"We were supposed to just leave her for a while. She'd get to the end and no one would be there to get her down, so then she'd have to get pulled back. I don't know what's going on, man!" Blane put his hands on his temples and dropped to the ground in panicked sobs.
"Who, Ruth?" Mitchell asked.
"No, you fuck, her!" Blane thrust his arm out, pointing to me.
I blinked. Me?
They'd been trying to prank me?
Did that mean...
The group went silent as everyone came to the same conclusion at the same time. That knife had been meant for me. The roar of a chainsaw nearby sent everyone into a panic.
"Run!" screamed Beth. Shrieks and screams from everyone spread through as we all darted into the woods, abandoning Ruth to the chainsaw that sounded like it was moving close and moving fast.
It was midnight, and the further I got from the campsite, the darker it got. There was no moonlight coming through the trees, and I had to rely on my eyes adjusting to plow through.
I realized I’d left Georgie, and turned to go back. I couldn’t abandon him!
"Dominooo..." A raspy voice called from somewhere.
I froze.
"Where are you?" The voice was deep, a male’s. Was it the masked man from before? The one I'd seen the night I kissed Koi? The roar of the chainsaw being revved pulled me back to reality. My foot caught under a root, and I fell, right into the damp dirt and leaves. I scrambled up and held back a cry of pain as I limped a few steps ahead. My knee on my short leg had taken most of the fall. I’d already been achy and exhausted from work and the trek up to the cliff. I wasn’t sure I could run anymore.
“Domino, come out! I just want to saw you in half!”
Pure terror flooded my system, and my body jerked forward. Tears streamed down my face, blinding me as I held my hands out to catch trees.
"You're not gonna get far. I can hear you,Little Doll."
Swayze. It was Swayze chasing me? Why?
My lungs screamed for oxygen as loudly as my heart and muscles. It couldn't be. There was no way. Did he mean to kill me? Stick a knife into me?
"Domino!" Swayze's voice came from feet away, and an arm reached out, snatching me by the wrist and tugging me toward him.
I thrashed around and screamed, "Help!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Swayze's hand went over my mouth. "Whoever's out there will hear you!"
My chest heaved as I took in his words. He wasn't the man with the chainsaw. The roar of the chain being revved once more sent a whimper from my throat but confirmed it. There was someone else out there.
"If I let you go, will you run?" He pressed me tightly to him. My chest was rising and falling hard. I shook my head vehemently.
"Are you going to scream?" he asked. He leaned in so close to me, the timbre of his voice vibrated against my neck, sending shivers through me. I shook my head again. "Good. Now, don't let go of my hand. I'm going to get us out of here."
Choking back my fear, I nodded. He dropped his hand from my mouth and let me go. I stepped away from the tree he'd held me against and stared at him. My eyes raked over him slowly. Right before the accident, Swayze had pulled me out of line. Almost as if he knew...
It was Koi.
He had been on the other side. He had known who was coming down at what time. Koi was Swayze's best friend, who probably knew that Swayze had called me Little Doll. Koi had blood on his mask.
Koi. Killed. Ruth.
Something in my expression must have tipped Swayze off. He raised his hands slowly. "Domino…" he warned. "Don't do this. If you panic?—"
I turned and ran the other way. I stumbled and scraped my arms and legs on the trees, but still, I could hear the sounds of others screaming, footsteps rushing, and of course, the chainsaw.
