Page 62 of The Hunt

“I… I think so,” I said shakily. “I’m just cold.”

“Me too. It’s this fucking wind.” He pursed his lips and looked at the sky. “Do you remember what happened?”

“The boat sank, didn’t it?”

He shrugged. “Guess so. I didn’t actually see it happening,” he said. “I got caught up in all the panic and hit my head on a railing. I don’t remember anything after that, so I must’ve passed out. Next thing I know, I’m waking up here.”

“I don’t remember much either,” I said, frowning as I strained to recall the fuzzy events of the previous night. “I started feeling really weird just before the boat started sinking. Dizzy from the boat tilting, I guess. Then I must’ve passed out at some point.”

“Whatdoyou remember?”

“I remember someone saying there was a hole in the boat. And someone from the crew said we were sinking.”

“A hole?” The man’s brows rose, and he looked out over the water. “I guess that’d do it.”

I swallowed thickly. “Do you have any idea where we are?”

“None whatsoever.” He patted his pocket. “I had my cell phone zipped in here, so it survived. But there’s no signal. So wherever we are… it’s got to be the middle of fucking nowhere.”

I blinked at him, his words sinking in slowly. Behind him, the ocean stretched out endlessly under a slate-gray sky, its choppy waves dull and lifeless. Everything about it felt wrong.

Hell, everythingwaswrong.

“Where did the boat depart from?” I asked.

“Havenport,” the man replied, giving me an odd look. “You don’t remember?”

“No.” I waved a dismissive hand. “Long story.”

“Right. Well, we left Havenport Marina around six. We were meant to sail up the coast for a few hours, then turn around and come back by midnight. I think all the shit went down around ten or eleven. So theoretically, we should be somewhere between Havenport and…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Shit, I dunno. How many miles can a yacht sail in a few hours?”

“I don’t know. But probably not super far,” I said. “And everywhere around Havenport is built up. So if we’re anywhere near there, or even fifty miles north or south, there should be a phone signal. Even down here at the beach.”

“I’m guessing the storm washed us out a lot further than any of us remember,” the man said. “We could be all the way up in fucking Maine, for all we know.”

I doubted we werethatfar away—unless we’d both been unconscious for more than a day before we washed up—but it seemed pointless to start an argument with the only other survivor I’d seen so far.

“I’m Everly, by the way,” I said, extending a hand.

“Chris.” He shook my hand and gave me a tight smile. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence.

“Yeah,” I muttered, glancing around again.

“Do you think this accident will affect the game?” he asked. “I mean, ithasto, right?”

Oh, god.Not this shit again.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to explain this game thing to me,” I said. “I asked a few people last night, and no one really told me anything.”

He gave me the same half-confused, half-suspicious look everyone else had given me on the yacht when I tried to quiz them about the game. Then he sighed and shook his head. “Never mind that right now,” he said. “We need to start lookingaround. See if anyone else made it. Or if there’s any sign of civilization around here.”

We trudged along the shoreline, wet sand clinging to our bare feet with every step. To our right, the ocean churned under the dull gray sky, its waves crashing against the beach in a relentless rhythm. Pieces of wreckage littered the shore—torn life vests, shattered wood panels, a lone chair tangled in seaweed.

On our left, a dense wall of forest loomed, dark and uninviting. The occasional rustle from within sent a shiver crawling down my spine, the sound too faint to tell whether it was the wind or an animal.

My breath hitched as something caught my eye—a nametag lying face-up. I stepped closer and saw the name of the waitress I’d spoken with last night.Alison.My chest tightened as dread sank in. Was she dead? Or had she survived like me and lost her badge the same way I lost my shoes and earring?

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