Chapter 16

Death and wilderness surround me.Every part of my body hurts, my soul included.

I should"ve known better than to think everything would be fine the minute we got out of the underground bunker. I saw the trees and the sky and thought my nightmare was over.

I should"ve known better.

Seeing Uma gunned down like that made me realize the truth. I"ll never be free of this nightmare. Not with Liam, Shade, and the Faceless coming after me. I"ll always have to look over my shoulder.

Bishop is doing his best to keep us moving. I"m not sure if we"ve been running for a few minutes or for hours, but I don"t want to run anymore. All I want to do is curl up against one of these trees and sleep.

"I"m done," I announce to no one in particular before I let go of both Bishop"s and April"s hands and lean up against the nearest tree. The rough bark bites into my skin as I slide down, but I welcome the pain. It breaks the numbness that"s threatening to overtake my heart.

"No, we can"t stop now." Bishop kneels and tries to get me to stand up, but I"m like a lump of playdough in his hands. I have no form.

"I can"t run anymore." I look down, away from those dark eyes.

"Gabrielle, listen to me. We have to find civilization somewhere close, then we"ll?—"

"Then what? Did you forget the Faceless have people everywhere? Do you think they don"t have people out looking for us right now? You think they"re just going to let us run away?" I scream back at him, not caring if my voice travels and the guards find us. Right now, it"d almost be better if they did. Then they could take me back to my cell where I know my death is certain. Out here, it"s more of a waiting game. A game I don"t want to play.

"If you give up, I"m going to give up too," April says as she kneels down next to me. "I don"t want to die, Gabi. Bishop is giving us a chance. I"m scared too. I"m sad. I"m hurting. I feel all the things you do, but I still want to live."

My eyes dart up to hers. She"s only eighteen years old. She"s already endured so much at such an early age. She hasn"t had anyone there to protect her. If I don"t want to live for myself, I can at least make sure she"s got a chance.

"Gabi, please, I can"t lose you," Bishop adds before grabbing my chin so I"m forced to look up into his eyes. I see the fire there even though externally he looks as if he"s been through a prizefight. That will to live is still strong inside him. I don"t want to let him down either. I"m not running for me. I"m running for them.

"Okay, okay, help me up." I grab hold of Bishop and April, and the two of them get me back to my feet.

We set off at a brisk pace once again, but with every impact of my feet on the hard forest floor, pain echoes inside my body. None of us are going to be able to keep this up for much longer. Bishop grunts through the pain, but I see the steam coming up off his head. He"s feverish.

April holds onto me as if I"m her lifeline. I"m not sure I want the responsibility.

"Look! Right there!" April perks up, and she moves faster in the direction she"s pointing. I don"t know what she sees, but when I hear Bishop thank God, I notice the very top of what looks to be a cabin.

I"m not going to get too happy yet. Who knows what kind of danger is lurking inside those walls.

It takes us another half hour at least to get to the cabin. Bishop nearly collapses on the porch and has to use the beam to hold himself upright. His entire body is shaking, and the cuts on his back have opened back up. Both April and I have bloodied feet and small scrapes from where the branches of the low trees swiped at us. If we can"t get into this cabin, there"s no doubt in my mind that all of us are going to die.

I rush up the stairs and knock on the door a few times but I don"t hear anything inside.

"We need to get inside. Maybe there"s a phone." Bishop pants.

"It"s locked. I can"t break it." I jiggle the handle a few times just to make sure. I would try to ram in but I"m sure in my condition I"d just end up breaking my arm.

"There"s a window. We can try through there." April points out.

"Watch out." Bishop pushes himself off the beam and walks over to the window. He tries twice to lift it but when that doesn"t work he walks over to the window beside the door and breaks that instead. Reaching inside he quickly unlocks the door and pushes it open.

None of us bothered to check inside.

The minute we stepped over the threshold I find myself wishing we were still outside.

"You picked the wrong fucking house."

My breath catches in my throat as the long barrel of a shotgun comes level with Bishop"s head.