Prologue - Hunted

Astrid’s body shook violently. How could he betray her this way? Running her hands along the slick stone wall, Astrid tried desperately to find any small hollow in the dark. The thick smell of mildew and mud mixed together. The dank atmosphere seemed the only appropriate environment for this betrayal. Her arms slid across the walls searching outward for some small sanctuary. Trying to retreat into the walls, the young woman curled further into herself as her heart struggled violently against her ribs. The sickening constant thumping echoed in her ears. The brunette struggled to hear past the deafening bassline of her own heart to know if she was making any noise that would give away her location. Hunching down in the pitch black Astrid found an out cropping of stone that allowed her to still view the villain of this sick performance.

"Come out, Come out precious" His voice rose in the dark. "I just want to talk." The playfulness of his words seemed lost in the flat calmness of voice. Closing her eyes Astrid tried to sense his presence. Reaching outside of herself Astrid allowed her gift to tell her what she needed to know. His soul felt like rotting fruit covered in syrup. Her stomach wrenched at the contact. Recoiling from the vile experience, the brunette shook in the dark. The putrid sensation of his soul seemed to cling to her skin. He has hidden his soul from her. He had carefully guarded this secret. If I had known… her inner voice trailed off. How could he? Less then a day ago this man was supposed to be her savior. He was going to be the one to stand against all things and offer her the protection she would need. This now looming black figure was to be her safe place. This now looming black figure skulked through the darkness trying to find his prey. So why is it right now she felt more like a scared rabbit hiding in the wolf’s den?

"Astrid, I know you are in here. It is only a matter of time before I find you. Come out. I promise this will all be over soon."

Bracing herself Astrid prepared for the worst. Astrid could barely hear the simple inhaling and exhaling of her own breath. Even this faint noise was too much. Concentrating the girl tried to slow her breath to nothing. The pressure of her still thrumming heart and the lack of breathing began to strain the back of her throat. Panic threatened to take her in that moment. The terror of the situation that somehow the young woman had kept locked away bubbled to the surface. The young brunette saw the faces of the people who would be left behind? Astrid imagined the face of her best friend who would suddenly become aware when Astrid disappeared from the flow of life. The young woman saw the face of her friend scrunch up into a grimace as the sudden shock of loss invaded her mind. She saw her best friends brown eyes widen and her lips form a contorted circle as the meaning clicked into place. Then Astrid could almost hear the scream as Divya cried out her name. That was the moment Astrid was trying to avoid. Squinting into the darkness the young woman could barely make out the movements of the man who was hunting her. The young emapth watched carefully waiting for the right moment. She knew she had to get out of the cave. The longer she stayed trapped here the more likely he would find her. As long as she could stay just a few steps ahead of him Astrid just had to be quiet until he moved far enough away from the entrance.

"Astrid, my little star, come out" come out. You know I don’t like playing these little games." The man's voice broke it's flat tone becoming more aggravated. Shifting slowly, Astrid drew her shaking legs up under her. The brunette demanded her legs snap into action as she curled on to the balls of her feet. Her legs took on the familiar angles of the starting position she learned in track. Her hands looked for a dray place to brace herself on the ground. Her back foot slid to the wall looking for any surface to push off of towards the front of the cave. Her head sagged slightly as her weight shifted to a center point. She would only get one chance at this. It was a chance that she could not waste on poor form. The looming figure shifted out of the only exit Astrid had. The soft echos of the sweet words he had once said floated through her mind. Pushing the memories out of her mind Astrid allowed her body to snap into motion. Her muscles tightened then released like spring coils. Using the wall as a spring board Astrid felt the muscles in her thigh burn as they were shocked into motion. Running on the balls of her feet the girl lunged out of the dank cave and into the bright light. Her mind cleared as she heard the man screaming from behind her.

