Page 36 of Seal My Fate

“What? No!” I haul her to her feet again, but she tries to pull away.

“I won’t make it, not with my ankle hurting like this. I’ll only slow you down.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I grind out.

“You can get help,” she argues. “Run to the village. I’ll hide, you can come back for me—”

“I said ‘No.’” I fight to keep my voice down, shaking with anger and fear. “I already lost you once already, Wren. I’m not leaving you behind now. We survive this together, or we don’t survive at all.”

“But Tessa—”

“Shh!” I hiss at her suddenly, whirling around. A noise comes from somewhere behind us. “Did you hear that?” I whisper.

The noise comes again. A shuffling sound that could be an animal… Until a voice comes through the trees, muttering a curse.

Fuck.

Wren’s eyes widen in terror, and I panic too. I look around desperately, and spot a fallen tree, up against some bushes. I point, and the two of us creep over, as quietly as we can.

I clamber over to behind the tree trunk, then crawl into the middle of the bushes, not caring as twigs and branches scratch at my skin. Wren crawls after me, until we’re both hidden in the thick undergrowth, out of sight.

Slowly, the noise of our pursuer gets closer, and then a faint beam of light comes. The torch on a cellphone, sweeping through the trees.

Searching.

Oh God.

I silently press a finger to my lips. Wren nods, and we wait there in terrified silence.

He wanders closer. I can hear him more clearly now, crunching through leaves and twigs, not trying to stay quiet. The beam of light bobs, then pauses focused on the ground.

He’s trying to track our footprints.

Every instinct tells me to creep back and to bury myself even further in the bushes; to bolt, and run for my life, but I can’t risk making a sound.I can’t leave Wren.

She silently finds my hand and clutches it tightly. I squeeze back, my heart racing wildly as the man moves closer… Closer…

… And passes us by.

Wren and I stay frozen. We barely even breathe, we just wait there, terrified, as the gunman keeps moving, picking up his pace now. The light bobs, heading deeper into the woods, until it’s out of sight.

He’s gone.

Wren exhales, half breathing, half sobbing in relief.

“Shh,” I whisper quickly. “It’s not safe yet.”

She clamps a hand over her mouth, muffling the sound of her ragged breathing, as I crouch there, listening hard. There’s no sound of our pursuer, just the eerie rustles and whispers of the woods, but I don’t believe it.

“Tessa…” she finally speaks up, softly. “I think he’s gone.”

“It could be a trap,” I whisper back. “He could be doubling back. Or have reinforcements coming. We don’t know anything.”

Like who the man with the gun is, or how he found us.

I think of my cellphone, sitting useless at the bottom of the stairs, and curse. If only we could send a message, or call someone right now. I’m sure Saint is going out of his mind with worry, after hearing the gunshots.

Saint.

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