He blinks slowly and takes a deep breath. “It was inevitable. She never liked me, said I looked too much like my dad. He left us high and dry before I could even talk. It just so happened to play out the way it did.” His fingers glide down his chest and rest over the scar.
I don’t understand how he can be so calm and accepting of what happened, but I’m glad that he’s made his peace with it.
“Let’s find that place to rest, hm?” he says dismissively and I nod, worried I’ve upset him.
Cameron leads as we move through the forest. He’s so quiet that I find myself forgetting he’s there every few minutes. Thewoods have become a silent hum of winter, and not even the mice seem to stir.
I’m glad we’re looking for a place to rest for at least thirty minutes and recharge a little. Eventually, we come across a hollowed stump. Cameron checks it and nods at me. “You should be able to sleep for a bit in here.”
I manage to slip inside of it. It’s spacious enough that when I lean back on the side, I’m entirely hidden. “What about you?” I ask, concerned about sleeping while people are actively out there looking for us.
He shakes his head. “I’m fine.” He looks me over once more before disappearing. Cameron is deathly quiet wherever he goes. I know he’s not roaming too far, but I wish he would stay.
The moment my chin falls against my chest I fall asleep.
I wake up feeling like only a few minutes have passed, but the sky has lightened considerably.Crap.I didn’t want to sleep that long. Frost is layered on my lashes, but my body is warm enough from my gear that I’m not trembling. I guess the drill sergeant wasn’t lying about the suits having heat capsules.
I listen to the forest as it slowly regains life.
A distinct snap of a branch alerts me. It’s close, somewhere to my left.
It’s not Cameron, that much I know. I watch from the hole in the trunk with my hand wrapped tightly around my combat knife.
A sharp scream rolls through the treetops in the distance and the footsteps quicken, only they’re coming straight for the hollow I’m currently hiding in.
I have no choice but to kill this person.
I move swiftly to the center of the opening, preparing to jump from the hollow and fight to death. They freeze in place and stare at me like they can see their demise coming. I’m about to chuckmy knife straight at their heart but my gaze catches theirs. They have a familiar coldness to them.
“Bree?” I mumble, and her chest immediately deflates with relief. She’s already running for the hollow before I can lower my knife. She grips both ends of the opening and searches me.
“You hurt?” Her tone is urgent.
I shake my head. “I was resting.”
She gives me aare-you-fucking-insanelook. “Come on, you’ll get stabbed to death in here if you stay.” She offers me her hand to assist me out. I take it and climb out in one fell move.
I consider telling her that Cameron wouldn’t allow it, but decide to leave him out of it. My eyes search the area.Where the fuck is he, anyway?
“Were you separated from your group?” I ask, looking around warily for Damian. I’m still uncertain about her too, but I doubt she’ll try anything in the first trial.
She nods. “Everything went to shit the moment the drill sergeant started the countdown. I didn’t expect them to pull something like this, but it makes sense. If this was a real mission and we were separated, we should know one another more than anyone else.”
As much as I hate to credit the Dark Forces, she’s right. There’s really not a better way to teach us a cruel lesson. It’s no problem for them since they only need a handful of the best.
I’m glad I recognized her cold stare.
I glance down at my watch. Seventy still remain.Damn it. Not many people have been eliminated since last night.
“We need to kill twenty more people, otherwise we’re leaving things up to chance,” I say. My stomach churns and twists from hunger and dread. At least I’m not as tired as I was earlier.
Bree’s dark eyes find mine again. “I’m guessing you don’t like leaving things to chance, do you?” She sets a fast, but quiet pace, leading away from the earlier shouts.
“Of course not. Look at where I am,” I say flatly.
She smirks, her mask alluding as much. “I’m not a chance gal either. So let’s try to stay hidden and find a group of cadets we can take out if it comes down to it.”
There’s a sense of guilt that festers inside my chest at the thought of hunting and stalking other cadets in case we need to level out the numbers. But at least she isn’t outright wanting to end them as fast as she can.
