“No, it was you, it had to be, who else could it have been?”
I watch from less than a foot away as he makes the connection and realises that the killers he was looking for was right there in front of him.
He tries to move his arm, but he can’t lift them. He looks down and sees the syringe I’ve emptied into his leg.
“I’m really sorry, Kendall, but I just can’t let you live.”
He swallows hard, convulsively.
I turn with him as he tries to move, but he can’t, and he falls sideways. I pick up the scalpel and move it several feet away from him.
“You are in for an absolute treat, Marrow. I’ve got an emergency pack hidden here, and you and I are going to spend some real quality time together.”
“No,” he slurs.
“Oh, yes.”
He tries to crawl away. I just crouch there and watch his pitiful attempts. When he collapses and starts crying, I laugh.
“Damn, it’s a good day to be alive. Enjoy the beautiful day, my strange friend. I promise, it’s going to be your last.”
Kendall passes out, and I walk off to find my pack so I can really get things started.
Vale
The path is mapped out in my head, and I follow the markers, but after an hour, I pause, glancing back at Cyn, because something doesn’t feel right. There’s this uneasy sense that I have missed something important.
The rage wants me to just react, but my much more sinister nature demands that I not make a single mistake.
“Which way?”
He points northwest.
The river is between us and them. I know exactly where we can cross. We pass the first camp where we spent a very traumatic evening with the smell of burning vomit. I dive down that path she took us, almost running, and leap into the river. The current is stronger than before and the water higher from all the rain we’ve had, but I get across easily and turn, grabbing Cyn’s hand and hauling him out of the current. Rory grabs Kota and drags him up onto solid ground.
Now I stand where the body of that camper was found. It seems like an ill omen. I shove those thoughts down and reach out along the bonds. They are shut, not even a shiver of feeling from her.
“Let’s go,” I snarl, enraged.
The world turns to a blur, but my mind is razor sharp, taking in information and methodically filing it with details, like I always do.
We run in silence, making as little noise as possible. Our clothes go from wet to damp to dry, and there is still no sign of them.
“Where are they, Cyn?”
“Ahead of us,” Cyn hisses in annoyance.
Kota grunts and then leaps up on a boulder, looking ahead. “What if they are on the river?”
We should have gained on them. We should have caught them, so this makes sense and just further frustrates me. Any time we gained, we’ve lost because none of us thought of it.
And every second he has her, there’s a chance that she might be hurt, dying, or needing us.
Rory turns, looking up at Kota.
“Cyn, is it possible?” I ask. “Are they getting ahead using the river?”
“That they are using the river to get there faster? Yes. Very possible, explains how they are so far ahead of us. I should have thought of that. Shit.”
