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My fingers wiped his tears and the blood from Sol’s face. “Solomon, what happened? Who did this to you?”

His eyes rose to mine. “The plague doctor.” They moved past me to the woods behind. “You need to leave, Aster.”

I shook my head. “No. Not until we get you down.” Rodney and I searched the tree and noticed the ropes that were tied around his wrists and body.

“Step back,” I warned. I picked up the axe, raised it high, and swung.

The sharp blade hit the rope and released one of his arms. Rodney began to untie the bound arm and help Sol as I swung the axe and cut the rope around his waist. Solomon groaned and winced.

He used his free arm to rip a few of the arrows from his shoulder and chest while crying out as he did so.

“Solomon, no!” Rodney tried to stop him. “You need to keep pressure on those!”

Sol grimaced and kicked free from the rope while he snapped the remaining arrows stuck in his legs like they were twigs. “I’ll live. But we need to get the fuck out of here before they return.”

I froze with the axe firmly in my grasp. “Wait. They?”

Just then, an arrow whizzed by and landed in the tree next to Sol’s face.

The three of us looked in the direction it came from and spotted the plague doctor.

Sol tugged at the last rope tied around his hand and tried to rip it free.

“Aster!” he shouted. I swung the axe and missed as the blade stuck into the trunk of the redwood.

I tried to yank it free, but it was too deep.

Fuck!

Rodney rushed to help me, and together, we tugged on the axe while Sol continued to try to rip his arm free.

The plague doctor shot a second arrow, and it grazed Rodney’s ear.

He shouted at the pain but refused to let go of the axe.

“Pull!” he shouted, and I did. Together, we finally yanked the axe free.

Rodney took it from me and swung. It cut straight through the rope, and Sol quickly slithered his wrist free.

“Let’s go!” Rodney helped Sol, and the three of us moved quickly back in the direction we’d come.

The plague doctor slowly followed, and we tried to lose them in the woods.

We spotted the others up ahead and sprinted towards them. Wolfe nearly sprung from Kaila’s and Sandy’s arms and fell against Sol’s chest. They hugged and cried tears of joy as we all just watched. Rodney and I tried to catch our breaths and Kaila pointed to his ear. “What happened?” she asked.

He touched it and winced. “I think an arrow got me.”

“An arrow?” Before she could even fully say the word, an arrow landed directly at my feet. We all looked back to see the plague doctor holding a bow. “Run!” Kaila shouted.

Solomon helped Wolfe to his feet while Rodney assisted them.

Kaila, Sandy, and I all ran, and the six of us headed back towards the center of the camp.

The plague doctor shot another arrow, but thankfully, missed.

I looked back and noticed Wolfe limping and struggling to run.

His thigh was drenched in blood, and Solomon was equally struggling.

Within the blink of an eye, Solomon fell.

“Sol!” I stopped and rushed back. Rodney held Wolfe and tried to get him to keep running, but he refused, calling after Solomon. I fell to my knees and tried to help him up, but he pushed me back.

“No!” Wolfe yelled. He shoved Rodney off and limped towards Sol.

Sol grabbed my arm. “Get him out of here, Aster! Now!”

I shook my head and grabbed his arm. “No! We need you Sol!” Wolfe dropped down next to me and grabbed Sol’s arm. Together, we tried to help him up. But he was too heavy.

Sol grabbed me by my hair and yanked me close. “Get him out of here, Aster. Now,” he growled. I nearly fell back as he released me and stared at him.

He’s given up.

“Now!” Solomon shouted.

My hands shook as I grabbed Wolfe by his arm and forced him away from Sol and onto his feet. He screamed and fought me, shouting for me to let him go while he cried out for Sol. Hearing the pain in his voice shattered me. I knew he wanted to stay and help, but we had to get away before we all died.

“Let go of me!” He clawed my skin. “Let go!”

“Get out of here, Wolfe!” Solomon shouted. “Go!”

Wolfe cried and reached for Sol as I forcefully pulled him away.

Rodney, Kaila, and Sandy were shouting for us to hurry.

The plague doctor was slowly inching closer as they readied their bow and aimed for Sol.

Wolfe screamed, and we all watched in horror as the arrow landed in his back.

Sol’s eyes bulged and his body jolted. Wolfe shoved me back and reached for Solomon.

“Sol!” he shouted. “No!” You could hear his heart breaking as he screamed.

Solomon shouted for Wolfe to run, but he could barely speak and began to cough up blood. The others screamed and shouted, and I watched as the plague doctor released another arrow. Only this one landed straight in Wolfe’s chest.

“No!” I screamed. His body wobbled, and his eyes looked at me.

I tried to run to him, but Rodney held me back.

“No! Wolfe!” My throat burned from my screams and the pain I felt in my heart.

I kicked my legs and tried to break free of Rodney’s grasp as we helplessly watched Wolfe fall to the wet ground next to Sol.

“Wolfe!” My hand hit a lingering branch, and I winced as blood slowly dripped from the small cut.

Wolfe felt the arrow in his chest. Blood was seeping through his shirt and jacket like water, and I knew he wouldn’t survive.

He then looked over and reached his arm out to Sol.

“I l-love you,” he spat as blood poured from his mouth.

Solomon, despite how weak he was, slowly did the same and grabbed his hand.

“I love y-you too, Wolfe.”

“Aster!” Kaila screamed.

I looked up and noticed the same plague doctor now had an arrow aimed directly at me.

My heartbreak boiled and turned to anger.

“You,” I growled as I reached into the pocket to grab the very thing I found earlier.

I didn’t know if it would work, or even how to use it, but I was done with this fucker.

My hand raised the Sapling out in front of me while my blood trailed down the tiny twigs.

The plague doctor noticed what I held. They tilted their head as I roughly snapped one of the twigs in the figure’s leg.

The ground trembled and a large redwood root shot from within it.

Rodney and I both gawked as we watched the root curl around the plague doctor.

The root creaked and threw the masked person against another tree, knocking them out.

Their body fell to the ground as the root slowly returned to its natural stillness.

I had to blink a few times to process what just happened.

It worked. It fucking worked.

The plague doctor remained still on the ground.

I looked down and sobbed. Sol and Wolfe were dead.

“Aster, we need to go.” Rodney grabbed my arm.

“Aster!” I tried to push him off me, but we then both noticed on the path behind us, there was a second plague doctor.

Their mask was all black and they were standing still and watching us.

Watching me. I glared straight at them as I clutched the Sapling figure and screamed.

The plague doctor remained still and tilted its head.

“Aster!” Rodney tugged my arm again. “We need to go!”

As much as I hated it, he was right. Rodney dragged me back to the others, and I took one last look back at my friends. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”