~Diana~

Diana awoke with the sun. The light entered her makeshift tent and warmed her skin. She yawned and stretched, strolling outside. 

She passed by a lump of clothes, making her way to the river to fix her hair in the reflection of the water. The current had calmed since last night, and was now moving lazily.

Suddenly, the lump of clothes moved to reveal none other than Cole Walker. He yawned as he got up, rubbing his eyes. "Morning already?" he asked grumpily. 

Diana sighed. "Get up. We've got a long day ahead of us." she informed him, going back into her tent and packing up her supplies.

"Long day of what? Travelling aimlessly through the forest?" Cole was at her doorway now. She glared at him.

"We're going to find out who that man was, and why he wanted to kill us. We're going to confront the Huntress, whoever that may be. Now, give me some privacy. I brought an extra set of clothes, and I'm going to change into them." she explained, shooing him away and pulling out the clothes from her bag.

Something strange was happening in the city. She had noticed it a few weeks ago. The attacks were becoming more and more frequent. And each time, they singled Diana out. They singled her out by putting the entire city in danger.

The last time it had happened was the fire. The fire in those little towns. Whoever was behind the fire was probably behind the other attacks too. They must have wanted the vigilante to come out from hiding. They used the villagers' lives as bait to lure her into the open; study her closely; figure out her weaknesses. She hid behind a mask, she didn't want anyone to know who she was. The people behind these attacks wanted to expose her.

And the man in the clearing. She needed answers. Somebody - no, the Huntress, had shot him with an arrow. Who was this Huntress? Was she a friend or a foe? Was she one to be trusted?

Diana finished dressing and went outside to see Cole standing in front of the water, staring at it deeply. She snapped her fingers in his face and something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone the next second.

"Let's go." she told him, adjusting her bag and leaving the shelter behind them. She could hear Cole walking behind her.

The morning breeze was cool and the leaves were red and yellow and orange. Diana and Cole stepped over logs and fallen branches. The leaves crunched underneath them. The air smelt of pine and wood, and Diana had to put on her leather jacket to keep herself from shivering so often.

"This forest is huge." Cole piped up from her side. "No one is allowed to venture inside of it because if you get lost, you'll never find your way out. They say the forest holds many dangers within. Wolves, and worse. And since we've been walking around with no destination in mind, it seems to me that we're lost. How are we going to survive if we're stuck here?"

Diana's legs gave in and she sat down on a rather large rock. She sighed. "If we're stuck here, we're stuck. We won't find our way out. That's why we need to find this Huntress."

Cole sat down on the log across from her, pushing around some dirt with his shoe. "Do you want to know how I got here?"

The question caught Diana off guard. She leaned forward, interested. Cole never did tell her what he was doing in the forest the first day they had met. "How?"

"I was looking for someone. My sister." he told her, measuring her reaction. It was obvious that this guy was having a hard time trusting her. 

"She ran away?" Diana guessed.

"No." he sighed, opening up. "Look, four years ago, my father murdered my mother. I ran away to my best friend's house, Liam Jones. His family took me in and treated me like a second son. I was happy there. Until two weeks ago, I thought I could put everything behind me. But that's when I found out that Liam's dad was working with my dad. I was betrayed by two families. Apparently, I had a sister that I never knew about. He kidnapped her and was going to kidnap me as well. They needed something from us, and they were going to kill us right after they got it. So I grabbed a bag, gun, my jacket, and ran."

"The next day, I spent the hours tracking down my father. That night, I cornered him in a house down in Zehl Alley. I forced him to tell me where my sister was. He refused to tell me until I held the gun to his forehead and had my finger on the trigger. But it was to no use. He had already gotten me so angry, I killed him anyway. I had no choice."

"Then I went to find my sister. Before he died, my dad told me that she was being held in the house across the street. However, when I got there, all I saw was an untied rope and two angry men. My sister had already escaped. I killed the two guys, but that isn't the end of it. One of them put a tracking device on her, and now she's in danger." 

