Slayers by C. J. Hill Page B

already at the top wondering where he was, and he’d see her when she got there. Then he shortened the distance between him and the next slowest runners, Lilly and Alyssa. The two girls were barely visible on the trail up ahead, but every once in a while they looked over their shoulders to check on her.
    As soon as Kody was a fair distance away, Tori turned and sprinted in the opposite direction. She had a surprising amount of energy, considering the running she’d already done. Still, she pushed herself to go faster. Every second that the others ran up the trail, and she ran down, put that much more space between them. And hopefully when Lilly or Alyssa checked on her next, they’d assume she’d fallen behind out of sight. With any luck, they wouldn’t notice her absence until they reached the top. By then, it would be too late to catch her.

    Unless Dr. B had a horse or a motorcycle up there.
    She worried about that, then reminded herself that she’d hear a horse or a motorcycle before it overtook her. She could hide in the forest until it passed.
    Her feet pounded along the trail. Her arms arced out in front of her as though trying to grab hold of the air and pull it toward her. Faster, she told herself, faster. The minutes passed. She was almost at the end of the trail, but she couldn’t slow down until she’d reached the carts. Could she trust any of the adults here at camp? Maybe it was better to take the cart down the road and try to make it to the nearest town, someplace with a working phone.
    Whenever she finally got a hold of her parents, they would think she had a nervous breakdown fleeing from camp this way, but she didn’t care. She wanted to get away. Had to.
    A breeze went through the trees, making the branches around them shudder. She could see the trailhead where the forest opened up into the field in front of the stables. Should she make a beeline to the carts, or try to follow the curve of the forest so Booker didn’t see her?
    Right before she reached the opening, it became a moot point. Jesse landed in front of her, blocking the path.
    It was impossible that he stood there in front of her, his eyes flashing angrily. She had seen him sprint ahead of the group, fighting Dirk for the lead. The trail was straight, so he couldn’t have doubled back and gotten ahead of her. Yet not only was he here, he apparently had time to climb up a tree in his search for her. How else could he have jumped down in front of her like he’d fallen from the sky?
    “Where are you going?” Jesse asked. His voice had a hard edge. He walked a couple steps toward her, and she noticed in a detached way that he didn’t even look like he’d broken a sweat running down here.
    She fought back her fear and stood her ground, not taking her gaze off his too-dark eyes. “Get out of my way.”

    He didn’t, but he didn’t come closer. His voice was softer this time. “Where are you going, Tori?”
    She put her hands on her hips, gulping in air as she tried to gage how to best get around him. “I’m leaving. Now, move.”
    He took a slow step toward her. “Why?”
    She didn’t have time to play games. If he had come back, the others might be here soon, too. She couldn’t fight them all. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on at this camp, but I don’t want to be a part of it. So you can go back to your competitions, your cult, whatever you are, but leave me alone.”
    He took another step toward her. “What do you think you know about us, Tori?”
    She shook her head. “You’re trying to stall until the others get here. It won’t work. Move or I’ll walk over you.”
    He held his hands out at his sides. “So walk over me. Let’s see what you can do.”
    He was taller and stronger than her, but she didn’t have a choice—in order to get away, she had to fight him.
    She put her hands in front of her, fists clenched in guard position, then rushed toward him with a jump sidekick. He sidestepped her, avoiding the