Twisted Stars (Hardest Mistakes #3)

by Dannielle Wicks

  “Ashlee?” Jayden says softly. I take a deep shuddering breath. “Please say something?”

  I gulp down my dry throat. “It hurts.”

  “I know,” he whispers. I hear him shuffle beside me. I bite my puffy lip and push myself up. Jayden is leaning up against the bars, watching me. His dark eyes glitter in pain. It hurts less the more I move.

  Jayden sits up abruptly and throws me a funny look. Before I can ask, he moves up to the door of the cage and pushes it open. The lock clicks, and the door swings open. He quickly yanks my door open and helps me out. We only hesitate for a split second before we take off running down the hallway, searching for an exit. I push past the pain as we run.

  We find a door leading outside, and I pause just past the threshold, grabbing Jayden’s arm. This is too easy. He turns to me, his expression weary. We’re thinking the same thing.

  “Trap?” I ask softly.

  He nods once. “I think so. But we should keep going. Maybe we can outrun them.”

  “Run where? We’ve tried this before, remember? It ended in us getting captured.”

  He turns to me fully and links his fingers through mine, his eyes on the ground. “What choice do we have? I promised to get you out, and that’s what I intend to do.”

  He starts walking again, leaving me no other option than to follow. He said he intends to get me out. Does that mean what I think it does? Is he going to leave me somewhere, and I’ll never see him again? Is that why he wouldn’t look at me?

  We trek through the trees at a fast pace, pushing branches and twigs out of our way as we move through them.

  The sun sets soon after, and we huddle up under a large oak tree as the skies open up. Rain comes down heavy and hard. I shift closer to Jayden on the damp leaf litter. He lifts his arm so I can lean against his chest.

  I tilt my head back to look at him. Rain drops drip off his wet hair and onto my face. I push his hair back off his forehead. He watches me the entire time. We don’t say anything. We don’t need to. For now, it’s just nice to forget who and what we’re running from.

  Suddenly, he leans in and presses his wet lips to mine. I don’t want this moment to end. We cling to each other as if we can stop time and stay here forever.

  I’m awake before the sun the next morning. Jayden moves beside me, and his eyes flicker open. It’s still raining. I feel dirty and cold. I’m shivering and miserable, but when Jayden looks at me, I smile.

  We continue jogging through the wet trees most of the morning.

  “There should be a large valley around here somewhere. I left some supplies in one of the caves at the edge. We’ll stop there to stock up before we head further south.”

  I nod along with Jayden as he speaks. Valley. Cave. Supplies. Food. My stomach starts grumbling in protest at the mention of food.

  Jayden laughs softly and slows to a walk. “I heard that.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m hungry. I can’t even remember the last time I ate real food.”

  He reaches over and tucks a stray hair behind my ear. “I know. We’re nearly there. The valley is just through these trees.”

  There is a line of soldiers waiting for us in the valley as we step through the last of the trees. We both freeze on the spot. My heart drops in my chest. We were so close.

  “Did you honestly think you could escape? How far did you think you’d get before we found you?” Gina asks with a smirk. I narrow my eyes on her. I knew this was just too easy. “I knew you would run. I was, I might add, curious to see if you’d take the girl with you.” Her smirk turns nasty. “Deal with this mess, Cait.” She turns and strolls through the trees without a backwards glance.

  How sick are these people? And how do they keep themselves hidden so well?

  Cait takes a leisurely step forward with her hands in her pockets. “You heard your mom…”

  “I don’t have a mother,” Jayden spits back.

  “I have a proposition for you.” She takes another step forward. “You come back with us, no struggling, just cooperation, and I’ll let her go.” She nods toward me.

  Jayden and I exchange glances. Is she serious?

  “Deal.”

  “What?” I swing to Jayden and shake my head. “No. You can’t.”

  The corner of his mouth lifts in a small smile. “I promised.”

  “No.” I shake my head again. “I won’t let you. You can’t stay with these evil creatures. No.”

  The soldiers start moving around us. “Time to say goodbye. Make it quick,” Cait snipes with a hint of disgust.

