Frigid waters splashed up her arms as she dipped her oar frantically into the torrents. Escaping by river hadn’t been her best plan ever, but it was still serving it’s purpose. She cast a quick look over her shoulder and confirmed the small motor boat coming after her. It was still gaining, but they had to be careful lest they tear the bottom of their boat against the rocks. She on the other hand was in a kayak - a valid and swift option for traversing the approaching rapids. She would probably survive, but they very well might not.

The first real roar of the water alerted her to the change of the river. She was going to escape, and they would sink. Knowing her great balance, she stood in her kayak and waved to her pursuers. “Better luck next time!” Laughter fell from her lips as she saw their horrified faces. They would either stop of be in peril. What she didn’t realize, was a rather unimpressed look following her every move.

Pain exploded in her arm and with a gasp, she fell. The waters grabbed at her, tugging her deeper in, probing at her new wound. She had been shot. The shock of her upcoming demise stilled her body from action. She was heading to the rapids without a vessel. She was going to die. With her eyes squeezed shut, the woman kicked out against the current and reach out, grasping onto whatever she could find. She found something, something warm.

Her eyes snapped open as she was suddenly pulled from the river. A man hung precariously from a fallen tree, helping her onto the trunk. “W-Who are you?” She sputtered, teeth chattering from the cold.

He raised an eyebrow, raking his eyes over her with a sigh. “Unfortunately, I’m part of the rescue team.”

“Rescue?” She looked him over. She’d never seen him before. Her eyes latched onto his hip, where a gun rested. “Wait, did you shoot me!” Fury sparked through her as realization hit her. She’d never seen her pursuers raise a gun.

His mouth twitched. “Maybe.”

“You-“

“No time for that.” He gave her a final yank, and she fell on the ground, her feet still in the freezing water. She lifted her face to glare at him, but he motioned to their pursuers and then pointed to the woods before them. “It’s your choice.” The man dashed into the woods, leaving her on the shore to choose her fate. But what was there to choose? She would not go to her pursuers, and swimming through the rapids would be suicidal. With a groan, she pushed herself onto her legs. She could run into the forest on her own, but she was wounded.

Her eyes slit. Her rescuer was likely not who he said he was. But she was freezing and the bullet might still be in her arm. With one last look at her pursuers, she followed the stranger into the forest.