Taken By Terror by Lolita Lopez

Chapter Three

Panting to catch her breath, Maisie stopped her seemingly endless hike and dropped down in front of the closest tree. Her tired legs trembled, and she opened her canteen with shaky hands to sip carefully at her water. She hadn’t come across a stream or other source of water yet on her trek. Until then, she had to ration her supply.

How much farther?

Wincing at the pain caused by the metal cuffs still dangling from her wrists, she shifted the pack she had stolen between her legs and unzipped the front compartment to retrieve the maps and compass. During her first rest stop, she had discovered the compass at the bottom of the pack. It was a stroke of luck she hadn’t expected.

She took a moment to orient herself and traced her finger along the path she had taken. Her hike had taken her straight up the mountain before she cut to the left in what seemed to be the easiest section to trek across to get to the other side. If the map was correct, she would then be able to take switchback trails down to the settlement at the base of the mountain. It seemed to be a logging town, right near the river, and she hoped she would be able to stowaway onto a barge and get as far away from this mountain as possible.

She opened the map all the way, unfolding the creased edges until she had it spread out on either side of her. It took a few moments to find the location of the old mining cave where she had last seen her family. Using the first joint of her thumb as a rough gauge against the map key, she measured how many miles she had been taken and was stunned by the number. She checked again and then again to be sure she had done the math correctly. Her captors had transported her more than one thousand miles, taking her far north on the planet’s only inhabitable continent.

Dismissing any idea of ever getting back to the mine, she focused instead on studying the area down river. There were a handful of river towns and then a connecting highway into The City. She closed her eyes and tried to call forth the maps in the war room at the mine. Where were the Splinter cells located? Were there any sparsely manned sky warrior outposts?

Opening her eyes, she turned the map to orient it the way the maps on the walls had been back in the camp. The images in her mind clicked into place over the map she held. She would have to steer clear of the second settlement down the river from the logging town. That one, for sure, held a Splinter cell.

The wind kicked up again, and the cold bite of it made her shrink down into the oversized jacket. The higher she climbed, the worse the weather seemed to be. The rain was an almost constant drizzle, and the wind was ferociously cold. Unable to see the sun, she gauged the amount of sunlight left and decided she would continue her trek until she found adequate shelter for the night. Starting a fire for heat seemed like a good way to attract the wrong sort of attention. A cave or some other protected space would be her best option.

After repacking her bag and slinging it onto her back, she started hiking again. Every step aggravated the blisters forming on her heels and toes, but she couldn’t slow her pace. The faster she moved, the better her chance of making it off this planet. When she slipped for the fourth time since her last rest, she cursed her lack of hiking boots or walking sticks. The ground had switched from the soft, earthen muck with its blanket of wet pine needles to a harder, rockier surface. The rain mixed with the moss and mud to make a slippery coating that tried her patience and her balance.

She hissed when she lost her footing the fifth time and banged her knee. She clutched at the nearest rock to prevent a nasty slide down the steep slope and cut her waterlogged skin. Blood erupted from the wound, and she swallowed the painful shout that threatened to escape. She might not be able to hear, but she was very aware of the way echoes worked. Drawing attention to her position was the last thing she needed.

Regaining her footing, she turned and plopped down on her backside. The rain and filth on the rock soaked through her pants as she dug through the pack for her a bandage to stem the bleeding. She was so engrossed in opening the rusted shut first aid kit that she didn’t even realize she had been found until it was too late.

A blur of brown fur was all she saw before a cold, wet nose pressed right into her cheek. Stunned by the sudden appearance of a dog, she went from terrified to amused in the span of a few heartbeats. The excited dog nuzzled her face and neck before taking a few happy steps backward and sitting. His tail wagged wildly even as he sat, and he panted in the most adorably goofy way.