  Jayden grabs both my arms and pulls me in, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. His breath tickles my ear as he whispers, “I’m so sorry for getting you tangled up in this.”

  “No.” I squeeze his waist. “Please, don’t do this.”

  “Move on. Forget about me. It will be easier that way.”

  A tear dribbles down my cheek and onto Jayden’s shirt.

  “Okay, that is long enough,” Cait shouts harshly, obviously impatient.

  Jayden takes a step back.

  I look down at the dirt beneath our feet, too angry to meet his gaze. He gently lifts my chin so he can see my face. His dark eyes are so sad. I try to look away, but he doesn’t let me. A fresh tear rolls down my cheek. Jayden catches it on the tip of his finger.

  “Please, don’t cry…I have to do this,” he whispers so that only I can hear.

  I lift my gaze and glare at him. “You don’t have to do anything.”

  He answers, still whispering, “Yes, I do. I can’t see you get hurt anymore…all of this is my fault. Go back to your life, your family. Forget about me.”

  I turn my face away.

  The soldier behind me yanks my hands behind my back and pulls me back a step, away from him.

  “Take her further into the forest…” Cait pauses and smirks at me “…and kill her.”

  Jayden and I both look up at the same time. “What?” I gasp, trying to struggle away from the soldier holding me. Cait just smiles and turns away. The other soldiers follow, dragging Jayden along behind them. He fights them, screaming my name.

  “We had a deal!” he screams, throwing a frightened glance my way.

  “The deal was that we would release her, which we will, because I do not go back on my word, but you said nothing about killing her afterwards,” Cait answers calmly as they enter the trees.

  The soldier behind me ties a cloth over my mouth. I stop struggling. What’s the point?

  Jayden’s screams echo through the trees around us.

  As I’m dragged toward the edge of the valley to my death, I run the last few hours through my mind again. My hands are only tied loosely, leaving me plenty of wriggle room. Obviously I’m not a threat. I twist my shoulders, trying to struggle free. The two soldiers on either side grip my arms tighter and push me forward quicker.

  We stop beside a large dead tree, and they let my arms go. I seize the opportunity to pull my hand free and punch the nearest soldier in the face. He flinches back with a surprised yelp. The other idiot shoves me hard. I land in the fresh mud, gasping for breath.

  When I turn back, one of them is nursing a bleeding nose, and the other is frowning at me. I smirk, feeling proud of myself. Didn’t expect that, did you?

  Being hit by a girl obviously hurts. The soldier with the bleeding nose advances on me, picks me up by the front of my shirt, and lands a punch on my ribs. I fall backwards as he releases me, the air in my lungs escaping in one big whoosh. Spittle trickles down the side of my chin. I glare at them both and wipe the saliva from my mouth. I’m not going down without a fight.

  I stay down in the mud, waiting for their next move. I won’t run. They don’t deserve the fun. If they want to murder me, they can look me in the eyes while they do it.

  A third soldier emerges from the underbrush and stops beside his comrades. I smile at him. “Come to watch the show?” He lifts an eyebrow over his strikingly green eyes and steps forward, holding
out his hand. His arms are covered in black tattoos. I frown. What is he playing at? I shove his hand away and stand myself.

  The idiot with the bleeding nose pushes past and sneers at me. “If I were you, I’d start running.” He smiles big, blood running over his mouth and chin. The soldier with the green eyes winks at me and turns back to the trees, leaving me alone with the other two. I stare after him.

  “Did you hear me?” the soldier shouts. “Start running, because when I catch you, I plan to have my fill before I shoot you in the eye.” My eyes widen as I realize what he means, and I take off, pushing through the thick leaves and bushes. I hear them laugh behind me, loud and ugly.

  I don’t know which way to go…or where to go if I manage to get away from them.

  Chapter Ten

  The soldiers circle me from the front, blocking my only route of escape. I back up until my back hits a tree and freeze, holding my breath. I have nowhere to go.

  This is it.

  I’m going to die.

