The game started shortly after their encounter with Eagle Eye. The game was designed to be played by fifty people at a time, much bigger than any of the other games there. Five players were placed in front of each structure. Mallory and her father stood in the middle of four other players. These players were placed at the seventh structure from the left, and while the players at the third structure were playing. Mallory and her father noticed that Eagle Eye was playing at the third structure. They both watched him closely.

A woman moved the ladder next to the third structure and climbed it. She looked at the players as she held a smooth, wooden ball in her hand. "The ball will be dropped into the third path," she announced. "Players, which pathway will the ball fall out of?"

The first three players gave their answers hesitantly. Eagle Eye scratched the side of his temple with a smirk on his face. He answered, "The third one."

The last player decided to copy Eagle Eye's answer, and then the woman dropped the ball in the middle of the structure. The players and the crowd watching all silenced themselves as they listened to the sound of the ball rolling around in the intricate maze behind the black cloth. Then, with a clink onto the smooth wood below it, the ball fell out of the third tube.

The first three players all groaned with disappointment, while the last player hopped with joy and Eagle Eye laughed inwardly.

"Wow," Mallory said, "he really is good."

Her father raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I wonder if he's studied these mazes like I have..."

The players that guessed wrong for the first three rounds were all eliminated from the game. Ironically, these were the players that were the most fortunate of the game, because the winners of the first set of rounds then had to pay another forty tokens to compete in the next round.

"Um, Daddy?" Mallory started.

"Yes?"

"How come the people who guessed right are paying more money?"

"Because it's how the tournament works, sweetie. With each go-around, the winners have to pay double the price from before to increase the grand prize." The man started to tug at his dark beard, something he did whenever he was deep in thought or doing a lot of mental math. "Fifty people entered for twenty tokens, meaning the grand prize starts at one thousand tokens. So far, five people won the first go-around, which means each one of them pitched in an extra forty tokens for the game. So that makes the grand prize currently stand at one thousand, two hundred tokens. There will be more winners, though, so the prize will get bigger." He looked down, continuing to tug at his beard. "The more one person wins, the more money that person will lose until being the champion. This is why the maze game is both the most desirable and the most intimidating. It takes a lot of confidence and a lot of money to spare to play this game." He smiled for his daughter and pointed at himself and the money he earned in his pockets. "Good thing we have both of those, right?"

Mallory forced a smile and nodded.

The next three rounds went by quickly, and soon enough it was Mallory's father's turn at the seventh maze. There were four more winners from the last three rounds, increasing the grand prize to one thousand, three hundred sixty tokens. Mallory's father studied the subtle bulges of the maze under the cloth carefully as the woman climbed the ladder up the right side of the maze. She hovered the ball over the maze. "The ball will be dropped into the fifth path," she announced. "Players, which pathway will the ball come out of?"

The first two players answered fairly quickly. When it was the man's turn, he took a moment to study the maze a little more carefully, hair shedding off his beard as he tugged at it. The other players stared at him with impatient frowns on their faces. One of them said, "Y'know you can't actually see anything, right idiot?" The rest of them laughed.

The man kept his eyes focused on the structure, and then he stopped pulling off his beard to answer, "The first one, ma'am!"

The other two players gave their answers. The woman dropped the ball into the maze. Everyone listened to the pitter patter of the ball making its way downward, until the ball landed onto the plank, coming out of the first tube. The other four players groaned, while Mallory's father cheered and quickly crouched down to give his daughter a hug and kiss. "I told you I'd win, sweetie!"

Afterwards, the man handed over his forty coins, and the other rounds went on to end with only two more winners after Mallory's father, meaning that a whole group of people lost on the ninth round. Thus, the competition had dwindled down from fifty players to a mere twelve, giving the remaining players hope that they will not have to risk much more money before winning the game. From this point, the players were divided into two groups of six. The first group, which included Eagle Eye, were placed back at the first maze, and the second group of people, which had Mallory's father, were placed in front of the tenth maze to compete.

