Narrator

Eb shouted something, scrambling.

The older man stood, rope swinging loose.

In the chaos of those two seconds, Tessa moved like she'd been waiting her whole life for this moment.

She grabbed a rock, just a fist-sized stone, from the ground beside us, and hurled it with all her strength.

It hit a metal sheet near the cabin with a loud clang.

All three men snapped their heads toward the sound, toward our side of the brush.

Tessa grabbed my sleeve.

Now, she hissed.

We ran, not straight at them like idiots.

We ran wide, looping through brush to come at the shed from the side where the cabin blocked their line of sight.

My lungs burned.

My boots slid.

Branches tore at my face.

I felt like I was sprinting through a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.

We reached the shed as Eb was trying to drag Luke inside.

The door was half open.

Luke's head lolled, dazed, but his eyes widened when he saw us like he couldn't believe it.

Tessa slammed her bear spray directly into Eb's face from three feet away.

Eb screamed, a raw, high sound, dropping Luke and clawing at his eyes.

He stumbled back into the shed, knocking into stacked packs.