Page 32

Troy

A week had passed since I made the call. It was a week of waiting, wasting away, false hope, and empty traps.

And now, we had nothing.

The last of our food was gone. We ate it last night in careful, measured bites, each of us trying to make it last longer than it could.

We were starving, and it seemed no one was coming.

I felt it now—the panic, the weight of reality crashing down on me.

I stood at the edge of the wreckage, staring out into the white abyss, my breath fogging in the air, little hope left in my heart.

The traps were empty again.

No rabbits. No birds. No tracks. Nothing.

I clenched my jaw, forcing down the fear, clawing its way up my throat.

We were out of options.

And I knew what had to come next.

Adrian sat across from me, his face pale and drawn, his blue eyes dark with exhaustion.

Elena was curled up in the raft, asleep but restless. Her breathing was shallow, and her face was far too pale.

I rubbed a hand down my face and said it.

Again.

“Dean.”

Adrian’s jaw tensed, his hands curling into white-knuckled fists. I watched his throat work as he swallowed.

Grimly, he exhaled and said, “Give it a few days.”

His voice was hoarse, his body tight with conflicted tension. I recognized it because it was the same shit going through my body.

“Maybe more rabbits will come.” He looked to Elena, the turmoil written all over his face.

I stared at him, my stomach twisting. We’d been telling ourselves that for days, and nothing had come.

I nodded because I didn’t want to do it yet, either.

Adrian and I went out, searching deeper into the woods, trying to find anything—tracks, movement, hope. But there was nothing. No sign of life. No sign of anything at all.

The worst part was the silence. The eerie stillness of a world that had already moved on without us echoed around us.

We returned to the plane empty-handed, our stomachs aching, our bodies weak.

Elena was awake, sitting up, her eyes searching ours.

She knew. She could see it in our faces.

“It’s not looking good,” I admitted, my voice laced with despair.

She inhaled sharply, her hands twisting in the blanket, and I knew what she was about to say before she spoke.

“No,” she whispered.

“Elena—” I started.

“No, Troy. I’d rather die th-than do that .” She sat up straighter, but the effort alone made her tremble. Her body was failing her.

She was wasting away before our eyes. If I didn’t do something soon?—

“Then we need to start hiking,” I said, my voice firm.

Now. It would be too late if we waited any longer and kept sitting here doing nothing.

Elena shook her head violently, panic flooding her expression.

“No,” she said again, her voice stronger this time. She looked at me like I was already lost, terrified of what I was saying. “Troy, you can’t.”

Adrian sat there, silent, tense, his eyes locked on mine.

Neutral, but grim.

He didn’t say anything for a long time.

“Two more days.”

I turned on him, disbelief flaring through me. “Adrian?—”

“Two more days, Troy.” His voice was hard, his eyes cold. “Just… Two days. Please.”

I clenched my jaw, my chest rising and falling with frustration, but after a long moment, I nodded stiffly.

“Fine.”

Two days.

And then I was done waiting.

Two days later, there was still nothing.

No rescue.

No food.

No fucking rabbits.

And Elena looked worse than ever.

She barely moved now, her skin too pale, her blue eyes dull, her lips chapped and dry.

I sat at the edge of the bed, staring at her, my stomach twisting into a cold knot .

She wasn’t going to last much longer.

None of us were.

Adrian sat on the floor, his back against the wall, silent, exhausted, defeated. I ran a hand down my face.

“We have two options.”

Adrian exhaled sharply, scrubbing his hand down his face.

“Don’t say it,” he muttered.

I ignored him.

“I start hiking,” I said, voice flat, determined, “or we dig up Dean.”

Adrian remained silent for a long time, his gaze drifting toward Elena. She looked like a ghost, all pale and small. His hands curled into fists, and his shoulders rose and fell with uneven breaths.

Finally, he whispered, “One more day.”

I gritted my teeth, my hands clenching into fists. I turned toward Adrian, frustration boiling inside me, but before I could argue, I saw it.

His eyes stayed locked on Elena, his jaw tight, his expression haunted.

He knew what I knew.

We didn’t have another day.

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.

“I don’t want to do this either,” I said, voice raw. “But things are getting bad.”

Adrian let out a shaky exhale, closing his eyes for a long moment.

When he opened them, they were filled with something hollow.

“She’s worse off than we are,” I said, watching him carefully.

Adrian’s jaw flexed, his fists tightening.

“I know,” he said softly.

My throat ached, my stomach churning.

“I’m not looking long-term,” I told him. “I’m looking at the now. At getting the strength we need to leave and find help.”

Adrian’s gaze darkened, his fingers dragging through his too-long hair.

“This is going to destroy us,” he whispered.

I let out a slow, tired breath, my fingers rubbing over my eyes .

“I know.”

We sat silently, the weight of our decision crushing down on us, suffocating, final.

Then, finally, Adrian nodded once.

“One more day,” he said.

I met his stare.

And then, just as softly, I whispered, “One more day.”

But no more after that. If we waited, we’d be dead by the end of the week.