Double Down

04 | now or never

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WE DIDN'T HAVE TO trek far to find an abundance of resources. Leilani and I settled into a monotonous routine; after we picked up as many leaves, twigs, and shrubbery we could hold, we dropped the bundles off under the stone ridge where the boys were piecing together the crude shelter. It wasn't a five-star resort by any means, but the bed of leaves looked awfully inviting.

Every time we made our way back, I memorized more of our general surroundings — the overturned logs by the lake, the precarious cliff we made camp under, and other peculiarities. It was always better to know too much than remember too little, and unfortunately, we were stuck in the latter.

I dreaded each trip back to the campsite — all I wanted was to dodge Xander's questioning gaze. While Zachary attempted to strike up a conversation with Leilani, I waited just out of sight. He wouldn't be able to find anything new about me, of course, but I jogged away as quickly as I could.

When we headed back into the forest for the fifth time, Leilani addressed what I hoped she'd forgotten. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" I fidgeted with the zipper of my jacket. The rain already started to wash away our footprints and flow down the crevices on our path.

The road was awash with blood.

"We all heard what Xander asked you. What's wrong with your arm?"

Bending down, I tucked a loose strand of black hair behind my ear. "Nothing major happened. It's just a scratch from when I climbed the tree." I stretched my hand into a wilting bush and scooped up a few more sticks.

Mistake number one. Pain jolted up my left arm again, and I dropped half of the bundle. Thankfully, I stilled my breathing before Leilani could notice.

Without another word, I stood up, wanting to escape this conversation. Just as I was about to walk away, she inquired, "Angelina, do you mind if we could, maybe, talk?"

I paused, every muscle in my body taut. What did she want?

She hurriedly continued. "It'll just take a few minutes."

"Fine." Turning around, I arched an eyebrow.

For a few moments, she cracked her knuckles and glanced around, but she eventually looked at me. "How are you so calm right now? Getting abducted and losing parts of your memory doesn't happen every day."

"I've been in worse situations before." My voice was about to crumble.

Angie, please. Help me.

I shook my head. I hoped she wouldn't press the issue any further, but wishing was for fools.

"What situations?" she inquired, words tumbling out of her mouth. My chest tightened.

The rain. The fire. The crash.

"It's none of your concern." I couldn't help how clipped my voice was. If I opened that Pandora's box, I would shut down completely. And that was the last thing I wanted to do out here.

For once, Leilani held her tongue. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

It was for the best. I mentally kicked myself — we couldn't afford to lose focus. If she knew the truth, she would just look at me with pity.

Micaela. Adrian. Jacqueline.

"Why aren't you afraid?" she carefully asked. A genuine question I didn't have an answer to.

I sighed. "Things aren't always what they seem."

My brother was the drunk driver.

She pushed on, unsatisfied. "Okay, but how do you keep your cool?

"I don't trust easily," I stated bluntly. Better to end this now before I said something I'd regret.

Instead of backing down, Leilani crossed her arms, not bothered in the slightest. "You know that—"

"It's almost nightfall? Yeah." Before she could continue, I motioned towards the deeper forest. "I don't want to be outside in a storm, so we should split up to cover more ground." The sky rumbled in agreement.

Leilani sighed, letting the issue rest. "That's a good idea. Let's meet up by our campsite later?" I nodded in agreement, and with my mind clearer, we separated. Opting to return to where the boys were, Leilani headed back while I decided to keep on exploring.

Dwelling on her questions, I rushed to gather the sturdiest branches and tried my best to ignore the darkening clouds. Strands of hair stuck to my face as scolding gusts of wind blew through trees and nearby bushes.

I would kill to have a hot shower right now.

Leilani almost crossed the line today. It was a reminder of how precarious working with three strangers was, how I needed to be wary. Watching what I say around Xander would also be key to protecting myself. He caught more of my tells in a few hours than most noticed in a month.

After all, this was for their safety. I couldn't risk losing anyone close to me ever again.

While searching for materials, my foot brushed against something hard. Narrowing my eyes, I peer at the foreign object — a silver box. Curiosity won over my rational side, and I crouched down. Even though it wouldn't reveal anything I couldn't already see, I tapped the edge of my knife against it before prying any deeper.

My blade scratched the metal, but no audible sound returned. An object rattled around as I flipped the box; nothing completely out of the ordinary so far.

Could opening it be dangerous, disastrous even? I wouldn't know, so without hesitation, I unhinged the latch. Before looking inside, I took a step back to be safe, but after a few seconds of tranquility, I flipped the lid.

My heart lurched. Crumpled paper filled with unintelligible words lined the interior, but that wasn't what caught my eye first. I zeroed in on a silver ring hidden under the stationery.

The ring my brother Adrian always wore.

I could recognize that ring from miles away — how the hell did it get here? Sifting the sheets to the side, I dug frantically, trying to get a better view of what it was wrapped around. A few seconds later, my breath hitched, and a sharp cry threatened to escape my throat.

In the very center was a severed finger.