“COME AND GET ME, LEXI!” the Axeman shouts, his voice echoing from somewhere nearby.
Again with the taunting, but at least he’s telling me which direction to go in.
I might want to kill this man even if he wasn’t actually trying to murder us. Nobody teases me and gets away with it.
I clutch the axe tighter in my hands and run towards his voice.
“HELP! LEE! LEX!” Lochlan’s cries tie my stomach into knots as I race faster. My legs are throbbing in protest as I push them to the brink.
I’m so tired. So ready to lie down and let the earth consume my exhausted corpse of bones. I want to give up. My breathing comes out faster, labored as I resist the urge to cry.
But I won’t fail my friends.
I spot Lee leaning against a tree and give him a pained smile as I pass him. I can’t worry about him right now. Lochlan needs me more.
The tree-line opens before me, and I skid to a grinding halt as the cliff’s edge looms ahead. The same edge that we all fell over earlier.
Flashes of memory ignite behind my eyes, but I shake my head, clearing them away as I take in the sight before me.
The Axeman is standing there waiting for me. Alone.
“Where’s Lochlan?” I ask, my voice shaking as I struggle to catch my breath.
He holds his axe up and looks behind him, where the cliff’s edge sits menacingly behind him, before taking a step closer to me.
“No,” I gasp. Understanding crashes through my veins. “You pushed him. You killed him.”
The Axeman says nothing. He only raises his axe again.
“WHY?” I scream. “WHY? Lochlan was GOOD! He didn’t deserve this! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?”
Again, the Axeman only lifts his axe, his arm almost slightly jerking as he takes a hesitant step toward me.
The silence in my head is deafening.
Lochlan’s boyish grin. His mischievous green eyes and bright red hair. His nerdy logic and unfiltered sass. His kindness and friendship amidst all of this. His stupid lizard shoes that were starting to grow on me.
He killed someone to save my life.
And I wasn’t fast enough to save him.
No, no, no.
Lochlan, I’m so sorry.
My body is engulfed in flames. Tidal waves of grief and fury pour over me as I toss my axe to the ground next to me and run toward the Axeman. I let all my emotions flow out of me while I race at him with every ounce of strength I can muster, screaming, sobbing incoherently when my hands make contact with his body.
The last thing I see before he goes over the edge is the look of pure, unbridled panic and fear in his eyes.
Hisgreeneyes.
The sound of his body hitting the bottom resonates and echoes around me just before I hear the sound of someone clapping behind me.
I turn and see the real Axeman leaning against a tree. His blue eyes shining with mirth from behind his mask.
“Bravo, Lex,” he coos. “I told you I wasn’t done playing with you yet. Too bad you didn’t lethimplay longer. I think he might have chipped a piece of that armor you wear around your heart so well. You would have made a good match,” he muses. “Don’t worry, though. We will have more fun later. May your friend rest in peace.”
I watch in stunned silence as he turns and disappears into the forest.
