Page 105 of Deviant

Hurt, I turn my back to him, trying hard not to cry in front of everyone.

“It’s telling us to go this way,” David shouts, urging us all to walk down the steep hill toward the church.

My feet feel like lead as I slowly try to trail behind the group, with Elias strolling a few feet behind me.

“Wait!” I hear my dad call from behind me before I’m able to take another step.

Hope fills my heart as he rushes toward me and hugs me to his chest.

“Dad,” I croak, unable to keep my tears at bay any longer. Not when he’s finally hugging me.

He hugs me tighter and whispers in my ear, “I doubt you’ll win, but if by some ill-gotten miracle you do, don’t come back.”

Tears fall down my cheeks for a whole different reason now as he breaks our embrace and stares at me with utter revulsion in his eyes.

“Understood?”

I nod while wiping the errant tears that refuse to stop falling.

“Understood.”

I then turn my back to him to follow the others, knowing that will be the last time I will ever see my father.

Precisely as he wants.

Chapter 20

Elias

So these are the chosen ones—the infamous Harvest Dozen.

God help us all.

This band of misfits and miscreants have no idea what they’ve got themselves into. Mind you, neither do I, but it’s safe to say that being selected for TheScourgeisn’t supposed to be a happy occasion. These kids act like they are on their way to a vacation or something, instead of being en route to their deaths.

“Come on, slowpokes! It’s telling us to go that way! Let’s hustle!” A little brunette shrieks in excitement, poking at the screen of her watch as we continue to hike through the forest and up the mountain.

Jesus Christ.

I’m not sure I can handle this much stupidity.

Worst of all, it seems I’ve made myself a new friend.

No… not a friend—I’ve acquired a pet since the kid who has decided to tag along with me during this godforsaken hike hasn’t stopped yapping away like an excited puppy since we left Blackwater Falls.

“Ruby sure is a little ball buster, huh?” He nudges his elbow to my gut. “Don’t let her fool you, though. Her bark is worse than her bite. She used to be in my English Lit class back in high school, so I should know. Come to think of it, I think I went to school with almost everyone here at one point or another. Huh? Kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it? WhyThe Scourgepicked us, of all people?”

Though I don’t respond to avoid encouraging him, he continues on as if I have.

“Since you’re the oldest one here, you probably don’t know anyone, so how about I fill you in,” he adds eagerly, completely disregarding the annoyed groan I let out. “I’ve already mentioned who Ruby is, so I might as well introduce you to the guy strutting right in front of her, acting like the self-proclaimed leader he thinks he is. That’s David Hall—high school football captain and full-time jerk. But don’t take my word for it. Just give him a second to open his mouth and you’ll understand why I can’t stand him. He’s the kind of guy who thinks he’s better than everyone else. I can assure you that at this very moment, he’s wondering why any of us got picked, since he thinks he’s smarter than all of us combined. What a douche,” the kid proclaims not one bit bothered to show his dislike for the guy leading the group. Though I must admit, the kid’s nemesis does give me Aidan vibes, so I make a note to keep my eye on the fucker.

“Anyway, the two guys behind him are Cris Wilson and Michael Thomas. Cris is all brawn and no brains, but completely harmless. Big Mike, on the other hand, is a different matter. If you look up the word sleazy in the dictionary, I’m positive you’ll see his ugly mug there. I mean, I haven’t talked to him personally since we all graduated, so he might have changed since then, but I highly doubt it. The guy just gives off a bad vibe, you know what I mean?”

“If I say I do, will you stop with all these fucking introductions?” I grumble.

“You’re funny.” He laughs, thinking I’m joking.

“Anyway, where was I?” he starts, as I try to recall what fucked up thing I did in a past life to deserve such punishment. “Ah, right. So trailing right behind pea-brain Cris and shady Big Mike are Lucas Mitchell and Lucy Wright. Now, that’s a sad sight if I ever saw one.” He shakes his head as if he’s truly sad to see the pair here. “As you can see from the way Lucas is constantly drying Lucy’s tears and kissing her lips to make her feel better, they’re together—have been an item since middle school. Fucking breaks your heart, doesn’t it? I heard somewhere that Lucas was trying to save enough money for a ring to pop the big question to Lucy this year.The Scourgesure didn’t pull any punches when selecting those two for the Harvest Dozen.”

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