Head still hurting from being whacked with the bat, Lila Jean cocked her rifle and fired a second time.

Another shot perforated Chase, again through the back. Blood and pulp from the exit wound painted her boyfriend's unconscious form.

Lila Jean had not been knocked out for long, and the boy hadn't bothered to take away her weapon. When she came to, lying on her stomach, her rifle was within arm's reach. It had taken less than a second for her to pull the rifle to her, and, while laying on her stomach like a sniper, squeeze off a shot.

She expected Chase to fall. That was the third bullet hole she'd taken. But Chase did not fall. To Lila Jean's astonishment, she only wavered a moment before leaping up into the tree her boyfriend was slouching against.

Lila Jean quickly reloaded and fired again, but not quickly enough to land another hit before the fleet girl disappeared into the foliage. The trunk and branches shook from the shot, then shook again, signaling to Lila Jean that Chase had leapt to another tree. How could she still move, after the abuse she'd taken? What was this girl made of? Louise was right, this girl WAS a beast.

Lila Jean stood up and rushed over to Louise. She knelt and checked her squadmate, and found she was unconscious but alive.

Despite her relief, she had to wonder: Why? She could see now that her prey was someone experienced enough in combat to know how to kill. Why did Chase leave Louise alive?

Maybe Chase was hoping Louise would get in Lila Jean's way again. Lila Jean stood again, and spat.

She looked around and realized how dark it was getting. The bodies of Louise and Torey looked like barely more than silhouettes, the woods a monolithic wall of shadows.

Thankfully, she'd come prepared. From her backpack, she extracted a pair of night vision goggles. She took off her hat and slid the goggles on over her glasses.

When she turned them on, the woods lit up in shades of fluorescent green. She could see Louise and Torey clearly, could see the trunks and leaves of each tree. The night was to Lila Jean's advantage. She knew Chase would not have goggles, that she was not only wounded, but blind. This final leg of the hunt would be a very simple one. She replaced her hat, put a fresh clip in her rifle, and set out.

She kept her rifle pointed up at the trees, however, she had to keep one eye and her ears at ground level. She hadn't expected this hunt to continue until dark. Now that it had, she had to be wary of the dangers that would come along with it. Mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, even a bear would not be unlikely in this area...not at this time of year, when they'd be bulking up for their winter hibernation.

As she walked, the treetops seemed oddly still. She heard little noise from them. Could Chase really move among them so quietly, even in the darkness? No, she had to be hiding. She couldn't have gone far.

Lila Jean turned around, deciding to do a more thorough search of the trees she'd already passed. But as soon as she did, she heard the sound of something heavy whistling through the air.

Shunk. The spearhead embedded itself in her back, directly below her right shoulder blade. Lila Jean cried out, but even as she did, she was calculating the angle the spear came from. She whirled around and fired. Through her goggles, she saw branches shake but didn't hear a body fall.

Her mind raced. How had Chase done that? Did she have her own pair of night vision goggles? No, of course not. Lila Jean had seen her. The blonde had nothing on her but her makeshift weapons.

With difficulty, she reached around behind her and yanked the spear out. Gritting her teeth, she snapped it over her knee, and tossed it aside.

“Lucky shot, Miss Campbell?” she ventured.

“No,” Chase replied. Lila Jean's eyes instantly darted in the direction of the voice. “Hunt in dark since was small. Not hard to see.”

A flash of pale green movement. Chase, retreating behind a tree's trunk. Lila Jean fired. The trunk shook from the impact, then shook a second time. Again, Chase was on the move.

Lila Jean followed, but followed with caution, watching the trees with extreme care. If Chase really could see her, and it sure as hell seemed like she could, Lila Jean would have to be very careful. She crept quietly through the woods and looked. All she could see is bright green, needle-covered branches.

Then Lila Jean saw her. Chase ran out to the edge of a branch as if to leap across the gap from one tree to another. Lila Jean trained her gun on Chase's trajectory, but right as she jumped, Chase's hand whipped in Lila Jean's direction. Something was whirling dangerously in her direction. Another tomahawk?

Lila Jean adjusted her aim. Shot it down. Chase was in midair. Before the first object had hit the ground, Chase had let another one fly, and Lila Jean was forced to shoot this one down, too. By that point, Chase had landed safely and hidden herself.

Lila Jean cautiously inspected the objects she'd shot down. Socks. Fresh bullet holes through the toes, which were stuffed with rocks, now fractured and smoking. Had Lila Jean been struck with one, she could have been knocked out, but Chase hadn't expected to hit her. She expected to distract her. This girl knew what she was doing.

Maybe she could get Chase to talk again. “So yer a lifelong hunter too?” she asked, lifting her rifle once again. “Makes sense. Ah had a feelin' you weren't yer reg'ler cheerleader.” Silence. Lila Jean kept moving. After a minute, she continued: “Sounds like we got somethin' in common, don't we? Maybe we're an even match.”

