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LILY
I have to get away.
I stumble through the sunny woods, terror making my heart race so loud, it drowns out the sound of my feet crunching over dried brush and sticks. I know I should keep quiet, but I don’t have time.
Chase is coming.
It took me all night to get free, finally breaking the chair enough to get loose of the bindings, and use a dull rusty knife from the kitchen to saw through the last of the rope. By the time I could limp to the door, I could hear a car engine approaching in the distance.
So I ran.
Now, I’m hurtling through the woods, praying with everything I have that I can find civilization—before Chase finds me. Every step sends pain slamming through my body, but I stumble on, heading blindly through the trees.
Suddenly, my ankle twists on a rock, and I tumble to the ground, stifling a yelp of pain. My hands slam in the dirt, and I lay there, gasping for air in the undergrowth.
It all feels too much. I’m exhausted, and bruised, and I’m stranded in the middle of the woods with a madman determined to kill me. After everything I’ve been through, I just want to stay right here, but I know that I can’t.
Get up, I try and tell myself, but my body doesn’t obey. Get up.You made it this far. You can’t give up now.
“Lily!”
I tense. Someone’s yelling my name out there—getting closer. Fuck.
I force myself to my feet again and keep running—away from the sound. This is my one chance to get away, and I’m so scared that I’m not going to make it. Desperation is thick in my blood, driving me to move faster, no matter what.
“Lily!”
The voice comes again, louder and clearer this time, and makes me stop in my tracks.
It couldn’t be… Could it?
Nero.
Relief crashes through me. He came. He figured out what Chase was planning.
He’s here to help me.
I reverse course, heading back the way I came, towards where the shouting came from. If I can just get to him, I can—
OOF!
Someone tackles me out of nowhere, knocking me to the ground. It’s Chase! “You think you can get away?” he roars, struggling to pin me in the dirt. “Stay the fuck down!”
I scream.
“Nero!” I yell, clawing wildly at Chase’s face. He’s too heavy, I can’t breathe, but I flail and kick with everything I have. I feel my knee connect with his groin and he cries out in pain.
“Bitch!” he yells, shifting his weight.
The move is enough for me to squirm out from underneath him. I manage to get my upper body free, but my legs are suddenly pinned as he realizes what’s happening. I desperately swing at his face, but it doesn’t even connect as he grabs my wrist, squeezing so tightly that I cry out in pain.
“Let me go!” I scream. “Nero!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Chase straddles me, his hands moving around my throat to choke me out. “Nobody’s coming to save you.”
He’s wrong. I hear Nero yelling my name again, somewhere nearby, but I can’t even draw a single breath. My lungs are screaming for air, and I struggle uselessly, desperate as I feel my body weaken, and my vision blurring at the edges.
Oh God, he’s going to kill me.
