(Sorry this took so long)
Chapter 5
Sweet Becky found herself tied back to back with her former captor. Her fingers brushed against the knot binding Shy Sarah’s wrists. Sweet Becky could easily untie it. And the other girl could easily untie Sweet Becky’s wrists. But despite muffled demands, neither one of them was willing to risk being the first one to release the other. Sweet Becky counted this as a small win; the more time they wasted here, the better the chances of the reset hitting before the bounty hunter could complete her mission.
They were far from the main highway through the forest, down one of the many winding side paths that fractured the Brightleaf Forest. It would not be easy to find their way back after marching here blindfolded. Sweet Becky had once seen another player’s attempt at mapping out the forest, and it looked like someone’s fingerprint. She had heard of all sorts of weirdos living down the shrouded paths, and Wild Nellie was evidence that at least some of those stories were true.
The place where the two girls were being held was technically a ranch but an unusual one. It was small, just a large clearing. The only shelter was a small cave dug into the side of a hill. The captives sat back-to-back in the innermost part of the tunnel, among several wooden crates and burlap sacks. Two of Wild Nellie’s wolves, a black one and a red one, lay near the entrance among a small pile of fish bones and half-eaten taiyaki. Sweet Becky didn’t expect them to be much of a threat without their owner. The game’s animal AI was sophisticated, but it probably wouldn’t be able to understand an instruction as complex as “guard these prisoners” without being specifically trained to do it.
It wasn’t long before the sound of hoof beats echoed against the cave walls. Their captor had returned. Sweet Becky had spent much of her time marching here trying to come up with a way to spin the story that would make her look good, but at this point, she wondered if she was ever going to get a chance to make her case. On the journey here, Wild Nellie seemed more interested in talking about her wolves than the matter she had appointed herself to judge, and neither of her captives had been ungagged even once.
“Still there?” the forest queen called from the cave entrance. She crouched down and petted her two wolves as she spoke. “I checked with the forest sheriff’s office… seems like you’ve both done bad things, but not here. I never leave the forest, so I won’t be claiming either of your bounties. But don’t worry, I have another idea for how to solve this.”
Wild Nellie stepped towards the back of the cave and crouched to cut the red and silver ropes binding the two girls together, leaving only their arms tied. She stood them up roughly and walked them towards the cave entrance. “I wasn’t sure what to do at first. I don’t talk to many people, so I’m not really good at knowing who’s good and bad and stuff. Luckily, Diego reminded me that nature doesn’t care about who’s right and wrong. It’s all about survival of the fit.”
Sweet Becky found herself standing side-by-side with Shy Sarah. The bounty hunter’s eyes darted between her quarry and her captor. “Here’s how it’s going to work,“ explained Wild Nellie, “Me, Vengeance, and Athena are going to hunt you. Just the two of us to make it fair. She’s new, so she needs the hunting practice.”
“You’re going to have to stay tied and gagged so I know you don’t cheat by calling your horses. This is about you. But to make it fair, I’ll give you a 10 minute head start. Here are the rules. The first one I catch I’ll give to the other one of you and let her go free. But only if she manages to outrun me for 30 minutes after we start. If I catch both of you before then, I’ll be giving you both to the next person I see passing through the forest. Doesn’t that sound fair? Good. Start running when I fire in the air,” Wild Nellie said, “And I’ll fire again when I’ve started chasing you.” She circled around the bound girls as she talked.
Sweet Becky bit her gag nervously. It wasn’t necessary to leave them gagged… you needed your hands free to whistle for your horse. Sweet Becky wasn’t sure if Wild Nellie didn’t know this or intentionally ignored it as part of her sick game. She couldn’t get a read on the strange girl at all. But it didn’t seem like she had any choice but to play her game.
A glance at Shy Sarah made Sweet Becky think the bounty hunter had come to the same conclusion. Then, in a moment, a crescent moon exploded from the barrel of Wild Nellie’s carbine. Both girls took off running immediately, side-by-side until they arrived at the treeline and split off into separate directions. Sweet Becky grimaced as tree branches seemed to whip at her body as she charged through the placid forest.
Sweet Becky slowed down as soon as her pursuer was out of sight. She would need to conserve her energy. She pushed through the woods for another 20 paces until she found herself on another trail.
Sweet Becky maintained a brisk walk down the trail. She needed a plan and fast. There was no realistic way she could outrun a mounted girl with a tracking pet on foot with her arms bound for 30 minutes. But this was the chance she was looking for. If she could somehow get her arms free… well, that would open up her options considerably. But there was no way she could free herself while on the move. Could she risk stopping to struggle out of her bondage?
She hadn’t heard Wild Nellie’s shot signaling the start of the hunt yet. Maybe she would go after Shy Sarah first. Maybe Sweet Becky could find a hiding place that would keep her safe for at least a few minutes… there were a lot of “maybes,” but Sweet Becky decided to take the gamble as soon as she spotted a small cabin by the side of the trail.
The bound girl ran to the dilapidated door of the shack and kicked it. It swung open with a creak. “Mmph?” Sweet Becky flinched with surprise when she realized she wasn’t alone. Three girls in the uniforms of the Summer Campers watched her enter and immediately began struggling in their bonds and mmphing to get her attention. One was tied to a support post near the door. Another was curled up in a lidless wooden crate. The last was tied spread-eagle to a rickety old bedframe.
Sweet Becky slammed the door shut with her butt and tried her hardest to think. She didn’t like the Summer Campers… no one did, really… but unlike Shy Sarah, they weren’t after her in particular. If she set them free, they could throw off the chase… without another moment of hesitation, she pinched at the knot binding the pole-tied girl and pulled it loose. The girl quickly shook off the rope and untied her gag, pulling out the stuffing with a sputter.
“Mmmph!” Sweet Becky protested in annoyance as the girl made no movement to free her, running to help her companions first. Before long, all three of the Summer Campers were untied.
“Did anyone see what she did with Lovely Alma?” the formerly pole-tied girl asked her companions. Both of them shook their heads in denial. “Fine, call your horses, we’ll look for the others at HQ.”
One-by-one, each of the three girls raised her hands to her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Their mounts would hear them from anywhere in the game world. Sweet Becky mmphed furiously and pushed up against the girl she freed. The ungrateful girl scowled but untied her, letting the ropes fall to the floor. Sweet Becky pulled off her gag and bit her tongue, trying not to provoke the bandit girl.
By now, the sound of hoof beats thundered outside. One of the bandits opened the door up a crack. “It’s Chocopie… I can see Dolphin coming too,” she reported.
“Alright, you’re with me,” said the girl who was apparently the leader, pointing to one of the others, “We’ll find Grasshopper later. Let’s go.”
“Wait!” pleaded Sweet Becky, “Take me with you!”
“Don’t push your luck,” came the retort, “We already did you one favor. We’re even.”
Sweet Becky simply pouted and glared. In another moment, the bandits were gone. Sweet Becky knew she had stayed in one place for too long and quickly began gathering up every bit of the crimson-and-silver rope she could find on the cabin floor. She carefully propped the door open with the crate that one of the girls had been trapped in, wanting to make it clear to Wild Nellie that her prisoners had escaped should she find this place, and ran towards the trees behind the cabin.
Traveling through the woods was much easier now that she could push the branches out of the way. Her first thought was to whistle for Briar, but she knew it was pointless. Briar was too far away, and it would take hours for her to get here. She would stop running as soon as Sweet Becky moved to another location. Sweet Becky would have to find a way to survive without her horse or her charm shooter, and with only a few scraps of rope in lieu of her magic lasso.