everything I couldn’t say in my eyes.
"You can run, little girl. But you can't escape me,” Xavier shouts, his threat following me as I sprint through the maze. Phoebe’s distraction provided me with the head start I needed to get away.
Determination takes hold, and I kick my legs as hard as I can. I continue to
weave through the maze, holding my breath as another whistle pierces the air, and an arrow embeds in a trunk only a foot away.
These men may be skilled in hunting, but what they don't know is that I've been hunted by a far scarier man. I was a mouse caught in a trap before, scared, and helpless as I was taken between the teeth of an apex predator.
But I'm not their little mouse, and they are not Zade.
And I will never succumb to them.
Chapter 15
The Diamond
I lost him.
Not only that, but I made it out of the maze, deeming me safe.
No harm will come to you.
Lies, but I’ll take it for now.
I didn’t stop there, though. I ran so deep into the woods that I’m thoroughly
lost now, not even a whisper of human life. It reminds me so much of Parsons
Manor, it makes my chest ache. Doesn’t help that I’m breathing so heavily that I
choke on the oxygen with every inhale. I’m on the verge of both vomiting and
passing out, even though my body can’t decide which to do first.
Feeling confident enough that they don’t know where I am, I rip the branch
off my waist, lean heavily against a tree and slide down, my legs incapable of holding me up any longer.
My eyes begin to roll, but I fight against the urge because despite being considered safe, that doesn’t really exist in this world. Xavier could stumble upon me and take advantage of us being alone. My screams wouldn’t be heard, and even if they were, no one would give a shit.
Wiping sweat from my eyes, I look over my surroundings. At first, I see nothing but trees. But then, off in the distance, I glimpse metal glinting in the moonlight.
A crease forms between my brows and my curiosity piques. I allow myself
another minute to catch my breath before I force myself back to my feet and jog
toward the foreign object while periodically checking over my shoulder to make
sure that no one is behind me.
As I approach, the object becomes identifiable, and I lose my breath all over
again when I realize what it is.
It’s an abandoned train. A massive row of trailers stretches across the wooded
area in either direction, the metal rusted and corroded from nature. My heart pounds and excitement blooms.
Escape.
That’s the only word that comes to mind when I look at this abandoned train.
I don’t know how yet, but I do know that it could provide me shelter when I
eventually leave this place.
Checking over my shoulder once more and seeing nobody there, I approach
the train and run my hands over the cold metal. So badly, I want to seek asylum
here instead of returning to that house. I’ve no idea whether they know of the train’s location, but it won’t be hard to find with the tracking device in the back of my neck.
If this train is going to offer me anything, then I need to utilize it when they
aren’t able to track me.
A loud horn breaks through the silence, causing critters to scatter and a yelp
to escape, my heart jumping up my throat. Breathing heavily, I peer over my shoulder, hearing voices calling out, announcing the end of the Culling.
They’ll be looking for me, and I’m tempted to dig out the tracking device with a sharp branch and make a run for it anyway, but fear has me in a chokehold. There are too many factors against me.
Be smart, little mouse.
I take off back in the direction I came from, now paranoid that they’ll find me
near the train and discover it if they weren’t already aware of it. I don’t want to
chance it if they weren’t.
After several minutes of jogging, I catch a glimpse of black hair and a feminine stature before it disappears behind a tree.
“Hey!” I call out, hoping whoever it is, they’ll know the way back.
The person emerges from the other end of the tree, and I realize that it’s Jillian.
She looks over to me, eyes wide and breathing heavily. She doesn’t look
much worse than I do, which is honestly relieving.
“You made it,” she says softly. We meet each other in the middle and her eyes
look me up and down, likely looking for injuries.
“I did,” I respond, still breathless. Up until Zade’s training, I’ve never exerted
this much energy in my entire life.
“Do you know how to get back?” I ask.
She glances around. “I think so. If not, they’ll come get us.”
I nod, and we begin to walk.
“Have you been through the Culling before?” I ask.
She seems to have so much knowledge for it being her first time.
“No, you only go through it once,” she answers.
“Except if you’re Sydney,” I mutter, though I’m relieved to hear that I’ll never have to do this again.
Jillian snorts. “That’s true. She knows the maze like the back of her hand now.”
“Is she the one who taught you how to get through it?”
She shakes her head. “When I first arrived, I was even more combative than
you. Francesca considered me too much of a risk to put in the Culling until she
could set me straight, so I had watched other girls go through it first. I learned a lot from them.” She pauses. “And I also witnessed everything that happened after. Look, you need to prepare for—"
A deep booming laugh interrupts whatever she was going to say. Jillian and I
both flinch and turn toward the sound. Xavier emerges from behind a tree, and
my poor overused heart speeds up once more.
“Well, diamond, I guess you proved me wrong this time,” he chuckles, his eyes sweeping my body up and down in a predatory way.
As much as it tickles their manhood to catch us during the Culling, it also means that we’re deemed unworthy to be auctioned off. And that means they're allowed to dole out our punishment for tonight only. So, while escaping Xavier
might’ve ruffled his feathers, it’s still an accomplishment.
Because now he gets to keep me.