It didn't hurt that much, but I started feeling sleepy and dizzy. I pulled it out, and found that nothing had dripped out yet. I threw it to the ground and trod on it. Then I got hit a second time, this one I pulled out too, but held it in my hand for later use.
I closed my eyes and dropped to my knees. And I was lying with my shot shoulder up and through the slits that were my eyes, I could see blood pooling around me.
I sagged forward and closed my eyes, one hand clutching where I had been shot, and the other extended in front of me. But as the man came within an arms length of me, my most extended arm wrapped around his ankles and I yanked up hard.
His instinct reaction was to pull the trigger, therefore firing at me and I was hit. This one went in too deep. I staggered away and into the nearby trees of the park. I found one that I liked and decided to climb it. I saw from my high perch that the others were already there, and started following the blood trail.
Once they reached the tree where I climbed, the trail ended. They all agreed to split up in teams of two, apart from Ikuto, who stayed in case I returned. I very silently ripped a patch off my sleeves from my uniform to make a makeshift pad.
I needed to find a new tree. I took my chance when one of the others came running back and diverted Ikuto's attention for long enough for me to find a neighbouring tree and a comfy position. And now, to wait. After the guy had left, another person I barely recognized sat at the base of the new tree. "Amu, come down. You'll fall."
Grr. I wonder how he knew. And who was he, anyway?
"How?" I asked him in a hushed voice.
"How what?" he said back.
"How did you know where I was? And no, I won't fall. Not if I haven't fallen yet. And who are you?"
"That doesn't mean you won't once the tranquilizers settle in though. And Ikuto need you in perfect condition for the competition. And as for who I am, don't worry your pretty little head about those unnecessary details." His smile grew broader.
"You didn't answer my question."
"I noticed the blood trails stopped, and I saw blood smeared on the first tree you climbed. Then when you changed trees, I saw something falling, even though it wasn't raining."
Rats. Now I was done for.
"Come down so I can treat that wound, and so you won't fall out of the tree when you go to sleep."
Ok, I gotta find some way and where to run. But in a few mere seconds, Ikuto's gang were surrounding my tree. I almost cried in despair as his band of merry men raced up the tree and bound my hands behind my back with super-splintering rope. One man carried me down the tree and into a car.
The only person, other than me was the driver. I suddenly started feeling restless, but the tranqs soon took care of that, and I was asleep within moments. At least I was alone and no-one could see me so weak.