The woman climbed the left side of the first maze and announced, "The ball will be dropped into the second pathway. Players, which path will the ball come out of?"

It seemed Eagle Eye was purposely placed last to answer this time, since in the first go-around a player had relied on his answer to win. The player who used Eagle Eye's answer before seemed deeply annoyed by this decision, with slumped shoulders and pouty lips. When it was Eagle Eye's turn, he answered, "The fourth one!" His answer responded in groans from the other players, who had all answered differently. Eagle Eye bellowed with laughter. "C'mon now, boys! She hasn't even dropped the ball yet and you're all already complaining?"

"Cut it out, will you?" one particularly angry player demanded. "We all know you're cheating somehow! We already know you're right!"

Eagle Eye continued to laugh under his breath. "How could I be cheating when we can't even see the maze? I'm just that lucky, is all."

"If I can have your attention, now," the woman interrupted with a loud sigh, "I will drop the ball."

She dropped the ball, and everyone became quiet, despite knowing that Eagle Eye was probably right. Sure enough, the ball fell out of the fourth pathway and caused an uproar amongst the five players who lost. "It's not fair!" they cried.

One of them stepped up to Eagle Eye. "You're a cheater! Admit it!"

Eagle Eye smiled down on him, as a group of burly men dressed similarly to Eagle Eye stepped in behind him. The one who stepped up to Eagle Eye looked at the group that had formed behind the one-eyed man and stepped back a little. Eagle Eye grinned wider and said, "I'll tell you this instead: maybe you should realize that you're barking at a much bigger dog here." Eagle Eye lifted his cloak slightly to reveal a red symbol of a lion roaring on his garment.

The player gulped back his fear and put his arms up. "Uh, sorry, you're right. It's not really possible to cheat at these games. I guess I'm just a sore loser. Sorry, sir."

Eagle Eye snickered and replied, "That's a good boy. Now why don't you heel? I'd hate for my pack to have to eat you alive."

The player practically ran away after that, almost tripping over himself trying to get through the crowd.

"Whoa," Mallory said, "who is that man?"

"That symbol..." her father pondered. "I think...that's the symbol of the Hunters' Guild. I wonder if he's their leader."

"Well, if you're all done arguing now," the woman said, climbing down the ladder and picking it up, "why don't you go pay your fee for the next round so we can move on?"

Eagle Eye bowed respectfully to the woman as his posse dispersed back into the audience. "Of course, ma'am. Apologies for the excitement."

"It's fine," she replied as she rolled her eyes and moved toward the tenth maze, "just go give the collector your eighty tokens."

Eagle Eye nodded and walked over to pay his next fee.

"Wait," Mallory said with familiar concern in her eyes, "Doesn't that mean you'll have to pay eighty when you win again, too, Daddy?"

"It does," her father answered, "but it's okay. I'm going to win the grand prize in the end, just you wait!"

The woman proceeded up the ladder with her usual routine, deciding to drop the ball down the fourth path that time. Mallory's father had studied the bulges in the cloth carefully again, and he tried to remember the results of the previous rounds to determine which maze was which, then he decided to answer with the third pathway. The ball fell out of the third pathway as he thought it would, so him and two other players who guessed the same advanced to the next round, placing the grand prize at one thousand, eight hundred tokens.

At this point, there were only four players left: Mallory's father, Eagle Eye, and two others who had been incredibly lucky. Because Eagle Eye and Mallory's father seemed to be the most adept at guessing where the ball lands, they were placed to guess last for the next round, with Eagle Eye being placed after Mallory's father.

"Alright, gentleman," the woman said, hovering the ball over the third path on the fifth maze. "Where will the ball come out of?"

The first player answered, "Eh, the first one?"

The second player answered, "Uh, the second one!"

Mallory's father examined it carefully once more, remembering how all the other mazes had turned out before this one. He came to an answer, and he was sure he was right, but there was a problem. This would mean that the second player would win, too, because his answer was the same. "I'll go with the second one as well, ma'am."

