Page 72 of Dark

Shivering and heaving, I felt rain trickle down the back of my now-human neck. A hand wrenched me up by the hair. The night sky swirled above me as a shadowed figure flipped me over. A roar choked in my throat. No sound emerged. I fought against the concrete encasing my muscles, unable to twitch so much as a finger in protest.

“He’ll live. Bring the others.”

Hayden, I thought just as the hood was shoved over my face.

Run.

13

Hayden

STAY HERE? YEAH, THAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING. I watched as Ethan cut through the crowd, blood turning to ice in my veins. Down below the stage, West had just shot off after some guy with no explanation, shouts and what sounded like a muffled explosion trailing in his wake. Right. Like I was going to stand here like a fairy tale princess waiting to be rescued while everyone around me was in danger.

Not. Happening.

Jumping off the stage, I plowed into the crowd. It was a scene that would have made a kick-ass zombie movie, an empty field miles out in the sticks, storm clouds rolling in, a teeming mass of people fighting their way towards their cars. Just as I thought I was starting to make headway, the sky opened up. Shrieks echoed above the boom of thunder, a kaleidoscope of picnic blankets and jackets flying up to block my line of sight as I craned to find Ethan up ahead. Sheets of rain pummeled the trampled grass, weeks of wear and erosion quickly turning the field into a mud pit. I bit back a curse. Trying to elbow your way through a crowd after the sheriff just announced severe weather was on the way, and oh yeah, there may or may not have been wolves waiting in the wings to eat the stragglers?

Good luck with that.

By the time I made it to the edge of the cornfield, my clothes were stuck to my skin, my teeth chattering from the sudden drop in temperature. The entrance to the maze was blocked off by a patrol car, its red and blues flashing ominously.

Pulling out my phone, I checked for a signal and fired off a text to Ellie.

Me: Where are you? Get back to stage. Labradoodles on the lam

A string of messages came through.

West: we’ve got v for sure. male. flashed out just before I got there

Dallas: Anyone seen August?

I touched the scar at my throat, opening the invisible tether connecting me to Ethan.

Come on. Come on.

Switching my phone to flashlight mode, I faced down the thrashing wall of corn. PSA for anyone who’s never seen a cow outside of Instagram and finds themselves lost in a corn maze: You can totally walk through corn. I mean, who doesn’t want to be rescued by hot firefighters? Yum. But totes unnecessary.

Shining my phone ahead into the dark, I waded in. A minute later, I burst out onto a muddy path in the maze’s interior.

I threw an arm up to block the razor-sharp cornstalks whipping across my face, trying to make out anything in the dark. The narrow path branched out left and right. In the beam of my phone’s flashlight, thousands of raindrops streaked to the earth in a silver curtain, swirling wildly with each gust.

Total. Clusterfuck.

I waded deeper into the maze. The corn lashed out from all sides, the wind howling in my ears. Somewhere off in the distance, a tornado siren sounded, its call immediately echoed by a chorus of wolves. I shivered. The mud sucked at my shoes, making it impossible to run. Between the dark and the swirling corn, I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me. Couldn’t hear if anyone was coming—

And then without warning I was out, bursting through a gap in the maze. I tried my phone again. No signal.

Something screamed. I jumped, dropping my phone. Heart pounding, I fumbled in the mud, the world suddenly black. Lightning flashed.

Okay. They’re close. Turn off your phone. Broadcasting where you are is just going to draw them all down on top of you.

Pocketing my phone, I reached out again for Ethan, the connection fainter this time, flickering—

Something was wrong. I could barely feel him. He couldn’t have gotten that far away—

Unless someone had grabbed him. Unless he was hurt. Unless—

I slicked rain off my face. Think. Move. Hands shaking, I plunged deeper into the maze.