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Micah’s eyes flash at him. “Choose a fucking side,” he roars at the younger kid. “Right fucking now.”

Ollie hesitates for only a minute before he lunges to grab Ezra’s arms to help contain him.

Naomi stands. “Maison, stop… don’t hurt him,” she begs. “It was Nigel who hurt Micah. Ezra’s your best friend; don’t do this.”

His eyes flicker up to Naomi, who still hasn’t clued in that it’s not Maison, and he cocks his head to her. I hear other voices, and Jade, James, and Nathan come into view.

“What the fuck happened?” James asks, running over to us, seeing Maison lying in a deep pool of his own blood.

Serena rushes over to James, who places his arm around her. “Nigel did it,” she whimpers. “He killed Micah.”

I stare at the three newcomers, wide-eyed, taking in the pure evil that happened here tonight. James darts his eyes between the real Micah and Ezra, trying to assess what to do.

“It was an accident,” Ezra shouts to everyone, his eyes wild and panicked. “I wasn’t going to hurt Micah. It was all Nigel. Nigel made me hurt Thomas… You all just saw what he’s capable—” His voice cracks. “You all saw it.”

I ignore his desperate attempts at feigning innocence and turn my attention back to Maison. I press my hands on his wound.

Blood… so much of it pouring out of him. I can’t stop it.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I repeat over and over, desperately trying to convince myself that it will be. Jade comes into view and places her hand on my arm. My head turns to see if I can find Micah. It’s like he just disappeared. My eyes find hers. My voice is desperate, pleading with whoever will listen. “Go get the first aid kit. Go please, go quick. He’s dying.”

She nods, wiping tears from her eyes, but she doesn’t move. Nobody moves. Why aren’t they moving? Why aren’t they helping him? And where the hell is Micah?

“Please, somebody… Do something!” I scream, then my voice fades. “He’s dying, please… He’s dying.”

A throb hits my side, causing me to place my fingers on my sore hip. Blood spills on my fingertips, and I know this blood is all mine that’s slowly seeping out of me from my fight with Naomi. My focus now is only on Maison. Grabbing his hand, letting him know he’s not alone.

“It’s okay, baby. You have Micah. You won’t be alone.” His voice is calm, relaxed, and he doesn’t move his eyes from mine.

I sob on his chest. Even as he’s dying, he still wraps a protective arm around me.

“No. No. No. This isn’t happening.”

I can’t imagine life on this island without Maison.

“I can’t lose you,” I whisper. “Just stay with me, okay? We’ll make it better. Micah will make it better.”

Where the fuck is Micah?

A small whimper brings me out of my trance. I whip my head up as Micah holds the massive hunting knife out in front of him a few feet away. His head is down, his hair shadows his face. He grips the knife with shaking hands. I don’t recognize the look on his face as he raises his brows.

The whimper, I realize, came from Ezra.

Ezra’s eyes grow wide with panic as Micah raises the knife. “Hold him down,” he says to James, Nathan, and Ollie. James jerks his head to his two friends, and the three of them spring on Ezra, pushing him to the ground right in front of Micah’s feet.

“What are you going to do, Maison?” James asks, leaving Ezra’s fate in Micah’s hands. They still don’t realize it’s Micah. How do they not see it yet?

Ezra pisses himself, a dark pool of urine emerging between his legs. Micah stands over him as Ezra hunches over and shakes. Still, no one has clued into what’s going on, and who is really holding the knife. I wonder if they’d be so accommodating knowing it was Micah who wields the sword of power.

I’m not saying anything.

Ezra’s desperate eyes plead. “Man, bro—it was an accident. It was the only way I could think to gain the upper hand with you. I wasn’t going to hurt Micah, I swear. It’s me, Maison… I’m your best friend.”

Micah stops shaking, his voice calm and clear. “Shut the fuck up, Ezra. Or I will slice out your fucking vocal cords.”

This renders Ezra speechless.

Jade rushes to my side and takes over my hands, trying to stop Maison’s bleeding. I have to stop Micah—he can’t do this. I rise and step toward him. His eyes flit to me for one brief second before turning back to Ezra, who is nothing but a pathetic heap on the ground—a far cry from the confident guy in front of us only moments before.