The second player gasped with excitement.

Eagle Eye grunted and answered quickly, "The second one, for sure."

The first player hunched himself over and said, "Well, I guess that's it for me..."

The woman dropped the ball and, of course, it fell out of the second tube.

The second player cheered, the first player walked away in shame, and Eagle Eye laughed under his breath, but Mallory's father started to worry. He knew it was likely that Eagle Eye was going to be his last opponent, but he did not think there would be a third person guessing right for this long. This meant that there was more competition to weed out, and the likelihood of having to pay more money to advance had increased. This time, the fee was one hundred sixty tokens, and at this point Mallory's father would barely have enough left to pay another three hundred twenty.

"Three players left, huh?" the woman remarked. "I can't remember the last time the game has went on for this long. Anyway, go pay your next fee and we'll decide on another maze for you all."

The three of them went to pay for the next round. This time, they were at the sixth maze. The woman chose the second pathway to drop the ball into.

Mallory's father looked at the first player to see what he would answer. He hoped with all his heart that the man would not pick the fifth pathway.

The first player pondered for a moment, then answered, "The fifth pathway!"

The color drained from Mallory's father's face, realizing that they would all have to pay the next three hundred twenty tokens. It was a parameter he had not taken into account before he decided to play such a dangerous game: the more people that thrived in the game, the less money he would have in his pockets before it all ended. Trying to gulp down his fear, and pray that somehow Eagle Eye guesses wrong, he answered, "The fifth one, ma'am..."

Eagle Eye chuckled. "The fifth one, of course."

"A unanimous decision again?" the woman questioned. "Odd..." She dropped the ball, and as they had all guessed, it landed out of the fifth pathway.

The first player jumped up and rejoiced. "Yeah! Talk about a lucky day! I'm winnin' this for sure this time!"

Eagle Eye grunted. "Bask in it while it lasts, boy."

Mallory's father looked down. "That's three hundred twenty more tokens... Which means I will have spent six hundred twenty tokens here..."

Mallory looked up at the fearful look in his eyes with fear in her own. She started to get shaky again. "Daddy...you won't be able to play anymore, will you?"

He glanced at her and took a deep breath. He stood up straight and walked over to the collector to pay the next three hundred twenty tokens along with the other men.

"You're all still playing?" the collector noticed as he took their money, a bewildered look on his face. "What are you guys? Gods?"

Eagle Eye laughed in response to the question and walked away with a wave of his hand. Mallory's father was too down to respond, but the first player answered the collector enthusiastically saying, "Well I'm pretty sure that guy over there is cheating, this guy... Uh, I don't know, I think he's just smart. And me? I'm just lucky!"

The collector sighed. "Well whatever it is, go get it over with, now. The games are gonna end soon, and I don't want you three here playing this all night."

Mallory's father shuddered at the notion that the games would end soon. He would not even get to use the money he would have left after the maze game to win other games.

After the first player walked away, Mallory tugged on her father's arm. "Daddy, maybe we should go..."

"We...can't, sweetie." He raised his head and walked back over to the second maze where the rest of them were gathered. "We have to finish this..."

The woman chose to drop the ball into the first pathway. Mallory's father figured that the ball would fall out of the fourth pathway. This time, the first player guessed on the fifth pathway, and then Mallory's father picked the fourth pathway.

"Oh, no!" the first player shouted. "I'm out so much money now, aren't I?"

"I haven't dropped the ball yet and the third player hasn't guessed yet!" the woman blurted. "Be quiet!"

Mallory hoped for her father all she could in that moment. He has to guess something different this time, right? Please, just let my Daddy win. We need this.

Eagle Eye sneered and answered, "The fourth pathway it is."

Mallory's father exhaled audibly and almost lost his balance. Mallory gripped his hand tight. "Daddy?" she gasped.

He looked down at her and realized that his broken composure was destroying her. He forced himself to smile down at her teary eyes and said, "It'll be alright, sweetie...It'll be alright..."

