Prologue

“Run!  NOW!”  TJ shouted, yanking at Allison’s sleeve.  Her eyes were focused on the ground, where their friend lay, twitching slightly.  An arrow shaft stuck out of his chest.  Her first thought was that it was all part of the game – just some elaborate prank for the newbies on their first outing.  If so, it wasn’t very funny. 

But there was no way that arrow was fake.  The noise it had made when it struck.  The blood that was rapidly spreading across his clothes.  The raspy way he was breathing and the saliva slowly trickling from between his lips.  Allison felt another yank on her shoulder as TJ shouted, “Leave him for now!”  She shrugged off his grasp, reaching down to try to drag her injured friend by the collar.  After only a few moments she gave up the effort.

A sudden force struck her in the shoulder and spun her around.  Dazedly, she looked for whoever had hit her and saw no one standing nearby.  Instead, she found a second arrow stuck in the wall, still quivering with spent energy.  She reached up to her shoulder and felt a dent in the metal of her breastplate.  A quick look back revealed that the archer in the woods had drawn a third arrow and was fitting it to his bow, a determined look on his face.  With a cry of anguish and one last glance at her fallen friend, she turned and fled after TJ and the others.

Next Chapter: Chapter 1