Page 78 of The Hunt

While we munched on the extra rations from the cabin cache, Nikki announced that she needed to use the bathroom. As she spoke, she shot me a pointed glance—her eyes wide and insistent, with a subtle tilt of her head—that made it clear she wanted me to go with her.

I followed her down the narrow hall and stepped into the cramped bathroom. Calling it a bathroom was generous, really. It was little more than a low, lidless toilet and a tiny, rust-stained sink. Still, it was nice to have access to such small luxuries when I knew most of this game would be spent out in the wild.

“What’s up?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“I was wondering—do you think we should tell the others our plan to find the tunnels?” she whispered back.

“I was actually wondering the same thing,” I said. I paused for a second, lips twisting in contemplation. “It would be good if we could rescue as many people as possible. But on the other hand… a big group of people might attract too much attention. It would be much louder than just the two of us.”

“I thought about that. But sometimes there’s safety in numbers, as long as everyone can agree on a set of rules.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I said. “Also, if we don’t tell them… I don’t know if I can live with it on my conscience. Knowing Icould’vehelped people and chose not to.”

“Exactly,” she replied, nodding fervently. “So… you think we should tell them?”

“Yes.”

We headed back to the main room of the cabin and pointedly cleared our throats. The others turned their heads to look up at us, eyes wide. “What’s up?” Chris asked.

“We have something to tell you, and we also have a plan that might get us out of here,” Nikki said. She looked over at me. “Ev, do you want to tell them the first part?”

“Sure.” I cleared my throat again. “So, earlier today, I realized I’ve actually been here before. This island is named Wildercliff Island, and it’s—”

“I knew it!” Jade cut in, jumping to his feet. “I knew you were a mole! How the fuck can you—”

“Shut up, asshole!” Nikki snapped. “She’s not a mole. Let her finish!”

Jade sat back down, eyeing me warily, but he let me speak without interruption. I told the others the meat of the story—how my ex-boyfriend’s family owned an island, were likely involved with The Wild Hunt, and how I’d been inside the tunnels before, albeit a very long time ago.

“If we can make it up to the manor undetected, we can try to steal a satellite phone or radio to call for help. Also, there’s a helipad and a boat landing on the estate. And seeing as there are so many hunters here, there’s bound to be several boats too,” I said. “I doubt anyone here can fly a helicopter, but I’m sure we can figure out how to drive a boat, right?”

Chris raised his hand. “I know how to do it. We just need the keys.”

“We’ll figure that out when we get there.Ifwe get there,” Nikki said. “This is all very risky. You understand that, right? These nutjobs will kill us if they see us trying to escape.”

“They’ll kill us either way,” Kanako said, looking pointedly at her injured arm.

Nikki winced. “I know. I just meant—”

“It’s okay. We all know what you meant—that we have to be very, very careful,” Ava said. She turned her gaze to me. “How sure are you that we can find this tunnel you mentioned?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure at all,” I replied. “But it’s the only hope we have.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Chris muttered.

Kanako sighed. “Me too.”

I looked at the remaining three in turn. “What about you?”

“I guess you’re right. It’s the only hope we have,” Ava said, shrugging. “If we stay on the island, we die.”

Wariness was still flickering in Jade’s eyes. “I don’t know,” he said in a low voice. “It almost sounds too good to be true. How do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?”

“It’s not,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I’m trying to help you.”

“But how can we know that for sure?” he asked, forehead creasing. “For all we know, you could be a plant put here by the organizers to shake things up.”

“Look, Jade, I’ve been shot at twice today. Once with a gun and once with an arrow,” I snapped. “Just ask Nikki—they barely missed either one of us. If I was a mole, do you really think I’d risk my life like that?”

---