Chapter 15 - THE FALL
Pain exploded in my shoulder. I stumbled backward, the force spinning me around, and fell hard against the earth. Dirt and leaves stung my face. The world tilted and blurred.
“CLARA!”
Adrian’s voice. Distant. Panicked.
I tried to push myself up. My left arm wouldn’t obey. Warmth soaked through my blouse—hot, sticky, spreading fast.
Julian laughed, wild and broken. “Perfect! Perfect! Now both of you will die out here! And no one will ever know!”
He raised the rifle again. Adrian lunged forward, ignoring his own injuries, and slammed into Julian’s chest. They went down together, rolling over roots and rocks, fighting for control of the gun. It went off again—BOOM—echoing through the trees. Then again. Click. Empty.
They fought with their bare hands. Adrian bleeding. Julian screaming incoherently. Adrian took blow after blow but refused to let go. He pinned Julian to the ground, struck him once, hard across the jaw, and then—
Sirens. Dozens of them. Closing in fast.
Julian went still beneath Adrian. He looked up at the sky, red and blue lights flashing through the treetops, and laughed. A low, terrible sound.
“Too late,” Julian whispered. “Too late to save him. October fourteenth. Remember.”
Adrian grabbed him by the collar. “What did you do? TELL ME WHAT YOU DID!”
Julian just smiled. Blood ran down his lips. “Check the medication. Check the house. Check everything you thought was safe. I’ve been in your home for three years, Adrian. Three years. Do you honestly think I didn’t leave a few gifts behind?”
Adrian struck him once more, hard, then scrambled to me. He dropped to his knees and pressed his hands over my wound, his face pale and terrified.
“Help is coming. Stay with me. Clara—look at me. Stay with me.”
I gripped his sleeve with my good hand. “Emma…”
“She’s safe. I saw her. She’s hidden. She’s fine.” He ripped a strip from his shirt and pressed it tight against my shoulder. “Don’t speak. Save your strength.”
“Julian…” I gasped. “He poisoned something. In the house. Before he left.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened. “What?”
“Check… everything. The food. The water. The medicine. October fourteenth. He planned it all.”
Adrian kissed my forehead, his lips trembling. “I will find it. I will stop him. But first—you must live. You must be well. Do you hear me? You cannot leave us. Not now. Not ever.”
I tried to nod. Everything was getting soft. Dim. Adrian’s voice seemed to be coming from very far away.
May you like
“Stay with me, Clara. Open your eyes. Look at me!”
I tried. I really did. But the darkness was warm. And it was pulling me under.
