Page 16 of Immersed
Her hair ignited in a terrible halo of flame that spread across her scalp with unnatural speed. The scent of burning hair and flesh filled the air as her body convulsed once, twice, then went still. The flames continued to consume her, turning her colorful locks to ash and char.
No one moved. No one breathed. The crackling of the fire seemed deafening in the sudden silence.
Elliot’s satellite phone slipped from his fingers, clattering against stone.
Behind where Maddie stood, a tall figure stepped into the firelight. The stranger turned toward Levi. Recognition flashed between them, predator acknowledging prey.
“Boo!” The word escaped the stranger’s lips with childlike glee, a playground taunt that shattered the frozen moment.
Chaos erupted.
Tyler shouted something unintelligible, lunging for the hatchet propped against a nearby log. Owen scrambled backward, tripping over the cooler, glasses flying from his face. Zoe’s scream pierced the night, high and terrified as she bolted toward the tree line.
Jasper stood motionless, mouth hanging open, staring at Maddie’s burning body with glazed eyes.
Elliot backed away, hands raised in surrender. “Wait, wait—my father will pay whatever—”
The stranger moved without hesitation, slashing Elliot’s throat with a second knife that seemed to materialize from thin air. Blood fountained into the firelight, dark and glistening as it sprayed across the stranger’s features.
Elliot collapsed, gurgling, hands pressed to his neck as life poured between his fingers.
Levi couldn’t move. His muscles locked, feet rooted to the ground as terror cascaded through his system. The stranger stepped over Maddie’s burning corpse, advancing toward him with fluid grace.
Tyler swung the hatchet at the stranger’s head. Without looking, the stranger caught Tyler’s wrist mid-swing, twisting until bones snapped like kindling. Tyler’s scream cut off abruptly as the stranger grabbed the hatchet with his other hand and drove it deep into his chest, splitting his sternum with a wet crack.
Three dead in seconds.
The stranger’s locked onto Levi again, head tilting with birdlike curiosity.
“You’re different,” the stranger whispered, voice soft and melodic beneath the crackling flames.
A flying object—Levi’s water bottle—sailed through the air and bounced harmlessly off the stranger’s shoulder. Then a protein bar. A flashlight. A shoe.
“Get away from him!” Jasper shouted, rummaging through his backpack, flinging items at the stranger with shaking hands. “Leave him alone, you psycho!”
The stranger paused, turning his head toward Jasper, expression shifting from predatory focus to mild curiosity.
Something in Jasper’s desperate defense broke through Levi’s paralysis. His legs unlocked, adrenaline flooding his system like ice water.
“Jasper,” Levi hissed, stumbling toward him. “We need to run. Now.”
Jasper nodded, still rummaging through his bag. “Just one second, man. I’ve got something—”
“No time!” Levi grabbed Jasper’s sleeve, tugging him toward the tree line where Zoe disappeared.
The stranger made no move to follow. He stood motionless beside the campfire, watching them. The flames illuminated half his face, casting the other in shadow. He looked... confused. As if their flight was an unexpected variable.
Levi and Jasper crashed through the underbrush, branches whipping their faces as they fled deeper into the forest. Levi’s legs burned with exertion, but fear drove him forward, dragging Jasper behind him.
“Wait,” Jasper wheezed after several minutes, doubling over. “Need a break. Smoker’s lungs, man.”
“We can’t stop,” Levi insisted, glancing over his shoulder. “He’ll find us.”
“It’s cool.” Jasper straightened up, pulling something from his waistband. Moonlight glinted off metal. “I found what I was looking for.”
Levi’s eyes widened at the pistol in Jasper’s shaking hand. He backed away instinctively, memories of countless movies flashingthrough his mind—the accidental discharge, the friend killed by mistake.
“Whoa, be careful with that thing!” Levi raised his hands. Jasper’s finger hovered dangerously close to the trigger, the barrel swinging erratically as he gestured.
