Page 121 of Kill Feed

The hunter lets out a grueling sound, and the bat immediately slips from his grip, crashing into the leaves.

I don’t stay to admire the result as I push past him, feet climbing the slope. The hill rises sharply ahead, and I attack it without hesitation. I crest it at last, lungs burning, only to slam straight into someone before I can catch a breath.

The impact sends both of us sprawling backward. I hit the ground hard, roll, and come up with the knife already raised.

“Adrian!” Lucas stares back at me with wide eyes. “What the fuck?” he pants.

I lower the knife.

“You almost stabbed me.”

“You ran into me,” I say, but before he can argue, another figure rushes over from behind him.

Amani practically crashes into my side before stopping herself, relief washing across her face. “Thank God you’re alive.” Her gaze immediately drops to the blood on my arm and wrecked riding gear. “Oh my God, are you okay?"

“I’m fine. It’s not my blood.” I say, despite feeling like my body’s on fire.

Lucas points downhill before she can pry further. “There.” And I follow his finger.

Through the trees sits a massive opening in another set of fencing, floodlights illuminating the area beyond. The gate stands wide open, and contestants are pouring through from different directions. Some alone, some in groups, yet all moving with the same desperate urgency.

“That’s where we need to be. The location is right past the entrance,” Amani adds.

I shove the knife back into my boot, and we start down the hill, and to our luck, we safely make it through the entrance. We follow a dirt path, and the farther we walk, the more signs of the other contestants appear. The trees finally thin out as a massive building sits in the clearing ahead, abandoned. At least that’s what it looks like.

The structure is enormous, rising several stories above the surrounding forest. The concrete exterior is stained with age and weather, while vines creep up sections of the walls. Yet despite looking decades old, every single window remains intact and tinted black. Hm, the place looks less abandoned the longer I stare at it.

Contestants are scattered throughout the clearing. Some sit on the ground trying to catch their breath while others lean against trees or stare at their phones. A few are visibly injured.

One woman clutches a bloody arm, and a guy near the entrance limps heavily. Another contestant sits with his head buried in his hands.

Not a single person looks comfortable, yet not too distraught either.

Amani immediately turns toward me, finally able to properly investigate the state I’m in. She grabs me by the arm and starts to inspect. Her eyes bounce between the blood on my sleeve and the gravel burns along the fabric. “Are you okay?”

“I said I’m fine.”

She throws me a look that clearly says she doesn’t believe me. Lucas doesn’t seem to either.

“One of the hunters chased after me through the woods. I dealt with him.” Which is technically true. The hunter is still somewhere out there bleeding into the forest, and I’ve most likely put a target on my back after the stunt I pulled.

Lucas shakes his head slowly. “What the fuck. This is insane.”

I ignore that and look between them. They still look as equally rattled as before. “What about you two?”

Amani immediately answers, “It was chaos.” She lets out a shaky laugh and runs both hands over her curls. “We ended up in the heart of it all. There were cars everywhere after we split up. Contestants, I mean.”

“They were driving like absolute maniacs,” Lucas adds in a huff.

“One car crashed into a lamp post after getting rammed,” Amani continues.

I glance at Lucas, cocking a brow. “And you were able to handle that mess?”

He nods. “Barely. We fell behind the circle twice.”

“And?”

“We got back in,” he shrugs. “No hunters came after us, though.” His gaze drifts toward the forest behind us. “I think they were more interested in the people largely grouping together. Like at a choke point, or some shit.”