“Did you really think you’d get away?” Travis yells, running towards me with a bow in his hands.
Shit, shit, shit.
I quickly grab my machete and bag of supplies, tossing Paws inside before I take off running toward the other side of the lighthouse. Travis doesn’t seem to be a fast runner, so maybe I can get around the loop and head into the trees for cover as he tries to catch up to me.
“You can run, but you can’t hide!” Travis shouts. “ Oh Teagaaaaan,” his voice takes on a creepy sing-songy tune, making my insides quiver.
His voice bounces through the air, making it impossible to pinpoint exactly where he is. I refuse to waste time turning around to look. An arrow whizzes by, landing in the sand a few feet to my right. I keep running, holding the bag tight to my chest with one hand, and pray Paws is okay. My other hand grips the machete. The forest is so close. The darkness beckons me to run faster.
I scream as another arrow grazes me and tears my flesh. Hot, searing pain ignites in my shoulder as I enter the tree-line.
But I’m not safe yet.
I dive behind a large tree and hold my hand to my mouth, stifling another sob. My entire body convulses while my heart threatens to pound right out of my sternum. Angry tears stream down my face as I struggle to breathe evenly.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Travis coos from somewhere close. Much, much too close for comfort. I cease breathing when I hear the crunch of his footsteps over the fallen leaves on the forest floor. He’s only yards away from me.
All the noises in the forest come to a halting stop.
“I give you props, princess. You used your little boy toy to send me on a fool’s errand. He really did try to save you.” More branches nearby break under his hulking weight. “But I’m not as stupid as the rest of them. Ileft a trail of arrows so I could find my way back to you, just in case he turned on me. He’ll be lucky to survive the night in that stupid garden once I’m through with you.”
Quinn.
I search the forest floor around me like I can somehow find the breadcrumbs that’ll lead me to him. The garden is nowhere near here, but at least now I know where to find him.
I’ve gotten so many of them murdered today.
It’s my fault. All of this death is because of me.
Amber.
David.
Ahmed.
Iwon’tlet Quinn die because of me.
Travis lets out an angry howl. “WHERE ARE YOU!”
Nobody else will die because of me.
I quietly place my bag on the ground, hoping and praying that Paws will stay quiet just a little bit longer.
Gripping the machete tightly, I pull myself to a standing position and peek around the tree.
Travis is standing about three yards away with a devilishly hateful grin on his face. “There you are, little princess.”
I have to end this. End him.
Flashing my own smile right back at him, I crook my finger at him. “Come and get me then.”
Travis doesn’t hesitate before he runs toward me at a full sprint. I plant my foot and wait until he’s only feet away from me before I swing the machete with full force at him. He runs right through it. The thunk of his head hitting the forest floor reverberates through my entire body.
Chapter twenty
My eyes linger on Travis’s decapitated body.
I look down at him in disgust and find that I don’t have a single regret. I told myself I could never kill a human, but I sure as fuck have no problem killing a monster like him.