The woman dropped the ball and when Mallory's father saw that him and Eagle Eye were right again was almost enough to make him faint. Beads of sweat formed at the top of his forehead and his stomach tied itself into a knot. The man had no idea what would happen next to him nor his daughter.

"Ah, dang it!" the first player complained. "I knew I was wrong! Why do I play these stupid games, anyway?" The man yelled more complaints as he stormed off, leaving the two winners behind.

"Ugh," the woman groaned. "Are we going to end this game at all?"

Eagle Eye glanced at Mallory's father. It did not take him too long to realize why he looked so pale. "Actually," he began, "this game's already over."

"What do you mean?" the woman asked, climbing down the ladder. "He guessed correctly; all he has to do is pay the next fee."

"Except that he doesn't have the tokens to pay the next fee, isn't that right, brownie?"

The man started breathing more heavily. He answered, "I only have about forty now, not nearly enough for six hundred forty." His free hand balled into a fist. "Not nearly enough to take care of my—" He stopped himself after glancing at his daughter. "He's right, ma'am..."

"Oh, so that means you forfeit," the woman acknowledged, rather nonchalantly.

"Just a second, ma'am," Eagle Eye continued. "This man was very good at the game, and it was only by sheer chance that the game went on for so long, don't you think?"

"Uh, I suppose so, yes," the woman answered.

"I say this man deserves another chance."

The man's head shot back up and he looked at Eagle Eye with eyes full of shock. Mallory was also stunned, making an audible gasp.

Eagle Eye kept that permanent grin on his face. "I see this idea interests you, yes?"

The man nodded. "Y-yes, yes it does!"

"So how about we play another game?"

"Yes! Anything, sir!"

Mallory did not like the sound of that. Anything?

Eagle Eye chuckled. "Alright then, so here's the deal. That money in the barrel over there is mine now, make no mistake, but I will bet it all for one last game between you and I."

"But...why are you doing this?" the man asked.

"Think of it as a gesture of my respect for your incredible luck. Since I'm betting my grand prize here, though, you must offer something of at least similar value..."

The man's heart stopped for a moment, realizing what it was that Eagle Eye wanted him to bet. "You...you want my life, is that it?"

Mallory gasped so loudly it almost sounded like a scream. She tugged at his arm hardly. "Daddy, no! Don't do it!"

Eagle Eye's grin grew even wider, his golden tooth in full view. "You catch on quick, don't you? I suppose I should've expected that."

The man's expression slumped down into a stern one. "Just promise me this..."

"What is it?"

He looked down at his daughter's crying face, full of remorse, then back at Eagle Eye. "Promise me that if I lose, my daughter can at least take what I have left, and get her somewhere safe. Please."

"Daddy! What are you saying?" Mallory screamed. "Please don't do this!"

Eagle Eye chuckled. "It's a deal."

"Thank you," the man answered.

"No, stop it!" Mallory pleaded.

The man looked down at his daughter with a solemn expression. His eyes began to get misty.

The woman stared at the three of them. "So...another maze game, then?"

"No," Eagle Eye answered. "A simpler one! Look ahead, brownie!" Eagle Eye put his arm around the man's shoulders and pointed at the entrance to the building all the way across the opposite end. Since the games were ending, the building was much less crowded, so they could see the doorway clearly. The man looked ahead, awaiting Eagle Eye's explanation. "I'll let you call it since you decided to be such a good sport: who do you think will enter this building next, a man or a woman?"

Mallory's father tried his best to gather his thoughts. He knew that the building had been predominantly filled with men the whole day, especially since the Craftsmen's Guild itself was mainly made up of men. He also knew that this was the Craftsmen's Guild's headquarters, so if anyone were to enter, it would almost certainly be a man. Additionally, the games were about to end, so it would not make much sense for someone who was not a member of the Craftsmen's Guild to come in at this point. With all this in mind, he made his decision. "A man. The next person to enter this building will be a man."

