Read Phantom Warriors: Riot for Free Online

hyperaware. Humans weren’t the
only things they had to watch out for in the woods. There were
black bear and bobcats, though neither tended to bother people if
they were left alone.
    A twig snapped and the women froze,
listening. The forest seemed to hold its breath. Kim pointed to a
spot off to her right. Nina nodded in agreement. They waited until
the regular sounds of the woods returned, then continued on. Nina
caught a glint of something in the distance. She took a few steps
forward, then held up her fist. Kim stopped instantly. Nina
squinted and spotted the illegal snare. She pointed to the spot.
Kim nodded and slid off her backpack. She reached inside and pulled
out a pair of wire cutters, then handed them to Nina.
    Nina looked around, scanning the woods for
movement, then slowly approached the spot. She examined the ground
carefully before she took each step. The last thing she needed was
to get caught in one of the traps. The snare was strung across a
tree branch and dropped onto the ground. Someone had covered most
of it with leaves and placed a piece of deer shank in the center,
along with smaller bits of flesh scattered around the area to draw
in the creature.
    She had two choices. She could either spring
the trap, leaving it useless, but still reusable or she could
destroy the trap so the poachers would have to buy another one.
Nina decided to hit them in their wallets. It would hurt more that
way and it just might save a bear or two in the process. She
crouched down next to the snare and gently slid the wire cutters
under one side. She’d have to cut fast or the snare might spring
and they wouldn’t be able to reach it. Nina took a deep breath and
clamped down on the wire. The metal snapped a second before the
snare whipped into the air, dangling uselessly from the tree
branch.
    “One down,” she said to Kim.
    Before Kim could answer, an angry voice
shouted from a distance, “What are you doing?”
    Nina jumped to her feet and saw a man coming
toward them. She couldn’t make out his features. He was too far
away, but his tone was warning enough. She urged Kim to run.
    “Get back here!” The man bellowed as the
women took off. His heavy footfalls echoed through the trees as he
raced toward them.
    The man paused to look at his ruined trap.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” His head jerked to the right.
    That’s when Nina heard stomping from a second
pair of boots. He wasn’t alone. Fear kicked her chest and she
pumped her arms harder.
    A shot rang out, shattering the tree trunk
beside the women.
    Kim screamed and stopped abruptly. “Oh my
God, they’re shooting at us.”
    “Just run!” Nina jerked her into motion. She
didn’t know which one of the men had shot at them and she didn’t
care. “Get back to the truck!” She urged. “I’ll meet you
later.”
    “What are you going to do? Where are you
going?” Kim gasped. They ran side by side, keeping up their brisk
pace.
    Nina met her worried gaze. “I’m going to lead
them away.”
    “No!” Kim cried.
    “There’s no time to argue. One of us needs to
make it back to the truck.” Nina pulled the keys out of her pocket
and shoved them into Kim’s hand.
    “We can go together.” Kim squealed as another
shot rang out. “They’re trying to kill us.”
    “I noticed. That’s why we have to split up.”
Nina saw a fallen tree up ahead. “I’m going to bank right at the
tree. You go straight for the truck. I’ll make sure they follow
me.”
    Tears filled Kim’s eyes. “What if they shoot
you?”
    Nina’s side hurt. She wasn’t used to
sprinting for this long. She took a deep breath to answer, but it
was difficult at this pace. Getting shot was a very real
possibility. She prayed that she knew the woods better than these
guys did. “The spirits won’t let that happen,” she said, hoping it
was true. Kim didn’t believe in the old ways and neither did Nina
really, but her grandfather did.
    “I’ll get help,” Kim said.
    “No! Danny will kill