Hunted (37 page)

He sighed. “Okay.”

I took the GPS device out of the backpack and held it up. “Let’s do this.”

Just like last time, it took an hour before we reached the tunnel. I couldn’t believe we’d made it there so easily. We stood at the entrance and I was eager to go inside. I set the backpack on the ground and took out a flashlight.

“Did you hear that?” Billy whispered as he turned his head to the side.

I hadn’t heard anything, but I’d been focused on the tunnel so I had to admit I hadn’t been listening. “No.” Then I heard a soft rustling.

“There it is again,” he whispered.

I nodded, worried now.

“Stay here,” he said. “I’m going to check it out.”

I didn’t like the idea of standing there by myself, but agreed to wait. Billy walked away and after a moment he disappeared into the forest. I stared into the place where he’d gone, trying to see through the trees, but I saw nothing. I waited for nearly ten minutes and was just about to go after him when I heard a noise behind me. I spun around. Standing in front of me was Hansen.

“Look who showed up after all,” he said, grinning. “And to think they didn’t believe me.”

The flashlight slipped from my hand as my whole body froze.

“What’s wrong, Morgan? Surprised to see me?”

I stared at him, wanting to scream, but unable to make my mouth work. Finally I found my voice. “Billy,” I screamed. Hansen laughed, which sent a chill racing up my spine.

“He’s a little…tied up…right now.”

“Where is he?” I frantically looked back the way he’d gone.

“Don’t worry about him. This is about you and me. We have a little unfinished business.”

“How did you find this place?”

He grinned. “It was thanks to you. The coordinates were programmed into the GPS that you left at Tyler’s house. Remember him?”

I nodded as I frantically tried to figure out what to do. I could run into the tunnel, but then two things could happen. One, Billy would be left to Hansen’s mercy. Or, two, Hansen would follow me right into my world. Neither option was good.

“Yeah,” he said, a twisted smile on his face. “We came here and waited for you after that, but you never showed up. Everyone else gave up, but not me. As soon as I heard you’d gotten away from Camp Stonewater, I had a hunch that you’d come here.”

“So you’re by yourself?”

“I thought you’d enjoy our meeting better if it was one-on-one. Just you and me.”

The look of anticipation on Hansen’s face made me shudder in horror. I had no idea what he was going to do to me, but I knew it would most likely end in my death.
I had to get away from him.
I also needed to help Billy. He was only in this situation because he wanted to help me. I couldn’t leave him now.

I turned away from Hansen and bolted in the direction Billy had gone. I only hoped I could find him before Hansen caught up with me.
 

“Where’re you going, Morgan?” Hansen called after me.

I heard his heavy footfalls as he began chasing me, but I ran into the trees that surrounded the opening to the tunnel, my heart pounding in terror. “Billy,” I called out, but there was no response.

Hansen was gaining on me, giving me that same feeling of utter panic I’d felt when Mills had pulled me off of the fence two days before. More adrenaline pumped into my veins, giving me energy to run faster. I didn’t see Billy anywhere and my alarm grew. I had to slow Hansen down so I could look for Billy.

I dashed behind a tree, my back pressed up against the wide trunk and my eyes searching for something with which to defend myself. If only I hadn’t taken off the backpack, I could have used the hatchet.

I heard Hansen’s heavy breathing as he approached my hiding place. As the sound grew louder, I silently scooted around the trunk, concealing myself. He passed me, but apparently didn’t see me. That’s when I saw a good-sized branch lying on the ground a few feet away.

I peered around the trunk and saw Hansen stopped about thirty feet away, his back to me. He turned his head from side to side, then he cupped his hands over his ears.
 

“Morgan,” he called out in a sing-song voice. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

I shuddered with dread as I jerked back into place behind the trunk. My gaze went to the branch, but I was afraid he’d turn around and see me just as I left the safety of the tree trunk to pick it up.

I squeezed my eyes closed and listened intently. No sound came from his direction, which was almost worse than when he had called out to me. At least then his voice had given me an idea of where he was. With my heart pounding, I peered around the trunk again. He was gone.