Mallory's sobbing continued, but she continued to hyperventilate, completely terrified for what may become of her father.

"Good," Eagle Eye replied, "then I bet that it'll be a woman, a fifty-fifty chance, as simple as that! Let's see who's wrong!"

They all waited for a few moments. The woman who hosted the maze games had gone off, but the collector was forced to stay and make sure the rightful person received the grand prize.

Within a minute or two, the door to the building opened.

Eagle Eye laughed so much it sounded like he was coughing. "Well, who do you think it will be?"

The man narrowed his eyes to make out who the person was, positive it had to be a man. His eyes quickly widened as he was able to tell who had entered. The figure came in and closed the door behind her. It was a woman, plain as day with long black hair and a long dress. She looked around, seemingly flustered, possibly because she realized the games were already ending.

Mallory's hyperventilating became beyond her control. She could not even scream upon seeing the woman enter the building.

Eagle Eye filled the vicinity of the room with his laughter "Ya see that, brownie? Either I'm right, or that's the prettiest man I've ever seen! Ha, ha!"

Even the collector looked shocked. "How did he know...?"

Mallory held onto her father's arm for dear life, not realizing she had dug her nails into his skin.

Her father felt Eagle Eye's grasp on his shoulder get tighter as he stood still as a statue. "H-how, did you...?" he stammered.

"Now tell me," Eagle Eye continued, "what's your name, slave?"

"Raj," he whispered out. "It's...Raj."

"Very well, nice to meet you then, Raj!" Eagle Eye finally turned his attention to Mallory and clutched her hands. His smile stretched ear to ear as his face got close to hers. She could feel his hot breath warm her face hotter than it had already become. "Time for you to say goodbye to Daddy, sweetie!" he sneered. He ripped her grip off of her father's shoulder and tossed her aside. She landed on her back.

This action snapped Raj out of his trance like state and he yelled at Eagle Eye, "I'll kill you!"

He tried to lunge for Eagle Eye's throat, but a few of the burly men who had been watching from Eagle Eye's group rushed in to hold him back. He struggled against them, almost breaking free at one point, but they were too strong for him.

Eagle Eye continued to laugh. "Looks like this dog could learn some manners. Hold him there, boys!" Eagle Eye punched Raj in his stomach, and then in his jaw. Blood spewed out from Raj's mouth, making a splattering noise as it landed on the floor.

Upon seeing this, Mallory screamed at the top of her lungs and rushed after Eagle Eye. She only managed to tear a bit of his cloak before she was seized by one of Eagle Eye's men. The man picked her up off the ground as she thrashed around in his arms.

"Ohohoho!" Eagle Eye scoffed. "Looks like this pup's gone feral!"

"Ma-Mallory..." Raj muttered.

"Daddy!" Mallory whimpered as she tried to break free from the man's arms.

"Now what is all this commotion about?" a different voice cut through all the chaos of the moment.

Eagle Eye looked toward the sound of the voice to find a wrinkled old man with a wooden cane walking up towards the scene from beyond the wall of the maze games. The symbol of axes was stitched into the man's clothing. Eagle Eye's smile did not fade upon this newcomer's appearance. "Ah, Frederick, old pal," he acknowledged. "Good to see ya!"

Frederick looked at the blood splattered on the floor and jumped back a little. He looked back and forth between Raj and Mallory being detained by the members of the Hunters' Guild. "What the devil is going on here, Eagle Eye?"

"Oh, just a little disagreement," Eagle Eye answered.

"Disagreement?" Frederick asked, jerking his head back flabbergasted. "You got blood on my floor! What are you talking about?"

"You see," Eagle Eye explained, "I made a bet with this man here. I bet my grand prize and he bet his own life. He lost, and I was simply removing that pest you see over there from his arm. He overreacted and I had to put him on a leash, understand?"

"Another one you've tricked, huh?" Frederick acknowledged, raising an eyebrow at Raj's disposition.

Eagle Eye nodded. "I certainly don't mind sharing his value with your guild, sir. We make such good partners, after all."

