Page 43 of They Will Fall

There’s some muffled words and I’m sure she’s covered the speaker to tell one of her guys what’s going on. A new voice comes on the line and relief floods me, knowing these guys would do anything to come to my rescue just like Scar would. “Are you there?”

“I’m here,” I say to Crew. “Please come find me. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Just stay calm, Riley. We’re going to get you out of there.”

“Easy for you to say.” I scoff as my back slides down the tree. The fabric of the sweatshirt I’m wearing gets caught on some bark, but I keep going down until my ass is planted firmly on the ground. The air around me is freezing, and with no shoes and only a thin shirt, I feel like my life is hanging in the balance, even without this madman chasing me.

I listen intently for any sound around me. There’s some leaves crunching in the distance, but nothing that alerts me to a person being nearby.

“Hello?” I say, getting inpatient and even more worried with each passing second. “Crew?”

“I’m here. We’re just trying to come up with a plan.”

Seconds turn to a minute and my stomach begins growling as I wait. I haven’t eaten all day. The sun is now completely set. I’m cold. I’m scared.

I can’t control my emotions as I burst into tears.

“I just want to come home,” I cry to Crew. “Please hurry.”

“Riley, you need to get to a road and search for a sign. Anything that tells us where you might be.”

“No,” I blurt out. “I can’t walk out of here, not knowing if he’s waiting for me or not. It’s dark, Crew. I’m so fucking scared.”

There’s some static before Scar returns to the call. “Babe, it’s me. Listen, you have to be brave, okay? You can do this. You’re Riley fucking Cross.”

“I’m not brave. I’m weak.” A sob cracks through me with the omission, finally saying out loud how I’ve been feeling since the moment I pulled that trigger on the governor. The moment that was supposed to solidify who I was, a guardian and a protector, is the same moment I feel like I lost who I was.

“Are you kidding me? You are a force to be reckoned with. You hear me? Look at everything you’ve overcome. Now stand up and straighten your crown because no friend of mine is anything less than a vengeful queen. You are going to walk out of those fucking woods and we are going to come get you as soon as we can.” She pauses for a moment and I wipe the tears away from my face, trying to believe her. “Oh, and grab a stick of some sort. You may need a weapon.”

“I was feeling pretty optimistic until you mentioned using a stick as a weapon.” I chuckle softly, letting some of my best friend's strength bleed into me.

I get to my feet and turn the phone toward the ground, using the little light I have to look for the same stick that set me free, then I jerk it away from the logs. “Okay,” I tell her, “I’ve got one.”

“I’m on the line with you. You’re going to be fine. Walk out the same way you came in.”

My feet move in the direction I came, softly—quietly. But, I feel…lost. “Scar,” I cry, “I don't know which way to go.”

“Talk to me, babe. What kind of road were you on?”

“Um. Gravel. Definitely gravel.”

“Okay. Keep walking and I’ll keep talking.”

Scar’s words replay in my mind as I plant one foot in front of the other, willing myself to conquer my fears.You are a force to be reckoned with.

I hardly believe it to be true, but it’s what she said after that, that really resonated with me.Look at everything you’ve overcome.

I shot a man to defend my friends. I slept with a villain and found his light. I tied my boyfriend up to get free and forged my own path. I fought three men with everything I had, and with a little help, I was able to get away. I’m not weak, I’m a fighter.

I am Riley fucking Cross.

Scar keeps talking, but I don’t hear her. All I can focus on is each step in what I hope to be the right direction.

I walk. And walk. And walk until my feet are numb. I could feel the blood on them from the terrain when I sat down, but if I focused on it, there was no way I would have gotten back up again. So the numbness from the cold helps.

“I see a clearing,” I whisper-yell. “I think I made it.”

“Keep going, girl,” Scar cheers me on and hope flutters in my chest.

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