Movement directly to her right tore her attention away from the dog. She instantly reached for the pistol tucked into the holster on the right side of her pack. Her fingers wrapped around the grip, but she maintained trigger discipline, keeping her finger straight. With her weapon in hand but still hidden, she watched as a hunter and another dog, this one smokey gray with dark spots and big, floppy ears, came toward her.

A woman.

Fully aware that women could be even more dangerous than men, she kept her hand on the pistol, ready to draw and fire. The woman coming toward her wasn’t trying to be sneaky. In fact, she seemed to be actively trying to be noticed as she waved her hands. Her long black braids bounced against the front of her brown jacket. A dark green knitted cap covered her ears, and the wooden handle of a hatchet bounced against her thigh with every step. She smiled in a friendly way and tugged off her gloves as she walked closer, stuffing them into the pockets of her jacket.

Maisie was taken aback when the women began to sign while she spoke. She blinked, thinking she was mistaking the hand movements or simply seeing what she wanted to see, but no. The woman was communicating clearly and easily.

“Sorry about Clove,” she apologized profusely. “He’s young and still learning to behave around new people.” She frowned at the dog and said something that Maisie couldn’t make out while simultaneously signaling the dog to come to her side and heel.

Shocked that this woman was fluent in the most common form of sign language in this part of the galaxy, Maisie almost cried with relief. Then, a terrifying thought struck her. Was she a hallucination?

Worried that was the case, she asked the woman just that. The woman laughed and knelt down near her. “I’m real,” she signed. “Pepper and Clove are real, and you’re real.” Her gaze moved to Maisie’s bloody hand, and she frowned. “And you’re hurt.”

“I slipped,” Maisie explained, her gaze moving to the second dog, Pepper, who sat primly behind her mistress. “I cut my hand on the rock.”

“Ouch.” She made a face. “May I?”

Maisie nodded and let the other woman take her hand. The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of the metal cuffs, and Maisie tried to tug her hand free. The other woman was stronger and held tight. Instead of disgust or fear at learning that Maisie was a prisoner, the woman seemed concerned. “Were you in the camp?”

Maisie swallowed hard and reluctantly nodded. “Yes.”

“You managed to escape just in time.” The woman reached for the bottom of her jacket, taking hold of it and her clothing underneath. She lifted it higher, all the way above her navel, and then pushed down the top of her denim pants to reveal a red feather tattoo. “I’m not your enemy. I can help you.”

Maisie’s heart leapt with joy at the tattoo. Despite being raised her entire life to distrust anyone who fought against the Splinters, she had never actually done so. She had always sensed that the side her parents had chosen was wrong and had been fascinated by local groups who allied with the Harcos to fight against them. “You’re in the resistance?”

The woman nodded. “I keep an eye on the camp. I came out to check this morning after the worst of the storm passed. I had hoped there were survivors.” A glimmer of sadness flashed across her dark eyes. “Your tracks were the only ones I found so I followed them until I caught up to you.”

“The others left in trucks.” Maisie thought it best to leave it at that and not mention the two men she had killed. “They went down the mountain before the flood and landslide, but I’m not sure if they made it or not.”

“I don’t know either. I’m sorry.”

“What’s your name?”

“Fay,” she said. “It’s actually Euphamie,” she clarified, spelling out the unique name. “But my brothers all call me Fay.”

“I’m Maisie.” Unused to meeting anyone who could communicate so clearly, she asked, “How did you learn to sign?”

“My twin brother,” Fay explained. “Cotton,” she added. “He’s deaf.” Taking Maisie’s hands in hers, Fay ensured Maisie could read her lips as she said, “I don’t think this will need stitches, but we should clean and bandage it.”

Maisie gestured to the first aid kit, and Fay managed to get it open and retrieve the supplies she needed. While Fay dabbed at her wound with an antiseptic wipe, she studied her more carefully. She seemed close to Maisie’s age and was taller and sturdier. Fay seemed confident and sure as she worked, and the rifle slung across her back and the holster on her left hip convinced Maisie she was comfortable defending herself.

