The arrow strikes the water behind the raft, where Allie and I were only moments earlier. It cuts through the surface then disappears.
Leo lets the tune drop, grunting.
A second arrow flies, then a third. They punch through the side of the raft, the neon green surface dimpling inward around the shafts.
Then a fourth arrow, a fifth, a sixth, slice into the dummies just as the raft slips into the falls, disappearing over the edge.
Even with the din of the pounding water and my blood thumping in my ears, the loudest sound is the silence that follows.
There’s not a single scream from inside the boat. No cries of distress as the raft flips end over end onto the first row of jutting boulders, flinging dummies overboard, their parts scattering like shrapnel as they sail through the air and are swallowed by the spray. The raft slams down one final stair step of rocks before continuing into the abyss.
But the eerie silence doesn’t last long.
I lock eyes with Allie as a sound rips through the air that makes my blood run as cold as the river water. Something between a laugh and a scream.
“You fucking bitches!”
39
Sandals scrape stone as Leo spins away from the edge above us and runs. He isn’t moving toward Allie and me, but back along the outcropping—back toward the portage trail.
Toward Macy, Pam, Deborah, and Imani.
“Oh god,” Allie breathes beside me, her voice rising in panic. “Oh shit, ohshit!”
“Come on,” I hiss, pressing my body against the canyon wall and inching along the slick, sheer rock toward the narrow strip of sand where the trail begins.
It isn’t far away, but the handholds in the canyon wall are difficult to find in the deepening dark. I squint hard, scanning for the nearly invisible divots in the rock. And each time I grab onto a new handhold and let go of the last, I slap the wall to show Allie where to follow.
“There! Hurry!” I say, amazed that I have any strength left to pull myself forward.
When my feet finally feel sand beneath them, I realize it’s the first solid ground they’ve touched in nearly twenty-four hours.
On shaking legs, I stumble through the shallows toward the beach, where Leo’s gear raft is parked on the shoreline. Is he planning to drag it by himself along the portage trail after he kills all of us?
Then I wonder: Is there any way Allie and I could use it? Maybe send it over the falls in hopes that it’ll survive the plunge?
No.I already know we aren’t going to be able to lift it, even with the two of us. The raft is too heavy, and we’re too exhausted. It’s a miracle our bodies haven’t given out already. I’m pretty certain Leo can’t do it alone, either. Leo is strong, but notthatstrong. So whatishis plan?
There isn’t time to wonder. We have to get moving, catch up with him before he reaches the others.
I haul myself out of the water on shaking legs, with Allie right behind me, and whip my head toward the rocky outcropping looming above us.
It’s empty now.
As we rush to the mouth of the portage trail—the only path forward—the sound of the falls fades slightly, blocked by the rocky outcropping. That’s when my ears pick up the clatter of rocks ahead.
Leo.
I hesitate. Should we hang back a little longer before following him?
“No. Hurry,”Parker whispers, urging me forward.
“Keep going,” I whisper to Allie, even as I try to get my own leaden legs to run faster. “But keep quiet. I don’t think Leo knows we’re behind him.”
The narrow portage path winds between house-sized boulders and gnarled pines that offer little cover. Allie trails close behind me, trying to keep up, muffling her gasping breaths with her hands. We move as quietly as we can, bent low, every footfall sending small rocks skittering.
My lungs burn, and my legs tremble with each step. I can’t think beyond Parker’s voice in my ear, urging me to keep going.
