CHAPTER 15
Megan acted on pure instinct,
hurling her heavy flashlight directly at the gunman's face.
The light struck him squarely in the eye,
blinding him momentarily,
and causing his shot to go wild,
shattering a nearby vase.
Jack lunged forward,
using all his remaining strength to tackle the man to the ground,
the two men wrestling furiously on the dusty floor.
"Run!"
Jack screamed,
pinning the intruder's arm down,
"get Lily out of here!"
Megan grabbed Lily's hand,
not wasting a single second,
and rushed out through the back door into the pouring rain.
The cold water drenched them instantly,
the mud clinging to their shoes as they stumbled into the dark woods.
Behind them,
the sounds of the struggle faded,
replaced by the deafening roar of the wind through the trees.
They ran blindly,
branches scratching their faces,
driven by the primal urge to survive.
"Megan,
I can't go on,"
Lily cried out,
slipping on a wet root,
falling to her knees in the mud.
Megan pulled her up,
refusing to let her give up,
her own legs burning with exhaustion.
"We have to,
Lily,
we are almost at the main road,"
she encouraged,
though she had no true idea where they were.
Suddenly,
bright headlights sliced through the trees ahead,
illuminating the rain-slicked leaves like a stage play.
A car was waiting on the shoulder of the road,
its hazards blinking slowly in the darkness.
Megan hesitated,
fearing it was another enemy,
but the driver's side door opened,
revealing her personal investigator,
Thomas.
"Over here!"
Thomas yelled,
waving his arms,
having tracked her phone's GPS location.
They scrambled over the final ditch,
scrambling into the backseat of the vehicle,
gasping for air as Thomas slammed the doors shut.
"Where is Jack?"
Thomas asked,
looking at the empty seats,
shifting the car into drive.
"He's still in the cabin,"
Megan whispered,
looking back at the dark woods,
a sudden wave of guilt washing over her.
She had left him behind,
May you like
the man she once loved,
and she didn't know if he was alive or dead.
