• • •

SUNSET LOOMED UPON US as we burst through the trees. A fire crackled in the middle of the clearing, casting a soft glow on Zachary's brown hair, and four logs were placed around the makeshift hearth. I raised my eyebrows at the wooden spit; they had strung up a poor rabbit. Oh well, food was food.

Surprisingly, the boys weren't worried about our impromptu disappearance. Last night we had agreed to work together, and Leilani and I broke our promise. If I was Xander, I would've left already, but maybe his mindset was different.

Sitting down next to Xander, I warmed my hands. "You two did a lot while we were gone."

"So we did." Zachary's voice was frosty. Obviously, he and I weren't the greatest of friends.

Xander nodded towards the meat. "I started a fire, and Zachary caught a rabbit while looking for kindling. Take a piece if you want. We already ate some."

Leilani wrinkled her nose and reached for the raspberries in her pocket. "No thanks, I'm vegetarian."

I bit my lip. "You can't survive on berries alone. You need a source of protein." Forget about our abductor — the wilderness would kill her.

"Don't worry, Ange." She waved off my concern. "My grandma loved backcountry hiking. She taught me how to spot some edible plants, so I won't die just yet."

The plants behind us rustled in agreement, and I whipped around, hand on my knife. I could've sworn something—or someone—was there. My heart hammering in my chest, I turned back around and ignored Xander's inquisitive gaze.

I hated not knowing what was going to happen.

Leilani ran a hand through her highlighted hair. "I'm honored that you care for me, but lighten up, girl. Eat something. "

I still couldn't shake off my unease, but maybe my gut was wrong. Maybe I was too paranoid. Maybe the forest was safe. Maybe the four of us were truly, unequivocally, alone.

My stomach grumbled again, a welcome distraction to my thoughts. My theories could wait; food was more important. I unsheathed my knife and tried to cut a piece of the meat off, but a spark of pain shot up my left arm. I drew back, hissing.

My cheeks flushed as Leilani stifled her giggles and Zachary smirked. Thanks a lot, guys.

"Here, let me help." Xander's grey eyes sparkled in amusement. "Just hand me your knife." My muscles tensed, and he sighed. "Come on, I'm not going to stab you."

He didn't sound convincing, but what choice did I have? Sighing, I watched as he easily cut off a piece of the cooked meat.

"I guess chivalry isn't dead," Leilani snorted.

Zachary coughed, hiding another laugh, and a faint smile tugged on my lips. Leilani's remark from earlier nagged at my mind. She could be right; maybe being around the three would change me for the better.

But were they too late? Could I really let go of Adrian and Jacqueline?

Shaking my head, I glanced down at my food. I didn't want to ruin our only peaceful moment out here.

I never imagined eating rabbit, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Savoring the small piece, I chewed slowly. Tastes like chicken.

After a few minutes of serenity, I pointed to the box by Leilani. "Also, if you didn't notice, Leilani and I brought some portable water and berries back."

"Where did you two go?" Xander asked.

She and I shared a look, neither one of us wanting to start. Xander propped his chin up and stared at me thoughtfully. "Did you find something bad?"

Like the finger, his eyes practically screamed. Last night he had buried it somewhere, thankfully, but I kept my brother's silver ring; I couldn't bear to let it go.

I twisted the band. "No, no, we didn't."

"After we purified the lake water, we explored the area for a bit." Leilani paused, shifting around. "None of us had time before, so we thought it was a good idea regardless of the risks."

The risk of running into the psycho who brought us all here.

My curiosity won out. "You guys don't care that we went off without telling the rest of you?"

"Do you want us to care?" Xander raised an eyebrow.

Well, shit.

For once, I was lost for words. Playing with my hair, I struggled to formulate a response. Although the conversation involved her, Leilani laughed as she watched me and Xander.

"No?" My reply came out as a question, and I groaned in my mind.

Amusement flickered onto his face again. "All of us are perfectly capable of protecting ourselves, so there's no need to keep tabs on everyone. You and Leilani are no different."

Xander kept on surprising me. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it was definitely not trust. Trust was foreign to me.

Don't let them in. Don't become attached.

But I couldn't confide in them. Nothing good ever lasted, and they weren't an exception.

Leilani clicked her tongue. "You all know self-defense? I don't."

"It doesn't matter, Leilani," I quickly assured, "You don't need extraordinary physical skills to survive. You're smart."

"And that's what'll get us out of this mess," Xander concluded.

"Say, does anyone have any leads?" Leilani asked while continuing to eat her berries, "All we know is that someone brought us here and wiped our memories. We don't even know where we are."

"Not very reassuring," I muttered. This whole situation was unsettling.

Xander tilted his head. "What's your theory, Angelina? I can tell you have one."

My heart skipped a beat; damn him and his perceptiveness. I opened and closed my mouth, debating whether to respond.

It all came down to trust. The others trusted me. Xander trusted me.

But did I trust them enough?

I sucked in a deep breath. "What if it's one of us? What if you're the person who brought us here?"

Save for an occasional bird, I could only hear the crackling fire as my theory stunned them into silence. Leilani's mouth dropped open, and Zachary blanched, hands shaking. Shadows fell on Xander's face as he shook his head.

None of them saw this coming.

One of them could have killed me last night.

"Wh-what are we going to do?" Leilani shuddered. "Should we go our separate ways?"

"We shouldn't split up," Zachary insisted, glancing away, "It's far more dangerous if we do."

Xander sighed. "He's right. If it's one of us, we'll all die anyway if we go off alone."

The other two hesitantly nodded, still unconvinced. Their ulterior motives were unclear, but staying together gave us numbers. And numbers meant safety.

Come to think of it, Zachary had been quiet this entire time. Something was horribly wrong; I could feel it in my bones.

I stood up, gesturing to the darkening woods. "Zachary, can we talk? In private."

He narrowed his eyes, but after a few moments, he obliged. As soon as we were by the treeline, Zachary turned around.

"What do you want?"

His cold demeanor set me off. If he was like Xander, I wouldn't have a problem. Well, not a major one. However, his behavior was strange, and I needed the truth before we held hands and jumped off a cliff together.

I leveled him with a cool gaze. "What do you have against me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since Aleksander and I ran into you and Leilani, you've been hostile. What did I do?" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Xander watching us, but he was too far away to hear our conversation.

Zachary clenched his jaw — a nearly imperceptible tick — then leaned back, attempting to put on a relaxed facade. I wasn't a fool. I knew he didn't like me, but why?

"I don't have anything against you."

I snorted. "Our first interaction would beg to differ."

He stiffened up, curling and uncurling his fingers as he struggled to keep his breathing steady. I continued. "You know, I've never met you before. Or I don't remember who you are. There's something off that I can't quite place my finger on."

What did he know? For a second, a flash of surprise flitted over his face, but a frown quickly replaced it. He clearly wasn't going to respond.

I rubbed my forehead. "Look, we already have our abductor stalking us, and the last thing we need is for our group to implode. I don't like it either, but we stand no chance if we don't work together."

Our conversation was getting nowhere. Leaving Zachary to his thoughts, I brushed leaves off my pants and spun around.

"Do you want to know why that bad?" he hissed. "Maybe if your—"

He never got to finish as our eyes widened. My heart stuttered, and I gasped, reaching for my knife.

Leilani was writhing on the ground, and Xander was nowhere to be seen.

A/N: Now it's really spicing up! I wonder what happened...