Chapter 23
Violet
By nine o'clock, I'd almost forgotten we were hiding.
We'd spread out across the cabin's main room, flashlights casting warm pools of light that pushed back the darkness, turning the old building into a fragile little world of our own.
Dylan and Jeremiah had claimed the sagging couch, a bag of chips between them.
Ginny sat cross-legged on the floor near the cold fireplace, while Cherry occupied one of the mismatched chairs at the table.
I'd settled on a pile of cushions we'd pulled from the bedroom, and it was surprisingly comfortable despite the musty smell.
The s'mores had been a bust, because we’d decided we couldn't risk lighting a fire, but we'd made do with the sandwiches and snacks, passing bags back and forth while trading stories.
“Remember that summer camp counselor who was convinced the lake was haunted?” Dylan said, gesturing with a granola bar. “What was his name? Todd?”
“Trevor,” Cherry corrected. “And he wasn't wrong to be scared. We put that fake hand in the water during his midnight swim, remember?”
Their laughter filled the cabin, and I found myself smiling. Really smiling, not the forced expression I'd been wearing since I saw my name on the List.
I checked my burner phone. 9:03 PM. Seven hours since it went up. Seven hours of the hunt completed. Only seventeen more to go.
The thought sent a little thrill through me. Not quite relief, but something close to it. We'd made it this far, and we were safe out here, hidden in the middle of nowhere. No hunters had found us. No one had even come close.
Maybe Jeremiah was right. Maybe everything really would be okay.
“I still can't believe you and Bryce used to hook up here,” Cherry said. “I mean, this place is falling apart. Where's the romance?”
“It wasn't about romance,” Dylan said dryly. “It was about privacy. And it worked. No one ever—”
He stopped mid-sentence, his head snapping toward the window.
“What?” Jeremiah asked.
Dylan held up a hand, listening. We all fell silent.
At first, I didn't hear anything except the normal sounds of the forest. Wind rustling through branches, the distant call of an owl. But then I caught it. A low rumble, growing steadily louder.
An engine.
“Is that...” Cherry started.
Dylan stood up and moved to the window, careful to stay to the side so he wouldn't be visible. He peered out into the darkness.
“Oh, shit,” he breathed.
“What?” Cherry was on her feet now too. “What is it?”
Dylan's face had gone pale in the flashlight's glow. “I think a car's coming.”
My stomach dropped. The granola bar I'd been eating turned to ash in my mouth.
“Are you sure?” Jeremiah asked, but he was already moving toward the other window.
“Yeah. I can see headlights through the trees.”
All the warmth, all the safety, all the almost-confidence I'd been feeling evaporated in an instant. Someone had found us.
“Could it be someone from Bryce’s family?” I asked in a small voice. “Maybe they decided to use the place after all?”
Dylan shook his head. “No way. They just… wouldn’t. Ever.”
“Maybe Bryce is back in town, and he’s got a new secret boyfriend,” Cherry said. Her eyes moved to me. “Don’t worry, Vee, it’s not a hunter. It’s just not possible. But whoever it is, we’ll handle it. We’ll say we were hiking and got lost in the woods, and then we found this cab—”
“It’s Julian Valcourt,” Ginny cut in, rising from her spot on the floor. “I’m sorry, Violet. I’m so, so sorry.”
Cherry whirled around. “What are you sorry for?” she asked in a low voice. “What did you do?”
Ginny stepped forward. In the dim light, I could see guilt etched all over her pretty face. “Julian found me when I was leaving the phone store earlier,” she said, dropping her gaze to the floor. “He told me he was looking for you, and he… he knew about the treatment.”
“What treatment?” Dylan asked.
Ginny drew in a shaky breath. Her voice had thickened.
“There’s an experimental treatment that my sister is eligible for.
High success rate. But it’s over two hundred thousand dollars, and my family…
we just don’t have the money for it,” she said.
“Julian somehow knew all about it, and he told me he’d transfer the money to my parents’ account if I told him where you were. ”
“So you just caved that easily?” Cherry said, eyes bulging.
“No! At least… not right away,” Ginny replied. “I said no. But he gave me a card with his number written on it, and he told me to text him when I changed my mind. When, not if. It’s like… he just knew exactly how to get to me. He knew I’d agonize about it for hours and eventually decide—”
“To betray your friend,” Cherry cut in, arms folding.
Ginny winced and went on. “I thought about it for hours. But then… I just had to say yes,” she said, voice trembling. “So, about an hour ago, I texted the number he gave me and turned on my burner’s location services. That’s how I know it’s him coming down the driveway right now.”
“Oh my god, Ginny, what the fuck?” Dylan shouted, throwing his hands up.
“Violet’s life is at stake!” Cherry added in a scathing tone.
“But my sister’s life is too,” Ginny said in a hollow voice. She turned to look at me. “I’m really sorry, Violet. Really. But if it’s between you and my sister…”
I sighed. I wanted to be angry, but I understood. “I get it,” I muttered, wearily rubbing my forehead. “Of course you’d choose her.”
“Don’t let her get away with it that easily!” Cherry snapped, eyes practically shooting daggers at Ginny. “We can’t—”
“Guys, we can deal with this drama later!” Jeremiah cut in. He was back at the window now, peering outside. “Right now, we need to figure out a plan to save Violet, and we’ve only got about two minutes to do it before Julian’s car pulls up. Maybe less.”
“Good point,” Dylan muttered.
“Okay, first off: we’ll tell him Violet’s not here,” Jeremiah went on. “We’ll say that Ginny was overwhelmed with guilt and told us what she did an hour ago, and Violet already left because of that.”
“But he’ll insist on checking the cabin,” Dylan said. “And it’s not like any of us can fight him off. He’s jacked. And he’s probably got some sort of weapons, too.”
