THE HUNT

Thirty Five

"You!" He loads the blaster again, his friend pulling the trigger of his own. I dodge it again, throwing a small knife at him. It embeds itself in his throat, and he crumples to the ground.

No.

No.

No, no, no.

I force myself to move, knocking the blaster out of Imrie's hand. On his belt, I see something that shouldn't be there.

A datapad.

Kylo's datapad. I point a shaky finger at it.

"You can't have that." He says nothing, staring at me for a moment.

Then he turns and runs.

No.

I chase after him as he darts into the forest.

Even in armour, he's faster than me. He's always been faster than me.

Then, there are heavy footsteps behind me. I risk a glance backwards, seeing Kylo.

No!

Kylo will kill him. He'll kill him.

Kylo, stop! I think desperately. The sound of his footsteps abruptly vanishes, but when I look back, he's gone.

Then Imrie cries out, and Kylo's lightsaber fizzes to life.

"G-get away!" Imrie stumbles back.

"Kylo, no!" I shout, shoving past my friend to stand in between the two men. "Don't do this."

Then he points his saber at me.

"Get out of the way, or you go down first." He growls, stalking forward. I shake my head, stepping towards him until I press my hands against his chest.

"Don't." I deactivate my mask, looking up into his face. "Please, Kylo." He looks away, lightsaber retracting. I turn to Imrie, who looks as if he's seen a ghost.

    Then I can't breathe.

    I turn back to Kylo for help, only to see his fingers stretched towards me. Tears prick my eyes, and my hands fly to my throat. I try to call his name but I can't.

    "Did you know about this all along?" He demands, jaw tight. I shake my head, but he continues. "That's why you pushed me to do this?" A hot tear rolls down my cheek as my vision dims in the corners, lungs burning.

    "Let her go, Ren!" Imrie calls from behind.

    No, not Imrie.

    Then, I can breathe. Kylo tosses me to the side, as if I'm a piece of rubbish he's done with. I hit the ground hard as he stalks towards my friend.

    "No!" I lunge, still on my knees, towards Ren, who has his lightsaber out. A knife I hadn't realized I'd drawn sticks into his thigh. He turns with a grunt, lightsaber catching me in the shoulder. I gasp, falling backwards.

The pain is blinding, but I force myself to stand as he pulls the knife from his leg.

Why would you do that? I think furiously as blood soaks his dark pants. I ignore my own injury, limping to help him. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Imrie turn and run further into the forest until he disappears.

    He left me.

"Hunter," Ren's voice is dangerously low. I don't look up so he grabs my chin, wrenching my face upwards. Tears still streak down my face as he pushes me into a tree, the bark rough against my back. "You betrayed me."

"N-no." My voice is weak, and his hand is pressing on my shoulder, causing my vision to fade in and out. "You were going to kill him. I couldn't let you kill him." My head dips forward, but he pushes me further against the tree, which earns a cry from me. Both out of pain and fear.

    "Give me a cause and I will die for it." He hisses. "That's what you promised me, Hunter."

    "Kylo, I'd slit my wrists and bleed out at your feet right now if you asked me to. I wouldn't hesitate. I wouldn't try to convince you otherwise." His eyes widen, and I shake my head. "But how stupid do you have to be to believe I would allow any harm to come to him?"

    His hand is around my throat again, but this time it doesn't choke me. He's just pinning me to the tree.

    "Say it again." he says, voice hauntingly calm.

    "You heard me." I swallow. "I'll slit my wrists right now. Without question." I pause, heart thundering. "But I can't let you hurt Imrie."

    "Then do it." He snaps. "Slit your wrists."

    Surprise echoes through me, but I shakily reach for one of the thicker, sharper knives at my belt. I pull my sleeve up to reveal pale, unmarked skin. One of the only places that wasn't touched during my months of torture. The arm that for months has also reminded me of Kylo saving me from taking my life so long ago. The unmarked wrist of his mercy a stark contrast to the thick, rugged line carved upwards across my other arm.

    I rest the knife on the slightly blue vein at the base of my wrist, pressing down.

    Before I can cut, or go deep enough to break skin, Kylo's hand shoots out, ripping the blade from my fingers and tossing it to the side.

    Then his mouth is on mine and I yelp, surprise pushing away the horror I had felt a moment ago.

    He pulls away after what seems like forever, teeth gritted.

    "Kylo-"

    "Never." He growls. "Never do that." He seems to be incapable of finding the right words, his voice rough, angry. But not at me. "You're too- you don't need to prove yourself to anyone."

    "I need to prove myself to you." I whisper, lava racing through my veins as my lips tingle. "That I am loyal to you."

    "I dont want your loyalty" He snaps. "Not to that extent."

    "I have nothing else to give you." I protest, his closeness intoxicating.

    What is wrong with me?

    He kissed me.

    I liked it?

    "You've already given me everything I could ask for." He whispers.

    Then he collapses.