(Do Not Read Back Up Copy)

Chapter VI

Hailey

I woke up in the middle of somewhere—somewhere I didn’t recognize. But then again, I guess being able to recognize anything after catapulting out of a car window was unnaturally lucky.

Nothing hurt—well, not too badly.

But then again, I read somewhere that shock does that to you—makes you think you’re fine for a few seconds, and then bam! You look down and your legs are gone.

I checked my gams.

Fortunately, they still were there, but God were they ugly. The bruises looked worse than the cuts, which weren’t stitch worthy, but gross nonetheless. The giant bluish patches on my thighs were changing colors, which worried me, but didn’t keep me from trying to get to my feet.

This was a mistake.

The second I stood up another round of vertigo hit me so hard I keeled over backwards. Before I thought to put my arms out to catch myself, I slammed into the ground and the whiplash sent my head crashing into the dry packed dirt.

Ignoring the urge to panic was harder than ignoring the pain. Trying to breathe in this heat was like sucking a milkshake through a coffee straw. I didn’t know how to calm down, and the longer I tried to convince myself that I’d be okay, the less I believed it. I’d never been alone like this, and I’d never had to think about keeping myself breathing. Conservative private schools don’t teach you how to survive outside of the stock market. The most they tell you is to pay attention. I was paying attention now—only six hours too late.

Something snapped within earshot of where I was sitting.

The cicadas’ broke into a panicked frenzy. Their hissing exploded into loud, panicked, deliberate chaos, and spread through the husks nearby like a warning system.

They knew something was coming, I prayed to God it wasn’t Liam.

I stayed low to the ground, hoping I could spot whoever it was before they could spot me. I’d lost my glasses during the accident, so my chances of clearly seeing anyone coming weren’t looking too good. My eyes hardened against the darkness, and I scoured the shadows between the faded husks for a face. Eighteen years of nearsightedness painted terrifying illusions in the half lit space around me. My blood slowed to a freezing point, as I waited for an unknown fear to present itself.

The stalks rustled again—this time the snap-crackle-crunching sound of dead husks was much closer than before. If it were Liam, he’d catch me faster than I could sprint. If it were Caleb, at least there would be something standing between Liam and I.

I broke into a sprint in the opposite direction, and followed the smoke trails in the air back to a clearing.

The crash set fire to the air. Billowing tufts of jet-black smoke and ash towered above the crumpled red truck, turned belly up, with it’s wheels still spinning. I covered my face to brace for the heat, but it oozed from the fast flames burning under the hood in waves. Caleb was hanging upside down in the driver’s seat.

I took off the shirt he’d given me and wrapped it around my hands. Sweat tumbled off the sharp edges of my bangs and into my eyes—I blinked away the sting. Despite the pain, I grabbed hold of the handle and the door didn’t budge. The impact from the crash must’ve crumpled it shut. Choking wasn’t an option. If I couldn’t open the door the two of us would burn along with the truck and I wasn’t planning on dying today.

All the spit in my mouth went dry with the kind of panic that kicks your adrenaline into fourth gear. I dug my heels into the dirt, yanked the handle back, and listened while the rusted metal screamed as it split in two. The door burst open and the heat from inside the cabin rushed out like liquid flames, hot enough to melt my skin off if I wasn’t quick.