Free Revenant by Jaden Kilmer

out from beneath the bus and start fighting with Meg. I take one last look at Alex to make sure he’s dead. His skin looks like stone now. White and cracked and cold to the touch.
    I take that as a yes.
    I turn around and see Meg and Dodger rolling around on the ground grappling with each other. They’re tangled up so badly I can’t tell who’s who. One of them tries to bite the other and gets slapped across the cheek. I draw an arrow back in my bow and walk towards them slowly.
    They separate. I see Meg and Dodger break out of the grapple and rise to their feet. Meg’s positioned Dodger so that she’s sandwiched between Meg and the side of the bus. No room to run.
    I let loose an arrow at Meg’s side, but she’s moving too fast and it  misses. I’m not sure if Meg even noticed the shot. Her eyes bore down on Dodger, who looks terribly small now compared to her. Meg runs forward and tries to grab Dodger’s throat. She catches Meg’s arm and twists it back the wrong direction. Meg reaches her free hand over and plunges her nails into Dodger’s neck. Dodger slinks down, trying with all her strength not to fall on her back.
    Another shot. This arrow flies true and lodges itself in Meg’s spine. She lets out a shriek and whirls around to face me. Dodger takes the moment to tackle her and smashes her elbow into Meg’s head. It horrifies me to see Dodger fight like this. It’s even worse than when she killed my own murderer the other day. She looks subhuman, more killer than girl.
    I run over with an arrow at the ready. I keep at aimed at Meg’s head, careful to avoid her heart.
    Meg squirms out of Dodger’s attack and I let the arrow fly.
    Meg catches it.
    My heart sinks. I just gave her the perfect weapon to use against Dodger. She rises to her feet, grabs Dodger by the hair and pulls her so that she blocks Meg’s chest from me. She holds the tip of my arrow to Dodger’s heart.
    “Looks like we’re at a stalemate,” she says.
    “Let her go! Let her go or I shoot,” I say. It sounds like a threat, but the words are empty.
    For a moment, I can see Meg honestly mull it over. But then she gasps, and my heart sinks even further as it becomes clear just what epiphany has struck her. “But you won’t. Of course you wouldn’t... you’re not trying to kill me...”
    I fumble for a good response, but she’s right. I can’t kill her. It has to be Dodger.
    “Ooooh. Looks like you’re out of luck, Scout. I win.”
    “You kill her, I shoot. You haven’t won anything.”
    “Why would I kill her? I’m going to take her with me. She and I, we’re going to be a family again. Just like the old days. And you. Can’t. Stop. Me.”
    “No...”
    Dodger struggles against Meg, who puts a stop to it by pressing the arrow against her a little tighter. Meg starts to back away, keeping Dodger at her chest. I follow for a few steps waiting for a chance to shoot. Dodger wrests her arm free of Meg’s grasp and slams her elbow into Meg’s nose. She tries to make a break for safety but Meg recovers from the blow. She grabs Dodger by the neck and readies the arrow.
    “On the other hand, I might just kill you anyway,” Meg warns her.
    “We’ve been over this. This means you die too.”
    Meg bites her lip, looking unsure for the first time all night. It’s at this pause when I realize Dodger’s hands are still free.
    “Dodger!” I call out.
    “Yeah?”
    “Catch!” I fire an arrow right at her heart, and hope beyond all hope she’s got enough focus to catch it.
    Her hand moves too fast for me to even see. She was right, it looked as if her body had taken control of itself for a moment as she snatches the arrow six inches in front of her chest and without slowing her motion, stabs Meg in the shoulder before the bitch can react. Meg shrieks, Dodger escapes. I try to draw another arrow, but Meg throws her bloodied one at me. It spirals like a football right at my head. I duck under it, and it whistles three inches