Ana jumped forward, the weight raised in the air.
No thinking. Do it. For Alex. For Raya.
Before she even got half the distance, before she could bring the weight down on him, Hunt stepped back, something dark and shiny in his hand. He was pointing a gun at her.
Ana dropped the weight heavily on the ground. It landed with a dullthwack. She froze, unsure what to do. She’d had her chance and blown it. He had her, he was too far away—if she ran at him, he would have all the time he needed to simply pull the trigger and the next hour would start. Her body would be left down here, unfound. The bunker would become her tomb.
“Nice try.” Hunt was laughing at her.Laughing.“Much as I have enjoyed our little chat, I must get going. I really don’t want to miss the finale. Now turn around and get down on your knees.”
The gun went up.
She considered refusing, but there would be nothing to stop him from shooting her right there and then. He clearly had no problem with killing teenagers. Reluctantly she turned around and dropped to the floor. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she listened for sound, aware that at any second, if he wanted to, he could pull the trigger and be done with her.
There was a rustle of movement. She felt her hands roughly pulled behind her and crudely zip-tied together. Then her ankles. The ties cut into her skin, but she didn’t care. Hunt half-dragged her back against the wall.
The gun’s cold, steely eye was directed at her face now. His finger rested on the trigger.
“Can I ask you something, Ana? After all of this…the motel, the Balloon Game…do you feel better?” Hunt’s expression was oddly soft. He must enjoy this part—the power he had over her.
She would not give him the satisfaction.
“Better?” she spat the word. “How can you say that? How? You have tortured us and killed us. You executed Raya, my best friend. You killed Benny and Caden and Jax. Now you’re trying to kill Alex. How dare you?How dare you?” She was shaking with fear or anger, she didn’t know or care which.
“That’s not answering the question. I’ve watched you for months, Ana. I’ve tracked everything you’ve done. I’ve seen you barely existing in a cloud of guilt and grief, struggling to even get out of bed and make it through each day. You destroyed your relationships, your grades, you threw away any future you might have had. All because you were broken, living under the shadow of guilt. All because in your heart, you believed that you killed your brother.”
Ana recoiled from him. She couldn’t do this. Not anymore.
“Go to hell!” It wasn’t sophisticated or clever. But she was spent. Every last ounce of her was done. Hunt wanted one last victory. He wanted more than death, he wanted to see her destroyed. She wasn’t playing anymore.
“One last time, Ana. Now that you’ve confessed your guilt, now that you’ve faced death once more, and actively chosen that you want to go on—do you feel better?”
The simple answer was yes. Yes, she had been pushed to the edge and chosen to fight. Yes, she had found Alex and Raya again. Yes, she was feeling more like herself than she had in a year, and yes—she had faced the consuming guilt that had been eating away at her every day. But for what? Only to have everything viciously ripped away again, to watch the only people in the world she loved suffer and die in this godforsaken hole.
“That’s what I thought.” Ana could sense his smugness; he wasproud of what he’d done here. He was enjoying his cruel game. Anger coursed through her, pushing away the fatigue. She was done playing.
“Go on, then. What are you waiting for?” Ana raised her chin defiantly and stared down the gun barrel. “Just do it.”
“As you wish, Ana Reyes. As you wish…”
She closed her eyes, grateful for the darkness. A numb sensation settled over her. Not fear. Just dullness, as though her senses were shutting down. The end of the road.
The roar was back, louder than ever. Crushing her. There were faint sounds, movements, but they were quickly lost in the all-consuming noise in her head. This time, she would let the roar take her, like an ocean wave crashing on the shore and pulling her back with it, away from life, into the sea. Into nothing. This last time, she would go willingly.
She thought of Danny. Is this what it felt like? Had he known that his time was up—that he was going to die? Did he hear the roar?Would she see him again?
Rustling, a creak, the strong smell of smoke. Fragments cutting through the noise. Why was she still alive? What was Hunt waiting for? Every nerve was on edge, waiting for the end. Would it hurt? Where would it hit her? Why was it taking so long?Just do it. Just fucking do it. Get it over with.
She almost turned. Almost opened her eyes to see. Almost.
A deafening crack reverberated off the walls. The sharp sound echoed around the bunker, fading away until there was nothing left.
39
Ana
24:05
Was it over? Was she dead? Ana scrabbled to pull her senses together, scanning her body for pain, but felt nothing. She was thinking—how could she be thinking if she was dead?
