Chapter 101: Im The Arrogant Little Bastard, Remember?
(MILES)
Pine branches whip my face as I hurdle through them and away from the cabin. I hear Arlo fast behind me as he hurries, breathing hard and muttering swearing words. I doubt if Dalton followed us. I don’t think he was able to. I’m not sure if he crawled up the stairs to throw us off either, or if he just couldn’t walk. We have to put as much distance as we can between us in case he can walk.
I have no idea where we are. That means I don’t even have an idea where to run to. If I were familiar with the area, I could find a road that would lead us down the mountain. For now, my instincts tell me to run deeper into the woods. If Arlo feels indifferent, he is welcome to stay back and die.
We keep running for what feels like an hour. I feel exhausted and I stop to sit at the base of a tall pine tree. My breathing is heavy and I’m in a haze. My lungs burn. I can feel the trunk against my spine as it sways in the breeze. I shut my eyes closed. Even though I fear for my life, I can’t escape the serenity and quietness around the mountains. I hear nothing except for the sound of trees and birds. Arlo sits across from me and grunts. I open my eyes and stare at his bloody hard. He was able to keep up with me. So that tells me that it’s probably just flesh. He would have stopped running ages ago had he lost a lot of blood. Adrenaline would have only carried him so far.
He breathes hard as he meets my gaze. "How come Dalton isn’t dead?"
"Nothing went as I hoped," I say, avoiding his gaze. The fact that I failed to kill Dalton frustrates me. Part of the reason why I didn’t kill Dalton was because he bumped into me.
He threw my aim. Because of that, Dalton is still very much alive and a threat to us now. If I accuse Arlo of being the reason why Dalton didn’t die, he will sure get pissy and I don’t want to deal with that now.
He studies me for a few generous seconds. "that fucker shot the tip of my finger off."
"How much of it is gone?" I ask curiously.
Gritting his teeth, he holds out his hand.
"I can’t really see." I squint. "You’re too far away."