Colleen grabbed my left arm and started dragging me toward the rear of the car. My right hand desperately tried to support my belly. I felt like my very life force was about to fall right out of me; I hoped I could hold it all in just a little bit longer.
As Colleen fished her car keys out of her scrubs, I heard a click as Madison cocked the gun again, readying for another shot. Max took another step toward her, reaching his bloody hand out, stretching as far as he could to try and grab her and keep her from shooting at me, but his grasp fell short, and another pop erupted in the air. I heard Colleen’s breath catch, and I whirled around in her direction.
Her face was frozen in a silent scream. She let go of my arm, dropped her keys, and immediately grabbed her right shoulder. Blood oozed between her fingers. She staggered backward, her back slamming into the side of the car. I watched in horror as she slowly slid to the ground, landing in a sitting position. The whole time, her eyes never left mine.
“Colleen!”
Her mouth hung open in shock as her eyes bore into mine.
Then I heard another loud bang and felt something whiz past my ear. I looked up to see Madison still pointing her gun at me, continuing to take slow steps in my direction, a focused but menacing look on her face. Finally, Max reached her. He grabbed at her hands, fighting for control of the gun, but Madison elbowed him in the side. “No! We can’t let them get away!”
I looked down at Colleen again, trying to think of any possible way I could help both of us escape as I held my heavy belly. Another contraction would be coming, any minute.
For one second, the world went eerily silent as Colleen and I stared into each other’s eyes, reading each other’s thoughts. Then I heard her whisper one solitary word.
“Go.”
That one word shattered my paralyzing fear and set me into action.
I will save my baby.
CHAPTER36
ISTEPPED OVERCOLLEEN’Ssplayed legs. Trying hard to fight against the gravity pressing down on me, I took off toward the surrounding woods.
“Get back here!” I heard Madison scream, then more sounds of a struggle.
Don’t look back! Just keep moving!
Adrenaline surged through my veins, helping me to ignore all the agonizing protests from my body. Pumping my legs as hard as I could, I managed to pick up a little bit of speed. The bottoms of my feet stung as I stumbled over sharp rocks and branches, weaving my way in between trees, trying to put as much distance between myself and Madison and Max as I could. Then I started to contract again.
I managed to slip behind a tall, wide redwood before my body exploded with pain. I clutched the underside of my belly with one hand, bracing against the tree’s trunk with my other. I pinched my mouth shut, biting down hard to hold my lips together, trying to keep from making any sound that would give away my hiding spot. It was a miracle I managed to remain standing, as fighting against the pain sucked every ounce of strength from every muscle in me. Breathing throughmy nose, I tried to make it through to the end as silently as possible.
The intense pain and the rush of blood in my ears nearly drowned out all other sounds around me as it reached its most intense point, but I could just make out the sound of leaves crunching and whispers coming from somewhere behind me. It was Madison and Max—they were searching for me.
“Did you hear what I said? Shoot her in the foot or the kneecap, just something to keep her from running. We don’t want to hurt the baby, Madison,” Max whisper-screamed.
“Okay, okay. I’ll go this way, you go around that way. She couldn’t have gotten far.”
Crunch crunch crunch.They were inching closer.
“Where are you, Savannah? Don’t be stupid—you can’t give birth in the middle of the forest,” Madison called out.
The contraction started to pass. I flattened myself against the backside of the tree, trying to stay out of sight.
Crunch crunch crunch.
“Savannah. Come on, we’re almost done here. The baby is about to be born, and then Max and I are out of here. Let’s just get this over with, okay?”
Over with.The gunshots Colleen and I had heard—had they shot Jenna? Was she dead?
There was no time to think about that now. I had to focus on my own escape, or I might be the dead one.
More footsteps—they were close. Any second now, one or both of them would come upon my tree and find me hiding behind it. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I shut my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, summoning all my energy, and then took off running.
My movements alerted them. My eyes desperately searched my surroundings for any signs of another cabin, a vehicle, lights, or even another big tree to hide behind—but then I heard the terrifying sounds ofclick,click,BOOM.
The noise startled me, and I stumbled in the thick brush. As my left hand clutched my belly, my right arm swung around frantically, flailing in the dark for something to grasp. Pain ripped through me as a tree branch smacked me right in the face, stabbing me in my right eye and scraping hard against my cheekbone. I reached up and grabbed it and held on for dear life as I finally managed to right myself. I moved behind a nearby tree, trying to catch my breath.