Frederick sighed and looked at the father and his daughter once more. He narrowed his eyes at Eagle Eye. "Well if they're yours now, then why don't you get them out of here? I've had to put up with noise all day. I don't feel like listening to anymore screaming." Frederick looked back down at the mess on the floor. "And clean up this floor before you leave! It's disgusting!"

Eagle Eye chuckled and bowed to the man. "Of course, sir. Sorry for the disturbance."

Frederick began to walk away, but then the sound of Mallory's voice caught his ear. "Help us..." she whimpered. "Please, help us."

He looked back at her. His eyes turned sad, almost kind when he saw the girl begging for his help. Then, he frowned back up and looked away. He started walking off again. "Just get those two out of here!" he ordered Eagle Eye.

"Yes, sir," Eagle Eye responded. He pointed at one of his posse. "You there, wipe up the floor with this." He tossed a small handkerchief at the man.

The man looked at the handkerchief he caught, then at the blood on the floor. With the face he made, he seemed to wonder if the handkerchief would even be enough to clean it up. In any case, he rushed over to try to wipe up the mess.

Eagle Eye turned his attention back to Raj. "Now then, I made you a promise, didn't I?"

Raj clenched his teeth. Ever since he had gotten beaten, he calmed himself down. "Yes, you did."

Eagle Eye looked at the men restraining him. "Reach in his pockets. Take out whatever's left." One of them pulled out a small bag that was only about a quarter way full. Eagle Eye pointed at the girl. "That money belongs to her, now."

The one with the bag hesitantly released Raj's arm to go and hand the bag over to the man restraining Mallory.

Mallory felt stunned when she saw her father's reaction to being let go. His arm went completely limp, just dangling uselessly at his side. It was like he had given up. "Daddy...?" she called out softly. "Why would you do this...?" She was then frozen in place under the grasp of the man's arm around her body.

"One of you," Eagle Eye continued. "Grab my prize over there. We're off." A man picked up the barrel of tokens with both arms.

The group made their way out of the building, where the sun began to set. Outside there were two big wagons with two horses for each of them tied to them. The man with the barrel quickly loaded it into the back of one of the wagons, taking a sigh of relief and waving his arms a little. Two of the men sat in the front of the wagon, grasping the reins for each horse. Two more men did the same with the second wagon.

Mallory started to struggle again against the man's grasp, calling out to her father, who seemed to be a walking dead person at that point.

Eagle Eye looked at the man holding Raj. "Put him in the back."

"Wait," Raj finally muttered.

"Hm?" Eagle Eye grunted.

"Before he does," Raj continued, "just let me say goodbye to my daughter..."

Eagle Eye narrowed his gaze, then looked back at Mallory, who was still squirming around. Raj's restrainer looked at Eagle Eye for confirmation. Eagle Eye nodded and ordered, "Let him go." The man obeyed.

With his other arm free, Raj went over to his daughter, but stopped and looked at the girl desperately trying to push out of the man's grasp. Raj turned to Eagle Eye. "Tell him to let my daughter go!"

Eagle Eye grunted and gave the nod to Mallory's restrainer. The man set the girl down and she rushed over to her father.

Raj got down on one knee and wrapped his arms around his daughter. The two of them cried in each other's arms for a moment. "I'm sorry..." Raj whispered. "I'm so sorry, Mallory..."

"Why?" she asked, gasping between her words. "Why did you do it, Daddy? You shouldn't have come here!"

"I know, sweetie," he said, patting her on the back, "I know." He pulled away from her and set his hands on her shoulders. She wiped tears off her face. Raj continued to cry upon seeing his daughter so distraught. The worst part was his knowing that this was all his doing. "I know it's my fault, sweetie. I was wrong, you were right. But could you listen to your Daddy just one more time?"

She took a moment to clear her face of tears, then she looked back up at her father. Her eyes widened when she saw his swollen cheek and dried up blood on his lower lip. Tears streamed down his face, too, but there was a certain calmness in his expression. It was an expression she was familiar with, and it calmed her down a little. She knew that it was his last attempt to be strong for his daughter.