“You’re lucky this is your only injury,” Fay said before she tore a strip of medical tape. “This mountain is dangerous. There are only a few safe paths, and there are booby traps everywhere else.”

Maisie frowned. “What kind of traps?”

“Holes, spikes, mines, explosives,” Fay listed off.

“But why?”

“Why?” Fay laughed. “Because my dad is paranoid and hates the government and the Splinters and anyone else who wants to try and take his mountain.”

“His?”

“My family has lived on this mountain since the first transport ship arrived from Earth. My ancestors fought and died to claim it, and Pa will give every last drop of his blood to make sure it stays under our control.” She glanced in the direction of the destroyed camp. “That’s why that camp never got finished. We’ve been raiding and sabotaging them for months. The City has no power here—and never will.”

From the fervor in Fay’s gestures and the hard set of her jaw, Maisie believed her. The City and their corrupt government would never manage to take this mountain or the surrounding areas. The Splinters wouldn’t either. They were only successful in establishing roots when locals invited and accepted them and their purpose. That wasn’t going to happen here.

“Do you live nearby then?” Maisie asked, curious as to how this woman had found her.

Fay nodded. “Down the other side at our compound.”

“What do your people do?”

“We’re loggers and furniture makers and syrup catchers.”

“And hunters?” Maise gestured to Fay’s rifle and pistol.

“A girl can only eat so much fish before she gets sick of it and craves a big, juicy elk steak.” Fay finished the bandage and stuffed the trash into Maisie’s pack. With both hands free, she signed, “We should get back into the trees. It’s not safe up here.”

“I’m trying to get down to the river,” Maisie explained. “I need to get on a barge and get to The City.”

“Bad idea,” Fay replied with a shake of her head. “There are government thugs down there.” She glared in the direction of the camp again. “Those assholes will be crawling all over the valley and river to catch any escaped prisoners.” Her lip curled as she sneered at the very idea of the enemy on her home turf. “Until they move on to their next base of operations, you shouldn’t go anywhere near Rivertown.”

Maisie’s shoulders drooped. “What should I do?”

“My brother has a still nearby. It’s a hike, but we’ll make it before it gets too dark. We can sleep there tonight, get you some clean clothes, burn that uniform and bury any evidence you have with you. In the morning, we’ll head down to my family’s compound. It’s safe there. After that?” Fay shrugged. “We’ll figure something out. There are fixers in the Red Feather who can get you where you need to go.”

Choosing to trust Fay, Maisie accepted her plan. There wasn’t any other option at this point. The way Fay had so easily caught up to her was an annoying reminder of how Maisie’s disability limited her. Usually, it was just a minor hindrance or a challenge, but out here, in the woods, surrounded by animals and skilled hunters, she was vulnerable. With Fay at her side, she would have a better chance of surviving, and frankly, the idea of a warm spot to sleep and clean, dry clothes was too dear to refuse.

Fay reached into the big pocket on the front of her jacket and retrieved a small handheld radio. Maisie bristled with worry and started to get up so she could run. Fay shook her head. “It’s just to let my brother know we’re coming down the mountain and might need help.”

As if to prove that she could be trusted, Fay spoke clearly across the radio while talking to her brother. Maisie was able to read Fay’s lips clearly. “Mun, I’m headed down to you. I caught a varmint, and I might need your help bringing it down.” Fay paused to listen to her brother’s answer. “Sheepshead Ledge.” She glanced at the sky. “Get some dry clothes ready and a fire. Looks like rain again.”

Fay slipped her radio back into her pocket. Satisfied that Fay wasn’t going to betray her, Maisie took the hand that her new friend held out and used it to haul herself to her feet. She adjusted her backpack, and Fay signaled her dogs with a whistle and hand gesture. Pepper ran ahead, sniffing and scouting their path. Clove trotted alongside Maisie, his wet nose nudging her hand every now and then. Staying close to Fay’s side, Maisie felt some of the tension ease out of her shoulders and neck. She wasn’t alone. She didn’t have to pick and hack her way across the mountain. She had a place to sleep tonight and the promise of food. All in all, her day was looking up.

