Chapter 7

Seven

Skyler

It takes a few tries, but eventually, I convince Val we need to move. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but from what she said, Price has lost it. Between that and what happened to Caelan, I’ve had enough of this night, of these damn woods. All I want to do is go home. Maybe wake up in my bed tomorrow, with all of this having been a bad dream.

Val is literally dragging her feet, and I feel like we are going at a snail's pace, but we’re moving, and at least that’s something.

“Did you hear that?” I ask, but she only sniffles in reply, still crying.

We keep moving, but with every step, I swear the sounds get louder. At this point, I’m not sure if it’s Val or me losing my mind, but she doesn’t seem to hear a damn thing.

Even hearing the sound doesn’t prepare me for the figure that walks out of the trees directly in our path.

I’m not proud of how loud I scream or the way I jump, but I’m pretty sure there's a killer in these woods with us, so sue me.

“Sky?” I hear my name and some of my panic melts away.

I know that voice.

“Bishop?” I try moving toward the sound of his voice in hopes of getting a better look, but Val’s glued to my side once again, hysterically crying.

“Fuck, Sky,” he says, moving toward us, and even without being able to see, I know it’s Bishop now.

He throws his arms around me and Val, squeezing us both hard into his chest.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys.” His words come out muffled, with his face buried in my hair.

He pulls back, and I can’t see his face, but I know him well enough to know he’s probably freaking out. Bishop doesn’t do great with the woods and creepy shit. He hates scary movies, and the one time we tried to go to a haunted house, I thought he was going to have a panic attack.

“I heard screaming. It woke me up from a dead sleep, and I came to look for you guys,” he says in a rush, never letting us go. “I got lost somewhere along the way, and I’ve just been wandering around forever, hoping to find someone.”

Damn, he’s been walking around, and we’re the first ones he’s come across. That can’t be good.

I thought I might have gotten turned around when I was chasing Slate, but I have no idea where anyone else went before Caelan, Slate, and I decided to venture out here. They could be anywhere.

A cool drop of water falls on my cheek, rolling down my face as we stand there, and I can’t help but glare up at the sky.

Really?

As if shit isn’t bad enough, now it’s going to rain!

“We need to get out of here,” I tell them as slowly, more and more drops begin to fall.

I have no idea where we are, but I know we won’t find our way out by standing still.

“Yeah, for sure. I don’t suppose you know how to do that, do you?” Bishop asks, and I can hear the hopeful tone of his voice.

Looks like Mother Nature wins this round...

“Not a damn clue,” I tell him, stepping out of his hold. With no idea where to go, I continue on the way we were heading before he came crashing through the trees, nearly giving me a heart attack.

“I don’t have my phone,” he says, following behind me. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I see Val walking beside him.

She hasn’t said a word since he showed up, and I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t starting to make me nervous.

“I left it in the tent,” he tells me with a sigh.

“Doesn’t matter. We don’t have service out here anyway,” I say in hopes of easing some of his guilt.

“Fuck,” he whines, and I know that’s not the answer he’d been hoping for.

Hell, it’s not like I love the thought myself. But for now, this is what we're dealing with.

I just hope we can get out before we end up soaked to the bone…

Or worse.

“Are you sure we're going the right way?” Val asks with a sniffle. She’s been quiet since she told me about Price, not that I blame her, nevertheless, it’s almost strange to hear her voice at this point.

“No,” I tell her truthfully, because how the fuck would I know? None of us had any idea where we started, let alone where to go. The general idea was we walk until we get out. It didn’t matter where we exited because we could follow the river back on most sides or would end up on the highway. I have no real way of knowing how long we’ve been walking, but I can tell you it feels like it’s been hours, and as far as I’m aware, the woods aren’t that big.

We should have hit an exit by now, twice over.

“Maybe we should stay put?” Bishop says, and I glare at him before I realize he can’t see me.

“No, I don’t want to just sit around and wait,” I say, continuing through the trees. He grumbles under his breath but keeps following.

I can’t explain what happened to me or Val. As far as Bishop is aware, we’re just lost in the woods, and I intend to keep it that way for as long as I can.

I can’t handle anyone else freaking out right now. I’m not sure how much emotional support I have left in me.

The rain doesn’t let up, and the leaves make everything slick. We slip and slide, and I swear I’ve got more mud on me than clothes at this point, but fuck it, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Watch your step,” I call over my shoulder as we turn to follow the makeshift path in the trees. I’m not sure if animals made the trail or people, but with my eyes adjusted, I can see the wear on the ground just enough to follow it.

