Chapter Nine
October 24th, 12:10 AM
It had been a gamble. A wild card. A huge risk for both her and Erin. But it had worked, Margot thought, running through the forest, waving her phone in front of her for light.
Wait. Had it worked? She knew she was being followed by at least one of the thugs. But she had seen three men in there-- two skinny guys in overalls, and Brent Hammerson. She had stopped Blue Lynx from being unmasked by Hammerson. But would their plan change at all just because they saw a young woman waving her arms like a lunatic?
Anyway, she had caused a delay. She had bought Erin a little more time to do... Something. And now Margot had to do something of her own. She had to find a way to lose the thug pursuing her, take him out, lead him to a dead end.
Margot looked behind her. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, but the forest was still a nearly incomprehensible mess of black foliage. She couldn't see the man following her. But, standing silently now, she could hear him. His breathe. A low mumble.
"Where the fuck are you, little girl?"
The man had run out into the night just seconds after they had witnessed Margot's stunt. He didn't seem to be carrying a flashlight-- she didn't see anything, for one, and several times, she heard the man curse loudly, as if he had stubbed his toe against a stump, or ripped his skin along an errant branch. Did he have a weapon? She hadn't seen either man carrying anything inside the barn. But you could surely fit a lot of things in those ridiculous overalls...
"You can't hide, bitch! Come out!"
But Margot knew she could hide. She had the advantage here-- she had the light of her phone, her eyes that were familiar with the darkness, and the spare taser she had pulled from Erin's backpack. She had been running for about five minutes now. It was time to stand her ground and fight.
She slipped the phone in her pocket and slid behind a tall, wide tree. She dipped low to the ground to look for something, a distraction. She found a small, round rock, which she gripped tightly in her palm. She pressed herself against the tree and tried to minimize her breathing.
She could hear the man getting closer. The breathing louder, more labored. The crunch of sticks and leaves. The occasional "oww" and curse word.
He called out. "I know you're out here!"
Here was her chance. Margot flicked her wrist and tossed the rock across the forest, so that it struck another tall tree about ten feet to her left. The impact made a small cracking sound, which stopped the man in his tracks. Margot peeked from behind her tree and watched as the man crept toward the source of the noise.
"You over here?" he said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
And Margot charged, screaming, taser buzzing high in the air, toward the man's unsuspecting silhouette.
On to Chapter Ten
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