Fay garnered her attention with a flick of her hand and then asked, “Why were you in the camp? The government or the Splinters?”

“Both,” Maisie answered. Even though she wanted to trust Fay, the woman was still a stranger. Remembering that Fay had mentioned her family, Maisie worried that trouble would follow her down the mountain to Fay’s front door. Not wanting to get anyone killed, she confessed, “My family is part of the Splinter network. My stepfather and stepbrothers,” she clarified. “I was working with the sky warriors. Sort of,” she added, with a wiggle of her flattened hand. “My contact was betrayed, and my family let the Splinter leader and his goons take me.”

Fay shook her head and then said, “Your family sounds like a bunch of assholes.”

Maisie laughed and then conceded, “They are. Most of them. Kris is okay. He’s closest to my age. We grew up together, and he always tried to look out for me.”

“Was he there when you were taken?”

“No. He's been away on a mission for a long time.” Maisie’s thoughts drifted to the last time she had seen Kris. He had been more than reluctant to go. For most of his life, he had been enthusiastic and had volunteered at sixteen to join a cell. When he had come back for that last visit, something had changed. He was colder, and his eyes seemed dull and lifeless. Whatever he had seen or done had killed all the joy inside him.

Just before Kris had ducked into the ship that last night of his visit, she had caught his gaze and dared to sign one word to him. Run.

His eyes had widened briefly, and he had nodded as discreetly as possible before flashing the sign for survive. Looking back, she had to wonder if he had known what was coming for her. Maybe she wasn’t the only one working with Devious.

“No,” she answered finally. “He’s gone.”

That was the last time she had seen him. Eleven months without a word to her, her stepfather or his brothers. Even though she missed him terribly and worried for him, she hoped with every fiber of her being that his silence was a sign that he had taken her advice and ran from the Splinters. She liked to imagine he had gotten far away, found some hole in the wall place at the end of the galaxy and started a new life.

“Dead?”

Maisie shrugged. “I’m not sure. He left almost a year ago and hasn’t been heard from since.”

“I’m sorry.”

Maisie gave in to Clove’s constant nudging and scratched between his ears as they walked. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”

Fay smiled. “Seven brothers. Six living,” she clarified with a few hand movements. “I’m the only girl and the youngest.”

Maisie couldn’t imagine having that many siblings. “And you all live together?”

“Mostly,” Fay said. “Mun, Dale, Cotton and I live with our Pa in the main homestead. Clem, Vern and Oat have families so they live in cabins they built nearby.”

Maisie was impressed with how quickly she finger-spelled the names and told her so. Fay shrugged and explained, “I learned to sign the same time I learned to read so it’s all the same to me. I have to remind myself not to sign when I’m around others.” She made a face. “People get weird about things like that.”

“I know,” Maisie assured her. “Is anyone else in your family deaf? Or just your brother?”

“Just my brother.” Fay glanced up at the canopy of trees. “What about you?”

“My mother and father were born like this, too. It’s why they supported the Splinters.”

Fay frowned. “How’s that?”

Maisie hesitated before admitting, “My parents were part of them. The Harcos,” she clarified. “Sky warriors.”

“No shit?”

“No shit.”

Fay gave her a once-over before bluntly remarking, “You’re really small to be one of them.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I know! It’s the worst!”

“Your dad was deaf, too? So, he wasn’t one of their soldiers then?”

Maisie shook her head. “They,” she pointed toward the sky, “don’t allow people like me to serve. We’re Defects. It's forbidden to mate with or have children with Defects. It weakens their gene pool.”

“Fucking bigoted pricks,” she signed angrily.

“It’s their culture,” Maisie replied. “It’s their philosophy and their history.”

