The lake is ice-cold,stealing my breath as I break the surface, gasping.Where are they?
“Emma! Ella!” My voice is hoarse, panic clawing up my throat. The water is vast, black, endless.
Then—a splash. A choked sob.
I whip toward the sound. Emma’s head bobs a few feet away, arms flailing wildly.
But Ella… Ella is sinking.
I dive. My hands slash through the dark, grasping at nothing. Then—fabric. Hair. I yank her up, breaking the surface as she coughs, gasping for air.
I have them.
I crush them against me, kicking hard to stay afloat. “I’ve got you, babies. Hold on.”
Emma sobs into my shoulder. Ella clings to me, shaking, coughing.
Then, Jason’s voice shreds through the night.
“Mia! You think the water can save you?”
I twist, trying to spot him. His voice echoes off the trees, impossible to place.
Emma whimpers. Ella’s fingers dig into my skin.
We have to move.
The current pulls at us, dragging us away from shore. I scan the waterline, searching for anything. We’ll never make it to the other side of the lake.
I drag the girls through the water, every muscle screaming, lungs burning. The shore is close. Just a little further.
Emma clings to my neck, legs tight around my waist. Ella’s grip is a vise on my arm, her body shaking violently against mine. The moment my feet find the rocky bottom, I haul them up, pushing forward until we collapse against the damp earth.
We can’t stay here.
The cliff looms above us, the same one we jumped from. If we can’t see Jason, there’s a good chance he can’t see us, either. I press the girls into the shadows beneath a cluster of boulders, bodies still dripping, breathing ragged.
A shot rips through the trees. Birds explode into the sky.
Emma muffles a scream against my shoulder.
“That was a warning!” Jason calls, his voice slithering through the dark. “Next one won’t be.”
Ella’s tiny fingers twist into my shirt, her breath hot against my ear. “Mommy?” she whispers.
I cup the back of her head, pressing a kiss there. “Shh, baby,” I murmur. “Stay small. Stay quiet.”
My heart pounds in my throat as I listen. Jason is close. Too close.
I haul the girls deeper into the ravine, legs shaking from cold and exhaustion. The terrain works in our favor, with its thick underbrush, jagged rocks, and the tangled remains of fallen trees. It’s damp, the smell of wet earth and moss filling my lungs.
The girls are spent, their small bodies trembling in my arms.
I scan for cover.There.A massive tree lies uprooted, its gnarled roots forming a hollow beneath the trunk. It’s not much, but it will have to do.
I crawl in first, making sure the space is deep enough, then gently guide the girls inside.
Emma clings to my sleeve. “Mommy, I don’t?—”
