He hurried to my side with a pack on his shoulders and a look of worry in his eyes.
“Are you alright?” His gaze slid over my clothes and I realised there were leaves in my hair, half a thorny branch hanging from my dress and my shoes were so caked in mud that it was impossible to tell they’d once been white.
“I’m good.” I waved him off, pushing a hand into my hair and pulling out some leaves before peeling the thorny branch off and tossing it on the ground.
Bait visibly swallowed, glancing over my shoulder towards the gate. The crackle of a guard’s radio caught my ear and adrenaline made my heart flutter.
“Are you ready?” I asked him and he nodded firmly, strength filling his gaze.
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
I took the firecrackers and lighter from my pocket, looking over at the wall stretching out either side of the gate.
“When Sneak’s mom shows up, I’m gonna cause a distraction. As soon as the guards move, you run and get in that car. Don’t wait for me,” I said firmly, praying on everything I was that this was gonna work. Dad had taught me to always bet on myself. Because if I didn’t have faith in me, then no one else would. And this was the ultimate test.
“Okay,” Bait breathed then he moved forward and wrapped me in a hug. “Thank you for this, Tatum.”
The use of my name brought a smile to my lips and I drew away with a nod. “No worries. You can pay me back in the free world.”
He chuckled and I bobbed on my heels, readying to run the moment I had to.
The seconds ticked by and Sneak glanced back in our direction from time to time, though I wasn’t sure she could actually see us here in the shadows.
Headlights flashed along the drive beyond the gate and I pressed back against the wall, holding my breath. A shiny silver car pulled up to the gate and I could just make out a guard leaning down to the window to talk to the driver.
I bit my lip as he moved forward to unlock the gate and let Sneak leave.
I ran, not wasting another second as I powered across the dark lawn, making a beeline for the wall. I clutched the fire crackers in one hand and the lighter in the other, feeling more alive than I had in days.
I reached the wall, clicked the lighter and held the flame up to the fuses.
One more click, two.
Come on you piece of shit!
They caught in a burst of sparks.
One glance to my right told me Sneak was buying us time, dropping down to tie her shoelace.
I gazed up at the top of the spiked wall and launched the firecrackers beyond it. Then I turned towards the gate as Sneak stood and started tugging her suitcase out of it.
Bang bang bang bang!
The firecrackers went off like a rattle of gunfire and a guard shouted beyond the wall. The pounding of footsteps on the gravel told me they’d fallen for it and I raced along the wall towards the open, unmanned gate. Hope bloomed in my chest like a garden of wildflowers. I was so close. So freaking close.
Bait was tearing down the drive, throwing caution to the wind and his shoulder brushed mine as we made it through the iron gates together.
Sneak was already in the car. Her mom was turning it around, but then she took one look at my muddy clothes and the apocalyptic look on my face and her foot hit the gas. I saw Sneak shout something as her mom tore off down the drive in her flashy Audi and my throat locked up.
Every single fibre of my being screamed no!
“Hey!” a man barked behind me and I grabbed Bait’s sleeve, tugging him along, having no other choice but to run. The drive out of here was flanked by the wall on one side and a huge hedge on the other. The only way was forward, but we were in plain sight.
“Faster!” I commanded Bait and we tore down the gravel at a tremendous pace.
The thundering of two sets of footfalls pounded after us and my heart screamed at me to move quicker.
“Stop! You can’t leave!” a guard barked.
“Fuck you!” I cried, pushing my legs harder. Bait was panting heavily, falling a few steps behind me, but I could still hear him following.
We made it to the end of the drive and found ourselves at a T-junction as we reached the road. Opposite was a thick woodland rising up a hill and I knew our only chance was to get ourselves lost.
“We have to split up,” I shot at Bait.
“What? Where the hell are we even gonna go?” he panted.
“Anywhere,” I tossed back, determined to escape this place. Once the guards gave up on us, we could hitchhike to Murkwell. I’d fucking walk if I had to.
The sound of dogs barking made my heart freeze over. We couldn’t waste another second.
I dragged Bait into the woodland and shoved him to the left.
“Go that way!” I demanded and he gave me a look of horror before sprinting away into the darkness.
Fuck fuck fuck!
My mind reeled as I thought over everything my dad had taught me. But against dogs, my only hope was laying a false trail. And I didn’t have the time for it.
My muscles burned and my legs ached as I climbed the hill as fast as possible, the sound of the dogs growing ever closer. Flashlights whipped through the trees and I knew the guards weren’t far behind their hounds.
Bait yelled in the distance and a dog howled, the sound echoing up to the sky.
“One down!” a man shouted.
No – Bait.
My heart twisted, but there was nothing I could do except keep running and pray for a miracle.
Somehow, I made it to the top of the hill but my heart slammed to a screeching halt as I found myself high up on ridge, a sheer cliff dropping away down the other side of it.
I gazed left and right, weighing up my options just as a dog burst out of the trees. I screamed as he threw his huge paws up on me and barked loud enough to make me wince. I shoved him back to the ground, my heart thumping wildly.
Two guards burst from the foliage and I lifted my hands in innocence, feeling like I was being goddamn arrested.
“Listen, just fucking listen,” I demanded and they slowed to a walk, but kept coming. They were both huge, built like brick shithouses. The dog continued to bark at me and the noise made my thoughts rattle as I tried to focus. “I can’t stay here. There’s three boys in that school making my life hell. They’re gonna torture me if you take me back. Just let me go, say you didn’t find me.”
The redhead to my right released a dry laugh. “We know exactly who owns you, Plague.”
Ice-cold fingers gripped my heart and they felt awfully like Saint’s.
“No,” I breathed in horror.
“And I ain’t risking my job for some blonde chick who’s father fucked the whole world in the ass,” the other guy added with a scowl.
For a moment, taking my chances with the cliff almost seemed like the better option than letting them take me back. But they came at me anyway, snatching my arms and holding me between them.
My heart ached as they dragged me back down the hill then all the way along the road. I could have kicked and screamed and fought, but I knew it was pointless. I couldn’t run now they knew I was out here. The dogs would always find me. I was screwed. And as they led me back through the school gates, terror pulled and tugged at my insides.
I’d failed. Screwed up the one chance I had of escaping this place. Well, Sneak’s goddamn mom had.
The most terrifying thing was, the Night Keepers were going to punish me for this. And it wasn’t going to be pretty.