“Are not,” said Chase. Lila Jean turned and fired at the sound of the voice. The muzzle flash registered a blinding white in the goggles' display, the sound cacophonous in the settling, stilling night. Chase's voice continued. “You hunt for whole life, yes. I hunt for whole life, yes.” Lila Jean slowly rotated in place, keeping her gun trained on the treetops. She could hear the voice but couldn't see the speaker. “But you hunt beast. I hunt man.”

Lila Jean actually got a chill from that. She shook it off with a chuckle. “Hilarious. You tryin' ta scare me?”

“No,” said Chase. Lila Jean listened, but this time, she didn't fire. No need to shoot indiscriminately. Waste of ammo, for one thing. For another, all she'd succeed in doing is to scare her off. Keep her talking. Get closer. Keep an eye out for projectiles. Then, when she could see the blonde with her own two eyes, Lila Jean could take her shot.

“Not want scare cheer,” continued Chase. “Not want hurt at all.”

Lila Jean spat. “There you go again. You expect me to believe that, Miss Campbell? You expect me ta believe you won't kill me, with the way ah am tryin' ta kill you an' all?”

“Yes.”

The voice sounded a little further away now. Chase moved? Lila Jean hadn't seen or heard any sign of movement in the trees. Was she that good? Lila Jean continued forward. “Why should I, exackly?”

“Because you friends try kill, and I not kill them, too.”

Lila Jean was quieted by this for a moment, unsure how to respond. When she remembered she was supposed to be keeping Chase talking, she continued. “You fought them? All of them?”

“Yep. Fight all hat girl's friends. Them hurt and some in bad shape but will all be fine.”

So Lila Jean was alone? Chase had methodically gotten rid of all of them?

She shook her head. Impossible. No matter how long Chase had been hunting, she couldn't take on six armed girls by herself and live. Even if she did look worse for the wear. Another intimidation tactic. Ignore it. More importantly, Chase hadn't moved. Good. Get a little closer. “Again. Exackly why, pray tell, should ah believe you?”

“See for self.”

Lila Jean tripped. She fell, face down, on something cold. Soft. Fleshy.

As she lifted her head, and her goggles refocused, her heart stopped. She was too shocked to even gasp.

She was lying on top of a pile of her bloodied, lifeless squadmates. Directly beneath her was Mynah Bird, sunglasses askew on her face.

Lila Jean sucked in a terrified breath and righted herself. The only places she could put her hands to push herself up were on her friends' limp, clammy bodies, but she did so. She felt like vomiting. Lila Jean was not someone who usually thought quickly. She was methodical, careful, unhurried, in all she did. But now, her eyes fed her information much quicker than she was accustomed to parsing it. She was sure they were dead.

She quickly scanned the heap. They were all there, sans Louise. Chase wasn't exaggerating, she really had defeated them all. Lila Jean heard a metallic rattling, and realized distantly it was her hands, shaking as they tried to hold her rifle.

Wait. Mynah Bird's chest. It was rising...and falling. Breathing. Still alive. A quick round of touches told Lila Jean they all were. They were cold, yes, but that could be attributed to their attire and the autumn night as easily as death.

She felt an intense wave of relief, and then, confusion. Chase had rounded them all up together and intentionally led her here, so she could see them. For what purpose? To prove she hadn't struck the killing blow, like she said? Why would somebody she was feuding with do something like that? Was this some kind of mind game?

“See? Them all live. I not to kill you,” said Chase.

Lila Jean stood up, spat, then pointed her gun in the direction of the voice. “So why don't you just knock me out too? How come you're tryin' to sell me on how noble you are? Show me it first hand.”

“I make you sleep, when wake up, you still come for me. Must make you know truth so us both have peace.”

Chase wasn't moving. Lila Jean knew from the voice, even though she couldn't see her. The branches were thick where Chase was, but they wouldn't stop a bullet. Lila Jean could have ended it then and there. She didn't.

“You don't seem like much of a peace-lover to me. These wounds in mah squadmates don't look real diplomatic. You said you're a manhunter. That don't sound real pacifistic ta mah ears,” said Lila Jean. “Ah know you got one more o' them tommyhawks. Figger it'd be just lahk a yella-bellied snake-in-the-grass Campbell to put it n my back while we're huggin' an' singin' kumbaya. Maybe if you throw it down, ah'll believe you.”

Chase was silent for a moment. “You first,” she said.

Lila Jean was dumbfounded. She'd thought her proposition would catch Chase in her lie. She didn't think Chase would actually go for it.

Should she do it? It might be a good way to disarm Chase. Even if it meant disarming herself, that was no big deal. If it came down to it, she'd bet on her draw over Chase's any day of the week.

Plus, although she didn't acknowledge this to herself, she was curious. If Chase really did throw down her weapon, what would that mean? Was it a sign that she was telling the truth, that she wasn't really Lila Jean's enemy?

Lila Jean would choose how she felt about it when and if it happened. “Fine,” she said. She tossed her gun away, but not so far away that she couldn't jump and grab it if the need arose. It hit the ground with a clatter. “There. Reckon it's yer turn, now.”