* This is a companion piece to a previous prompt. The Tea Party

“You’re still nervous…aren’t you?” Asked Ezra.

Why did he make me so nervous? Here I was in my mid-twenties, and I had the emotions of a girl in High School. There was an undeniable charm to Ezra. His boyish smirk, the way he squinted under the rays of afternoon sunlight, how there was a consistent twinkle to his jade-colored eyes.

“That’s a stupid question,” he said, as a hint of blush arose on his cheeks.

“It’s not,” I said with a chuckle, my left hand going to my mouth due to embarrassment.

“No, of course, you’re nervous. You’re about to kill someone for god sake,” he paused. “I was. So nervous on my first run. Like. My hair hurt. I didn’t even know that was possible. My nails too, I remember this...pain on all my fingernails, particularly my right thumbnail. It was insane.”

I laughed, feeling my cheeks go red.

"This is all foreign to you," he paused, sliding his left hand into his pocket as his right hand fiddled with the bowstring over his shoulder. "It's going to feel unfamiliar, probably will for a long time. But...god, Calista. It is truly something else. I don't think I can stress that enough. It's a feeling of power, unlike anything you can imagine."

My nerves felt as though they were on the verge of erupting into flame. My heart began to beat at an almost foreign speed. Off in the distance, somewhere deep in Shadowbrook, I could hear the screams of someone, as well as the laughter of a hunter nearing their prey.

"Who was your...first?" I didn't know what else to say.

Ezra thought this over, he clicked his tongue before he spoke. "Desmond Hughes. Guy was a real piece of work. He murdered-"

And then he went silent, his eyes widened and he gestured for me to lower myself behind the bush that was slightly off to our right. I followed his gaze to a woman who was a few yards in front of us, she was cowering behind a large tree. He removed his bow from over his shoulder and pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back.

"I think we found your first target," he loaded the bow, pulled the string back, and took a deep breath...

He fired.

The arrow sailed through the sky with a beautiful elegance before plunging itself into the woman's left calf. I could see the arrowhead tear through the front of her ankle. The woman's head lowered, as though her brain failed to process what had just happened. And then she started to scream, a scream so loud that it sent a flock of birds fleeing from their branches.

"Ready that ax Calista. Let's go!" Said Ezra, and then he was off, cutting through bushes to get to his target.

I followed on weak legs, the ax feeling heavy in my grasp. I could feel my stomach rise through my chest, My body grew hot and cold with the true meaning of anxiety. My eyes locked onto the woman as she continued to scream, squirming around on the ground as a pool of blood darkened the dirt beneath her.

"P-please...please," she begged through tears. "You don't have to do this."

Ezra slung the bow over his shoulder, "I think it's a bit late for that." He removed the cell phone that Waylen had given us for the event, unlocked it, and began scrolling.

"Alright, Calista. Who we have here in front of us is....none other than. Dolores Cornish."

"Dolores Cornish," I mouthed to myself. I couldn't take my eyes off the tip of the blood-soaked arrow coming out of her ankle. I was fascinated by the tiny bit of flesh that hung from the tip, it quivered in every direction as Dolores struggled to crawl away from us.

"Umm-hmm," Ezra responded. "Dolores here murdered her two sons. Harvey and Harry...twins."

Dolores let out a wail of a scream, unlike anything I'd ever heard when Ezra brought up her two sons. Her arms gave out and she collapsed to the dirt, hands shooting up to her graying hair as she continued to scream.

"No need for the theatrics, Dolores. You're not getting out of here alive," Ezra added, his eyes going from her and then back to the cell phone.

"How did she do it?" I asked, still entranced by the quivering flesh.

"Drowning," replied Ezra. "She drowned them in the bathtub."

Dolores frantically shook her head, she began to speak but it was impossible to make sense of her words because of the crying.

Ezra placed a hand on my shoulder. "Alright, Calista. Now's your time to shine. This woman doesn't deserve to live. Are you ready?"

"Yeah..." I said, with a tremble in my voice. "I think I am."

"I got faith in you Calista. You can do this," Ezra said.

I smiled and stood over Dolores as she continued to scream and sob, fighting with all her might to crawl away from us.

"Collect her head," ordered Ezra from behind me.

I lined the blade of the ax against the right side of Dolores's throat. She began to flail around as though she were possessed.

And then I took a deep breath and swung.