“I know what we can do,” Cherry jumped in. She snapped her fingers toward the back door. “Violet, stand near that door while we talk to him, and have it open and waiting. We’ll leave the front door cracked, so you’ll be able to hear our conversation from the porch.”
I nodded, already moving toward the back door. “Okay.”
“When you hear me say the words, ‘If you try to force your way in here, I’m calling the cops,’ sneak out the back as quietly as you can and close the door behind you,” she went on.
“Then go and hide behind that old woodshed out back while we make a big scene about trying to stop Julian from coming inside. He’ll eventually come in and search, because obviously we can’t actually stop him.
But then he’ll see that you’re nowhere to be found in here, and he’ll have to believe our story about you leaving.
And then, hopefully, that’ll be enough to make him give up and get away from this cabin. ”
“That’s probably the best plan for now,” Jeremiah said, voice tight with urgency. He glanced out the window again. “Fuck, he’s parking. Go, go, go.”
I eased open the back door and ducked down while the others moved to the front door and headed out to the small porch. I heard a car door slam, followed by heavy footsteps crossing the gravel. Then Julian’s deep voice carried through the air.
“Hi, guys,” he said. His tone was calm, too calm, like someone who already knew the outcome of the game. “You obviously know why I’m here. So I’ve just got one simple question for you. Is Violet inside or outside?”
“Neither. She’s not here,” Dylan replied. “And by the way, we know it’s you under that mask, Valcourt.”
Julian laughed. “Let’s try this again. I know Violet’s here, and I’m going to find her. So you might as well spare yourselves all the drama and tell me exactly where she’s hidden herself.”
“She’s not here!” Jeremiah snapped.
“All right, here’s the thing. I know something you don’t.” Julian’s voice was dripping with smug condescension. “I made a—”
“A secret deal with Ginny?” Jeremiah cut in. “Yeah, we know. She felt guilty and told us about it ages ago. So Violet’s gone.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, really. We stayed behind to act as decoys for when you inevitably showed up looking for her. And it worked, didn’t it? Here we are, decoying, while she gets away.”
“I see. When did she leave?” Julian asked. He didn’t sound angry. More amused than anything else.
“About half an hour ago,” Ginny replied, voice shaking.
“How? Your van is still here. And you can’t expect me to believe she left on foot.”
“We called a friend from the theater as soon as Ginny told us about your deal,” Jeremiah said. “She came and picked Violet up.”
“Oh yeah? Which friend?”
“We’re obviously not going to tell you her name and make it easier for you to catch up to them,” Jeremiah shot back.
There was a short pause, and I pictured Julian staring at each of my friends in turn, analyzing every micro-expression, every nervous tell.
“Do you remember that conversation we had about a month ago, Jeremiah?” he finally asked. “The day before the semester started.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Jeremiah said stonily.
“I have a confession to make. I lied to you about something that day.”
Jeremiah scoffed. “No shit, Valcourt. I know you’re in the Dionysus Club.”
“Oh, I’m not talking about that lie. I’m talking about something else.” The amusement was building in Julian’s voice. “I told you I don’t know your stepbrother. But I do. He’s one of our newest recruits. Although I’m sure Violet already told you that after she sneaked into our initiation ceremony.”
“You know about that?” Cherry asked, voice thick with disbelief.
“Of course. I’ve always known about your little investigation,” Julian replied.
“Anyway, when I put Violet’s name on the List, I knew I’d have to look into her closest friends at BHU, because they’d be the first to offer her sanctuary during the hunt.
And that’s you guys. So, I did my research on all of you, which included a conversation with Daniel.
Want to know what he told me about you, Jeremiah? ”
“What?”
“He said you used to lie to your parents a lot when you were younger, and that you had a tell he eventually noticed. Apparently, you always flex the fingers of your left hand when you’re lying.” Julian paused for a beat. “Guess what you’ve been doing for the last two minutes?”
“Oh, fuck off. I’m only moving my fingers like this because it’s freezing out here, and I’m not wearing gloves,” Jeremiah spat out.
“You’re lying,” Julian said, voice growing colder. “Violet never left this place.”
“Okay, fine, you got us!” Cherry snapped. “We told her to lock herself in the bedroom and hide in the closet. But we’re not letting you through this door! And if you even try to force your way in, I’m calling the cops!”
That was my cue from Cherry to slip out the back door.
I closed it behind me as quietly as I could before sinking to a low crouch and creeping along the back of the cabin, toward the woodshed at the edge of the clearing.
As I moved, I heard the conversation continuing, the voices carrying clearly through the cold air.
“I see you, Cherry,” Julian said, voice still laced with amusement. “Acting your little heart out, desperately trying to convince me that Violet’s hidden inside. And you know what that tells me?”
“What?”
“She’s outside.”
Suddenly I heard footsteps. Running footsteps. Coming around the side of the cabin.
Coming for me.
“Run, Vee!” Cherry screamed. “Run!”
I bolted.
My legs pumped beneath me as I sprinted toward the tree line, abandoning any pretense of stealth. Behind me, I heard my friends shouting, but their voices were already fading.
The forest swallowed me up. Branches whipped at my face and caught at my clothes, and the wig Cherry had so carefully fitted was already threatening to come loose. I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead in the darkness, but I didn't dare slow down.
Behind me, I heard Julian crashing through the underbrush. No flashlight. Either he knew these woods, or he was just that confident he'd catch me.
My lungs burned, and my leg muscles screamed, but I kept running, deeper and deeper into the forest, with no idea where I was going or how I'd possibly escape.
All I knew was that Julian Valcourt was hunting me.
And he was getting closer.