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I choke on my next breath. “Luka—”
“There they are!” a man shouts from down below, almost completely hidden amongst the forest foliage. “After them!”
Luka pushes me away and immediately sprints in the opposite direction, breathing so hard I can hear the wet moisture in his lungs. The search dogs give chase. They’re after him, which means Luka’s given me a sliver of a chance.
I don’t think. I just run, holding back my anguish as my feet carry me forward. He’s right. I need to find help. I’m his only hope.
Who knows how long I run and how far I travel. Every tree looks the same. My mind spins; dehydrated, starved, and disoriented. My feet are blistered. My skin burns and lungs are seconds away from exploding. This is what death must feel like, somehow painful and impossibly numb. It doesn’t make any sense. Nothing makes sense. I think my brain is broken.
That’s why, when my feet slap against concrete, it takes me much too long to realize I’ve found the main road. There’s a green road sign up ahead.
ON-60, it reads.
I was right. We’re in Ontario, and I’m stranded on Highway 60. I squint against the burning daylight. After a month trapped underground, my eyes can’t handle it.
Where are all the cars? Surely if I start walking in one direction, I’m bound to find my way into town, right?
Mercifully, I hear the roll of rubber tires approaching. A dark blue minivan. It slows, stopping beside me on the highway. The passenger side window rolls down, revealing a family of four. The father is behind the wheel, the mother in the passenger seat. Two little girls are in the back. They look like they’ve been camping.
“Are you alright, ma’am?” the lady asks me. “You look lost.”
“I…” I swallow hard. My mouth and throat are so dry it hurts. “I need help.”
“Daryl, put the hazard lights on.” The woman steps out of the vehicle, rushing over to me. “Goodness, you poor thing. I’m Hannah. What’s your name?”
“I…” A tear slips down my cheek. Holy shit, it’s been so long since anyone other than Luka has spoken to me. This doesn’t feel real, but I can’t afford to fall apart right now. “My name is Agent Daniella Harper with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I don’t have my badge on me, but I really need your help. Can you call the police for me?”
Hannah gives me a quizzical look. She probably thinks I’m nuts. I’m surprised when she says, “Yeah, actually… I recognize you. Your face has been all over TV the past few weeks.”
Relief floods through me. “R-really?”
“Some international manhunt or something. It’s all anyone’s been talking about lately. Please, get in the car. We’re driving into town and can get you help there, okay?”
“Th-thank you so much.”
I climb into the backseat with the kids. They stare at me awkwardly. I don’t blame them. When I catch sight of myself in the reflection of the rearview mirror, evenI’mstartled at what I see.
My hair is a matted mess. I’m covered from head to toe in dirt. I think I’ve lost a good twenty pounds, my skin hanging off my bones. “Can I ask where we are?” I mumble.
“We’re just leaving Algonquin National Park,” Hannah informs me. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get you home, Agent Harper.”
One of the little girls beside me offers me her grape juice box. “Wanna share?” she asks.
I take it from her with a weary smile. I take a sip of the sweet juice and immediately burst into tears, a terrifying realization suddenly dawning on me.
I didn’t get a chance to tell Luka that I love him, too.
Chapter 29
Dani
“Let me see her!” Tabitha screams, elbowing people out of her way. “Move it! I’ll run your toes over if you don’t get the hell out of my way!”
Tabitha wheels into my private hospital room, ignoring the FBI agents posted at my door, as well as the gaggle of reporters and photographers trying to snap a couple of pictures of me. The nurses and doctors are trying to escort them out with the help of security, but it’s like trying to push back an incoming tidal wave.
When my little sister sees me for the first time in over a month, her face immediately breaks and becomes crestfallen. She parks herself at my bedside and takes my hand, crying at the top of her lungs.
“Oh, Dani, what did those monsters do to you?”