This isn’t how this is supposed to play out. Each tree limb snagged at her body as if trying to pull her to a stop. Have we made the wrong choices? This isn’t the way the vision goes. Astrid allowed the vision to replay on the internal movie screen of her mind. The bright sun was supposed to beat down on her. She was supposed to be fleeing someone. Then find the cave. Her mind began to read the course of events like some form of morbid checklist. Next run to rock wall just off of the property. The trees began to thin. Just a few more feet and she would be standing at the base of the wall. Check. Then the hunter would catch up with her. Her ears perked to the noise. She could hear the uneven thudding of his feet on the ground behind her. Check. It wasn’t until the emapth review the twisted check list that the sickening thought entered her mind. This is the way the vision played out. This was the exact path the young woman had always known she would end up on. With that thought the girl wanted to scream out against the decisions that had led her here. But that was an indulgence that Astrid couldn’t afford. Looking around Astrid realized she didn’t have long to come up with a plan. Her hunter would be on top of her in second. The large stone wall appeared suddenly looming over her as if to mark the final stand in a major battle. Astrid looked around frantically for somewhere, anywhere to hide from the future that was coming behind her.

I don’t know why I am bothering… Astrid turned around. Since flight didn’t seem to pan out… lets go with fight? Astrid thought bitterly as she turned around trying to fall into the stance she had been taught. Feet apart, bend your knees. Don’t let him get both of you hands. Bend your knees more. The inner voice took on the familiar tone of her brother.

"There you are my little Star." The dark haired hunter crooned at her. His body came to a holt next to a tree. Leaning against the bark the hunter seemed no more terrifying then he was a day ago. His eyes twinkled as he chided her as if she was being silly about the whole thing.

"You don’t have to do this." She said attempting to buy some time.

"Astrid, we both know how this is going to play out. We have had that conversation. The hunter catches the girl. Then everything goes black. So right now I don’t see how you think that you can talk me out of the path you put me on. You are not showing a lot of faith in your visions." He chided her. His face was flat and expressionless. Astrid looked into his blue eyes searching for some hint of the man she thought he was.

"Point taken. Then why haven’t you fired yet?" Astrid asked trying to force her voice to sound more casual then it was. Stall. That was the best thing she could do at this point, but stall for what. The cold reality that she was alone with him in the middle of the woods came crashing down around her. The small clearing she stood in seemed too bright, too real. The plants around her came into perfect clarity as her adrenaline spiked. This was the last moment. This is the place where everything will go black. Well how about stall until she could come up with a better plan. The horrible simple comedy of the movies seemed to fit this moment. Leave it to her to be thinking about the movie she saw last night:

Okay go to plan B. Said one little voice in her head.
What is plan B? Said another little voice in her head.
Come up with a plan B. Said the first little voice.
Sounds like a plan to me. Replied the second little voice.

Now if only I could come up with a plan B. Then again I really didn"t have a plan A. She thought to herself. Astrid felt her hope slipping away. The muscles in the brunette’s body protested as she shifted from one leg to the other trying to find an escape from the clearing. The hunter shifted his weight to compensate. Pushing off from the tree the man began to close the space that separated them. His hand slid behind his back and under his coat. It wasn't the motion itself that caught Astrid's attention. It was the metallic glitter that followed it. It was the way that the sun peeking through the forest canopy bounced off of the long shaft. It was a glitter that under normal circumstance Astrid would be drawn to. But the flicker at the end of this tunnel was definitely an on coming train.

"Be a good girl. Close your eyes and lets get this over with." He broke into her thoughts.

"They will hunt you." She said calmly.

In that moment, it all began to connect. They say before you die that you see your life flash before you. That the moments of your life flickered through your mind showing you all the things you had done in this world. Those events totaled up on a comsic score card that told you that it was time to leave. That it was all right to leave the world that everyone so desperately clung to. Astrid's life however didn’t. Bitterly the young empath wondered where her Hollywood personal montage was. No, instead she began to see the way everything would play out. They would eventually find her body crumpled on the ground discarded. Then all of the violence she had spent her life trying to stop would begin.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The hunter gloated.