Robin Hood by Courtney Garner (the beginning after the end novel read .txt) 📖

my thankfully uninjured right arm. It made a sickening thump when it struck his eyeball. It was gruesome.

Checking my left arm I determined that it would be okay for a while and then loped over to retrieve my knife. Then I proceeded to scoot along the wall until I made it to the end where I knew two guards were waiting just feet from me. My arm protested as I drew back another arrow and turned the corner in a whirl. The first didn't stand a chance and fell dead almost instantly. The second, too stunned to react, got a knife promptly stuck in his ribs. I had not lost my touch.

As I entered the jail the stench of unwashed bodies and desperation cloaked me. Some thin bodies were already looking at the door and noticed my quiet arrival while others continued to sit or lay where they were, looking dejected. Most did look up, however, when I grabbed the keys and walked quickly down the row of bars looking for Christopher.

Finally I found him near the end and struggled to get the key in the lock. He rushed to the bars, looking happy and afraid.

"Robin! You came! I told them you-" He practically shouted.

"Shh!" I checked the entrance before whispering. "There may be more guards around." The lock gave a slight click. The door swung open and Christopher barreled out. "Stay in the shadows and cut through the woods. You're family is waiting for you. Good luck."

"Thank you Robin. You are the most honorable man I know. We owe you." He didn't ask what I was going to do, either because he knew or was too eager to leave,                                                                                                                    but he was gone in a flash. I went to the next set of bars and opened the door, ushering people out. They mumbled thanks and left just as quickly as Christopher. I could only pray that they wouldn't be caught. Again and again I opened doors until every person was free and out of the building.

Just as I was finishing with the last cell and about to leave, I heard a noise from the back room. I knew that there couldn't be more people back there so I had forewent searching it. The noise came again and this time it sounded like a sob. Taking my bow off my shoulder, I inched quietly toward the door. It opened with suprisingly little noise to reveal a scene that made my blood boil.

One man stood with his back to me as a second one held a girl roughly against the wall. She couldn't have been over fourteen and she looked absolutely horrified as tears streamed down her cheeks. I don't even think she really saw me. The jailbreak had been quiet and fast enough that the guards still didn't know it had even happened yet. Boy, were they about to.

My arrow hit him right where I knew it would hurt most, his groin. His mouth was no longer pressed sloppily against hers but was now howling in what I was sure was agony. My smile almost turned into giggles as he sank to the floor. I would leave him alive so he could enjoy that wound. The other man was just beginning to turn when I caught the side of his head with my bow and he fell unconcious. Stepping over the man who still had my arrow sticking out of his family jewels, I aproached the girl. She wimpered and tried to push herself as far against the wall as possible.

Not wasting any time I grabbed her shoulder roughly and looked into her huge oval eyes. Absently, I noted that she was very pretty with her golden hair and fair skin. "Run" I pushed her toward the door. She stumbled as fast as she could on shaky legs and made it out into the night air, me close behind her. We were precisely two steps out of the door when the two men appeared. I didn't even have time to draw my bow so instead I socked one in the face and turned around to see that the other was holding the girl roughly by her hair. His nose gave a crunch and a spurt of blood as my fist collided with it. The girl broke free with a cry and looked questioningly at me. I pushed her in the direction of the forest, hoping that she knew how to get around in there without getting eaten by something.

Fingers grabbed my hood and a good portion of hair with it. I barely had time to yell "Go!" at her before I was jerked backward. I tried to twist around but the agony shooting through my head was too much. Uncerimoniously, I was dragged back into the jail. The second man followed, rubbing his swollen jaw angrily. The girl didn't join us so I assumed she had gotten away. Good.

Without giving me a fraction of a second to respond, the hand in my hair turned me around and delivered a punch that almost broke my jaw. I barely managed to keep the hood on my cloak up but things could go much worse if they found out I was a girl. The scene with the girl had proven that they didn't holds their morals in very high regard.