“Doesn’t make it right,” Fay argued. “It’s gross and wrong to breed people like farm animals.”

“It is.” Maisie scratched between Clove’s ears again and earned a playful lick on the back of her hand. “My dad owned a mining camp out in the Chavez Ingot Belt. That’s where I was born,” she added. “On CIB-2.”

“That’s a long way from here,” Fay remarked. “You must have travelled a lot.”

“I did. My dad died in an accidental explosion when I was four so I don’t really remember him much. Mom remarried a year later. Randy was one of my dad’s friends. After that, we moved every few months. Wherever their cause took us.”

“Hard to make friends that way.” Fay glanced up again, as if searching for something. “Hard to put down roots or—”

The dogs stopped suddenly. Their ears perked, and both of them looked up toward the forest canopy the same way Fay had. Unable to hear what they detected, Maisie watched Fay and the dogs. Without dropping her gaze, Fay put two fingers against her palm and slid them quickly up toward the sky. Spaceship.

Panicked, Maisie searched through the trees for sight of a ship. Fay grabbed her hand and tugged hard, pulling her toward the low, dense brush nearby. Both dogs followed and slid under the bushes to hide. Maisie and Fay copied their example, digging in under the thorny branches and rotting leaves for cover. Clove shuffled closer to Maisie and put his chin on her arm as if to remind her that she wasn’t alone and had friends here to help defend her.

A few feet away, Fay flicked her fingers to gain Maisie’s attention. Silently, she asked if Maisie had a weapon. She gestured to her backpack and mimicked firing a pistol with her hand.

“Ammo?” Fay asked.

“One magazine loaded. One extra.”

“Then only shoot at what you can hit.”

Maisie nodded and tried to slow down her breathing and heartbeat. Shaky hands wouldn’t help her hit anything, and Fay was correct to remind her to conserve her ammo. She wasn’t the best shot, but she wasn’t bad at a close distance. She eyed Fay and wondered how good she was with that rifle. Considering the easy way Fay moved through the forest, Maisie figured she had a good handle on it.

Fay suddenly shifted her gaze, rolling over on her side to stare behind them. Maisie could feel Clove growling against her arm, the low vibrations rumbling across her skin. She glanced back to see if someone was coming, but the bright burst of light in the distant sky told her all she needed to know.

“Explosions,” Fay said. “Behind us. Sounds like it’s coming from the down low. Maybe the prison camp.”

“Old munitions?”

Fay shook her head. “Gunfire. Missiles.”

“A battle?”

“Yes.”

“Splinters?”

“And sky warriors,” Fay agreed. “I have a feeling they’re fighting over you.”

Maisie shrunk down and grimaced. “Maybe.”

“Can they track you?”

She shook her head, but added, “I don’t think so.”

“Do you have something they want?”

Maisie nodded reluctantly. “It’s why I’m trying to get to the Harcos embassy.”

“Fuck me,” Fay said, not bothering to sign. She turned her attention to the sky above them and then seemed to follow a sound back up the mountain to the rocky area where she had found Maisie. Catching Maisie’s eye, she asked, “Do you know any of them? The sky warriors?”

“One,” she said, thinking of Terror.

“Would he come for you?”

She didn’t hesitate. With a nod, she confirmed, “Yes, he would.”

She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but she believed it all the way down to the depths of her soul. Just as she had planned to save him, Terror would have wanted to save her. If he was up there now, on top of the mountain, fighting for his life, she couldn’t leave him there alone.

“I guess we better save their asses.” Fay sighed and glanced at her dogs before looking back at her. “Sounds like the rescue party is pinned down up there. Gunfire. A lot of it. Plasma bursts.”

She grabbed Fay’s wrist before the other woman could climb out from under the brush. “You don’t have to go. You don’t owe me anything. Take your dogs and get back to your family.”

“I told you I’d help you. We Ryderwoods keep our promises.” Fay shifted her hand until it gripped Maisie’s. “I’m with you until I get you to safety.”