I straightened, my eyes wide with fear.
Where had he gone?
This wasn’t like playing hide and seek with my brothers, this was like playing hunter and prey, and I was the prey. I squeezed my eyes closed again, gathering my courage, then opened them and focused on the branch. Moving as quickly as I could, I took three steps to reach it, then snatched it up. I hefted it in my hands and wrapped my fingers around it. It would do.

Then, as stealthily as I could, I walked from trunk to trunk, looking for Billy and keeping an eye out for Hansen. I avoided the place where Hansen had stopped—somehow it just seemed like he would jump out from behind one of the trees in that spot—and continued searching.

After five minutes of searching—although it seemed like hours—I heard a moan. On high alert, I tiptoed toward the sound and saw Billy tied to a tree. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose and his eyes were closed. He moaned again. Before revealing myself, I looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Just then Hansen walked out from behind a nearby tree.

I pressed myself against the tree and held the branch against my chest. Hansen was to my right, but unless he walked in my direction, he wouldn’t see me.

“How are you doing, loverboy?” Hansen asked.

I peered around the trunk to see what was happening. Hansen was pushing against Billy’s leg with his boot.

“Looks like she left you to me. I guess she doesn’t care about you after all.”

Billy’s eyes opened and he looked at Hansen for a moment, then he spit a wad of mucous and blood in Hansen’s direction.

Hansen slammed his fist into Billy’s head, snapping it back against the tree trunk. Billy’s head fell forward and he didn’t move.

Did he kill him? My mind screamed.
Did he just kill him right in front of me?
 

I watched as Hansen stood over Billy and began to laugh. Something about his laughter dug deep into my soul and all the terrible things he had done to me flashed through my mind. Without conscious thought, I hurtled out from behind the tree, the thick branch raised over my shoulder like a baseball bat, and rushed toward Hansen.

He must have heard me because he turned in my direction in what seemed to be slow-motion. He was much taller than me, so when I swung the branch at his head, it was only shoulder height. He threw up his arm to deflect the blow, but I’d swung it so hard that it put him off-balance and he stumbled.

I took advantage of his faltering step and quickly swung the branch at him again. This time it connected with a solid
thwunk
against his chest and he fell backward, smacking his head hard against the ground.

I raised the branch to hit him again, but when I looked down at him, he was unnaturally still, and blood was beginning to pool under his head. Taking a closer look, I saw that he’d hit his head on a sharp rock and a large gash was clearly visible on the back of his head. A profuse amount of blood poured out of the wound and I felt certain that if he hadn’t already died, he would very soon.

I turned away from him and hurried over to Billy, whose head still hung limply.

“Billy,” I cried out. “Billy, can you hear me?” I pressed my fingers to his neck and felt a strong pulse, and let out a sharp breath of relief. I untied the ropes that kept his hands bound and gently, ever so gently, laid his head on the blanket of leaves that had settled around the tree trunk.

After glancing at Hansen to make sure he hadn’t moved, I stroked Billy’s cheek. “Wake up, Billy. Wake up.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

After a moment he opened his eyes. “Morgan?”

“I’m right here,” I murmured. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

He tried to sit up, but closed his eyes and fell back against the leaves.

“You need to rest right now.”

He opened his eyes and looked past me. “Hansen?”

I glanced at the body of the Enforcer who had wanted to kill me. “I think he’s dead.”

Billy lifted himself onto one elbow, grimacing, then looked in Hansen’s direction. “You’re not sure?”

“I’m pretty sure. There’s a lot of blood.”

“Make sure, will you?”

I looked back at Hansen and shuddered, but I knew Billy was right. I stood and walked over to Hansen and stared at his chalk-white face, then squatted beside him and pressed two fingers against his neck. There was nothing, not even a faint flutter. That, plus the large puddle of blood beneath his head was all the confirmation I needed.
 

I went back to Billy, who had pulled himself into a sitting position and was leaning against the tree. “He’s dead.”

“Good. But are there any other Enforcers around?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. When he confronted me at the tunnel, he pretty much said he was there by himself.”

Billy nodded. “He ambushed me. But I just don’t get how he knew to find us here. I know you didn’t tell anyone.”

