To Be A Champion

Chapter 43: I Will Kill Again

"I wish we could have been friends, Callista," Shona sighs wistfully in my headset, but I ignore her as I try to keep Tom upright as we hobble through the caves. Blood is already soaking through my jacket that I have tied around his wound, but I don't think Shona hit anything vital when she shot him.

"I bet you're scared down there in the dark. I can imagine you running through those caves, carrying your friend along, stumbling between shadow and stone," She continues. "You should see it up here. It's gorgeous! Green hills, cloud-swept skies. I love this island, Five. I was born and bred here. It's part of me." She tsks. "Shame half the folk living here are idiots. Gossips like Morag Brown. They don't see who I am. They just see the laird's kid—plucky lass with nae much to think about. But I've got power, Five. The fruit of this island is in my blood. That's why I wish we could be friends because you can see the real me."

She giggles, her voice high-pitched in hilarity as I whisper to Tom, trying to encourage him to keep moving.

"You're gonna be okay," I tell him. "You and me—we're gonna get out of here and tell the others what's happened. It's gonna be okay."

"You know, I asked Tom to come with me because I thought he'd figured out more than you did. I mean, how many times did I lay it on thick with you, only for you to say that it was Tom, Janine, or Jody that were the smart ones here? But you figured it out. I did the math. If you had been where Tom suggested when he was talking to you, you never would have made it in time to save him. You were farther ahead than he thought because you'd figured it out, didn't you? You knew I was up to something and came running well before he whispered for you to come back to us. You don't give yourself enough credit, Five.

"Tom really thought it was my dad, didn't he? Leading the skincoats. He thought he stole the Edda—the key to the red fungus growing on the mainland. The secret of why has died off there but thrives here. The key to the bloody Prime Minister of yours who thinks she can tell us our island is quarantined." She gasps mockingly. "Is that you, Five? I've started walking through the cave you and Tom ran back into. I thought you'd have made it farther, but I guess with Tom's leg, you can't go as fast."

A gunshot reaches my ears, and a bullet hits the rock near me.

My heart plummets. How did she get here so fast? 

"I took Tom's gun along with his headset. Is that you two? I recognize your shadows. Did you really think going down these tunnels would help you get away from me? Neither of you will be getting away." She fires again, then scoffs. "Missed. Ah well. That's it, Five. Keep clutching to Tom and leading him back into the depths. And I'll keep following you. Can't have you telling everyone about me.

"You run, or jog or hobble—whatever it is you can do with Tom hanging to you like a useless sack of weight. I should have known you'd come for him. That's why you were with him, wasn't it? He knew you'd never leave him to die. Although you left him alone to get hurt, and now he's slowing you down. But I've seen your resilience. Him being hurt won't stop you from trying, and I'm glad. I do love a race. But I was faster than Tom before. I bet I'll be faster than the both of you now too."

I grit my teeth, fingers aching to simply turn off my headset to get rid of her irksome voice, but that's not a good idea. If I can hear her talking, then I can guess where she is, find a way out of here. Tom and I memorized the main route, but we can't risk taking it since that's the first route she'll guess and will find a shortcut to get to us.

I have my pistol, but I won't be able to aim well with Tom's weight on me.

"Five," Tom grunts as we stagger through the tunnel, "Five, I'm only slowing you down. You should-"