Page 49 of Treacherous

We travelled away from the hill, the city, the street lights and basically all human civilization. Hope pointed out a few different places as we travelled higher into the mountains – where she used to live, where she used to camp – none of which I remembered because I was too nervous. It was dark, I was freezing, and we were traveling into the unknown – the unknown didn't bide well with me.

After spending twenty minutes driving in silence down a secluded dirt-road, Hope took another sharp left and suddenly a huge abandoned quarry pit came into view.

The further we drove into the quarry the more suffocated I started to feel. Walls of resolute rock over eighty feet in height surrounded us. Burnt-out shells of cars lay scattered on either side of us as we drove and within seconds my eyes locked on…oh yeah we were here.

I was staring at a ring of fire.

I kid you not, a circling blaze of red-hot flames blew high into the night-air. Several smaller bonfires were scattered around the clearing surrounded by crowds of people, and I really didnotwant to get out of this car without a fire-extinguisher.

"Are they insane?" I hissed as Hope parked my car at the edge of the clearing where all the other cars were parked. "I mean really, are they seriously crazy?" I gaped at the side of Hope's face. "This place is a death-trap."

Hope was right.

Thiswasthe playground for the shady and reckless…

"I guess they don't care," she whispered, staring straight ahead at the scene unfolding in front of us. I wasn't sure if we'd landed ourselves into the middle of a brothel, a fighting ring, or a bloody car chase.

Shit was happening…like everywhere.

Nickelback'sBurn it to the groundwas blaring from the humongous pair of speakers sitting on the back of a truck, pumped no doubt by the huge generator next to it.

Women wearing far less clothing than us were parading themselves around in front of men.

There were people in cars doing donuts and all types of dumb shit, and a huge mob of people were forming a circle in the center.

"You owe me, Hope," I grumbled as I climbed out of the passenger seat and adjusted myself as best I could. I caught my reflection in the car window and glared at the back of Hope's head. "You really,reallyowe me."

"I know," she replied in a serious tone as she tried to walk in a pair of sky-scraper black stilettos. She was wearing a flimsy red-dress and the only thing comforting me in this moment was the fact that there was as much of Hope on display as there was of me. But as much as I detested what I was wearing – and I loathed it – Hope had been right to make us dress up. At least we blended in. And the way I saw it blending was good, it meant we could get in and out of here without being noticed.

"Can you see him?" I asked, taking the key of my car from Hope and popping it into my top, while I spied the crowds for Cameron and prayed I wouldn't see Noah or worse, Ellie.

Jesus, knowing my luck she was here too.

"No," Hope muttered as she bit down on her lip nervously. "He looks tough, Teegs," she whispered, clutching my hand in hers. "And he is, but he's got this horrible temper that makes him vulnerable. That temper fuelled with his ADHD makes for a very unpredictable Cameron."

"We'll find him," I coaxed, feeling a huge chunk of sympathy for my fiery friend. Hope acted so tough and carefree, but I could tell by her eyes that she was scared to death for Cam.

The ground was littered with stones and I was finding it incredibly tricky to keep my balance. I spotted something – more like heard someone's name being called out – to the left and groaned.

"Hope."

I caught her attention and pointed over to where a group had formed a circle around two guys fighting.

The stench of cigarettes even outside in the fresh air was overpowering and I had a feeling these people were smoking more than tobacco. Everyone was rowdy, jittery even, and there was this buzz in the atmosphere.

We made our way over to the crowd and I could have wept when I saw who was in the center of the circle fighting.

"Messina," people screamed and cheered, meanwhile I swallowed some vomit. There was blood on the ground, mixed in with dirt, and Noah…Noah was bleeding from his eyebrow.

Without thinking twice about what I was doing I let go of Hope's hand and pushed forward, butting several other spectators out of my way until I got to the front.

The other guy looked so much worse off than Noah and a tiny part of my body sagged in relief, briefly – very briefly. My relief ended the second the other guy began punching Noah repeatedly in the face.

But Noah…he just didn't seem to feel it, smirking with each blow as if he was feeding off the pain.

And then he let rip and the crowd went berserk.

I'd seen boys my age fight before. Liam had been in plenty of scuffles over the years – both on and off the football pitch. I'd seen blood drawn in fights, hell even a broken rib or nose.

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