Day One

The climb went slow. At last, she reached the top of the cliff. She paused… waiting. There were faint voices, and she knew that she would have to do this quickly. The granite summit had a shelf of earth and grass. Manzanita bushes grew on the edge of the cliff. Elle pulled herself up, level with the ground, peering through the bushes, her legs a hundred and fifty feet above the road below.

By the time she reached the top, her arms ached. She felt deprived of oxygen. Or maybe she was just anxious. She didn’t care. She tied the rope around the base of a small tree, keeping low. She dropped the rest of the rope over the side of the cliff. It fell almost to the bottom.

Her next item of business was the corral. She could see Jay sitting with his knees against his chest inside the barbed wire fencing. He looked cold and hungry. Dark hollow rings had sunk into his skin, beneath his eyes.

“Jay,” she said, low.

He looked up.

His face was one of utter disbelief.

“Elle?”

Elle gestured for him to be silent. She clipped through the barbed wire one piece at a time, balancing on the balls of her feet, keeping her head down. The wire was tough. Her hands ached from forcing the blades through the metal. The guards roamed between the fencing, masked shadows of the night.

Elle was determined to escape u

“You’re here?” Jay rasped. “That’s impossible! How the hell could you possibly find us here?”

“Shut up!” she hissed, casting a wary glance over her shoulder. Nothing but bushes and a sheer cliff were behind her, but everywhere else was danger. She clipped through the last piece of wiring.

“Come on, move,” she whispered.

Jay stared at her, shocked. It was as if his brain wouldn’t process the fact that Elle was crouched before him, offering him a route to freedom. Elle reached through the slice of fencing and grabbed his collar.

“Move!” she commanded. “We will all die if you don’t get it together!”

Jay blinked. Something shifted in his eyes, and suddenly he was moving, slipping through the crack. He was weak, dehydrated and starved, by the looks of it. He struggled to get out, holding his head in his hands.

Most of the prisoners were asleep. Flash was lying in the dirt with his eyes closed. Georgia’s arm was around his small shoulders in a protective position, trying to shield him from the chill. Elle crawled into the corral, keeping her belly to the dirt, her head down. She slowly shook Georgia’s shoulders. The girl didn’t stir. She was probably used to being jostled and poked in living quarters like these.

“Georgia,” Elle whispered. “Wake up. Come on. We’re on a schedule.”

Georgia stirred, opening her bleary eyes.

She focused on Elle’s face, gasping with surprise. Elle slapped her hand over her mouth, pressing her palm against Georgia’s lips.

“Shhh,” she said. “Get Flash. Just move.”

Georgia hesitated for only a moment, getting a bearing on her surroundings, then gently woke Flash. Elle crawled out of the corral, Georgia and Flash following. They remained silent, staring at Elle like she was a ghost. Georgia touched Elle’s arm, as if trying to convince herself that the girl was real.

“You have to trust me for this next part,” Elle whispered.

She stayed low, gesturing for them to follow. She returned to the cliff, showing them the rope. “Use this,” she explained. “Climb down. Move fast. Be quiet.” Georgia stared at the rope.

“I can’t… no way. That’s a huge cliff. That’s a freaking mile!” She looked up, frantically gripping the ground. “No, Elle. There’s got to be another way.”

“Sure, you can go back through the camp and get killed by the guards,” Elle replied. “Seriously. Climb. It’s only a little over a hundred feet. Wrap the rope between your legs and over your shoulder. The friction will burn, but it will get you down to the bottom.”

“I’m going,” Jay said.

He didn’t wait for anyone’s response. He grabbed the rope, secured it over his shoulder and between his legs, slid his body down, and began descending, slipping below the encampment, using the rope as a way to steady himself. Elle peeked her head over the edge of the cliff, watching the shadow of his body get farther and farther away.

“Your turn, Flash,” Elle commanded.

Flash swallowed. His hands trembled. He was sweating.

“Don’t look back,” Elle warned. “Stay focused on what you’re doing, do you understand?”

Flash nodded.

“You’re going to be fine, I promise,” she said. “Go.”

Flash slowly lowered himself down to the granite shelf and took hold of the rope, using it to guide himself down the rock face. Jay was moving quickly. He was already halfway to the bottom. Good.

“Georgia?” Elle asked.

Georgia looked her with wide, glassy eyes.

“I can’t,” she said. “I just can’t.”

“Then you’re staying behind,” Elle stated, her voice firm. “Because I didn’t come all this way to get caught by Slavers.”

“I just—I can’t, Elle!”

Georgia’s voice pitched, echoing off the rocks. Elle froze. Georgia held her breath, covering her own mouth with her hand. She looked horrified. At first, there was nothing but silence. But a Slaver guard had caught the sound and wandered to the corner of the encampment to check on the prisoners. From his vantage point, the corral was intact and everything was silent. Elle was a creature of the shadows, invisible. But Georgia was not. She was a head of bright yellow hair reflecting in the firelight. The guard’s face was impossible to see through the hood and mask, tilting his head, walking closer. He stared in their direction for several long, terrifying moments.

Elle didn’t dare breathe. She stared at the guard’s feet, knowing that if she stared at his eyes, he would somehow be drawn to her.

And then he sprinted forward. He was quiet, unspeaking. But he had seen them, and Elle’s heart dropped like a stone to the pit of her stomach. She turned to Georgia. “Go now!” she pleaded. Georgia shook her head, rooted to the spot.

The guard pulled his sword from the sheath hanging on his belt. It was a curved weapon, glinting like a crescent moon, sharp enough to split hairs. Elle moved forward and knelt down on one knee. She pulled out her katana and leaped forward, striking an overhead blow at the guard. Her blade collided with the guard’s curved sword.

Elle’s arm ached from the impact. Her body slid backward a few inches but she stayed balanced. The guard was strong and highly skilled — a better swordsman than Elle. She realized this immediately. Elle and the guard whirled and struck, thrust and dodged. He dropped a powerful stroke at her head. She caught it, gritting her teeth. She pushed hard against the force of his blade, holding him there. It pulled her muscles.

Tears of effort sprang to her eyes from the strain. She locked gazes with the guard, his blue eyes glittering at her through the slit in the hood. He suddenly shoved her backward and Elle rolled, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. She staggered to her feet. Georgia was standing on the edge of the cliff, staring at the drop. She looked at Elle.

Elle looked at the guard. He ran toward her. Elle darted to the side, narrowly avoiding him. She ducked left, seeing Georgia disappear over the side of the cliff. It all happened in a split second. The guard moved toward the rope tied to the tree, raising his sword. Elle saw what he was going to do. He was going cut the rope. Jay, Georgia and Flash would fall, and it would all be over.

Elle leaped forward, jamming her shoulder into the guard. The air rushed out of his lungs and he stumbled sideways. There was a long second where Elle thought that he would somehow bob back up and slash her open with his sword, but that moment didn’t come. He lost his balance on the edge of the cliff, grabbed Elle’s arm, and they both tumbled down the side of the mountain.