A weak smile made crooked by his swelled cheek formed on Raj's face. "You're a smart girl, Mallory. I know you'll do well on your own. Daddy has to go away now."

She shook her head, more tears welling at her bottom eyelids. "No, you can't!"

"I don't have a choice, sweetie. Use that money wisely. Buy food you need and find cheap inns that'll let you sleep for as long as you need. If you can find a spring somewhere, use that for drinking water. Never drink any water that looks dirty right away. Boil it first, and let it cool down. Try to work for money if you can. And, I just need you to promise me..." Raj squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back more tears, and opened them back up. "Swear to me that you won't be as stupid as I was and hold on to your own life! Keep living, even if you feel like giving up! No matter what, just stay alive!"

Mallory sobbed more, starting to accept her father's words. "I will, I swear I'll keep living!"

Raj held the girl tighter than he ever had before. "That's my baby girl," he whispered in her ear.

"Alright," Eagle Eye's voice cut through the scene, "that's enough. Time to go."

One of Eagle Eye's men tried to pull Raj off of his daughter, but Mallory would not let go. "No!" she screamed. "Stop it!"

"You have to let go for now, baby!" Raj pleaded.

Another man grabbed Mallory from behind and pulled her away. Her grip came off of her father as she reached for him. "Let us go!"

"We'll see each other again, Mallory!" Raj declared. "Just wait!"

"Daddy!" Mallory screamed again.

"Goodbye..." he called softly, as he was shoved into the back of the wagon with the barrel of tokens.

"No!" Mallory shouted as her arm got yanked by the man holding her back.

"Boss!" the man called to Eagle Eye. "What do you want us to do with this one?"

Eagle Eye looked down at the frantic little girl and back at his men standing near her. "Just drop her off somewhere that isn't bustling with criminals, and make sure it's far from here. Wouldn't want her trying to follow us, now would we?"

Mallory looked up at Eagle Eye. All of her sorrow, all of her anguish in that moment then turned into concentrated rage. It was even more than that, actually. There was a burning hatred in her heart that started to rise up. She had never felt like this before. Her face transformed into an almost demonic scowl. She clenched her teeth and balled her fists. Her nails dug into the palms of her own hands. Her breathing became snake-like hisses between her gritted teeth, and without thinking, she chomped down on her restrainer's wrist.

The man yelled and reeled back in pain, losing his grip on the girl.

In her moment of freedom, she quickly leaped towards Eagle Eye with speed she did not know she had.

Eagle Eye grinned in her face and raised a fist. He conked her on the head while she was still in midair, and she fell to the ground dazed. Eagle Eye looked down at her and chuckled. He rubbed his knuckles. "This one's really got some fight in her, huh? Not a bad idea to send this one far from here."

Mallory laid on the ground, blinking slowly, trying to retain her consciousness. "You won't get away with this..." she muttered.

"But I already have, pup," Eagle Eye responded. He looked at his man whose wrist had been wounded by the girl. "Shake it off. Pick her up and throw her in your wagon. She won't be fighting back for a while now."

The man winced and walked over to the girl. He picked her up and carried her to the other wagon.

Mallory rose her head to try and shoot a final glare at Eagle Eye. Eagle Eye met her gaze before hopping into his own wagon and called to her, "Chin up, pup! I'm sure with that money you got, now, you can finally buy yourself a nice hunk of cherry pie!"

Mallory furrowed her brow as her eyes got very big. Has he been watching us?

Eagle Eye and some of his men took off on their wagon. The man dumped Mallory into his wagon and grumbled obscenities under his breath. He and another man climbed into the front of the wagon and each one grabbed the reins for each horse. They pulled the reins and they took off towards the sunset.

Mallory tried her best to stay awake, but the blow to her head kept her dazed. "Give him back," she muttered with slurred speech. A moment afterwards, she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

***