J U M P E R

P R O L O G U E

Almost there.

Just a little further.

Sweat poured down her face in salty streams. She had to hurry. They were coming. She barely flinched when a low-hanging branch whipped across her right cheek. They were coming. A howl tore through the night.

Too close.

She forced herself to run faster. Just a little further. She stumbled over a loose rock and fell forward. She felt as dirt pushed under her fingernails and fallen pine needles pricked her palms. She got up quickly, kept running.

This shouldn't be happening. This shouldn't be possible.

She stopped to catch her breath. Mistake number one.

Something moved through the bushes. Shadows danced threateningly. The wind whispered with a promise. A promise of blood.

She ran. Branches clung to her clothes. Roots reached up to grab her ankles. The forest was against her. It wouldn't let her leave. She looked over her shoulder.

Mistake number two.

She could hear their feet pounding the earth behind her.

Too close.

They would find her. They would drag her back to that godforsaken truck. She ignored the burning in her lungs. The ache in her legs. She tried to run faster. Shadows darted past on either side of her. They would cut her off.

She veered to the left. She searched for a place to hide. 

She tucked herself into the hollow at the base of a rotted tree. Mistake number three.

The forest grew silent, and as it seemed to be doing, she held her breath. A twig snapped. She prayed.

Please don't let them find me.

She looked into the trees. Into a dark so smothering it seemed to wrap around her. It clung to her skin like a too-small shirt. She closed her eyes.

Minutes passed. Silence. She opened her eyes, crawled out of the hollow. It was quick.

She couldn't even scream.