Stunned by the loyalty this near stranger was showing to her, Maisie could only nod and mouth, “Thank you.”

Together, they scrambled out of the brush. Fay took the lead, and both dogs ran alongside them, scrambling up the mountain and dodging fallen logs and patches of mud. She had pulled the radio from her pocket and was talking quickly into it, hopefully to call her family for help. The higher they climbed and the closer they got to the firefight, the more Maisie could feel the gunfight in her chest. The chemical scent of plasma filled the air. It was a strange smell and harsh against the natural scents of the forest. It was also a reminder that they were running into a fight where highly skilled soldiers were using much more advanced technology while they were using comparably ancient firearms that shot bullets.

An explosion rocked the mountain. Maisie and Fay both stumbled forward, and the dogs ran in a circle around them before taking up a defensive stance. The two women exchanged worried glances as another set of explosions shook the ground beneath them. Up ahead, a giant fireball filled the hazy, drizzling sky. A surge of black smoke followed, billowing up into the storm clouds.

“A ship crash?” Maisie asked as they clambered to their feet.

“I think so.”

“Splinters?”

“I fucking hope so,” Fay replied before running off.

Maisie dashed after her. Not for the first time, she marveled at the control Fay had over her dogs. Even though Clove had run up and licked and pawed at her before, he now was totally under his mistress’s command. Neither dog barked or made noise. They had been trained to stay quiet, probably to sneak up on prey.

Looks like the Splinters are prey now.

Fay signaled Maisie to slow down and get low as they approached the tree line. She followed the silent command and inched forward until she reached a thick tree along the edge. As she shifted her pack and retrieved the pistol and extra magazine, Maisie leaned her shoulder against the tree and peered around the side to get a better look at what was happening.

She recognized the burning ship as part of the Splinter fleet with its matte gray exterior and blood red stripes on the exposed belly. There were at least a dozen dead men around the destroyed ship. They seemed to have been ejected when the vessel crashed, scattering their broken and burning bodies on the ground. A few seemed to be moving but weakly and without much chance for survival.

Higher up behind the ship, another group of Splinter operators had taken position on one of the huge jutting rock formations. Their view of the impromptu battlefield was clear. They were using their superior position to their full advantage, and Maisie knew it was only a matter of time before they were victorious.

Sky warriors in their black uniforms had taken up cover behind the large jagged stones dotting the rocky landscape. There were only four men, and one of them was already bleeding from a leg wound. Not badly, but enough that the ground below him was turning red. She scanned the men from behind. Too tall. Too short. Too stocky.

Terror.

She would have recognized him anywhere. After all, she had washed that back and hair for weeks. Granted, his hair had been longer then, unruly and unkempt. He had cut most of it off since the last time she had seen him and had put on some weight. When he turned sideways to shout a command at his brothers-in-arms, she could see the difference in his profile. He was healthier, his skin brighter and with more color to it.

The motion of Fay reaching back to grab the stock of her bolt action rifle tore Maisie from her thoughts. From this distance, Maisie was too far away to hit anything with her pistol, but that hunting rifle that Fay had just shouldered would have no problem reaching the Splinters on the rocks. Bracing herself against the trunk of the giant tree she had chosen for cover, Fay exhaled heavily twice in a row, racked the bolt to load a round into the empty chamber and fired.

High up on the rocks, a Splinter recoiled and dropped. Maisie glanced back at Fay who was now rapidly sighting and firing. She was like a machine as she picked off the Splinters with her weapon. Rack. Eject. Load. Fire. Her accuracy proved Maisie’s instincts about her new friend were correct. The girl could shoot.

Terror and his comrades looked back at the woods and then back at the Splinters dropping to their deaths. Fay had reached the end of the cartridges already loaded into her rifle and started single loading from her belt and firing with the ease of a woman who had spent countless hours practicing. She shouted something at the men and then her dogs. Both Clove and Pepper started to bark and howl.

