Page 86 of The Untamed

But that means they’re missing too.

Based on the way the blankets have been dragged off the bed, shoes scattered, and furniture sitting crooked, I’d say there was a struggle. I notice Ronan’s glasses sitting on the wood floor, smashed to pieces, as if someone crushed them under their heavy boot. Panic seizes my chest. I yank open his side table drawer to find his three extra pairs sitting neatly and untouched.

He wouldn’t willingly leave his glasses behind.

Oh God.

“Wild sent me—” Chet starts and then says, “Where the fuck is Sadie?”

“My siblings are gone too,” I hiss out. “Something bad has happened. Something really bad.”

“Maybe they went to get fresh air,” Chet suggests, fighting another cough. “Like we should be doing.”

I shake my head in vehemence. “No. Carter was stabbed. Mom was attacked. Someone hurt them.”

My first thought is the rapists who attacked Kristen. They must’ve come back. But there were only two of them supposedly. I also doubt they’d take the time to dismantle tents.

They wouldn’t do that because they don’t exist.

Holy fucking shit.

It wasthem.

The trespassers.

They were playing us all along.

I bolt out the door, shoving past Chet, and race toward the gate that stands wide open. Beyond the gate, there’s nothing to see except more smoky woods. The visibility is worse away from the light of the fire. I’m cursing myself for having not grabbed a flashlight.

“Wild’s truck is gone,” Chet exclaims, doubled over as he sucks in air. “He parked it right there.”

It’s then that I see the form of a body. I can’t breathe as I make my way over to it. Dark, messy hair shields the woman’s face from me.

No.

Please, God, no.

Crouching, I recognize the woman. Thankfully, it’s not Raegan. It’s Carter’s mom, Wendy. She’s littered with bloody wounds that also look to have come from a knife, though I don’t see one anywhere.

Who the hell would do this?

“Someone stabbed her to death?” Chet cries out in horror. “What kind of redneck freaks are you people? Where the hell is my goddamn sister?”

Ignoring him, I sprint over to another form. This time, it’s a bald older man. Another one from the trespasser’s group named Gary. Beside him are his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren, including their six-month-old.

All slaughtered like pigs.

Bloody and viciously stabbed.

I’m going to be sick.

I lose count of the deaths when I stumble upon a couple more bodies. Hellie and her young son, Nicky.

All dead. All stabbed and dragged out here to rot.

The outlook for finding my siblings and father isn’t looking good.

That’s eleven corpses.

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