Chapter 8: The Raid
We were already moving when the first engine sound echoed through the trees. Jude led us out the back door, down a narrow overgrown trail that wound through thick pines toward an old access road.
Behind us, we heard doors slam and voices shouting. Then glass breaking.
“They’ll track us,” Lucas said, glancing back. “Footprints, tire tracks—”
“Not if we split up,” Jude cut in. “I’ll lead them west. You take the east trail to the highway. Meet me at the old mill in twelve hours.”
“No,” Lucas said firmly. “We stick together.”
“Someone has to buy you time,” Jude said. “And I’m the only one they’re not looking for yet.”
Before Lucas could argue, Jude pulled his hood up and ran back toward the cabin. Within seconds, we heard an engine start and speed away—drawing every sound straight after him.
I pulled Lucas and Ethan forward, running until my lungs burned. We reached the highway an hour later, hidden in the bed of a passing pickup truck driven by a logger Jude had called ahead.
As we pulled away, my phone buzzed once. A text from an unknown number: He’s ours now. Come get him if you dare.
