Chapter 19: Hunted
"You were the one who gave the information, right?" asked a man in a military uniform. The insignia near his shoulder said everything—it was Estellia.
"Y-Yes..." the clerk responded, voice trembling now. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so greedy for the reward Estellia promised for information about Annabelle’s whereabouts.
"Where is she now?" the officer demanded. Behind him, a full platoon was securing the perimeter, rifles at the ready.
"F-Frosten," the man stammered, fear leaking into every syllable.
"FROSTEN?! WHY?! HOW?!" The officer slammed his hand down on the counter. The wood cracked and snapped clean in half.
"She... she came in, requested two tickets. She was with a young man. He had a scarf covering his face... I—I couldn’t see who he was," the clerk said, eyes wide.
"AND YOU GAVE HER THE TICKETS KNOWING WHO SHE WAS?!" The officer grabbed him by the collar and yanked him over the broken counter.
"Denying her would’ve violated company policy!" the man yelped, almost sobbing.
The reward didn’t matter anymore. He just didn’t want to die.
"Take this fool away. Detain him," the officer ordered, flinging the trembling man toward the soldiers.
"Understood."