It’s now or never.
I spin around and charge through the kitchen, slipping on something that has been spilled on the floor. With a curse, I push forward, my body aching and pounding with each step I take. I see a back door and I don’t stop to see if anyone is behind me or in front of me, I just bolt right on out. I see a patch of grass before it disappears into thick, luscious mountain trees.
We’re not close to any city, that much I know.
It’s a huge risk, but there has to be a road close by. If I skirt around the trees and follow the driveway down, I might have some luck. I hear shouting and curses being flung about. I run forward, forcing my legs to move as fast as they can—which in the scheme of things is pretty fast, considering my condition.
I grit my teeth as pain shoots up my legs and right into my spine. My head pounds, and I’m struggling to breathe, but I push on. I force myself through the trees, dodging the thick branches pointing out of the massive trunks. I reach a clearing that boasts one hell of a gorgeous, crystal-clear creek.
I don’t stop.
Mountains are all I can see ahead of me, and with mountains usually comes caves. I’m sure I can hide, at least for the night.
The wind is chilly, and I wrap my blood-stained coat further around myself, glad Krypt never got the chance to burn it like he’d said he would. Footsteps echo through the trees and I know they’re close.
I keep pushing on, heading for the thick trees that surround the base of the mountain. When I reach them, I duck behind one, desperately trying to catch my breath. Fear and adrenaline battle inside my body, and my skin prickles with the knowledge that if they catch me it could end badly.
“I know you’re fuckin’ out there,” I hear Krypt bellow. “I’ll find you.”
I have no doubt about that; it’s why I push off the tree and keep running. His footsteps fade as I pick up my pace, getting deeper into the trees. Then I make the fatal mistake of tripping over a log that I try to jump. With a scream, I land on my face, sending a burning pain through my ribs that has me screaming in agony.
I push to my feet, desperate to keep going. Angry tears course down my cheeks because I know I’m about to fail, I’m about to ruin the only chance I have of escaping. Footsteps behind me come to a stop and I hear a cursed word before a heavy, booted foot lands beside my head. Krypt kneels down, pulling me up.
“You’re fuckin’ bleedin’,” he growls.
Not the reaction I’d expected.
“You stupid fuckin’ girl.”
That’s more like it.
He pulls me up and I wail in agony at the pain soaring through my body. I stare down and see that I am in fact, bleeding. I’ve obviously torn open a wound.
Krypt has one strong arm around my waist as he leads me out of the trees. I have no strength to fight, no energy left. That was all I had; I’m in too much pain to give more. If I weren’t so hurt, I would have had a decent chance.
“Do you have any fuckin’ idea what’s in these woods?” he says as he leads me back to the house.
“Nothing that could be worse than staying here with you,” I whisper, my voice gone.
He scoffs. “You would rather take on some feral mountain lion over me?”
I say nothing; he’s got a point. I didn’t think it through.
“You can’t really blame me,” I add. “You killed the people I work with.”
He snorts, and his arm tightens around my waist. “You have no idea about the people you work with.”
“I think you’re wrong. I think I do have an idea. It still doesn’t make it right.”
Now it’s his turn not to answer.
When we reach the house, he leads me inside and closes the door behind us. The ‘President’ comes charging over, his fists balled tight. “I swear to fuckin’ Christ . . .”
“It’s fine, Prez,” Krypt says. “We got this.”
“You’re gonna get us all fuckin’ killed with that brown-nose little bitch.”
I prick up at his words. “Excuse me?” I yell. “Do you even know me?”
“You work with the rest of those little bastards. You’re exactly like them.”
“You’re wrong. I’m nothing like them. I work there, I love my job, but I have a life outside of that place. I am a normal person; don’t assume you know what I am.”
He steps forward, leaning down into my face. “You’re tellin’ me that you wouldn’t go straight to the cops if you got out of here?”
“Of course I would,” I snap. “You killed people—some of those guards weren’t bad.”
“My point exactly,” he steps back. “Krypt, she gets away again, I won’t be so kind.”