Diana listened to every word. It was a lot to take in. It explained why Cole had a gun when they first met, and why he looked dangerous. It explained his lack of trust. It explained the ordeal with the dying man, Zane. Why Cole wouldn't help him, why he protected her from him. The boy was a murderer, yes, but wasn't she also? She was a vigilante, she did what she had to do to protect the innocent. Maybe Diana didn't kill as much as Cole did, but she did kill some, and didn't that make her a murderer as well?

"Wow. Cole, I'm so sorry." she told him.

Cole blinked. "What?"

"What do you mean, what?" Diana asked, afraid she had said something wrong.

"It's just...aren't you going to yell? Or scream? I'm a murderer, Diana. I kill people. Aren't you going to run away, call the police? Or at least leave me on my own?" he asked, disbelieving.

"I guess that's what normal people do, huh?" Diana said, staring into the distance. "Cole, I'm not the goody two-shoes you think I am. I have a history of my own, and it's not exactly pretty either. I've dealt with murderers before, but you, you're my friend, Cole. You did what you had to do to protect yourself and your sister. I can't judge you for that, considering - "

"Considering what?" Cole asked suddenly, his eyes lighting up. Diana covered her mouth.

Considering I'm the vigilante.

"I'm...I can't tell you, Cole. I just can't. I'm really sorry." she told him. She couldn't tell anyone her secret. No one could no she was the vigilante. That would put not only herself but also that person in extreme danger.

"Oh. I see how it is." Cole said shortly. He got up from the log and brushed off his pants. "See you, Diana."

"Wait...it's not like that Cole! You don't know!" She yelled desperately.

"Oh, I know, Diana Robyns. I know a lot more than you think." Cole glared at her. Diana had never seen this side of Cole. His eyes were iced over and his voice was murderous. For the first time, Diana was scared of him. "Because it's okay for me to tell you all my life-threatening secrets, but the minute it comes to your secrets, suddenly you can't trust me! I don't trust anyone in this world, Diana. But I trusted you with the one secret that puts me and my sister in jeopardy. After everything I've been through, I trusted you, and now you leave me hanging off the edge of a cliff like this!"  Cole shouted at her, grabbing his bag with so much force, something came flying out. 

"Cole, NO!" she yelled. "WAIT!"

But he wouldn't wait. He kept walking off into the distance, his figure retreating.

Diana ran as fast as she could, jumping over more logs and dodging trees and bushes. She finally caught up with him and spun him around, looking him dead in the eye.

"Cole...I'm the vigilante." she whispered.

A stinging silence filled the air as Cole stared at her with cold, calculating eyes. Diana shifted uncomfortably under his menacing gaze, wondering if she made the right choice by telling him her true identity. His mouth opened and closed but he was speechless, shocked. A solid five minutes and twelve seconds - yes, she was counting - passed by before he finally spoke.

"Well, I guess we're not on the same side then, right? Murderer," he pointed to himself, "and vigilante," he gestured to her, "we're supposed to be enemies. See you around, Diana. It was cool getting to know you, but from here on, we're on opposite sides of the battlefield."

He stayed still in that position for one more second - long enough for Diana to see the tears he was fighting back - before he looked away. He turned his back on her and walked away, his footsteps receding. Diana didn't dare follow him this time. She could only stare as his retreating figure grew smaller and smaller, and eventually vanished out of sight.

Murderer and vigilante. Opposite sides of the battlefield.

Diana straightened up and grabbed her bag, adjusting her jacket and walking in the other direction. She didn't need Cole to take down her enemies and find her way out of here. She could find the Huntress just fine without him.

With this in mind, Diana walked in the direction opposite of the one in which Cole had just left, the only sounds being the birds in the trees, the rabbits rustling in the bushes, and the leaves crunching under her feet as she moved farther away from her new friend.

And yet she couldn't help but notice how quiet it had gotten without Cole Walker at her side.