Page 146 of Crucible
I was just beginning to accept my fate, and then Pete showed up. It can’t be a coincidence, right?
It’s now or never.
Sam, who is sitting closest to the old van, pours a cup of cocoa from his thermal. When he hands it to me, I start to turn it down when a plan that can only leave one more stain on my soul forms in my head.
There’s music coming from the van’s speakers, and thanks to the maxed-out volume, I even recognize the song that begins to play. It’s Sleep Token’s “Take Me Back to Eden.”
The keys must still be inside.
Stepping over the sprawled stoners, I take the cup from Sam but stay on my feet as I sip at the warm cocoa, and I scan the woods for movement over the rim. The stoners are laughing and pointing at the two squirrels fucking not far away, and I have to resist looking over my shoulder at the van and giving myself away—not to Pete and his friends but to my mountain men watching.
I can’t see them, but I can feel them.
They haven’t attacked yet, and I don’t have to wonder why. They’re giving me one last chance to save these clueless but well-meaning campers.
Come back to them, and they’ll be spared.
Run, and they die.
Both options are a lie.
Pete and his friends are dead either way. They’ve seen me. They know I’m alive. They could tell someone.
There’s a chance I’m wrong, and Thorin, Khalil, and Seth haven’t found us yet. If Seth went back for his brothers, it would have bought us some time, but not much.
Seth saw me with Pete.
I know what will happen if Thorin, Khalil, and Seth find me with Pete and his friends. I also know it will be so much worse when they come and I’m not here.
Once I’m done with the hot cocoa, I hand the empty cup back to Sam, who gives me a weird grin that I choose to ignore. “Pete.”
He doesn’t look up as he sloppily stacks chocolate bars and marshmallows on a graham cracker. “Yeah, babe?”
“Are you going to take me to town or not?”
“Yeah, sure. In a minute.”
“You don’t have a minute.” My gaze lifts to the tree line again, and I swear the shadows move. “Pete.” My attention returns to the friendly stoner, and his gaze is slightly annoyed when his head finally lifts, but I don’t care. I’m trying to save his life. “I’m going to go now. Are you coming?”
“Don’t go. We’re making S’mores.”
“I have to, and so do you.”
His brows dip with confusion. “Why?”
“Because you’ll die if we don’t.”
Pete sobers as he gives me a weird look, but I don’t shy away from the scrutiny. I hold his gaze as I move back toward the van. The others fall quiet while Pete’s head swivels back and forth between me and his friends. He’s looking at me now like I’m the scary thing in the woods they need protection from, and maybe I am.
It scares me how comfortable I got in my cage.
It scares me that a small part of me is even willing to climb back inside.
It scares me that I feel safer in my cage than I do now when the ones who put me there are also the reason I’m afraid.
“Whoa!” Ronnie shouts, standing up for his friend. “You don’t have to be such a bitch.”
The only sound is the crackling fire as I reach the driver’s door. Ignoring him, I turn and grab the handle, ripping open the door and climbing inside. “Thanks for nothing, gentlemen.”
