“A hundred yards, maybe.” I thought the staff would slow him down. That the fog would hide me. I’ve got to get off the path. Someplace he can’t see me so easily.

A stitch in my leg tears as I hurtle into a cluster of trees.

“No. Stay on the path. I need you in the open.” Chill sounds more confident about this than I feel.

“He’s too close.” I hop fallen branches, splashing through wet grass. “I won’t make it.”

“You’ll make it. Trust me.”

Fuck.

I veer back onto the path, feeling far too exposed, even in the dark. “I hope you’re right about this.”

“Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Don’t get me started.”

He barks out a laugh. “Bear left at the fork ahead of you.”

“What fork?” The city around the park is completely dark, not a light in sight, as if the entire power grid’s down. Suddenly, the path splits ahead of me. I veer left, my pace slowing as a cramp grips my side.

“Keep going, Jack. You can do this. Breathe through it. You’ve got a few miles left in you. You’re not home yet.”

“Sommers!” The wind carries Doug’s voice. It cracks on my name, tight with pain and rage, breathless from running. “I’m going to kill you!”

The wind bites my face, pushing me back by the shoulders. I shake rain from my eyes and see lights flickering at the edge of the park.

Not lights.

Flames.

“Do you see lights ahead of you?” Chill asks.

“Yes.”

“Head straight for them. Whatever you do, don’t stop.”

I force myself into a sprint, shoes slapping puddles as I race toward the flickering fires ahead of me. Behind me, Doug’s footfalls grow louder.

Shapes emerge from the darkness, holding flames in their palms. Each time I pass one, another ignites in the distance.

My breath is loud in my ears.

“Keep going,” Chill says. “They’ve got you.”

“Who?” I breathe. “Who’s got me?”

A figure appears through the mist in front of me. I stumble as the shape of the scythe cuts through the fog.

“Shit, he’s in front of me!”

“Get down, Jack!” Amber shouts, somewhere ahead, to my left.

I duck at the telltale whoosh of a fireball soaring. An orange light hisses through the air like a comet. Doug dives left to avoid it, and I veer right, following the path and picking up speed. A crack spreads across the walkway in front of me. As I leap over it, the ground explodes in a spray of dirt. I look back when I don’t hear Doug’s feet behind me. Roots lash at his legs, holding him back. He roars, propelling a blast of wind toward the Seasons crouching in the trees.