I spin around, lunging forward and shoving the fistful of stinging nettle in her face and waving them around, covering her as much as I can. She screams, the banshee-like sound lighting up the night as she stumbles backward, her foot catching on a tree root, sending her backward onto the ground.
I drop the bushes, not wasting a damn second.
Then I run, fighting with the undergrowth and trees, unable to see anything but outlines. A branch whips across my face, forcing me back, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Brynn!” Sarah’s shrieking forces me forward again, one step at a time, blind and stumbling. Toward what? I don’t know. I’m not sure what direction I’m going. If I’m moving closer to town or further away. What if I’m just going deeper into the woods?
“I’m not even sure there’s a reason,” I admit without thinking. “Whether I’m running away from that life, or running toward a new one.”
Grizz is quiet for a beat, and I’m sure I’ve lost him with my rambling.
“Maybe it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re moving.”
As long as I’m moving.
I just have to keep moving.
BANG.
My body jolts, my heart leaping up into my throat, making it even harder to breathe.
She’s shooting.
She’s going to?—
Then up ahead, I see a flurry of colors peeking through the trees.
Fireworks.
BANG.
More colors in the sky.
In front of me in the distance, probably at the Krampus Parade.
I keep moving, one foot in front of the other. It doesn’t matter where I’m going, I just have to keep moving. Keep fighting. If I keep away from her for long enough, it will give time for Grizz to find me.
“Brynn!” Sarah calls, her tone different than what it was moments ago. “Brynn! Don’t make me come after you!”
My breathing is heavy, my body is frozen—I’m running on adrenaline. It’s the only thing keeping me going. Well, not the only thing.
Jovie.
Grizz.
The thought of the future I’ve already imagined with the three of us.
I can’t give up on that. It’s worth fighting for!
“Brynn!” Suddenly, the forest lights up so bright, it’s as if the sun is within the trees. “You shouldn’t have run.”
I spin around, and all I can see is this bright white light beaming at me, blinding me.
A flashlight.
“You shouldn’t have run,” she repeats, and while I can’t see her. I don’t need to, to know what’s about to happen next.
BANG.
