The Chateau (Chateau 1)

“I’d rather die on my own terms than be a prisoner to someone else.”

She gave a slight nod.

“You’ve got to be brave, Melanie.”

She nodded again, but this time, she sniffled.

“But it’s not over yet.” I pulled my bow off my back and grabbed an arrow from the quiver.

“What are you going to do?”

“Kill them.” I put the bow on the string, pulled back my arm, and released the arrow.

It moved less than a few inches before falling to the ground.

“How many are there?” I picked up the arrow and tried again.

“I don’t know.” She turned to look behind her. “I see two flashlights…and two torches. So maybe four? And no idea how many dogs they have…”

I pulled the string back and tried again. The arrow went a little farther. It was an improvement, but not by much. “I need you to keep going forward. Go a hundred feet before you turn around and walk back along the same trail.”

“Why?”

“So, they won’t stop where we’re hiding. We’ll shoot them in the back.” I pulled the knife from my pocket and handed it to her.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

“Kill anyone who comes near you.”

“What about the dogs? I’m not going to kill a dog.”

I didn’t know what to do about them. “Then kick them until they back off. But I can probably shoot two of them. I’ll need help with the other two.”

She put the knife in her pocket and did as I asked, making a trail farther up ahead.

I kept practicing with the bow and arrow—like my life depended on it.

I hid behind a tree on one side of the trail.

Melanie hid on the other.

The guards were still in hot pursuit, all on horses, two dogs in the lead. They must have seen the trail continue up ahead because they ran right past us.

I’d never been so scared in my life.

Because I actually had something to lose.

Freedom was so close…so fucking close.

I was not letting these bastards take it from me.

I purposely waited until they came to a standstill because I couldn’t hit a moving target. Then I moved out of the tree line, aimed right for the neck of one, and fired.

It pierced him right in the neck. Slowly, his body slumped sideways until he collapsed in the snow. He didn’t make a sound because he was dead on impact. But his heavy body made a loud thud when it hit the ground.

I didn’t stop to celebrate and quickly grabbed a new arrow, pointing it at the guy who had turned to look at his fallen comrade. “She’s behind us!”

I pulled the arrow back, held my breath and focused, and then released it into the air.

It hit him right in the chest.

He fell to the ground, the horse immediately stepping away like it could sense death.

The other guys quickly turned around and kicked their horses to come after me. Their dogs started to bark in panic, German shepherds that sprinted toward us with their jaws open, their teeth bared.

I got another arrow and aimed, but they were charging me down, so I missed. “Fuck.”

“You fucking cunt!” The guard jumped down and pulled out his bow to shoot me.

I sprinted away even though there was no way I could outrun them.

A dog got me quickly, biting into my leg and making me fall to the snow. Then an arrow pierced my arm.

“Ahh!” I fell and gripped my arm, the arrow piercing right through my flesh.

“Enough, boy.” The guard’s footsteps were audible as he approached me, as was the gloat in his voice.

The dog got off me.

I lay there, bleeding all over the snow. When I looked up, he stood over me, his arrow pointed right at my face.

The other guard stood over me too, his hood off because he didn’t care about hiding his face at this point. “Where’s the other girl?” He spat right on my face.

“She died.” They had nothing on me anymore. They were going to kill me, so I’d lie through gritted teeth until it was over. There was no amount of torture that could get me to give it up.

The man with the bow kicked me hard. “Liar.”

I groaned as his heavy boot hit my stomach.

“Tell us or—” He stumbled forward onto the ground, a scream erupting through the forest.

Melanie was on top of him, stabbing him in the back.

I moved, lunging at the guy with the bow while he was confused. I charged him to the ground and slammed my fists into his face, beating him to death, wild with insanity because I had to survive.

It was him or me.

And it was going to be him.

Both dogs jumped onto Melanie, and she screamed in pain.

I left the guard and rushed to her aid, to get those dogs off before they could kill her.