Calling Carter.

(CARTER)
My heart stopped as I heard Silah’s scream. My head whipped around and I almost fell in my haste to turn and run the other way. I had wondered if something was up with Silah; every time I had tried to talk to her she answered with as little syllables as possible and then faded back into silence. She wasn’t telling me something, I knew, but I wasn’t going to push her on it. Now I knew I should have.

I ran faster, then nearly tripped on something. Was that Silah’s phone? It was. The screen lit up, showing the most recent txt message she’d gotten.

Unknown Sender:

Silah, come play with me.
If you go out in the woods today…
You better go in disguise…

Do you know that children’s rhyme?

You are most definitely in for a surprise.

See you soon, my lovely.

I snarled and shoved Silah’s phone in my pocket. It bumped against everything else that was in there as I ran.

(SILAH)

“Kala!” I shrieked. “Oh, god, Kala.” My eyes filled with tears at the sight of her.

She was bruised, bleeding, and handcuffed to the tree. Her arms were twisted cruelly behind her back, and something had to have broken for her arms to have reached that high. Her shoulders looked completely unnatural, and totally fucked up.

I closed the distance between us with two steps, then fell to my knees beside her. I craned my neck so I could see her face without moving her. I didn’t know what other injuries she had. Oh, but it was so hard not to just untie her and hug her and say it was gonna be okay.

“Kala, Kala, can you hear me?” Her eyes were closed and I couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not. I felt the tears overspill and flood down my cheeks, and I didn’t care. I put a hand to Kala’s cheek and it came away bloody. Her nose was broken, and the blood was everywhere. She had cuts on her face and neck, everywhere that I could see.

Outraged, I felt like screaming again. But I was already crying, and that was enough.

I crawled around to the back of the tree, to where there were some old, rusty handcuffs closed too tightly around Kala’s bleeding wrists. I desperately looked around for a rock to use to break the chain, but there was nothing. Nothing big enough. I whispered an apology to Kala and grabbed each cuff, trying to use brute strength to pull them apart. It didn’t seme like it was working.

I almost gave up when I heard the sound of protesting metal. It was quiet, really faint, but it was something. I pulled again, harder this time, ignoring the aching of my muscles. I told myself Kala had lived through worse.

But I didn’t know if she had lived.

A fresh course of tears wet my face.

“Silah!” Carter called from some distance away.

My head snapped up. He was getting closer. I had to get Kala free.

Hang on. Where was Caidan?