I'm on guard around midnight when I shake Mayla awake. My things have been packed and ready since the beginning of my shift, and I added hers to her pack shortly after – including the bright orange hunter's cap that made her easy to see on the first day. Warm it may be, but we can't afford to be spotted now.
Blinking slowly, Mayla looks up at me in confusion. "We're getting out of here," I breathe into her ear. "Go, fast. But don't go too far, and be quite."
She gets up, nods, and slips out into the darkness, snatching up her pack as she goes. Clearly, she realizes we're in trouble.
I look at the sleeping forms of Dom and Xander. I don't want to kill them, but I need to do something. I can't leave them here completely unharmed. No, not unharmed; able. Able.
With this thought, I take their spears and packs, leaving each boy with only a single knife, the clothes on their backs, and the blankets they huddle under. I shoulder my pack, take the straps of theirs in my left hand – the uninjured arm – and take their weapons in my right hand because they're lighter.
Mayla grabs one of the packs, slings it over one shoulder, and takes a spear and knife from me, too. "We better get the heck out of here," she says quietly. I nod, and we slip off quietly into the night.