Somewhere between the punching and my stumbling back I was able to assess the situation. Two grown men stood in front of me looking ready for blood. Where the hell had they been? Were they patroling the forest and heard the noise? All I knew was that I was in trouble. My bow and quiver of arrows were trapped uncomfortably behind my back and the bars and my head was reeling from the punch. Things quickly got worse when the one I had knocked out with my bow came lumbering into the room. The other one wouldn't be joining us any time soon.

The same one who had punched me now pressed his forearm against my throat. I tried to struggle but I could barely draw in a breath, much less escape.

"Look who decided to pop in." His rotten breathe was all I could smell as he hissed the words. It made my head feel even fuzzier. This close I could see the blackheads on his nose and the vein on his forehead. Just when I thought I was going to not pass out he threw me to the ground where my head bounced off the stone. One of the other men decided it was his turn to have some fun and picked me up by the front of my cloak only to slam me into the bars of another cell. My arm was aching from where I landed on it but that did not stop me from reaching for another knife. I slashed upward with it, aiming for the soft area underneath his chin. Sadly it missed its mark and opened a slash on the goon's cheek.

He hissed and punched me in the stomach. Twice. The other idiots were actually smiling.

"Let's see who is behind this mask shall we? Who is Robin Hood?" He said it so dramatically that I wanted to roll my eyes. I would if I wasn't so terrified.

"Go to hell" My voice was low but I knew he heard me. His response was to reach up and rip my mask off with a hard jerk. I knew the second they realized I was a girl. They took a second to widen their eyes and express their shock and then they realized just how much more fun this would be for them. It was almost funny how the pieces fit together at almost the exact same time for each of them. Just not really.

Number two tossed me into the guy who had yet to have a chance to use me as a punching bag. I guess it was his turn now. How nice that they were sharing.

"You mean to tell me that this pretty little thing is Robin Hood." He made tsking sounds "That's no way for a lady to act. Maybe we should teach you some manners." Somehow he managed to hit me in the stomach even harder than his friend before back handing me into the bars. I sank to the ground, tasting blood. My vision was starting to blur around the edges.

Number one piped up "I think we should just kill her."

Number two crouched down beside me. "I think we should have some fun first. We shouldn't waste such a pretty little thing." I spat a bloody glob on his face. Instead of the angry respose I thought I was going to get he just calmly reached out, wrapped his fingers around my throat, and jerked me forward, letting me go to sprawl on the floor. He looked positively thrilled. I wanted to break his already crooked nose but my limbs wouldn't obey me any more.

Suddenly he was a heavy weight on top of me and I tried one last time to struggle. His elbow wipped across my face and I passed out for a second. When I came to the asshole's fingers were wiggling into my pants like maggots. I closed my eyes, still trying to buck but knowing it was over. Atleast I saved those people. Atleast I made the world a slightly better place. I would be missed when I was dead.

There was a sound like a strangled scream and all of a sudden he was just... gone. I no longer had his weight on top of me. I was okay.

I opened my eyes, one first and then the other, and stared at the ceiling. Not seeing, not breathing, just relieved. I think I would have stayed like that for a while if I hadn't had my view blocked by a pair of enraged eyes and a mess of dark blond hair. It couldn't be, but it was.

Will

Rescued

 

I watched, strangely detached as he took inventory of my body, looking disgusted when he saw how the hem of my pants was pushed lower than it should be but I guess he thought better than to fix it. I wouldn't have cared if he had. Everything hurt. All that mattered was the pain. And maybe him.

"Good to see you again, Robin." I kind of sighed in response and he grabbed my cloak and bow which had both been torn off. He slung them over his shoulder before trying to gather me in his arms as gently as possible. It was funny that I hadn't screamed this whole time but now wanted to desperately. When Will straightened I had to bite the inside of my cheek to hold in sobs. I hadn't been roughed up this badly since I had killed that duke.

I had so many questions for Will bubbling up inside of me. Then again, I also had a lot of blood bubbling up inside of me. His smooth steps jostled me as little as possible as he quickly exited the jail and melted into the forest. I kept my eyes on his face while he moved swifly through the trees even with my weight. Every now and then he would look down at me and our eyes would meet but he