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Acting on pure instinct, I staggered back a step, my ankle twinging a warning I ignored. I had to run. I couldn't let them take me.

The crack of a gunshot echoed across the open fields, and the ground erupted at my feet, wet dirt and new grass exploding upward where the bullet hit. Shock froze my brain and my knees went weak, sending me to the ground barely a foot away from where the bullet had struck.

Any lingering doubt I might have had was gone. These men would kill me. I was nothing more than a means to an end for them, that end being the capture of Typhon. I knew I couldn't let that happen, that I should stand strong and defiant, but the cowardly part of me just wanted to live. I'd spent so long just surviving that I'd never truly gotten to live my life. When Typhon came, it felt like everything might finally change, but I'd fought it, too scared to take a chance and risk my heart. Now it might be too late, but as long as I was alive, there was some semblance of a chance.

"I-I'll come," I choked out even as the soldier reached down and yanked me to my feet. "You don't have to handcuff me. I'll come."

"I know he doesn't have to, but I want him to," the older man replied coldly.

Rom snarled when the man touched me, and I quickly called him off again. "At least let my dog go?" I begged, wincing as the cuffs were pulled far too tight. "He was just doing what he was trained to do."

Neither of them replied. The third man, the one Romulus had attacked, was already heading back to their massive truck, his arm held limp at his side. The man who'd cuffed me grabbed my arm again and pulled me forward, marching me in that direction.

"Romulus, stay," I called over my shoulder, voice wavering. Tears burned my eyes, and no amount of desperate blinking held them back when I looked over my shoulder at my sweet dog. "Stay!"

His sad, confused whine shattered my heart, but it was better this way. They couldn't hurt him if he stayed. Lain would find him and take care of him, and everything would be alright.

The grip on my arm tightened, yanking me along and nearly sending me stumbling to the ground. The doors of the truck stood open, waiting for us, and until this moment I'd never thought a vehicle could be ominous. Inside, the injured stranger sat on the back bench waiting for me, glaring daggers, where the other two were indifferent. I was a chore to them, a mild inconvenience on their way to Typhon, but this man genuinely hated me.

The feeling was fucking mutual.

Fighting would get me nowhere but hurt, yet when they pushed me into the truck, a wild, desperate instinct took over, screaming at me not to let them take me. My legs gave out and I slumped, my heart in my throat and icy terror pulsing through my veins.

Ori had promised help was coming, but when I twisted to look, all I saw were empty fields all around me, not another living creature in sight. Once we drove away, I knew in my gut that I'd never come home again. The secrets of Lowery's Crossing needed keeping, so to most of the town, it would look like I'd just disappeared. Rumors would swirl until the next big scandal, then I'd disappear into the urban legends of The Crossing.

"Get in the truck," the one holding my arm ordered. The older man was already going around the front to get in and drive us away. I couldn't make my legs obey, though, not when I knew what was coming.

"Move it along," the older man snapped. "Aberdeen will have found Six by now, and he'll be on the way."

Aberdeen must be the youngest of the four men, the one who'd introduced himself as 'David', but who was Six?

A last, pathetic burst of adrenaline hit my blood like a lightning strike. I couldn't let myself die here. I had to at least try. What was the point of escaping Aaron if I just gave up now?

The man holding me must have assumed he had me cowed and broken. Either that, or he didn't expect much from me, because I jerked hard enough to break his hold on me and stagger back a step.

A single moment of shocked hope was all I got. I barely made it one more step before hands grabbed me in a bruising grip. The world spun, and a wall of black metal rose to meet me. I barely registered that it was the side of the truck before he slammed me into it, my face taking the brunt of the blow. Pain erupted from my nose and cheekbone, and I tasted blood as he hauled me toward the open door.

"We need him alive," the older man said over his shoulder. He didn't even take his eyes off our surroundings to look at me. I was nothing more than a nuisance to him.

"A little blood might be a good distraction, though," the third man, the injured one, said, and there was a cruel gleam in his eye when he looked at me.

"Cool it, Ollson." Rough hands hauled me up by my biceps, forcing me into the back. "We're only here for Six, remember? Don't—fuck!"

The hands holding me fell away, leaving me off-balance. My ankle twinged in pain, and I went down, landing hard on my back and crushing my trapped hands beneath my body. I couldn't stand, so I crawled, sliding backwards, kicking at the ground with my one good foot, trying to gain distance. I didn't know what was happening, but I'd take any chance I could get.

A scream echoed through the emptiness, followed by a gunshot. I froze, waiting for the pain, but it didn't come. It took several agonizing seconds to realize the strangers weren't shooting at me, and a few more to realize they were firing at… were those coyotes?

I blinked, trying to make sense of what I was seeing, but it didn't help. I rolled onto my side, taking the pressure off my bound hands and giving me a better view, but still, nothing made sense.

Four coyotes were attacking the man who'd slammed me into the side of the truck. He was on the ground, and the bloody bite on his hamstring meant he wouldn't be getting back up easily. The man in the back of the truck, Ollson, had his gun trained on the animals, but it didn't look like he could get a shot without hitting his teammate. His arm still hung useless and bloody at his side, courtesy of Romulus.

That cleared my head faster than anything else could have. Where was Rom?

No one noticed me struggling to push myself up to my knees, too preoccupied with their own fight. I couldn't see the oldest man, the one I'd never learned the name of, so I could only hope he was busy with another coyote or something.

I didn't dare call for my dog and draw attention to myself. Swallowing back the words, I looked for him, heart in my throat. The truck had hit me right at the turn, and it now sat idle near the intersection, giving me a clear view of the county road and the fields. Off in the distance there was a break in the trees that would have taken me to the house Ori wanted me to go to, but otherwise… nothing. No sign of my dog. Maybe he'd gone around, though, to head back to town?

Standing wasn't an option, not with my foot and ankle still throbbing, so I forced myself to shuffle on my knees, head tucked low in case someone finally noticed me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one coyote break away and go for the man in the truck, giving me the distraction I needed. Taking cover at the back of the truck wouldn't provide protection for long, but at least I was out of immediate eyesight of Ollson.