Terror and his fellow soldiers exchanged hand signals for covering fire. The man who was wounded and the biggest of the soldiers left their cover first. The bigger man had one hand on his wounded friend and the other popped off continuous fire as they ran to the trees. When they had nearly made it to cover, the third man took his turn and dashed toward the forest.

Maisie hitched the straps of her pack high on her shoulders and checked that the safety of the pistol was still in place. Getting shot accidentally while running wasn’t high on her list of to-dos. She stuffed the extra magazine in her pocket and waited for any of the targets to get close enough to hit. From her spot behind the towering tree, Fay continued firing, picking off three more of the Splinters and bringing her total to eight.

The wounded man and the big soldier rushed into the trees. The wounded soldier stumbled on an exposed tree root and fell forward at Fay’s feet. Fay reached out and grabbed his belt and the back of his pants and dragged him a few inches, just enough for her to get in front of him. She knelt down, blocking his body with her own, and lifted her weapon. She fired two rounds in hasty succession while the wounded man scrambled for cover. She shouted something at the bigger man, and he took hold of his friend and started running down the mountain trail with Pepper leading the way.

Maisie turned back to the rocks and breathed out a sigh of relief as Terror finally left his hiding place. The third man had taken up a position near Fay and fired his more powerful weapon to give Terror cover. Maisie sucked in a sharp breath when a burst of plasma hit dangerously close to Terror, but he didn’t even flinch. He kept running, his focus on the woods and the promise of protection.

For some reason, he was running almost straight to her. There was no way he could see her, not the way she was hidden behind the tree and brush. It was as if there was some invisible beacon beckoning him this way, as if she were holding the other end of a lifeline.

Here, she silently urged. I’m right here.

He was only inches away when a burst of plasma was fired from the remaining Splinters who were sliding down the rocks to give chase. It hit a tree trunk, splitting it clean in two. The tree started to fall—right toward Terror.

Without a thought for her own safety, she raced out of her hiding spot, head down and shoulder angled, and tackled him to the ground. They slid across the leaves, mud and rocks, barely clearing the massive tree as it crashed to the ground only feet from them. The tree kicked up a cloud of dirt and leaves and began to burn, sending up smoke and ash as the plasma ignited the bark and pulp. The haze of smoke obscured her face and his, making it impossible for Terror to see that it was her who had tackled him from behind.

In a flash, Terror grabbed hold of her jacket and flipped her roughly onto her back, pinning her to the ground with his knees on either side of her thighs. She grunted with pain as a rock cut into her upper back, but she didn’t dare move. Seeing his fist raised to strike through the smoke, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for a hit that never came.

Instead, his scarred fingertips brushed along her cheek and jaw. The touch was so light she almost thought she had imagined it until she opened her eyes and saw him staring down at her in disbelief. He wore an expression unlike any she had ever seen, his face a mask of relief and longing and fear. He seemed trapped in the moment, his fingers moving over her lips as if trying to convince himself she was real.

He was so enthralled in her face that he didn’t see the Splinter breaking the tree line—but she did.

Snatching the front of his jacket, she yanked him down while drawing her weapon and covered his exposed ear, protecting his hearing, with the inside of her firing arm. Knowing the Splinters wore chest armor, she flicked away the safety and sighted the Splinter’s face just as he lifted his gun. She fired first, squeezing the trigger twice and hitting him once in the neck and then in the eye. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Clove leaped onto the other Splinter who had made it through the trees. The dog knocked him off balance and then Fay finished him off, slamming her hatchet into the man’s throat. Blood sprayed the air, and she placed her boot on the dying man’s chest to yank her hatchet free.

Bloody hatchet in hand, Fay reached down to grab Terror’s arm. At the same time, he grabbed Maisie’s hand, pulling her up and shoving her forward. He made sure she could read his lips as he shouted, “Run.”

So she did.