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At the back of her cabin, she waited until she saw Adelaide behind her, then she continued to the path they’d brought up here. The sky was at its darkest now, but the path was relatively clear. The only protrusions were rocks jutting out of the dirt here and there.
Aidyn’s voice came over the earpiece. “We’re all out. Elena, your mom is already making her way down the other side.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She swiped at the tears that prickled her eyes and picked up a stick. She ran it along the dirt in front of her to help her balance. Her heartbeat accelerated as they made their way down the mountain. She couldn’t believe she was coming down for the last time. She was going to ask Aidyn to help them, but she didn’t know he had already been planning it. That made her heart feel light. He cared enough for her to act quickly.
Every time fear threatened to weigh her down, she pushed it aside. No matter what happened, in time, it would still be better than living up there on the mountain married to a man she didn’t love and letting him rut on her like a pig. Birthing babies she’d have to take care of and teach how to brew so they’d continue the cycle. When she had babies, she wanted them to play and be happy and grow up to be what they wanted to be.
Kent had told her that people picked what they wanted to do in other places. If it hadn't been for Kent's father paying for his college and getting Everett to let Kent come back if he wanted, Kent would never have gotten to leave like he did.
The only reason he came back was for his mom. But now, she was gone. Maybe Kent would leave one day too. She hoped he did. He was smart and he was nicer than the rest of them up there. Though he was mean to Lara last year. Out of frustration more than anything else. Maybe, one day, she’d be able to help Kent get off the mountain. Maybe.
She stepped onto the plateau they’d rested on before and waited. One by one they all appeared. The sky was lightening up and she glanced to the east to gauge the time.
“Sun will be up soon.”
She began creeping along the path, more eager than ever to get off this mountain before everyone started waking up. Craig would be eager to hear her decision today and she figured he’d be up earlier than usual. It was a sneaky way to steal their recipe and even without the ick factor of having to have sex with him to conceive, the fact that he’d use her so callously to steal the family recipe was abhorrent. On top of that, she’d see her baby grow up but not be able to have a say in his or her upbringing. That wasn’t something she’d be able to do. Not even for the promise of not having to marry someone she didn’t want to marry.
Raised voices sounded from a distance and she froze. Fear stuck in her throat. Aidyn whispered, “Gotta make tracks. Someone's raised an alarm.”
Adelaide bumped into her. “We’ve gotta go, Elena.”
“Yeah.” She swallowed and tried keeping her footing even. Tears threatened but she blinked them away. She sent up a silent prayer that her mom was alright and they’d all meet up in a little while.
Thrashing in the brush to her left caused her to gasp and freeze. Another raised voice from above and a deer jumped across the path in front of her and skittered off to the right.
She huffed out a breath and kept walking. Her knees were weak and shook slightly and she could feel her pulse pound in her neck. It felt like her heart struggled to beat just now.
Aidyn’s breathing picked up a bit, she knew it was him. “I think we need to split up.”
“Great idea. I’ll go off to the left.” Tate responded.
Adelaide said, “I’ll stay with Elena.”
Spencer then huffed out, “I’m going right.”
Thrashing of the brush created too much noise and her heart felt like lead as she continued stumbling down the path. The sun now peeked above the mountain tops, lightening the sky. She could see more now and it was easier to make her way along the brush.
She whispered, “Adelaide, let’s get off the path and go through the brush. If we hear someone coming, duck down and sit tight.”
“Roger.”
Elena shook her head.
Adelaide said, “Sorry. Got it.”
She’d have to ask them about Roger. She didn’t know who he was.
The brush was thick here and more difficult to trudge through, but it offered them some cover. She and Adelaide were close to the same size, so they didn’t break through the brush like a larger person or an animal did. She tripped on a rock and fell but jumped up right away and kept going.
“Are you alright?” Adelaide asked.
“Yes.” She could feel blood trickling down her shin, but she’d deal with it later.
She looked ahead to see how far they had to go and saw the sun’s rays glint off the trucks at the bottom. “Almost there.”
Sounds from behind her caused her to look back. She saw someone moving in the brush then she heard Craig’s voice. “They can’t be far.”
