Man Hunt

Chapter Eight - This Changes Everything

‘’Niamh,’’ I gasp in horror, ‘’what are you doing?’’

‘’Alex!’’ she roars again, ‘’Alex!’’

I stare at her for a moment; this girl is supposedly my friend. She is acting as though she doesn’t know me. She is clearly scared, she is screaming for her teammates because she is frightened. Surely she knows I would never hurt her. Surely she doesn’t think I would murder someone, let alone my friend!

We act surprisingly quickly; Aaron picks the boy up and tosses him over his shoulder as though he is weightless. I grip my knife, as do Eve and Kate. We are ready for a fight if it comes. The quiet boy does nothing; he simply stands waiting to follow us when we move.

‘’Let’s go,’’ instructs Aaron, and he begins to run as Niamh continues to scream.

We move from the clearing as Alex and the rest of the red team join Niamh. She quickly explains to them what has happened and then they begin their pursuit. We move as quickly as we can, but with the boy over Aaron’s shoulder – wriggling and struggling to break free – it is quite hard to move at a steady pace.

We move between the trees, the footfalls of the red team members are closing in on us with every moment. They will catch up with us soon. I don’t want to think about what is going to happen if they do, when they do.

‘’They’re gaining,’’ gasps Kate between breaths as we run.

‘’We just need to move faster,’’ explains Aaron, pushing himself and the rest of us harder and harder.

We continue moving through the trees until we exit the tree line and escape into the open. The domed grey LIS building is visible in the distance; however that is not where we are heading for. We keep along the edges of the trees, moving for our camp.

‘’Is he really worth it Aaron?’’ I ask as the red team draws nearer through the trees with Alex leading them.

‘’What?’’

‘’If he’s a mute like Niamh said, we won’t get anything from him,’’ I explain.

‘’Everyone has their breaking point,’’ he replies with a sigh. It hurts him to say it.

We continue to move. Although I feel we are not moving very fast, the red team seem to be falling further and further behind. Somehow, they are managing to move slower than us. We are escaping them for now. Their footfalls slowly begin to cease. Our pursuers then halt completely.

‘’Take him! He doesn’t bloody talk! He’s no use to use and he’ll be no use to you!’’ roars Alex in the distance as we continue to run.

It is saddening to think how little he values another human’s life. The mute says nothing – unsurprisingly – as we take him away from his team and towards our camp. However he does look horrified. Petrified. He is clearly stunned his teammates would allow him to be taken so easily. I know none of us would allow any of our teammates to be taken without a fight. It would not be just.

Alex continues to scream at us as we move further and further away from him until his words are too distant to decipher. I glance back once more at him, Niamh and the rest of their team before we enter a small clump of trees. They have turned their backs on us and are heading back to their own camp.  

As we enter our camp, the sun is scorching from the centre of the sky. The sky is still a beautiful cloudless blue and there is a gentle breeze blowing. It is cruel how nature mocks us. It can remain so beautiful and carefree as something so horrific is underway.

Aaron tosses the boy onto the ground. The boy groans out in pain as he hits the floor. Aaron then removes the bandana from around his neck and ties the boy’s hands, securing them behind his back. He then sits him on the log in front of the fire pit and gets to eye level with him.