Page 133 of Deadfall

We couldn’t risk getting pinned down. The treeline rushed closer as bullets tore through the ground at our heels. Someone collided hard with my shoulder, and I heard the shot meant for me whisper past my head. I righted myself and saw Griffin at my side. I’d have to thank him later.

We hit the trees, and the darkness closed in heavily around us. It was like it consumed all the light within a few feet. The world shrank to shadows and our harsh breaths were amplified by the masks. The gunfire stopped abruptly and gave us a small reprieve while the enemy regrouped.

I stepped up to Angel’s side and studied the way ahead. There was danger here—a lot of it. Angel took a few steps forward, and I quickly yanked him to a stop.

“Wait.” I stepped past him and crouched in the path.

Seven knelt next to me. “What’ve you got?”

I gently pushed aside some brush and revealed a well-concealed tripwire.

“Well, that’s rude,” Seven muttered.

I followed the wire through the undergrowth until I found the mechanism hidden beneath a log. I looked up into the trees and spotted a sharpened cluster of rebar suspended between two trunks. Not quite chest height, but angled perfectly to maim. Seven hummed low under his breath and looked over his shoulder.

“Let us take point,” Seven spoke to the others and nodded at me. “This is some nasty stuff through here.”

Angel inclined his head. “Keep east.”

“Roger that.”

Seven and I stepped over the tripwire and ventured carefully forward. The deeper we traveled, the stranger the forest became. The trees grew thicker with roots and vines that tangled around our feet. The air was bone-chillingly cold, and every surface was covered in moss that dripped and bled sap.

I chose my steps carefully. Everything looked dangerous here, and twice I spotted concealed pits before anyone stepped in them. The first contained rusted spikes and the second dropped into blackness so deep, I couldn’t see the bottom.

I almost missed the third trap because I thought I saw movement through the trees. Seven’s arm slammed into my chest and I looked down in time to see another tripwire, except this one was made of vines. I turned to thank him, only to catch the same movement I’d thought I’d seen over his shoulder. It was nothing more than a shadow detaching from another shadow, but it was enough.

I shoved him into a tree. “Contact left!”

A sharp crack echoed through the dark, and a bullet bit into the trunk on my right. Wood exploded, and we all dropped to the ground as splinters showered across our backs. Beams of light bobbed through the trees. We’d been spotted.

“Let’s move,” Griffin hissed.

“Tripwire,” I warned. “Step where I step.”

I chose my steps carefully and hoped I could spot the dangers fast enough. I concentrated on the path ahead, trusting Griffin and Angel to cover our backs. The gap was closing—they must have night vision and maybe a map of a safe path through the trees. I cursed our luck just as another few gunshots cracked through the night.

A sudden scream rent the air. Chills sheeted my skin at the sound of agony that laced through their cry. Someone had obviously tripped one of the traps. Hopefully it would give us some space. I skirted the tripwire and pointed it out to the others as I stepped over it.

I turned to make sure everyone stepped over it safely and saw Griffin jerk as though something had struck him. My heart immediately jumped into my throat. Griffin fumbled with his mask and yanked it off just as I reached him.

“Are you hit?” I asked frantically.

He shook his head, but poked his fingers through a bullet hole in his filter. Everyone fell silent. We knew what that meant, and it wasn’t good. We hadn’t run into the green mist yet, but I’d seen it in pockets of darkness through the trees. It seemed to glow with its own effervescence. Seven came back from where he’d scouted ahead and saw Griffin without his mask.

“Fuck. Is it done?”

“Yeah, it’s useless now,” Griffin muttered.

“We need to move,” Angel said.

No one argued with that, so we continued on. The screams from behind us faded, overshadowed by the sound of running water. We came to a dark cut through the trees where black water raced through a shallow, but vicious looking creek. The swatch of sky above cast moonlight down onto the water and made it glitter, like black jewels.

“Why does that look so sinister?” Seven muttered.

“It doesn’t look that deep,” I said.

“It’s not the depth I’m worried about,” he said dryly.