A henchman

To Valerie's surprise, a henchman burst out from behind her. "Freeze!", he barked, his weapon raised and pointed at her.

She stopped in her tracks, raising her hands. She had to be careful, or he could seriously wound or even kill her. He approached her, grabbing her at the throat and turning her around. She felt his gun at the side of her head. He began to pat her body, likely searching for concealed weapons.

He undid the zipper of her jacket, likely intending to search the pockets. "Target...", he began to speak into his walkie-talkie.

Suddenly, he cried out in pain. He loosened his grip on her, trying to grab at something on his back.

Valerie craned her neck slightly, and saw the offending object - a crossbow bolt, lodged on his shoulder. His t-shirt was beginning to turn a dark red near where the bolt had lodged itself, it's tip piercing through the henchman's entire body. That had to have hurt, to say the least.

"Who's there?", he screamed, his voice distorted by pain. The bolt had hit him on the side that was holding his gun, causing him to drop his weapon. His other hand was grabbing her jacket, but she sensed that his grip wasn't as firm as it was a moment ago - and a moment was all she needed.

She quickly freed her arms from the jacket, slipping out of it and running in the opposite direction.

The guard let out a surprised sound, but before he could try and aim at her, she heard the slightest whistling noise in the distance, followed by a thump. The henchman fell limply on the ground, another bolt hitting him directly in the chest.

She had no idea who had shot the guard - not that she cared to find out. All she knew was that she needed to get the hell away from here.

She ran as fast as she could, for as long as she could. A few other times, she heard cries of pain in the distance. She didn't bother to stop, continuing to run until her legs were sore and she was completely out of breath.

She stopped, catching her breath as she leaned with her back against a tree. It was getting a little late, as the sun was beginning to set. She hoped she had put enough distance between herself, her captors, and whoever else was in the forest.