Leila is still comforting Ashley when Reid and the others get back. She leaps to her feet, staring at him, as if she knows something is different, but he ignores her and turns on the two who pant to a halt behind him.
“That was the dumbest thing you could have ever done.” Reid isn’t breathing heavy, to his delight. Whatever happened to him, whatever the dust of the hunters is, he feels fantastic. The bubbling laughter won’t leave him, vibrating through his whole body. It’s hard to be angry with them.
He doesn’t have to chastise any further. Cole looks devastated for him. “You saved our lives,” he says. “Again. I’m sorry.” Tears well, spill over. “I was so sure we could just get in and get out.”
“You did,” Reid says. “Because they let you.”
Even Marcus nods, face grim, at that truth.
“Thank you,” Reid turns to Marcus, relishing the shocked look on his face. It’s impulsive and a part of him tells him he’s stupid, but Reid just grins.
“For what?” Marcus’s sullen expression returns almost immediately.
“For saving my life. If you hadn’t distracted the hunter, I’d be dead.”
Marcus doesn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, he nods. “You first,” he says.
Reid can’t help himself. His good mood is like a virus infecting everything about him, driving him forward. He punches Marcus lightly on the shoulder and grins at him.
Marcus, hesitant, grins back.
An uneasy truce, then. Reid will take it. Even if he’ll never trust Marcus for a moment. Ever.
Ashley is on her feet, looking at Reid like he’s some kind of hero. “You saved me from them.” She looks fierce, the last of her tears dried. “Thanks.”
His grin never wavers. “You can thank me all you want,” he says. “But there’s only one way to make it right.”
She just looks at him funny, like she doesn’t get it. Fair enough. He’ll explain it to her. To all of them. Already a plan is forming in his head and he can’t wait to put it into action.
But, it’s like no one heard him. They are all stirring, getting ready to leave. He lets them gather themselves, their old fear new again, ready to run on. Why all of a sudden is he just noticing what fools they are?
Milo finally says what everyone is thinking.
“We need to move,” Milo says. “The hunters will be coming.”
They are already gathered to head out without his prompting. All but Reid. He stands there, looking down at his hands, feeling the power running through him. It’s starting to fade, the feeling, the cold fire that fuels his laughter, that shoves aside his fear. But he remembers it easily, longs for it, even as it goes away. That and the thrill of killing a hunter with his own hands.
“I’m tired of running.” Reid turns to them and smiles while they all stop and stare. They’ll listen this time. He knows it. They can’t help but trust him now. And his plan is so simple, so perfect, it makes complete sense. “You were right. All of you were right.” They look at him like he’s lost his mind. He just shakes his head and shrugs. “We can’t win if we’re worn out. That’s their weapon. Using fear to chase us down and make us weak. Then tear away any hope we have of finding shelter or peace, even for a little while.”
“We saw how well hiding did us,” Marcus says. “First the mine, then the town.” The kids murmur their agreement. Reid breathes in deeply, missing the tingle in his lungs from the strange powder that the hunter became, unable to remove the soft curve from his lips, the happiness rising inside him at the thought of turning things around.
“I’m not talking about hiding, not just for the sake of it, that is.” Again they stare. “I’m talking about taking a stand.”
Cole’s grin is fierce despite the fear that chases it. “You want to take this to them.”
Reid laughs. “They can die. We’ve killed three of them already. Leila, the first time. The one in the mine.” Though they didn’t, even if Reid is sure it must have died after they stoned it. “And now that one back there.” He waves behind him, vague. But it’s all that’s necessary. The casualness of it. Like it’s so easy to simply beat a hunter to death with a tire iron.
Of course it is. Reid’s boiling blood tells him so. And while the song of the dust is fading, the message remains.
Reid’s hands fall to his side and he feels the lump in his pocket. He pulls out the knife, flipping it open. The blade catches the moonlight like the claws of the hunters and he holds it up for them to see.
“They want us to run so they can wear us down,” he says. “They want us to hide so they can break us when they destroy the safety we’ve made for ourselves. But they don’t expect us to do what we need to do now. The only thing they’ve left to us.” He flips the knife closed and squeezes it in his fist while the kids gather around him, as if they can absorb what drives him to win.
“I’m done,” Reid says, “with their games and their mazes, with them treating us like meat. It’s time to claim this ground, right here. To take back our lives and make them pay. To show them we won’t go down without taking them with us.”
Shining eyes watch him, glowing with the passion that takes him over, fed by his emotions. They are with him, he can feel it. “From this moment on, we run only to lead them to us. We hide as a tool to make them think they’ve won. And when we have them where we want them, we will take the battle to them.” They clutch at him, hands touching his clothing, brushing over his body like a benediction. He welcomes them, their adoration, their need to be led, and embraces the energy they surround him with.
Reid’s soul swells and heals as he looks at them and knows the moment has come to stand their ground.
“I’m done running and hiding,” he says. “It’s time to fight.”
# # #
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Book Three of The Hunted Series
time to stand your ground
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