❝ 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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I MISSED FEELING SO FREE.
Inhaling the blissfully cold air, I sighed. The low fog clung to the blurred treetops, hiding the hills in the distance. Thankfully, our shelter held up, and the storm had cleared by the crack of dawn.
The woods were filled with an ominous, brittle silence. What monsters lurked beyond our vantage point? I rubbed my arms and kicked around loose rocks.
"Hey, Angelina, do you want to come to the lake with me?"
I narrowed my eyes, but she hurried on, "Xander and Zachary are working together to start a fire. We also need to get water, and I thought you might want to come with me. Either way, I shouldn't go off alone..." She fidgeted with her bracelet.
Right, we should pair up. "Alright," I relented, "Let's go."
Setting off at a brisk pace, I looked over my shoulder. Leilani took a hesitant step forward. "Should we tell the others where we're going?"
"We should be fine," I assured, "It's not that far from here."
I didn't look back as I led the way through the woods. Carrying the empty metal box, she walked next to me, occasionally glancing my way. Much to my relief, we had cleaned it out; it could be used to store water.
Sunlight burst through the scattering clouds, illuminating the ground in a soft glow. We quickened our strides as we wove through the trees and trekked down the steep slope. There was no time to admire the beauty.
My head swiveled towards every whisper of the wind and cracking branch, and I spotted harbingers wherever we explored. Xander was right — I had become more paranoid, but for a good reason.
The hike down from our campsite was shorter than I thought. Fifteen minutes later, we approached the edge of the lake. Not a word had been spoken between us, and I was fine with that.
I was unbelievably, viciously thirsty. My lips were cracked, and I feared losing my voice soon.
Nearly a day had passed since I wound up here, and I hadn't drunk a sip of water. Even worse, the adrenaline from finding the finger waned, rendering me vulnerable to the wilderness.
After all, surviving was our number one priority.
Carefully unwrapping the cloth tied around my injury, I dipped my forearm in the lake. In the movies, the hero always found an oasis with pure, sweet water to drink, but they didn't have unforeseen abductions, shaky alliances, or psychopaths.
Only Jacqueline would have loved this challenge.
The water looked a little murky, and small bugs zipped around near the edge. We couldn't drink it directly — who knew what it was contaminated with? I couldn't take any chances.
