Up ahead, the beam of my flashlight illuminates limp black hair, a body slumped against ropes that bind it to a tree.
Max.
Oh, fuck. My heart falls into my stomach, the flashlight nearly slipping out of my hand. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“No,” I whisper. It’s a raspy plea into the darkness. “Be alive. Please. Fuck. Please.”
My heart pounds out an erratic beat as I rush over to her. Someone has tied her up against the tree with thick rope, restraining her. I don’t know if she was conscious when it happened or not, but I can tell by the cuts and scratches on her olive skin that she didn’t go down without a fight.
Her body is chilled from the cool night air, but she’s clearly alive. Thank fuck. She groans and stirs as I tug at the ropes around her, trying to untie them.
Leaves rustle to my right.
A twig snaps.
My heart leaps up to my throat as my head whips around. I expect to see one of the guys coming to help even though they were supposed to hang back—but instead, a fucked up Halloween mask shines in the halo of my flashlight, scaring the shit out of me.
I realize almost too late that the person is holding a thick branch, lifting it—
Shit.
It hits my body with a heavy thud, sending pain rushing through me as I stumble back. The world spins in my vision, and I struggle to reorient myself.
I hear the sound of something whistling through the air, and I realize my masked attacker is about to try to hit me again. I duck blindly, but before the branch can connect with my body, Elias comes out of nowhere, tackling the person around the waist. They both hit the ground hard next to me, grappling for control of the branch. Whoever is hidden by the mask is a vicious fighter, but Elias manages to jam a forearm into their neck, making them gag and choke. He rips the branch out of their hands as they both stagger to their feet.
Get to Max. It’s all I can think of, a steady mantra in my head as adrenaline surges through me. Get to Max.
“Soph! You okay?” A strong arm wraps around my
waist, helping me stay on my feet as my ears ring and my head throbs.
“Yeah. Help me.” My legs wobble as I try to keep my balance, stumbling toward Max. Gray is already there, working at the ropes.
“Fuck!” Elias yells. “Son of a bitch.”
He lunges after my attacker, but they dodge his tackle this time, disappearing into the darkness. I can see him debate whether or not to go after them, but his protective instincts win out. He turns back to us just as the ropes start to loosen around Max’s limp body.
“Got her.” Gray catches her in his arms as she slumps forward.
Her eyes flutter, glazed and confused, and my heart wrenches in my chest. Goddammit. This is all my fault. Whoever took her only did it to get to me.
“It’s okay, Max,” I tell her, my throat tight. I stumble as I step away from Declan’s steadying grip. “We’ve got you. Can you walk? We need to get the fuck out of he—”
A rushing sound, like wind whipping through the trees, cuts me off as a roar of flames bursts to life around us.
“Shit!” Elias’s voice rises up above the sound.
Another patch of ground nearby goes up, flames rising so fast and violently that I know they must be helped by some kind of accelerant.
“Get Max! Help her!” I scream, moving toward the tree where Max is barely on her feet, held up by Gray’s grip around her.
“I’ve got her!” he yells back, waving an arm to gesture me away. “Get out of here! Go!”
The flames are slowly enclosing the area around the tree, forming a rough ring in a wide perimeter. Every time more of the brush and undergrowth catches fire, the ring gets closer to closing up entirely, trapping us inside.
I hesitate, but Gray is already dragging Max away from the tree. I’m still woozy from getting hit, and I know I won’t be much help. Elias steps up to help him, and that’s all the reassurance I need. I turn around and dash toward the only small opening that remains in the flickering flames.
The brightness of the fire makes the surrounding shadows seem even darker. I’ve lost track of where Declan is, and the heat of the flames is making my skin feel prickly and too tight. I surge through the small opening in the steadily building ring of fire, licks of flame reaching out as if they’re trying to grab me.