  Suddenly, a hand covers my mouth, stifling the scream building up in my throat. Another arm wraps around my waist and pulls me away from the tree and into the dark.

  I stumble over branches and rocks, but whoever is holding me keeps me steady. When we stop moving, I struggle free. I can still hear the others in the distance, trampling through the forest. Taking a deep breath and steeling myself for the worst, I turn to look at my captor. Or should I say savior?

  I frown at the green-eyed soldier and take a step back, away from him.

  “What do you want?”

  He smirks. “Don’t I get a thank you for saving your life? You know I could just shout and they’d come. Then you’d be right back where you started. Dead.”

  I narrow my eyes at his cocky attitude. “Do it then.”

  His smirk transforms into a full-blown smile. “I knew I liked you for a reason.” He throws a pack over his shoulder and starts walking. “Come on, let’s get away from here.”

  “Hold on,” I snap, snatching his shirtsleeve and turning him around. “First, tell me who the hell you are?”

  “Charlie.”

  “Charlie, why are you saving me?”

  He looks away. “I owe someone.” He skulks back through the trees, not waiting to see if I follow.

  I look around at the small grove I’m standing in. Really, what do I have to lose?

  Shaking my head, I jog after him.

  “Where are we going?” I ask as I catch up.

  “To rescue your idiot boyfriend, Jayden.”

  “He’s not my boy—hold it. We’re going back?”

  He stops walking suddenly, and I have to catch myself before I slam into his back. “You don’t want to rescue him?”

  “Of course I do. But why do you want to help him? And what in the world would make me trust you?”

  “I didn’t ask for your trust.” He starts walking again. I glower at his back as I follow.

  The forest around is lush and green, the leaves dripping rainwater onto the undergrowth. The dirt and leaf-litter makes a squelching sound as we walk. My shoes are soaked, and my toes are numb from the cold.

  As he walks ahead, I study Charlie’s unusual tattoos. They run up his arms and under his shirt. I can’t quite make out a discernible pattern or language. They twitch with his muscles as if they have a mind of their own.

  The sun starts to set, darkening the trees around us and turning the forest quiet with the sounds of night.

  Charlie holds up a hand, stopping us just inside a ring of trees. Flickering light shines through the wet leaves.

  “He’s over there,” Charlie whispers, pointing at a small tent at the edge of the camp. “You wait here. I’ll get him.”

  “No.” I grab his arm. “I can do it.” He frowns and then nods once, sitting back. I turn back to the camp, thinking. Is someone guarding him? What if he’s hurt?

  “No one is watching him. Paradox has always been arrogant. He’s not hurt…he is unconscious, though.”

  I snap my head around to meet Charlie’s eyes. “Excuse me? How do you know?”

  He shrugs and moves away, sinking into the shadows around us. I can just see his green eyes glinting at me.

  Instead of dwelling on it, I start creeping toward the camp, keeping low to the ground. As I reach the tent Charlie pointed to, I quickly look around, making sure the coast is clear before I slip inside.

  Jayden is tied up at the center of the tent, a cloth over his mouth and his eyes closed. I gently nudge his shoulder. “Jayden?” He doesn’t move. I pull the cloth from his mouth and sniff it. It smells weird, like chemicals. They’ve drugged him.

  “Jayden?” I whisper urgently. He needs to wake up. I can’t carry him.

  He still doesn’t move, so I hit him.

  His head jerks up, eyes flying open, wild and unfocused. He starts struggling against the ties around his hands. I grab his face and pull it around to face me.

  “Hey, it’s just me.” He sags against me and leans his head against my shoulder. I sigh, relieved. “Stay still, okay? I’m going to untie you.”

  He doesn’t answer, so I assume he heard me.

  I tug at the rope around his wrists until it loosens. Once his arms are free, he pulls me close and whispers in my ear, “I thought you were dead.”

  I wrap my arms around his back. “I escaped.” I pause and glance at the tent opening. “A soldier named Charlie…”

  “Charlie?” Jayden interrupts me, lifting his eyes to mine. “Did you say Charlie?”

  I nod. “Yes, do you know him?”

