“I mean, yeah,” I reply. “They’ve done it right in our faces.”
Noah is silent for a moment as he looks back down at the fire. “Yeah, I guess so.”
I don’t like the ominous tone his voice has taken on. Likehe’s settling on a decision in his mind. Looking to my left, I see Shane watching him with an equally concerned look.
Without a word, Noah turns on his heel and heads back to his hut, closing the door behind him. The instant he does, Shane looks at me.
“Well, that was unsettling as fuck.”
I nod. “I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him.”
Silence falls before Shane finally speaks again.
“I get his denial. Sometimes it’s easier than accepting your reality.”
“Which is?” I ask.
His eyes meet mine, dark and hopeless. “That only two of us are walking out of here, and we all want to be one of those two.”
“So they say,” I challenge. “Nothing is ever certain—the game could always change. The rules could always change.”
Shane doesn’t respond for a moment as his eyes move back to the fire.
“Not if they have anything to say about it.”
Chapter Thirty Six
Courtney
Ifeel a hand brush against my arm, sending a shiver across my skin. Slowly, the hand moves back and forth, pulling me out of the deep sleep I succumbed to. When I’m fully aware that there’s someone standing over me, rubbing my arm, my eyes fly open as fight or flight kicks in.
I lean up as fast as I can, and it takes my brain a moment to process that it’s Luna in front of me.
“Hey, hey,” she whispers. “Shh. It’s okay. It’s me.”
My breathing is ragged as I swallow roughly and shake my head. “You scared the shit out of me,” I whisper back as I look to see Landon soundly asleep beside me.
“I’m sorry. I just needed to tell you goodbye.”
My brows pull together. “What do you mean?”
She gives me a regretful look. “The odds aren’t good, babe. Shane has a plan, so we’re taking our chance.”
I sit up fully to face her, concern heavy in me. “Luna, you can’t run. We’re miles deep in a forest on an isolated island. We don’t even know where we are,” I whisper.
It’s just now that I realize her necklace is gone as well as her locked-in bracelet.
“We have to try,” she says and looks towards the door. “I have to go. I’m sorry. I love you.”
I reach for her and wrap her up in a tight hug. I feel her tears hit my shoulder before she pulls away and kisses my cheek.
“I love you,” I say as she gives me a sad smile, unwinding her arms from me before slipping out the door.
I rush over to it and watch her and Shane run hand in hand in the direction the golf carts disappeared to. Unease fills me as they disappear into the tree line in the dead of night. Fuck. I hope they make it. I hope Shane’s plan is solid enough. They have to make it.They have to.
And now I’m left wondering what the fuck Landon and I are going to do.
The next morning, I wake up to the sun shining on my face a warm, golden glow through the window. Turning on my side, I find Landon beside me, watching me sleep as always. I do my best to muster a smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes.
