❝ MAYBE THERE ARE NO GOOD GUYS ANYMORE. ❞
Mere weeks after the start of sophomore year, Angelina Jung awakens in the middle of the wilderness, stranded with no explanation. When she finds three other college students in the same predicament as her...
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THIS WASN'T HAPPENING.
Mouth sandpaper-dry, I stifled another gasp while squeezing my eyes shut. My heart lurched violently, racing faster and faster with every passing second. An invisible hand clamped itself over my mouth, and my ribs heaved as if they were tightly bound. The forest started to spin as I squatted down, pressing shaky fingers to my temple.
I couldn't breathe. My exhales became shallower while radical theories bounced around in my head, a carousel of fears spinning me around and around and around. The ground was melting under my feet. I collapsed onto my hands and knees. The rush of the wind and rain was distant and muffled, washing over me like a deluge of icy water.
My muscles tightened, and I couldn't hold myself back from uttering a pained noise. Gritting my teeth, I clenched the knife at my side until my knuckles turned white.
Come on, Angelina. I needed to get a grip. It was just a mutilated finger, which paled in comparison to other monstrosities. This was an accident. It meant nothing.
Did I really believe that, though?
Still, I couldn't let Xander, Leilani, or even Zachary witness my reaction. Leilani would ask too many questions, Xander would know too much, and Zachary would be insufferable.
As I slowly steadied my breathing, my hearing returned, eyesight soon following suit. I regretted my reaction instantly. Letting my emotions run rampant would be like giving in to whoever brought us here — and I hated to lose.
So I forced myself to turn back towards the box.
Thankfully, no blood was visible on the greying, mangled finger. No matter how hard I willed my hand to move closer, I couldn't bring myself to touch it.
My stomach rolled. It was most likely my brother's based on the ring, but Adrian died last summer. Whatever—or whoever—erased my memories couldn't bother to wipe that part.
How did someone get a hold of it in the first place? And why?
A sickening feeling wormed its way into my gut. This location was too specific to be coincidental — someone planted the box here, knowing I'd come across the finger. It wasn't an accident.
The only person who could foresee this would be our abductor.
This must've been a sadistic joke. Awakening in the middle of nowhere was bad enough, but now I had a psycho on my heels.
No one should have known about me and Adrian, especially not about his traditional ring. My knees threatened to give out. Only someone who knew me well could expose my vulnerabilities—but who?
Could it have been one of the others?
A sudden movement caught the corner of my ponderous gaze. Jumping up, I whipped around, eyes wildly focusing on the shifting shadows. How could I have been so careless? I should've paid more attention as the wind picked up.
