I Told You To Run But You Didn't (Georgia) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Georgia’s POV

He took a step forward, his finger tightening on the triger. Showtime.

3.89%

2017

@ Finished

The moment his rifle barked, I was already moving. I didn’t dodge; I dove sideways, hitting the slick mud hard, rolling behind the meager cover of a gnarled oak ree just as bullets chewed into the bark where I’d been standing.

I came up into a low crouch, my cheap pistol already spitting fire. No time for precision. Aim for center mass? No, incapacitate. My first shot went wide.

My second found its mark – the knee of the second man, the one lagging behind. He screamed, a high- pitched sound of agony, dropping his rifle as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his shattered leg.

The leader, the one who called me little bird, let out a furious string of curses. “Shit! You fucking useless piece of crap!” He didn’t even glance back at his wounded partner. His eyes, burning with rage, locked onto my position behind the tree.

He raised his rifle, spraying bullets into the woods around me, forcing me deeper into the trees.

Damn it! I scrambled backward, using the trees and the stormy darkness as cover. I checked my weapon instinctively. The slide was already halfway back. I counted the remaining rounds in my head. One… two… three… four. Plus the one I just fired. Five bullets. Lucas you absolute moron! You bring a gun to a fight with only five rounds?!

Heavy footsteps crashed through the underbrush behind me. He was coming. Fast. And he had a fully automatic rifle. This was bad. Really bad!

Run, Georgia, run! No time to panic! Move!

I pushed myself harder, branches whipping at my face, my lungs burning in the cold, wet air. I risked a glance back. He was gaining on me, a dark shape moving with terrifying speed through the trees.

I raised the pistol, firing twice without stopping. Crack! Crack!

He jinked sideways, dodging the shots like some kind of demon, never breaking stride. Oh, shit. He was good. Too good!

I stumbled, catching myself on a low branch, my sprained ankle screaming in protest. I kept running, the pale moonlight my only guide through the treacherous terrain. Fuck, Was this it? Was he going to kill me out here, alone in the dark?

I fired again, desperation making my aim wild, Crack! Missed. I fired again, putting everything I had into that last shot, aiming for his center mass. Crack!

A grunt. He stumbled, clutching his shoulder, Yes! Relic surged through me, sharp and fierce. I raised the gun again, aiming for his head, ready to finish it,

Click.

Empty. The sound was like a death sentence in the sudden silence.

No, no, no! I threw the useless piece of metal away in di gust and ran, fueled by pure, primal fear.

III

1/3

10:37 Tue, Mar 10 M MO

Chapter 71

“Run as fast as you can! I’ll enjoy the chase!”

6.89%

Finished

My bare foot came down hard on something sharp, hidden beneath the wet leaves. A shard of glass. “Ahh!!”

Before I could even try to get up, he was there, looming over me like a specter in the rain.

He grabbed my arm, his grip like iron.

“Got you!” he snarled.

I lashed out, kicking, scratching, trying to bite his hand, anything to break his hold. He grunted as my heel connected sharply with his wounded shoulder, but his grip only tightened.

He hauled me roughly to my feet, shaking me like a rag doll. “Stop fighting me!” he roared, his face contorted in pain and fury. “My orders are to bring you in alive! But if you keep this up,” he slammed me back against a tree, knocking the wind out of me, “I might just change my mind and leave your corpse here for the wolves!”

His threat only fueled my defiance. “Go to hell!” I spat, driving my knee up towards his groin..

He anticipated the move, twisting just enough so my knee hit his thigh with a dull thud. He retaliated instantly, his open hand cracking hard across my face. My head snapped back, stars exploding behind my eyes. I tasted blood – my lower lip was split.

He grabbed a handful of my wet hair, yanking my head back brutally. “I warned you!”

Even through the pain, even with my vision swimming kept fighting. I slammed my elbow back into his ribs, stomped down hard on his instep, anything to create an opening.

He roared in frustration and pain. Then, his fist drove hard into my stomach.

All the air rushed out of my lungs in a whoosh. The word went grey. I doubled over, gagging, collapsing onto my hands and knees in the cold, slick mud.

Every muscle screamed. My lip throbbed. My foot bled. My stomach felt like it had imploded.

Fuck, I thought, coughing, spitting out mud and blood. Damn it all. I was down. Beaten. But not broken. Not yet!

He laughed, a harsh, grating sound in the stormy night. He yanked my head back again by my hair, forcing me to look up at him through the rain and my own blood.

“Had enough, little bird?” he sneered. “Are you going to come quiedy now? Or do you want more?” He pressed the cold, wet barrel of his pistol hard against my temple. My breath hitched. The metallic tang of the gun mixed with the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. “Because I’m getting tired of this game. I could just blow your brains out right here, make my reports you resisted. Easy. You want that?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, a single tear mixing with the in and blood on my cheek. This is it. After everything, this is how it ends. Alone, in the mud, killed by a nameless thug in the middle of nowhere. I could only moan softly, a sound of pure pain and defea

Suddenly, a blinding glare cut through the trees. Headlihts, Followed by the roar of an engine, much too close.

Before the attacker could even react, a large, powerful back SUV burst through the bushes like an angry bull. I kicked away the man with all my strength, and the car slammed right into him with a sickening

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