Page 4

So if the girl truly was alone, why hadn't she made a run for it yet? What was she waiting for?
She centered her in the scope once again, finding a clear view of her upper body. The few visible inches of her chest rose and fell rapidly.
Her father's voice echoed in her head again.
Kill or you deserve to be killed.
It would be easy from that distance. One quick shot straight through the few inches of exposed chest.
Her finger drifted back down to the metal trigger as she lined up the barrel of the gun.
Her breathing slowed.
Her whole body stilled.
Then she put a slight pressure on her index finger as she slowly squeezed.
But before she could finish, something struck her hard on the side of the head, knocking her against the wall.She grunted as her temple connected with the hard red brick. The duffel bag swung off her shoulder, colliding with the wall.
Then, immediately, something swung at her.
She lunged forward, charging into the young man who’d just missed as he tried to hit her. He grabbed onto her shoulders, and they both twisted in the impact, tumbling out of the alleyand into the street. They crashed against the pavement, and she heard a loud rip as the duffel bag tore from her shoulder.
This time, her instincts kicked in immediately, and she rolled to her side, popping onto her feet before the man had even so much as moved an inch.
She whipped the butt of her rifle down into his ribs, and he let out a loud yelp.
Then she instantly pulled the rifle back up, aiming it down at his head.
“No! No, don’t shoot!” he cried out, raising his hands in defense.
She took a step toward him, her finger itching to pull the trigger, her eyes only leaving for a split second to glance at the ground where the duffel bag had fallen into the street. The zipper appeared to have ripped apart, scattering every item out into the street.
“Tyler?” a young woman’s voice called out from the other side of the street.
Saff glanced back at the truck that had been her initial target. The girl had crawled farther out and was now crouched in front of the car.
As Saff watched her, the man slowly stood, his hands immediately raising in the air again when she looked back at him.
“Back the fuck up,” Saff growled, her index finger begging to finish what it had started.
“Tyler? What’s going on?” the girl called out, thinly veiled anxiety lacing her voice.
His eyes shot back and forth between the gun and the girl across the street as she stood, inching closer to them.
“You take one more step and he’s dead,” Saff called out, keeping her eyes on the man in front of her.
“Maddie, stop!” he yelled, hands trembling in the air. “Look, you can take whatever you want! I have food in my backpack. You can have all of it!”
“Turn around,” Saff hissed.
He looked across the street again, glancing back and forth between them.
“Turn around!” she yelled, stepping toward him. “And walk to her.” She nodded her head toward the girl. “Slowly.”
He gulped, turning until he faced the street.
“Walk.” She jabbed the tip of her rifle between his shoulder blades, forcing him forward.