My biggest desire is to prove that she is, in fact, wrong.
I’m sorry to say the rest of you were brought here under pretenses to help me fulfill that desire. It’s a shame to involve so many sacrificial lambs in my quest to be proven right, but, alas, what must be done must be done.
There is hope for you, though.
Whoever turns on her and kills her first will be granted complete immunity from my fun little game. They will also be allowed to choose one friend to leave this island unharmed.
Kill her, and live.
Fail, and you die.
Best of luck,
A.M. Pierce
My mouth gapes open in shock as I reread the letter. What kind of monster would put something like this together because of some stupid comment I made on a pointless podcast?
Who is this Pierce guy, really, and why would anyone sign up tohelphim plan this demented shit?
How does this warrant killing people? Killing me? He really enlisted people to kill to survive.
To killme.
I freeze when I feel Lee move next to me.
“Lex,” Lee whispers, his hand curling tighter around the knife. I look up at him, waiting for the blow. He’s read the note now, too, and he knows that he can save himself and Capri if he eliminates me.
Maybe that’s what I deserve. Maybe by sacrificing myself, I can save my friends. I can do this for them. After everything I’ve done to hurt Teagan, I can give her this. Capri deserves a life with Lee, especially after how he’s helped me today.
I love them enough to give them this.
They deserve to be happy.
I’m a murderer now. I don’t deserve anything good in this world anymore.
“Just do it,” I plead, hiccuping as I choke back a sob. Hot, salty tears stream down my cheeks. “Do it and save Capri. Please. Save Capri, yourself, and Teagan. Please. Get them out of here. Get them to safety.”
His expression is unreadable as he raises the knife. He tosses it over the edge and pulls me into a firm embrace, hugging me tightly until we are both crying uncontrollably.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him. “I didn’t know it was him. I didn’t know it was Lochlan. I would never hurt him. Hurt anyone.”
Lee hugs me tighter. “I know. I know. And we are going to kill Pierce. Together. We areallgetting off this island and going home.”
A branch snaps behind us. We break apart quickly, and I immediately move into a fighting stance.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that if I were you.”
The Axeman steps out of the forest and tosses a canister towards us. It explodes with a loud pop and gas sprays out. The smoke brings tears to my eyes, and I lose control of my senses and fall to the floor. The world turns hazy as the Axeman laughs.
The last thing I see before I pass out is him hovering over me and removing his mask.
“You,” I gasp out in shock.
He smiles that tantalizing smile down at me and gently caresses my cheek. “Me.”
Chapter twenty-six
No! No! Please stop!
