Page 26 of Madness & Mayhem
Reign gives me a tug, and we cross yet another street, the pavement cold, giving away the upcoming winter.
“We’re right there, Lakyn. Right there.” He points north, to the edge of the woods that seem endless, a place where many people in this world have gotten lost inside.
“You are under arrest! Put your hands up!” The words blare through a megaphone, and chills run up my back as we hop up the curb, the darkness of the woods cloaking us instantly as we broach the tree line.
“Stop right now!” one of them screams from inside their car, louder than the sirens blaring from the car.
“Don’t stop, Lakyn.Don’t stop,” Reign breathes, weaving us in and out of the trees. We go farther into the darkness, until I can’t see a thing, but somehow, Reign guides us through.
I can hear the officers enter the woods, though we evade them easily in the shadows of the forest. Soon enough, their voices fade, until we can’t hear a thing besides branches cracking and our heavy breaths.
My legs grow numb, my body no longer cold, but I feel nothing except the constant brush of air against my cheeks, the occasional branch reaching toward me, attempting to stop me with the sharp twigs as they scrape against my skin.
“I need to stop,” I say after a while, starting to feel my lungs clench. I tear my hand from his, bending at the waist as my palms slap against my knees. “I can’t breathe,” I choke, gasping for air. “Holy shit.”
Reign’s heavy breaths come beside me, and I glance over at him as he leans against a tree, pain twisting his face. He lifts his shirt, and I can see his stomach painted red. His stitches have loosened, some of them completely missing, others torn.
“Damnit,” he snaps under his breath.
I shove off my knees, walking over to him to get a closer look. “We need to go somewhere. These need to be fixed.” I go to reach for his stomach, and he bats my hand away as he gives me a look.
“Don’t touch it, Lakyn. We can’t deal with it right now anyway. Just leave it alone,” he barks.
I rear back, my heart aching as I stare at him.
His face softens slightly, and his hand snaps out, his fingers clutching the base of my hair, tangling into the messy threads.
“We’re going to find a place to stay, and then you can help, yeah? Don’t worry, baby. I told you I’d get us out of there.”
I shake my head, worry filtering through me as I see how pale he looks. How tired.
“I won’t make it on my own, Reign. I need you to tell me if it’s too much.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not, and it won’t be. My only thought is getting you to safety.”
He digs in the back of his pocket, pulling his phone out and swiping through it.
“Can’t they like… track you or something?” I ask quietly.
He shakes his head, typing something out on his phone. “It’s not my phone. I took it from the front desk at the motel I was staying at.”
I nod my head. “So, you were staying at the motel.”
He gives me a nod before continuing to type.
After a moment, he tucks his phone back into his pocket. “I got us a place a little north of here. It’s going to be about an hour walk.”
I lick at my lips. “Okay,” I whisper, not sure how any of this is going to work but wanting to trust him wholeheartedly.
And I do.
“This looks like it’s it,” he grunts as we step into a small clearing. To the right, it looks as if there’s some small, makeshift driveway. It’s overgrown with weeds, as this place looks like it hasn’t been lived in for some time.
The cabin is one story, a wooden log home with an old chimney on top. The windows are large, a little dusty with cobwebs on top of the windowsill.
Reign takes a step forward. “Come on. We should go inside.”
“Whose house is this?” I ask as I follow after him.