“Right. But he said he found the coordinates in the GPS device we had to leave at Tyler’s house.”

“Ah. That makes sense.” He stared at me for a second. “Thanks for coming back for me.”

I put a look of indignation on my face. “Did you really think I’d leave you in his evil clutches?”

Billy laughed. “I don’t know. I know how eager you are to get into that tunnel.”

“That’s true, but I didn’t want him following me back to my world either.”

“Oh, I see. So it wasn’t just for me that you came after him. You had your own agenda.”

I smiled. “That’s right.”

He grinned and held his arms out and I eagerly went into them, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. After a few minutes Billy said, “Help me up.”

I stood, then reached out my hands toward him. He grabbed them and I pulled. A moment later he was on his feet. “How do you feel?”

“I have a headache, but other than that, I’m fine.”

“You should get to a doctor.”

He laughed. “Not a chance. They’d turn me in the moment they saw me.”

I had to admit he was right. “What about Nick? Can he help?”

“He has medical people he uses, but that can wait. I feel okay. Right now we need to get you to that tunnel.” He looked at me with hope clear on his face. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

More than ever I wanted to be with him. “What about you?” I looked at him with undisguised pleading. “Come with me. Please.”

He gazed at me, our eyes locked together, then he looked away. When our eyes met again, he reached out and stroked my cheek. “No, Morgan.” He shook his head, making his statement final. “No.”

His unarguable pronouncement broke my heart, the intensity of the pain surprising me. Tears rushed to my eyes and I turned away, not wanting him to see how much his answer hurt. I continued walking forward, my back to him. Using all my self-control, I kept my voice steady as I called out, “I’m gonna get going.”

“Morgan, wait,” he said, his voice quiet.

But I continued on, embarrassed by my tears. I heard him following me, so I didn’t turn around and by the time I reached the tunnel entrance, my tears had stopped and I’d gotten myself under control. Shrugging the backpack over my shoulders, I picked up the flashlight I’d dropped earlier and turned in his direction, then watched him walk the last few feet to the tunnel entrance.

He held out his arms, but I shook my head. If I let him hold me, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let him go. He looked hurt by my refusal, but I didn’t let that sway me. “Thanks for being my friend,” I said, a sad smile on my face.

He nodded. “You, too.”

There was really nothing left to say, so I lifted my hand and opened my fingers in a tiny wave, then let my hand drop to my side. He didn’t make a move toward me.

“Good-bye, Morgan.”

I nodded once, not able to speak as my throat had closed up, then turned and walked into the dark tunnel. I turned on the flashlight, illuminating the earthen walls and began walking forward. “Good-bye,” I whispered. It was hard to see as I moved forward—not because of the dimness of the tunnel, but because of tears filling my eyes and streaming down my cheeks.

I tried not to think about Billy and instead focused on the matches lying on the ground. I thought about Hansen and the other Enforcers and wondered what they had thought when they’d followed the GPS coordinates and come across the tunnel. Had they gone inside? Of course they would have—especially if they thought Billy and I could be hiding in here. Had they gone to the end and found the hut? Obviously they hadn’t crossed through the portal or they wouldn’t still be in this world.

As I continued walking I vividly recalled the last time I’d come through here, with Billy by my side, and the keen disappointment I’d felt when I’d realized I was still in this world. My stomach tightened as I considered the very same thing happening now. Maybe I was destined—doomed—to be trapped in this parallel universe forever.

But then the beam of the flashlight glinted off of something up ahead. I hurried forward and audibly gasped when I saw the lantern I’d dropped on the morning I’d arrived in this world. That hadn’t been there when Billy and I had come through before. That could only mean I’d crossed the portal into my world.

Indescribable joy infused every fiber of my being.
I would soon be home.
But the flip side of that was that I would never—never ever—see Billy again. Extreme sadness crashed over me like a wave. My one and only best friend was lost to me forever.

The tears started again—why was I such a baby—but they were a mix of sadness and joy. Before long I reached the ladder and I looked up and saw that the trap door was wide open. I hurried up the stairs and found myself in the familiar hut. My gaze shot to the door, which was crushed by a thick tree, further confirming that I had made it home.