Blood.
Oh God. Whose blood is it?
I frantically swipe my hands down my top, but it does little to get the dried blood off.
I look up, my head swiveling in every direction.
Where is she?
Clamping my teeth together, I take long breaths so I don’t hyperventilate.
Stay calm. Breathe. Think.
Somehow, I need to get back. Lillian put me here, so there must be evidence of the path she used.
You can do this. Focus, Esme.
I crouch down and trace my footprints back to the imprint my body left in the moss. I run my hand over the dip where my head was. This is where she left me.
I look around. Which direction did they carry or drag me from?
There. Two sets of footprints pressed into the mud and moss. They’re not deep, so I must have been out here a while. It’s still dark; I can only just see in front of me.
You. Can. Do. This.
I have to get back to camp before sunrise.
Crawling on my hands and knees, I find the next set of footprints and the next.
Please let this take me back to camp and not to wherever Lillian is hiding.
I place one palm down and then the other and shuffle forward.
My breath swirls in front of me.
The ground is cool and damp, and my knees are probably covered in mud by now. I sink softly into the ground every time I move. I wish I would sink completely.
A rustling in a tree above me makes me freeze. Shit. My stomach rolls.
Long pine tree branches reach out, some touching the branches of other trees like the whole forest is connected.
It was just a bird.
Move.
I crawl again, following the indentations in the moss.
A cackling that sounds like it’s coming from every direction rings through the woods, bouncing off the trees.
I sit up and look around, but I can barely see anything through the mist.
Nope. Screw crawling, I need to go now.
Forcing myself to my feet, I take off. My head is clearer, and I don’t feel dizzy anymore. I have a better chance of finding camp now. I can do this.
Lillian can go to hell.
I fly between trees, following the footprints.
The cackling sings out again. I whimper, pushing myself even faster.
She’s not going to get me.
Rounding a tree, I stop dead in my tracks and I dry heave.
I clench my fists. Lillian has killed another deer. I blink hard, hoping the image will disappear. It doesn’t. She tied the deer to a tree upside down.
Gagging, I press one wrist to my mouth. The deer has been cut open. A large gash stretches the length of its body and everything that should be inside is outside. The gory red mess of organs lies on the ground beneath it.
Lillian is a psychopath.
And I have to get out of here.
I pant, sprinting through the forest as if I know where I’m going. Mist parts as I run through it. My arms swing with every step, sending me flying a little faster. My gym teacher swore by pumping your arms to increase your speed, and I’ll try anything.
Images of the deer and the blood on my hands flash through my mind, spurring me on. I might be scared to the core, but I won’t give in to her.
Whatever she throws at me, I will fight.
Yes!
I whimper as I come to the edge of the forest. I’ve made it.
“Esme.” Lillian laughs from behind me.
Go.
I race along the lake, never slowing.
Kayla and I need to do something drastic and soon because Lillian is getting way worse.
I sob as I run up the stairs to my cabin, and then stop. I just want to get to my friend.
Placing my hand on the doorknob, I take a breath and quietly open the door. I lock the damn thing behind me and tiptoe into my room.
She could have killed me tonight.
Jesus. Lillian kidnapped me.
We were wrong. She does want to hurt us.
49
In my room, I lean against the door and then sink to the floor. My breath comes out heavy and desperate. She had me and she could have easily killed me.
She’s in control and there is nothing we can do.
That can’t be true.
“Kayla,” I rasp as quietly as I can manage, clawing the floor.
I need help.
I blink and burning tears streak down my face. “Kayla, please.”
She jumps awake, flicks on the lamp and props herself up on her elbows. “What? Esme?”
The room floods with light and I slump against the door.
I’m back and safe.
You are not safe here!
When Kayla’s eyes land on me, her mouth pops open.
Slipping out of bed, she pads toward me.
“Oh my God, what happened to you?” she asks. “You’re covered in dirt and…blood!”
“I woke up in the forest.”
“You did what?”
I shake my head, trying to make sense of it. “I went to sleep here and woke up in the middle of the forest with blood on me.”
“Jesus.”
Kayla rushes to close the distance between us and wraps her arms around me.
I fall into her embrace. “I didn’t know what was going on. I was so scared,” I sob. My chest caves and I almost drop to the floor again.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” she hushes me, her hands shaking. “Come on.”
She helps me walk to the bed and sits me on her bunk. I stare at the window, half expecting Lillian’s face to be on the other side.
“How did you get there?”
“I—I don’t know,” I tell her. “I don’t remember anything other than what I told you. I think Lillian drugged me. She must have!”
Kayla stands and grabs a bottle of water off the chair. She opens the lid and takes a towel from a pile in the closet.
I watch as she kneels in front of me and wets the towel.
“You’re going to be okay, Esme.”
Am I?
It doesn’t feel like it. I’m cold and tired and I just want to go home.
What we did that night was bad, but we don’t deserve this.