Chapters (72)
- Dedication
- Prey Island Map
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- CREED
- SIX
- BILLIE
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- JIRO
- TWELVE
- BILLIE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- ROW
- TWENTY-TWO
- BILLIE
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- ACHILLES
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- CREED
- THIRTY-NINE
- BILLIE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- ROW
- FIFTY
- BILLIE
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- TO CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE…
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- ALSO BY KENDRA
When no one else says anything, I frown. There’s no helping him. I get it, but I can at least give him what he asks for. I reach into my pocket and pull out the extra clip, slipping a single bullet from it. Crouching down, I offer the single bullet to him. “I’m sorry,” I tell him. His hand shakes as he reaches out and when I drop the bullet into his hand, I close his fingers around it. I meet his eyes, strained with the events of the last five days. “I’m sorry,” I repeat again, knowing he understands.
He nods, tears starting to trickle from his eyes, before I straighten and face the others. “Come on.”
We head along the path we were following in silence, the jungle alive with only the sounds of nature. It’s only a few minutes later when the gunshot rings out and I pause, closing my eyes at the thought of what we’d just done. We couldn’t save him. I get that. I get the reasons, but it still. . .feels wrong. I wasn’t built for these kinds of survival situations. Fuck, I cry when the dog dies in any movie. But I don’t cry for this stranger. I’ve gotten harder in the last five days, even if it still hurts my soul.
“We can’t save everyone,” Jiro reminds me when I pause.
I open my eyes and stare into his. “I know.” Then I look over at Achilles’ cold face. There’s no struggle there, not like in mine. “Let’s hope none of us break a leg.”
Achilles doesn’t flinch at my words. His gaze doesn’t waver. “Let’s hope not,” he says, and continues on his way.
Unease trickles through my body, but I follow along anyways.
After all, what else am I supposed to do?
TWENTY-FOUR
We decide to camp when the sun starts to descend even though we’re still far from the tower in the distance. It’s a quick sleep interrupted by taking a turn to keep watch, but we wake up the moment the first sun’s rays stretch through the trees and keep going. With the path we’re taking, it’ll take a few days to reach the tower, but it’s better to move slow and surely than rush and get shot by someone. The sleep barely refreshes us but beggars can’t be choosers, so I don’t complain. At this point, I’m just happy to still be alive, our little merry crew of five.
After a few days, we’ve grown accustomed to Row’s presence. Clearly, he’s not a threat since he’s had plenty of opportunities now to pull one of our weapons and shoot us. I’m still surprised though when Creed gives him back his rifle on the sixth day.
“Shoot us in the back, you die. Got it?” he asks him.