It’s a sharp turn over a hill. It’s not a steep drop exactly, but what little I can make of the slanted ground is covered in debris and fallen trees.

Falling down? Now, that would be painful, that's for sure.

I slow, careful to plant my feet with every step, reaching out for support on the millions of trees that surround us.

Val lets out a gasp behind me a second before I hear her hit the ground. I turn as fast as I can, almost throwing myself off balance, but I’m still not fast enough, and by the time I’m turned around, Val is gone.

Bishop stands behind me, one arm on a tree for support and the other hanging in the air in front of him, his eyes glued to the hillside.

Fuck.

I turn to face the hill, looking for Val, listening and trying to find a path down that won’t leave me beaten and bruised the way I’m almost positive she will be.

Val’s groans and moans fill the air around us. The forest is so quiet that I can hear her body moving down the hill, crunching leaves and snapping twigs under her weight.

Unable to listen a second longer, I start after her.

“Sky, what are you doing?” Bishop asks, his hand closing around my biceps and stopping me.

Without looking back, I shake him off, and thankfully, he lets his hand fall away.

“I’m not just going to leave her,” I snap. My words come out harsher than I intended, but no less true.

It’s slow going, but eventually, I make it to the bottom. Bishop shouts down to me a few times, and I can hear the panic in his voice as he tries to encourage me to be careful. Unfortunately for him, I don’t have the ability to comfort him, worry about Val, and watch my step, so I ignore him.

“Fuck, Val, where are you?” I murmur to myself as I search. My eyes might have adjusted, but I can’t see much more than shadows and outlines a few feet in every direction.

I know she came down right around here, so I start on the left side and I’ll make my way further if needed.

The shadows are even denser down here, making it impossible to make out a fallen tree from a body. With no other choice, I drop to my knees and feel my way around.

“Damn it, Val!” I curse under my breath, as rocks and other? shit bite into my palms and knees.

My finger brushes something, and it takes me a second to realize it’s not just more of the same.

Hair.

“Val!” I shout, reaching out for her as I scramble forward, careful not to trample her. She doesn’t respond, and I can’t see enough to know if she’s hurt.

“Fuck!”

“What?” Bishop yells down to me.

“I can’t see, but she’s not moving,” I tell him, feeling around her body blindly. I feel a few tears in her clothes, a few cuts here and there. The cuts have some blood, but nothing too concerning. It’s not until I reach her wrist that I know something’s very wrong.

“I can’t find a pulse!” I shout, my panic growing by the second.

“Feel her neck. It should be the strongest there!” Bishop shouts back. I know that, but my panic is driving me right now, not my brain.

I nod, even though he can’t see me, as I move to hover over her with shaking hands. My hand falls to her chest, and I ignore the fact that I can’t feel it rising or falling.

No, no, no.

I’m shaking for so many reasons, and I take a second to steady myself enough to realize there’s nothing there.

I count to thirty in my head, not wanting to let my panic get the best of me, but by sixty it’s impossible to deny there’s nothing there.

A strangled scream leaves my mouth as I realize she’s dead. Val’s dead, and I’m touching her.

The thought has me snatching my hand away as I scramble back, trying to put some distance between us.

“Sky,” Bishop calls, but he sounds so far away right now. I can’t make myself answer. I don’t have the words or the balls to tell him.

My chest rises and falls erratically, but I don’t feel like I’m getting enough air as the world spins around me.

Get a hold of yourself, Skylar!

I draw in a ragged breath before letting it out slowly, again and again, until the world begins to return to normal. My stomach is a mess, but I can’t do anything about that.

“SKY!” Bishop’s voice cuts through the fog of my mind, and I snap out of it.

“I’m here,” I mumble, unable to put more into it.

“Fuck, don’t do that!” he calls back, sounding closer this time. “I’ve been calling you.”

A hand closes around my arm, and I scream, thrashing around and trying to escape.

“Sky, calm down,” Bishop says from right beside me. I realize he’s holding me as he pulls me into his chest.

He’s wet and dirty, the same as me, but his arms are comforting, and I sink into his hold, soaking up the familiarity of him.

“She’s dead…” I breathe against his chest as tears fall from my eyes.

I know he heard me. I feel the way his body tenses at the words, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, holding me as I break down over the loss of another friend, trying to offer me comfort even if there is none to be found.