Page 61 of Lucky 14

Then, my rational brain kicks in. I need to go while I still can. Glancing around me, I slowly reach down for my bag.

Kyan doesn’t move.

What is he doing?

I look around again. Is this some kind of trap? “Uh…”

Kyan’s eyelashes flutter, but otherwise his look is still blank. And then I notice a sleek, black screen on the bedside table. For a brief second, my eyes flit over it, then it registers. A phone.

A phone. I could call for help. I glance at Kyan, heart racing, then grab my bag and dart for the phone. Snatching it up before my brain can catch up with my body, I scramble back, then out of the room.

Hot urgency burns at my heels. Is this some sort of test? If it is, I have no doubt Kyan will win it. But if I can just call for help…

I don’t go to my room. That will be the first place he looks for me. Going downstairs, I find myself in that same boardroom where I was given the knife. It’s empty now and dark, and I slip inside, back to the wall, panting for breath.

Holy fuck. My hands are shaking as I power on the device. Now that I see it better, I realize it’s a little bigger than a phone. It’s a tablet.

My stomach sinks. Do tablets make calls?

Maybe it still has internet access. The blue glow lights up my face, and I blink, waiting to hear footsteps coming down the hall. A logo comes on the screen. And then, miracle of miracles, it opens to the home screen.

Relief hits me so hard I almost cry. I browse the apps, looking for a phone icon. Only, I can't find one. In fact, there’s only one app. I open it, finding a map pop-up. For a brief second, hope fills my chest. A map. I can find out where we are.

It’s an island. There are a bunch of dots spread out, all numbered. I zoom out more, but it stops. I can’t see more than that.

My hand shakes.

Why can’t I see more than that?

An overwhelming disappointment trickles down my spine, and I sag against the wall. No. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. This was supposed to be my ticket off the island.

I look again at the map. There are a bunch of tiny green arrows with numbers assigned to them.

I sit up straighter. Is this…

Squinting, I find Holland’s number. Is this where she is?

Newfound hope surges in my chest. I can find her. I can help her.

For a brief second, my brain tells me to leave her. To save myself. I picture leaving her, her staring after me with those big blue eyes and that white streak of hair. Then, all I can see is that fox with the white tuft of hair at the end of its tail and the guilt I felt leaving it to its death. And what did that get me in the end? Nothing but a broken heart and loneliness. I’m not doing that again. Things are going to be different this time.

No. Gripping the tablet, I pull in a deep breath. I’m a horrible person. I got her into this; I’ll get her out.

I’m saving Holland.

I’ll have to be smart about it. Careful. She’s not going to want my help. No one ever does. Not Jeremy, not Poppy, and certainly not her.

My chest hurts, but I don’t change my mind. Because maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to live with myself if I do this one thing for someone else. And I pray that one day she can forgive me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Day 4

Is it possible to float outside of your body and watch as if it’s happening to someone else? I’m watching myself now. I’m running, but it doesn’t feel like me. It feels like some terrified girl with greasy hair and empty eyes moving like an animal. She’s still running, just…slower now. Walking step by step in the morning sunshine to the northern part of the island.

I’m not sure how I got away from the man in the skull mask. One minute I was certain I was going to die, and the next minute he was just…standing there with this look on his face.

And I ran. I ran, not convinced he was letting me go. That my brain had made it up because it was easier than whatever reality was happening. Every step feels like I’m running into a fog.