Page 120 of Into the Dark, We Go
A part of me was so tired, so hollowed out, it almost wished for the end.
The wind seeped through the leafy expanse above, and the trees creaked out a rasping murmur. They had seen this before, other lives walking toward the same trap. We weren’t the first. Just the latest, marching obediently into Robert’s snare.
Above us, the moon was a pale disk staring down at me. I stopped walking.
"What is it?" Nick halted, shoulders tense, and followed my gaze. "It’s okay. Let’s keep moving. We’re not far now."
I don’t know how he spotted the sigil in the dark, but there it was. Holding the blade in his dominant hand, he hesitated long enough for a tremor to show. He cut right beside his previous offering, now scabbed and healing. Blood trickled down the bark like tears. Nick pulled down his sleeve, and we moved on.
We had to ford the creek, avoiding the weathered bridge. Though the water was shallow, we were soaked up to our knees. I lingered, scanning the area. There was no one around, but the nagging sense of being watched wouldn’t leave. Nick grasped my arm and pulled me forward.
"We need to keep moving."
As we crossed, the sounds around us dulled, like they had the first time we came here. Or perhaps it was only my imagination. Only the soft squelch of our soaked shoes against the forest floor broke the stillness. The darkness thickened.
I didn’t have the energy to worry about snakes or spiders. My eyes kept drifting skyward. I knew the full moon’s technical peak lasted only a moment—a fleeting alignment—but each time that cold, perfect circle broke through the clouds, my stomach dropped.
We trudged through thick underbrush, losing all sense of direction and time. It was like drifting through space, cold, vast, and unending.
Nick’s pace quickened, pushing me to my limits. Then, without warning, he stopped. I stumbled, barely avoiding his back.
"Here we are," he whispered, pointing toward the nearest tree. I couldn’t see anything, but maybe his eyes had adjusted better than mine. He shrugged off his backpack and pulled something out. A rugged, heavy-duty knife with a broad blade. Freed from its holster, it caught the moonlight, razor-sharp. I recoiled on instinct.
"What is it?"
"A Ka-Bar," he said, as if the name should explain everything. "Mitch gave it to me."
I wondered why he hadn’t used this blade on himself. Maybe it was just too sharp—sharp enough to cut through the darkness—and he was worried that as dusk deepened, he might cut too deep.
He pulled out a sealed antiseptic wipe, opened it, and carefully cleaned the blade. Once it was done, he slid it back into its holster, tucked it into the deep pocket of his raincoat, and turned to face me.
"Listen, we have a slim chance, but I need to cut through the sigil. To change its meaning. Understand?"
My breathing grew shallow. Nick placed his hands on my shoulders.
"You can do this."
I nodded, my throat dry.
"One more thing. Sacrifices must be willing for them to work. Don’t go willingly, no matter what."
It could mean a million different things. Consent was supposed to be a clear, unbroken line. But people bent it all thetime, saying if you didn’t run fast enough, didn’t scream loud enough, didn’t fight hard enough, maybe you’d allowed it. So, where did it leave me? If I kept resisting, would that be enough to survive the night? Or did I have to claw and crawl and fight every second, never stop, never slip, to prove I still wanted to live? Because if I had faltered, even for a breath, had the darkness already counted me as willing?
"Follow my instructions," Nick said. "If I say run, you run. Don’t look back."
"But—"
"No buts. Do you trust me?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really."
Nick had left his backpack in the forest so he wouldn’t have to carry it with him, since everything important was already out.
The world tilted. My ears rang louder, time stretched thin, and every step felt like pushing through water. I forced a slow, deliberate breath.It’s just panic,I told myself.
We moved into the clearing with caution, every sense stretched tight. I expected flames at the edges, figures in masks waiting, but there was nothing. It looked deserted.
