A Familiar Betrayal by Brianna North

Author:Brianna North [North, Brianna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“We should be running,” Harper declares. “Why aren’t we running?”

“We don’t need to,” I say. “We have enough distance.”

What I don’t tell her is that I’m absolutely terrified. Older sisters are supposed to be brave, but I feel the complete opposite. I’ve been on the brink of a mental breakdown for the last few hours, faking confidence in the scariest moments of my life. The only thing motivating me to keep going is the realization that if I stop, we might die. Then all of this will have been for nothing.

I suspect we’ve lost him by now, but he might have some tricks up his sleeve we don’t know about. The thought makes my pulse spike. I can’t stand how unpredictable this night is.

A tickle spreads across my face, and my body comes alive with fear at the realization that I’ve just walked through a spiderweb. I bite back a scream and instinctively swat at my upper body. Isn’t it interesting how we’ve been reduced to prey in the woods, being hunted by Dad and his gun, and I’m concerned about a freaking spider being on me?

“What happened?” says Harper, a hint of alarm in her voice.

“Just a spiderweb.” I spit on the ground. “Nothing to worry about.”

Tears gather in my eyes, and I angrily wipe them away. If I’d been quieter in the cottage, maybe I would have found the BMW keys and prevented this stupid night hike through the forest. We could be at the police station by now, with Mom on her way to pick us up. It’s so goddamn unfair. I’ve worked so hard the last couple days to make this escape plan easy, and now I have to make it up as I go. I don’t have a contingency plan if things go wrong. We might be screwed.

Crickets chirp around us, and branches snap in every direction. For all I know, a bear could be two feet from us, waiting for its moment to strike. I shudder as a memory from three years ago resurfaces; hiking in Yellowstone National Park with my family as a bear followed close behind us on the trail, seemingly stalking us. I still remember how my spine tingled with the familiar feeling of being watched, and how painfully aware I was that there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Aunt Annie begged us to stay calm. “Whatever you do, don’t run. Right now, he’s more scared of you than you are of him.” Whether that was true, I didn’t know. He wandered back into the woods five minutes later, but it felt like hours.

I’ve never been a fan of hiking, especially not since that day. And I’d never have the guts to run through the forest like this in the daytime, let alone in the middle of the night.

“Alyssa, I’m scared,” Levi whines for the millionth time tonight.

I feel like a parent; how do they manage to push aside their own fears for the sake of comforting their kids time and time again? “It’s going to be okay, Levi.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.