"RUN!"

It's chaos, but I grab some knives and run. Fast. I can hear running behind me, and I can see it's Anko and Demetrius. I pick up the pace and send two knives behind me, aiming them towards the boys. I miss, but it's enough to make space between them. I came into a sloped area and I jump, finding my body on a slope and sliding, dodging ranches and breaking them with another knife that I pulled from my jacket pocket.

"Don't let her get away!" I can hear Cybele yell in the distance, her voice getting farther and farther as Anko, Demetrius, and I slide farther and farther. I regain footing as quickly as I can when I reach the end of the slope an I turn to throw a throwing star I managed to salvage at Demetrius, and lo and behold, that sucker stuck onto his thigh. He tumbled down, crying out in pain. Anko is unfaltered and is still coming after me, and I keep running. The further I get, the taller the trees are becoming and marshy branches emerge from the ground. I stumble over some and it not only slows me, but it slows Anko as well.

I try to keep running but Anko is gaining on me. Not only that, but I can hear loud rustling coming closer towards me. Korto and Cybele must be gaining on me. Dezzy must've gotten away. Or they're after her too and we're about to cross paths.

My train of though is immediately cut short when I tumble to the floor. I'm stuck on a vine.

"No no no no no!" I slash at it with the knife in my hand and I stumble away from Anko as he falls over a branch. Both of us are stumbling to get away.

The branches are getting thicker on the ground, and neither Anko nor I can get a lead further or closer to each other. I look up and I can see that I'm going to have to climb. The branches are far enough away from the ground to where Anko can't reach but close enough to where I can latch on and climb. But I need a lead.

Once again, I stumble down. I can't get it, and he's getting closer. I'm struggling to cut loose and finally I can. I reach up to hoist myself up and I'm about to feel liberated -

"AHH!"

My scream pierces the marsh as I'm forced back down brutally. Anko is reaching towards me, stuck himself, but with one of the knives I threw earlier stuck deep in the back of my calf. I'm bleeding. I'm pulling myself away but it's cutting me even more, sliding down to my Achilles heel and tears are blinding my eyes as I struggle to do anything to get away. Finally, I just start thrashing my arm aimlessly with a knife in my hands and I manage to stab him in the shoulder he stabbed me with. I stick it in deep and he releases his grip on the knife and me, the knife out of my leg. I struggle up and limp while I try to run. Anko is yelling in pain, attempting in vain to get the knife out of his shoulder.

I reach a tree and I start to climb, using only my upper body strength and the adrenaline surging through my body. I had to get out. I had to get out of their view, their path - I had to hide.

I look down at my leg and I see blood dripping without cease. I cry out in pain.

I reached the top of the tree before Anko could reach me.

I had no idea if Dezzy got out as well.

Anko and the Careers - Cybele, Korto, and Demetrius - all came after me, weapons ready. However, they lost my trail of blood - not bothering to look at the streak marks on the trunk of the tree I climbed - and moved on.

"She's probably hiding in a cave somewhere," Cybele barked at the team, "She'll die by tomorrow."

Forming a circle under my tree I tried to regulate my breathing and stay quiet. As I moved myself to hide, the cut on my leg began to burn, and I had no choice but to supress a scream. I bit into my hand and shut my eyes, hoping for the burning to stop.

It didn't.

Down below, Korto looked up at the tree. I froze.

"What?" Cybele asked. Korto stayed staring up into the trees, circling around. For a second, her eyes meet mine.

"I heard something." She grumbled, gripping her axe. Cybele looks up, as well as the rest of the team, and she sighs.

"Nothing. Look, forget the Princess. She'll die soon. I know. Even if the sponsors send her something, it's not like they can send her a surgeon. She's done."

I tense up at the statement, holding my hand on my mouth tighter.

The group seems to accept this except for Korto and Demetrius. They're still looking up to find something- anything. Anko comes to Korto and grabs her arm.

"Let's go, Korto." He says. Korto shakes her head as if waking up from a daze and follows without a word.

Demetrius stays.

I look down slightly, and for a moment it looks like he's found me.

Then it gets longer than a moment.

I'm certain he's seen me, because he's staring straight at where I am. My eyes widen in fear and I begin to move back, but then he does something I don't expect him to do.

He lowers his crossbow and shakes his head quickly.

My hand comes down and I reach for my knife in my pocket just in case it's a trap, but he proves me wrong again.

He walks away to the Careers.