A dark figured watched silently from his place in a large oak tree as four strangers traipsed through the forest before him. The group was comprised of two males and two females. One of the females appeared to be several years older than the three other people in the small group and was currently trying to help the younger female who has become ill.
The two males left the women and wandered further into the woods. This gave the dark figure the opportunity to creep closer to the women, so as to hear their conversation. The elder was trying to care for the other as she fretted over the younger woman. He hid himself once more as he caught sight of one of the males creeping up on the women. With mild curiosity, he continued to watch as the male picked up a large stone and hit the woman over the head with it. He then turned to the younger female and growled, "You say a single word about this to anyone and you'll find yourself in a very similar position."
John Murphy, who had been the one to attack Calliope, stared at the unconscious guard on the ground. He squatted quickly beside her, causing Kelly to jerk away from him in fear. The movement brought a smile to his lips. Reaching forward and grabbing Calliope's wrist to examined her wristband, John studied the seams where the pieces met. With a nod, he withdrew a flat piece of metal from his jacket and placed it one of the seams. With a loud click, the band snapped open and fell away from the female's wrist.
A branch snapped behind John, who whirled around to find Peter approaching with a large leaf filled with water. "You going to kill her?" he asked flatly as he passed the water to Kelly.
"No," John said as his grin grew even more wicked. "There's a pit over in the direction that we went earlier. We'll toss her in there. She won't last more than a few days without food or water."
"You're going to make her suffer?" Peter asked as he cocked his head to survey the other male.
John slowly rose to his feet and stared at Peter. "You got a problem with that?"
"What if she gets out for whatever reason? People can do a lot of things when they are fighting to survive. I don't think she's someone who will sit back and let death come."
"Then we make sure that she knows she's not welcome back at camp," John said as he looked at the metal piece he had used to pry the wristband was a rather sharp tip on one end. "We leave her a message that she can't miss."
Kneeling once more, John pressed the tip of the metal into the soft flesh of Calliope's forearm. There, with long, sharp lines, he carved two simple words. STAY AWAY stood out in bold, blood red letters against her pale skin.
When he was finished, John turned back to Kelly who had gone completely white as she watched the blood flow down the unconscious woman's arm. She drew in a shaky breath as she turned to look at him with wide eyes. She had barely made a sound the entire time, clearly fearing for her own life. "You've got five minutes while we dump the guard to get better. If you're not ready to go by then, you can find your own way back home."
Kelly nodded quickly and watched as John and Peter lifted the guard by her arms and legs and carried her off in the direction that they had gone earlier. "I'll come back," she promised herself as she watched the three disappear behind a group of trees. With a groan, she forced herself to her feet and began heading toward the drop ship.
As John and Peter dropped Calliope into the pit that John had found, they were completely unaware that they were being watched. The dark figure had followed them and watched as they abandoned one of their own. As the two delinquents left the pit, the unknown figure moved to the edge of the pit and peered down at the crumpled form of the woman. With an almost tired sigh, the figure turned away and disappeared once more into the now quiet forest.
I apologize for the shorter chapter, but I wanted to at least get something out.
May the fourth be with you all! ;)