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Ezra nods. “Yeah, it was a flash, but I saw it above those trees.” He points northward.

The flare.

Micah.

He’s alive and trying to save us. My heart swirls. I love him so fucking much for it.

We all pause, waiting for something.

At last, the helicopter reappears. We all go wild, waving our hands and screaming our lungs out. We let out a collective cry of relief as it flashes, its lights signaling that it sees us, and starts its descent into the meadow.

The whooshing sound overwhelms my senses, and it’s such a serene feeling to see something human. Once it lands, a man in a blue uniform exits and the engine stops, the silence reverberating into the forest. My body releases all the tension, every muscle and fiber of my being giving out.

The man scans all of us, shaking his head incredulously. “I can’t believe my eyes,” he says. “The entire world has been looking for you folks for a very long time.”

Two other men jump out, and within seconds, I am gathered inside strong arms and pulled in what I can only assume is an army helicopter.

Except it’s not… They’re wearing blue uniforms with the word Police etched on their chest.

“Who are you?” I ask him.

“My name is Sergeant Reynolds. I’m with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, otherwise known as the RCMP.”

“Canadian?” Ezra gripes, shaking his head as the men escort us onto the chopper. “You mean we’re in fucking Canada?”

Sergeant Reynolds nods. “You are… Your plane went way off course. You’re in the northern territory called the Yukon.”

“Well, I’ll be fucked,” Ezra says. “No wonder you couldn’t find us and it’s so cold.”

I can’t help but laugh. All this time… We’re not even in Alaska.

“Alright, come on,” he says and mumbles something into a walkie-talkie, giving a hand signal to the pilot, who fires up the chopper. “We need to go now. Whatever caused this fire, it’s spreading fast, so grab whatever you want to bring with you and get on. Are there any more of you?”

“Wait.” I wiggle out of the officer’s arms and run to the shelter, grabbing Maison’s hockey sweater and nothing else. All my other possessions, including my journal, can burn. “There’s one more person. We have to find Micah.”

Sergeant Reynolds narrows his eyes. “Is that it? One more?”

Thomas steps forward. “No one else survived, sir.” That is the understatement of the century.

Sergeant Reynolds narrows his eyes. “And where is Mr. Matei?”

I bite my lip. “We’re not exactly sure where he is. But there’s a hunting cabin north of here. He’s probably staying there.”

He shakes his head. “No, we cleared that site an hour ago. No one is there.”

My stomach sinks as one officer carries me into the chopper.

“Was he the one with the flare?” Sergeant Reynolds asks, strapping me in.

We all nod. “We’ll send a team to come back for him once the smoke clears out. Right now, my orders are to get the survivors to safety.”

“Micah is a survivor!” I cry out, trying to get out of these straps.

My breath falters. The straps are too fucking tight. I rip myself out of them without anyone seeing.

My body convulses, and I let out a sob, but I don’t bother arguing. If the chopper went to the cabin, Micah would have seen it. He went into hiding. He wants to die out here…

One of the other officers moves over to Jade, and his eyes must catch her scars because he lifts her arms and asks her permission to inspect her.