Page 6

I don’t know what made me run, but something in my gut told me it’s what I needed to do. Not just to my home, but away.

Far away.

After I ran from Tiger’s home, I took the path through the woods, and came out right at my home so no one would see me. I went through the back door, grabbed a backpack, stuffed it with things I’d need—or thought I needed in the heat of the moment—and I left.

I’m certain the men I saw at Tiger’s house were cops. I saw their badges, and I heard them talking about getting back to the precinct. They even mentioned someone else coming to take care of Tiger’s body.

That’s what scared me the most.

If those men were cops, who was I supposed to go to for help? Eventually, someone would find Tiger, and the police would come asking questions. What if the officers who showed up were the same men I’d seen? Or worse, what if they were working together?

I couldn’t take that chance.

When I stepped out onto my porch after gathering my things, for a moment, I considered going to one of the villagers, but I had the strangest feeling that someone was watching me, which only made it worse. I never saw anyone, and maybe it was just my imagination after everything that happened, but I couldn’t shake it.

I kept thinking about those men searching Tiger’s house. Whatever they were looking for, they hadn’t found it. And I had a terrible feeling they weren’t going to stop until they did.

I’ve never been anywhere but my home and my community, but I have skills to survive. I just don’t know what my game plan is. Am I going to run forever? And why won’t I just go home?

I could lie. Say I don’t know anything. But if someone saw me, then I could be in danger too.

Why did I have to go inside his house? Why did I have to see this?

I’m not sure how far I’ve gone, but I’ve stayed close to the river so I don’t get entirely lost. This way if I decide to go back, I just have to follow it up stream and I’ll make it back home.

It’s just that when I think of going back there, I want to throw up. The thought of talking to the cops…

I could try to tell someone else. I should have done that. Gone to someone in the village rather than running away. But I panicked. I didn’t know what to do, so I ran. Now going back feels even weirder.

The sun will be going down soon, so I keep an eye out for a good place to stop for the night. I find a tree stand, and figure that will be a good place to sleep for the night. There are large animals out here, and some poisonous things as well. I feel safer off the ground.

I climb up and settle onto the small platform, curling into a ball, using my backpack as a pillow. The nights are getting cooler, but it’s still warm during the day. I stare out at the sky, watching it change colors until finally it’s pitch black. I listen to the river, and the animals and wildlife until I finally fall asleep.

The sun wakes me in the morning, bright and early. My back and neck are sore from the way I slept, but I make my way down anyway because the only way to go is forward. The water in the river is cold, and I gather some into my hands to wash my face. I pull the bottle of suppressants out of my bag to count them. There are seven left.

Only seven. That should be enough to get me somewhere safe. At the very least, it gives me more time to figure this all out.

I screw the cap back on and reach for the opening in my bag to toss them in—but I miss.

“No!”

The bottle tumbles to the ground, rolling into the river. I lunge for it, but just barely stop myself from falling in. I drop my bag and run along the bank to keep up with it, but it’s going to fast, drifting further away. Before I know it, it’s gone.

“Come back!”

As if a stupid bottle is going to listen to me.

I stop, throwing my hands up and dropping them at my sides. I can’t believe that just happened…

“No, no, no.”

I stand there, staring at the water. Praying for a miracle to bring me back that bottle, while cursing myself for being so stupid.

Those were my last suppressants.

Without them, there's nothing stopping my next heat from coming, and I have no idea when that will happen.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to cry as I make my way upstream to get my backpack where I left it.