Eleven POV
Run.
That was all I could think.
Run.
Rain poured through the trees so hard I could barely see where I was going.
Thunder.
The sky shouted bang.
Water ran into my eyes. Down my face. Through my hair.
My dress stuck to my skin.
The pretty yellow dress.
Erica had given it to me so we could be friends.
It wasn't yellow anymore.
Mud covered the bottom. One side was torn where a branch had caught me, and dark streaks covered the fabric from every time I'd fallen.
Another branch scraped across my arm.
I was soaked from the rain. Even the coat Erica had given me couldn't keep me warm anymore.
I was cold.
Really cold.
My whole body wouldn't stop shaking.
I didn't stop.
Voices.
I'd heard voices behind me before.
Men calling to each other.
Lights moving between the trees.
Looking for someone.
I ran faster.
My bare foot came down on something sharp.
Pain shot through it.
I stumbled.
Caught myself against a tree.
I kept running.
My feet hurt.
They had been hurting for a long time.
Small cuts covered my toes and heels, and every few steps something sharp dug into my skin.
The flip-flops.
Erica had given me opened shoes.
I'd lost them.
I didn't know where.
I hadn't thought about them while escaping.
I hadn't thought about anything.
Just getting away.
Away from the men.
Away from the lights.
Away from—
Erica.
My chest hurts.
She said she would come back.
She promised.
I had to wait.
But people had come.
And Erica hadn't.
So I'd run.
The bag was gone too.
I hadn't grabbed it when I escaped the house.
The food Erica had packed.
Gone.
I couldn't go back.
She told me what I needed to do.
Dumb Eleven.
Couldn't do it right.
Another flash of pain went through my foot.
I bit down hard and kept moving.
Cold.
I was so cold.
My whole body shook beneath the wet dress.
Rain hammered against the leaves above me.
Then—
Light.
I froze.
A beam moved through the trees ahead.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
No.
Voices.
I turned.
Another light.
I stumbled backwards.
They found me.
I spun around and ran.
Branches pulled at my dress.
One caught in the fabric and tore it further.
I yanked myself free.
The voices grew louder.
Closer.
Then one cut through the rain.
"Shut up. Shut up. Did you guys hear that?"
I stopped.
Not a man.
A boy.
I turned towards the voice.
The light moved.
I ran.
I didn't know where.
Away.
Towards it.
I couldn't tell anymore.
Then I hit something.
Someone.
I stumbled backwards.
The light swung straight into my face.
I flinched and threw an arm over my eyes.
Too bright.
For one second, I couldn't see anything.
Just white.
My breath caught.
The figure wasn't tall.
Erica?
She found me.
Like she promised.
I lowered my arm.
Blinking.
Once.
Twice.
My eyes adjusted.
A face slowly appeared behind the light.
A child.
Like me.
A boy.
Not Erica.
My eyes widened.
I stepped backwards.
There were three of them.
All boys.
All staring at me.
One held the light.
Another stood beside him.
The third—
I stared.
I knew his face.
Not him.
A picture.
Erica's house.
Pictures on the walls.
Her family.
Mother.
Father.
Brother.
Lucas.
I looked at him.
Lucas.
Erica's brother.
My body was still shaking.
Every part of me screamed to run.
But I didn't.
Erica's family.
He was safe.
The boys were talking.
Questions.
Too many.
I couldn't follow them.
I kept staring at Lucas.
Then the pale boy with black hair moved closer.
I instinctively stiffened, my body going on alert.
He stopped.
He looked at the other two.
"We should take her to my house."
Lucas frowned.
"We don't even know who she is."
"We can't stay out here," the boy with the cap said, glancing around the dark forest. "Especially not in this weather."
The black-haired boy looked at me again.
"What if she knows something about Will?"
The other two went quiet.
The black-haired boy stepped closer again, more slowly this time.
I didn't move.
"Hey," he said.
His voice was quieter now.
"You can come with us."
I stared at him.
"We can go to my house. You'll be safe there."
"Definitely safer than standing in the middle of a dark forest with no weapons," the boy with the cap muttered.
Safe.
I looked back into the forest.
Dark trees.
Moving lights somewhere far behind us.
Men.
Then I looked at Lucas again.
Erica's brother.
Erica told me not to tell him.
Or anyone.
The secret was secret.
I couldn't tell.
I had to protect Erica.
But I didn't have to run.
He was Erica's family.
She trusted him.
Maybe he could help.
I swallowed.
And when the boys started moving, I followed.