Page 82 of The Hunt

19

Everly

We managedto leave the cabin without incident, slipping out into the darkness as quietly as we could. For an hour, we walked through the forest, moving steadily toward the closest open safe zone, hoping we’d get there soon enough to snatch some much-needed hours of sleep before daybreak.

According to Nikki’s mental calculations, the safe zone was around an hour and a half northeast of the previous zone. Faster if we ran, but we already knew that was a bad idea.

An hour and a half didn’t sound like much, but out here in the island’s rough wilderness, it felt like forever. Every crunch of leaves underfoot, every faint rustle in the distance, every shadow in the moonlight… it all felt like a threat waiting to pounce. My nerves were stretched so tight they felt ready to snap, and every step seemed to amplify the weight of the danger surrounding us.

And then there washim.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Rhett was close. I didn’t know if it was my paranoia messing with me or if he was really following us, staying just out of sight. The thought of him hunting me lingered in my mind, twisting into something I didn’t know how to deal with, and I kept looking over myshoulder, torn between fear and... something else. Something I didn’t have time to unpack right now.

There was a sudden crackling sound in my earbud. I expected it to be an announcement, declaring another player dead, but instead a familiar deep voice filtered into my ear.

Rhett.

“It’s me. I’m on a private channel. I can’t do this for more than a few seconds because they’ll notice the interference, so listen to me carefully, because I won’t be able to contact you like this again,” he said. “I’ve been tracking you, and I see you’re currently heading northeast. Don’t go that way. Turn back. Find another safe zone. I repeat: stop heading northeast.”

With that, his voice cut off, and I froze mid-step, heart hammering in my chest. My instincts were right. Rhetthadbeen tracking me all night. But instead of attacking me, he was warning me.

Why? And why was he trying to stop me from going northeast? What was waiting for us there apart from the safe zone?

My stomach churned with confusion as I considered it all. Was Rhett luring me into a trap by convincing me to head in a different direction, or was he genuinely helping me out because some deep-down part of him cared about me?

Or… was he helping me avoid real trouble with another hunter in the north, just so he could capture me for himself later as part of some sick, twisted game he felt like playing?

The logical part of my brain leaned toward him having bad intentions, but the more I allowed his words to echo in my mind, the more I realized that there had been something in his tone—a quiet urgency that didn’t feel like manipulation. It felt more like concern. Or did I imagine that? Was my brain trying to humanize a monster because I simply couldn’t imagine being one myself?

My mind kept racing, tangled in doubt and panic. Nothing about this made sense. Rhett was supposed to be the enemy, but he’d just let me know that he hadn’t killed me when he had the chance to while tracking me. Hell, he’d probably hadmultiplechances, and he hadn’t taken a single one.

“Everly?” Nikki’s voice pulled me back, her brows furrowing as she realized I’d stopped. “What’s wrong?”

Everything was wrong.

But I couldn’t tell her, or the others, what I’d just heard. It would only add to their suspicion that I was a mole, because no one else here was getting private warnings from hunters.

I had to say something, though.Anything.

“Um… are you sure we’re going the right way?” I asked.

She nodded and showed me her compass, glinting under the moonlight. “Directly northeast. See?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” I shook my head. “I’m just so tired. My brain isn’t working.”

“I hear you.” She grimaced and turned back to face the path we were carving through the woods. “We need sleep. Badly.”

I took a deep breath and started walking again, mind still spinning over Rhett’s bizarre warning. I was starting to think he enjoyed messing with my head; obtained a sick pleasure from pushing me to question myself and doubt everything.

That would explain why he’d helped me back at Hollingsworth while simultaneously tormenting me. It was a way to manipulate me and keep me under control from all the fear and confusion he provoked in me. In a nutshell: a very effective terror campaign.

My best bet? Ignore him and keep heading to the safe zone.

Ten minutes later, an arrow whizzed through the trees, landing on a trunk just ahead of the group with a sharpthunk. My heart leapt into my throat as I stared at it. Its shaft was stillquivering; a stark reminder of just how close we’d come to being hit.

“We need to run!” Nikki said in an urgent whisper, glancing at the rest of us over her shoulder. “Come on!”

Jade reached up, wrenched the arrow out of the tree, and took off into the shadows without a word.

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