Chapter 6 - Hunted in the Dark

"Split up!" I cried out, trying to push Lucía away. "He only wants me!"
"Never!" Lucía tightened her grip on my hand. "We survive together, or we die together!"
We ducked behind the massive trunk of an ancient oak tree just as the beam of light swept overhead. Esteban’s heavy, deliberate footsteps CRUNCHED on the dead branches only yards away.
He was carrying an iron crowbar.
"Elena..." Esteban’s voice drifted through the rain, eerie, smooth, and dripping with psychotic malice. "You're confused, darling! That insane girl poisoned your brother! She's trying to destroy us! I just want to give you your birthday gift!"
I pressed my back against the rough tree bark, clamping both hands over my mouth to muffle my ragged breathing. Beside me, Lucía quietly bent down and retrieved a heavy, jagged rock from the mud.
"I know you're close," Esteban whispered, his shadow creeping around the side of the trunk. "You can't hide forever. Everything you own belongs to me!"
As his shadow crossed the edge of the tree, Lucía stepped out and hurled the rock with all her strength.
CRACK!
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It struck Esteban squarely across his forehead. He screamed in pain, staggering backward as the searchlight dropped from his hand, tumbling into the mud and pointing uselessly toward the canopy.
"RUN!" Lucía screamed.