But I'm not their little mouse, and they are not Zade.
And I will never succumb to them.
Chapter 15
The Diamond
I lost him.
Not only that, but I made it out of the maze, deeming me safe.
No harm will come to you.
Lies, but I’ll take it for now.
I didn’t stop there, though. I ran so deep into the woods that I’m thoroughly lost now, not even a whisper of human life. It reminds me so much of Parsons Manor, it makes my chest ache. Doesn’t help that I’m breathing so heavily that I choke on the oxygen with every inhale. I’m on the verge of both vomiting and passing out, even though my body can’t decide which to do first.
Feeling confident enough that they don’t know where I am, I rip the branch off my waist, lean heavily against a tree and slide down, my legs incapable of holding me up any longer.
My eyes begin to roll, but I fight against the urge because despite being considered safe, that doesn’t really exist in this world. Xavier could stumble upon me and take advantage of us being alone. My screams wouldn’t be heard, and even if they were, no one would give a shit.
Wiping sweat from my eyes, I look over my surroundings. At first, I see nothing but trees. But then, off in the distance, I glimpse metal glinting in the moonlight.
A crease forms between my brows and my curiosity piques. I allow myself another minute to catch my breath before I force myself back to my feet and jog toward the foreign object while periodically checking over my shoulder to make sure that no one is behind me.
As I approach, the object becomes identifiable, and I lose my breath all over again when I realize what it is.
It’s an abandoned train. A massive row of trailers stretches across the wooded area in either direction, the metal rusted and corroded from nature. My heart pounds and excitement blooms.
Escape.
That’s the only word that comes to mind when I look at this abandoned train. I don’t know how yet, but I do know that it could provide me shelter when I eventually leave this place.
Checking over my shoulder once more and seeing nobody there, I approach the train and run my hands over the cold metal. So badly, I want to seek asylum here instead of returning to that house. I’ve no idea whether they know of the train’s location, but it won’t be hard to find with the tracking device in the back of my neck.
If this train is going to offer me anything, then I need to utilize it when they aren’t able to track me.
A loud horn breaks through the silence, causing critters to scatter and a yelp to escape, my heart jumping up my throat. Breathing heavily, I peer over my shoulder, hearing voices calling out, announcing the end of the Culling.
They’ll be looking for me, and I’m tempted to dig out the tracking device with a sharp branch and make a run for it anyway, but fear has me in a chokehold. There are too many factors against me.
Be smart, little mouse.
I take off back in the direction I came from, now paranoid that they’ll find me near the train and discover it if they weren’t already aware of it. I don’t want to chance it if they weren’t.
After several minutes of jogging, I catch a glimpse of black hair and a feminine stature before it disappears behind a tree.
“Hey!” I call out, hoping whoever it is, they’ll know the way back.
The person emerges from the other end of the tree, and I realize that it’s Jillian.
She looks over to me, eyes wide and breathing heavily. She doesn’t look much worse than I do, which is honestly relieving.
“You made it,” she says softly. We meet each other in the middle and her eyes look me up and down, likely looking for injuries.
“I did,” I respond, still breathless. Up until Zade’s training, I’ve never exerted this much energy in my entire life.
“Do you know how to get back?” I ask.
She glances around. “I think so. If not, they’ll come get us.”
I nod, and we begin to walk.
“Have you been through the Culling before?” I ask.
She seems to have so much knowledge for it being her first time.
“No, you only go through it once,” she answers.
“Except if you’re Sydney,” I mutter, though I’m relieved to hear that I’ll never have to do this again.
Jillian snorts. “That’s true. She knows the maze like the back of her hand now.”
“Is she the one who taught you how to get through it?”
She shakes her head. “When I first arrived, I was even more combative than you. Francesca considered me too much of a risk to put in the Culling until she could set me straight, so I had watched other girls go through it first. I learned a lot from them.” She pauses. “And I also witnessed everything that happened after. Look, you need to prepare for—"