"Stop!" Diane's plea was sharp, a knife-edge of panic. “Stop talking.”
"Can't do that," I shot back, voice even, breath measured.
Will lunged at me again. The cabin's cramped space turned into a battleground of shadows and flickering light, every move calculated, every breath a measure of life or death. I feinted left and dodged right, putting precious inches between us. Will's heavy breathing filled the room, a bull snorting steam, ready to charge again. But I had my gun, and as I raised it, they finally backed off.
"Think about this!" I warned them, the agent in me still seeking resolution over violence. "It's not too late to surrender."
"Never," Will spat and lunged again.
I caught his wrist, twisted—hard—and heard the grunt of pain as he recoiled. Diane hesitated, torn between aiding Will and fleeing. I pushed Will back, not wanting to hurt him, then lifted the gun again. I grabbed my phone, wanting to call for help. I managed to dial 911, but in that moment I looked away, Diane was the one who made a fatal decision. She grabbed the fire poker and swung it at me. Pain shot through my head, and the fall to the wooden floors made me drop my gun. For a fewseconds, all I saw were stars, and as I rose up on my arms, trying to steady myself, Diane was holding my gun, pointing it at me.
“Think of it,” she said, addressed to Will. “She’s the only one who knows. I bet she came all this way alone without telling anyone where she was going. I say we kill her now and bury her in the woods.”
Will hesitated, then said, “They’ll be able to trace her phone.”
“You’re right. We’ll take it with us when we leave and drop it somewhere else, far away from here. They might track it to this place eventually, but no one knows we were even here, and we’ll be in California by then.”
“Okay,” Will said with a nod. “Do it.”
Diane pointed the gun at my head, then hesitated for a second. That was all I needed.
A surge of adrenaline propelled me forward. I bolted for the door, heart pounding. Will and Diane screamed behind me, and the gun went off, the bullet hitting the doorframe next to me.
It shocked me, yes, but I didn’t stop.
The cold slap of rain hit my face as I burst outside, freedom just strides away. Behind me, I heard the crash of a chair hitting the floor, Diane's cursing, and Will's enraged shout. But I was already moving, sprinting down the muddy path, determined to end this, to get out of there alive.
Chapter 35
Rain pelted my face,and the world became a blur of gray and green as I pounded down the path. I couldn’t get to the car since I had dropped my jacket in the cabin when falling, and the keys were in the pocket. I had to get away on foot—hide somewhere or find help. I could hear their voices as they tried to catch up with me.
My sneakers slipped in the mud, but I didn't slowdown. Branches whipped at my face, stinging like accusations. I could hear Will's heavy footsteps sloshing through the muck behind me, Diane's breathless calls growing fainter.
"Stop her!" Diane bellowed, her voice carrying an edge of terror that only the guilty can muster.
I knew this terrain, the treacherous dips and deceptive turns. As a child, I'd conquered these woods playing hide-and-seek with ghostly shadows when my mom brought me to visit Diane. Now, the game was deadly serious.
"Give it up, Eva Rae!" Diane's plea sounded distant, almost lost in the roar of the storm.
"Sorry," I muttered to the wind, "can't do it."
A fallen log loomed ahead, slick with rain, a natural barrier I remembered well. I hurdled over it without breaking stride, hearing the thud of Will's body slamming into the obstacle. His curse sliced through the storm.
"Dammit, Eva Rae!"
Ahead was the narrow bridge over the creek, its planks treacherous with moss. I took it at a run, each step a gamble. Behind me, a shout of warning—too late. I heard the sound of splintering wood and a splash. Diane had missed her footing.
"Help!" Her voice was pitched high with panic, fighting to get back up. She managed to pull herself out of the river, and soon she was after me again.
"Keep going," I commanded myself, heart racing. I couldn't afford the distraction.
The path forked, and I veered left toward rocky ground where the trees grew dense. Roots snaked across the path, tripwires for the unwary. I danced between them, agile despite the urgency clawing at my chest.
"Rae!" The call came from above. Will had gained higher ground, trying to cut me off.
"Nice try," I gasped, banking sharply to the right, my wet hair plastered against my skin. The incline steepened. Loose stones rolled beneath my feet, but I kept my balance, always moving.
"God damn you, Eva Rae!" Will's voice cracked with desperation. He was close, too close.
