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I heard footsteps drawing closer, tears mixing with the sludge on my cheeks.
This was it.
Volk had brought me here to kill me.
I would never see my mama or Dasha again.
Strangely, her betrayal didn’t sting as much now. It felt like the perfect moment for my life to flash before my eyes.
Regrets flooded my mind.
Then something seized my ankle, and I heard a bone crack. I shrieked, kicking at the assailant until a menacing growl filled the air.
“Ostanovis', ili ya pristrelyu tebya, tupaya suka! Stop or I'll shoot you, you stupid bitch!” a man spat out savagely, his gun clicking. He hoisted me up, causing sharp pain to shoot from my ankle.
Still struggling, I sobbed uncontrollably.
He shoved me against a tree, pressing the gun beneath my chin.
“Otpusti yeye. Let her go,” Volk’s voice cut through my fear, and I blinked my eyes open.
The man took a step back, sliding his gun into his coat pocket, and left me alone against the tree.
He then turned around, his hands raised in surrender as he faced Volk and Dve.
The stranger appeared to be in his early forties, towering over me with a bald head and a thick, long black beard. His stormy blue eyes locked onto mine, radiating pure hatred as he let out a loud snort. He carried some extra weight, his hairy stomach peeking out from beneath a brown plaid flannel shirt that seemed a size too small. His oversized green hooded coat hung low, mud dripping from it.
I glanced at Dve, whose eyes betrayed astonishment and disbelief. He quickly assessed me from head to toe before turning his gaze to Volk.
Unable to bear the tension any longer, I took a deep breath, but a sharp pain gripped my chest, and I felt my lungs tighten as I coughed.
My humiliating fall must have caused more damage than I initially realized.
When our eyes locked, the anger in Volk’s gaze turned me into a statue, as if a sudden deluge of ice-cold water had been dumped over my head.
He took a step closer, his hand grabbing my chin as he examined my face closely. Then he scrutinized my body, fixating on my injured knee, where my black sheer tights were torn and blood seeped out. I winced and attempted to step back, but he suddenly seized my arm, halting me in my tracks.
“What the fuck happened, Sofiya?”
“Volk, klyanus’, ona upala, i ya khotel yey pomoch’, no… Volk, I swear, she fell and I wanted to help her, but...”
With his grip still firm on my arm and his body just inches from mine, he retrieved the gun hidden under his coat and swung around, aiming it at the man’s head.
“Zatknis’. Shut up.”
He then turned his attention back to me, the gun still pointed in the other direction. His dark eyes bore into mine as he tilted his head slightly as he gently wiped some mud from my cheek. My vision blurred again, and his face appeared like a haunting shadow, shifting with every blink.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Don’t kill me.”
He frowned, confused.
Our gazes locked once more, and I found myself fighting the urge to reach out and pull him closer for some comfort. His hand grazed my cheek absentmindedly, and with a look that seemed to pierce right through me, he waited for an answer to his burning question.
Taking a deep breath, I mustered my courage. “I just wanted to feed a squirrel,” I stammered, wincing from the pain in my leg. “And then, before I knew it, I felt a gun against my neck and…”
The gunshot erupted with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves through my body and nearly making me sick.
Trembling uncontrollably, I collapsed to my knees, hands clamped to the sides of my head, trying to dull the pain in my ears. I tore off my coat, hands smeared with mud, while my hysterical cries echoed through the empty forest.
