The sun was at its peak, shining down on us with its warm embrace. I basked in the feeling with my eyes closed, my outstretched arms laying flat against the lush grass.

My brother and I were playing out in the woods, my favorite birthday tradition.

Each year we'd ditch the extravaganza of a birthday party our parents would always throw, and play games out in the woods. It was a guaranteed 2-week grounding, but it was worth it every time.

"Hey Charlie, on a scale of one to 10, how many dollars would I have to pay you to climb up that tree?" Issac asked. He thinks just because he's sixteen and has a part-time job that he can throw around money and make me do whatever he wants!

Well, it works.

I nodded eagerly, "Fifteen and we have a deal," I grinned ear to ear, watching him roll his eyes.

"Fine, but what does an eleven-year-old need fifteen dollars for?"

I scoffed, "Actually, I turned twelve last week, jerk,"

I slipped on my shoes, getting ready to climb up the first branch. The tree was huge, our favorite to hide under for years. Once I was about halfway up, I looked down to where my brother remained sitting, flashing him a thumbs up and a crooked smile.

He made a silly face in return, making me giggle lightly as I continued to climb the rest of the way. The branches slowly began to thin, but with my light weight, I was able to make it up even higher without falling.

I was reaching upward to grab onto the next branch when a thick arrow pierced into the body of the tree, directly adjacent to my face.

I let out a blood curling scream, "Isaac!"

He looked up at me frantically, "What's wrong? Get back down!" He shouted.

"Someone's h—" I was roughly yanked away from where I stood, my hands and arms scraping against the wood as I panicked.

I turned to my left, seeing a middle aged man, a smirk plastered on his face. He jumped from tree to tree, escaping with me still thrashing in his arms. Remaining unbothered by my violent movement, his grip never wavered.

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