waist. “We need to set up for the night. You said Mark won’t be here for another nine hours. Well, I hate to break it to you, but that is tomorrow morning.”

  Claudia continued to look around the country lane, seemingly still surprised by the turn of events. Her reaction made Amy worry more.

  “And I’m exhausted. If I don’t rest soon, I’m going to pass out,” Amy added. If Claudia wasn’t going to rest for her own sake, she could rest for Amy’s instead.

  34

  Camping With Dummies

  Claudia leaned against the large tree and watched Amy prepare the tent. She would never admit it, but she was glad they were stopping. It was extremely painful to put pressure on her ankle, and her head was throbbing. Having a break would have been the very last thing she suggested, but going along with Amy’s suggestion was easy considering the pain she was in.