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Everything hurts.

I start walking. Not running. I can't anymore.

I pick my way through the trees, moving parallel to the creek.

Maybe it'll lead to a road. A house. Something.

I don't know how long I’ve been walking. Time doesn't mean much anymore.

Then I see something through the trees. A structure.

My heart leaps. I move faster.

Please be a house.

Please have a person inside.

Please have a phone.

I push through a wall of brush.

It's not a house.

It's an old wooden shed.

Half the roof looks ready to collapse. One window is broken. The door hangs crooked.

Still, it’s cover.

I go inside.

The place smells like wet wood and dirt.

There's an old workbench. Rusty tools. A broken chair. Pieces of lumber.

My eyes land on a rusted tire iron beneath the bench.

“Oh, thank God.”

I grab it, holding it with both hands. It’s heavy and solid.

My arms shake. I don't care.

I move to the broken window and look outside.

Nothing.

For the first time since I woke up in Mercer's vehicle, I let myself breathe. Really breathe.

Roman is coming. I know he is. I just need to stay alive until he gets here.

A branch snaps outside.

I freeze.

My fingers tighten around the tire iron.

Another sound, this time closer.