  He ignores the question and tries to stand. I help him throw an arm over my shoulder, and we shuffle from the tent. I’m surprised at how easy it is to make it back to the trees without being seen. It’s almost too easy. Where are the guards? Does Charlie have something to do with this? As soon as we reach the trees, Jayden’s knees buckle, and he goes down. I kneel beside him and glance back at the camp.

  “We have to keep moving.”

  He nods once, out of breath, and tries to stand again.

  Rustling in the trees makes us both freeze. I wait, holding my breath.

  A dark figure emerges from the darkness and smirks at me. His arms are coated in a blue glow where his tattoos ink his skin. “That wasn’t funny.”

  Charlie laughs softly. “There’s a cave not far from here. It’s protected.”

  I look down at Jayden—he’s staring at Charlie with something that looks close to hate in his eyes. Didn’t he say he was one of two successful experiments?

  I pull Jayden off the ground, and we slowly start forward through the trees, following Charlie’s dark shadow.

  As soon as we reach the cave, I help Jayden sit, and then I lay back on the cold rock, sucking in deep breaths. That was hard work.

  Jayden and Charlie stare at each other from opposite sides of the small cave. I sit in the middle, watching them.

  “Okay, enough. The way you two are staring at each other is making me feel left out. What’s going on? What am I missing?”

  Jayden briefly glances at me. “Nothing.”

  His answer makes Charlie snort. “Oh, he’s just sore about me ditching him when I escaped Paradox.”

  I stare at him blankly. “What?”

  Jayden shifts, sitting up against the cave wall. “Charlie is an ex-soldier turned experiment. When it came down to escaping, I helped him, and he took off, leaving me behind…” He shifts his attention to Charlie. “To receive your punishment.”

  My mouth pops open.

  Charlie’s lip twitches down. “You do hold a long grudge, don’t you?”

  “Wouldn’t you?” I answer for Jayden.

  He sighs and drops his head. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t think they’d hurt their only son.”

  Jayden looks away. “We should all get some sleep so we can move before sunrise.”

  We all settle as comfortably as we can in the cave.

  Jayden lies on his side, facing me. I can se
e his eyes glitter with moonlight from the opening. “Why did you come back for me? You should have run. You could have escaped all this.”

  I grab his hand between us and squeeze. “I’m never going to leave you, Jayden. Never. You’re stuck with me now.”

  He shifts closer and presses his forehead to mine. “Ashlee?”

  “Yes,” I whisper back. My heart starts pounding. I’m sure he can hear it.

  He pauses as if he’s going to say something then says, “Nothing…”

  Jayden and Charlie drift off. I can’t sleep. How can I? There are a number of armed soldiers from a secret company out searching for us. And I’m supposed to just close my eyes and dream? I tilt my head and spot Charlie in the dark. The blue glow of his arms seems familiar.

  “Charlie?” I whisper. Jayden shifts beside me but doesn’t wake.

  Charlie mumbles a quiet yes under his breath.

  “Why do your tattoos glow?”

  He lifts his head and meets my gaze across the cave. “Experiment, remember?”

  “Oh…”

  Suddenly, it hits me. The night I thought I was losing my mind. The shadow and the blue glow—that was him. It had to be.

  “What exactly do you do?”

  I can see his white teeth in the dark as he grins. “Many things.”

  “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  “What was me?”

  “At Paradox. The cages were conveniently unlocked, and no one was around? I doubt they stuffed up that badly.”

  He doesn’t answer.

  “Is that why you did it? Because you were feeling guilty about leaving Jayden behind?”

  “You should get some sleep. It’s only a few hours until dawn.” I hear him roll over, effectively silencing our conversation.

  I turn back to Jayden. His eyes are open. Our gazes meet and lock in the dark.

  Charlie came back for him. I’m sure of it.

  ***

  We stay quiet as we move about the cave, packing supplies into bags and covering any evidence that we’d been here.

  I shake my head as I push another can of beans into my already overstuffed pack. We can’t keep running. They’ll always come after us. We’ll never be safe. Not until they’re gone.