The sounds behind them were sickening.
If Henry hadn't been desperately trying to get away from them, he might have thrown up.
Not that there was much left in his stomach to throw up.
Their clothes clung to them in the most disgusting way, soaked through and covered in green sludge. They pushed deeper into the thick trees, stumbling over roots and branches as they desperately tried to put as much distance between themselves and the swamp as possible.
The jaguar had stopped following them.
At least, they hoped it had.
Nobody dared look back.
Then Mark stopped.
He turned his head from side to side, scanning the trees.
Henry immediately understood what he was looking for.
The markings.
Some indication of where they were supposed to go.
But nothing.
A minute passed.
Then another.
Mark was still searching.
Henry's uneasiness returned.
For the first time since leaving the cave, Mark didn't look like someone who knew where he was going.
"You have got to be joking. Are we lost?" Josh exclaimed.
He looked around frantically.
"Because that would be fucked up."
Henry didn't respond.
From the beginning, he had only intended to use Mark's directions as a guide, not rely on them completely. Now that Mark's supposed map had failed them, Henry began searching the surrounding trees for the bent ones.
Calvin quietly fell into step beside him.
As they searched, Henry glanced back at the group.
Mark was sweating.
He looked genuinely uneasy now, repeatedly scanning the forest as though hoping the trees would somehow reveal the answer.
His map was useless.
Everyone else was beginning to panic.
Everyone except Theo.
Theo wasn't panicking because he was too busy suffering.
The rash had spread considerably, and his skin barely looked the same anymore. He kept scratching despite the pain, unable—or perhaps unwilling—to stop.
Henry looked away.
There was something deeply disturbing about watching one of them slowly deteriorate while they were still trapped in this forest.
And they still had no idea how much farther they had to go.Then Henry found one.
A bent tree.
He stopped, staring at it for a moment.
That was all he needed.
Mark wasn't their lifeline. Henry had already gotten as much use out of him as he could. If Mark couldn't find the way, then Henry would.
But there was a more important question now.
Had the Chair lied?
Or was something else going on?
Henry looked at the bent tree again.
Calvin turned toward Mark, about to speak, but Dan beat him to it.
"What is wrong with you? Just tell us!"
Mark finally turned to face them.
"There are two claw marks on the tree," he said. "They're on opposite sides. The direction is on the second claw."
So that was it.
The bent trees weren't on his map.
And suddenly, Mark's earlier confidence made a little more sense.
"And now what? You can't find them?" Dan asked.
"Do you think you're the only one who's stressed, or—" Mark began.
"There is another way," Calvin cut in.
Everyone turned toward him.
"Follow the bent trees. They bend in the direction we're supposed to go."
He pointed toward the tree Henry had found.
"So whenever you see a bent tree, signal the others."
The group looked around at the surrounding forest.The group began moving again, this time much faster.
"Another one!"
"Over here!"
The calls came periodically as someone spotted another bent tree, keeping the others on course.
From the outside, anyone watching them might have thought they were an ideal team—organized, alert, and working together.
But Henry noticed something.
Mark kept staring at Calvin.
Whatever was going through his mind, it seemed to have hit him hard. Calvin had never truly relied on him. He had already had an alternative plan the entire time.
Henry then glanced toward Theo.
He wasn't a health professional, but even he could tell something was seriously wrong.
Theo looked exhausted, his constant scratching having barely stopped.
Henry couldn't shake the feeling that they were running out of time.As they continued, something gradually became noticeable.
The trees were thinning.
The tall, dense trees that had surrounded them for what felt like an eternity were becoming less frequent. The forest was slowly opening up, allowing more space between the trunks.
Henry noticed it first.
They were getting closer.
Closer to the other side.
For the first time in hours, the thought of actually making it out didn't seem completely impossible.
And not just because of the forest.
Henry didn't relax.
If anything, he became more alert.
They were getting close to the other side, but that didn't mean they were safe. If anything, it made him more cautious.
What better way for this forest to end them than at the very end?
After everything they had survived, dying within sight of their escape would be almost cruel.
Henry wasn't going to let that happen.
There was a sudden increase in the vigor of the group.
The end was in sight.
Then, as if to prove it, a powerful light shone from somewhere ahead.
In the darkness of the forest, it looked nothing short of a beacon of hope.
Nobody needed to say anything.
They ran toward it.
Faster.
Faster.
After everything they had endured, they were finally getting out.
And then, after what felt like an eternity, they burst through the trees.
They had made it.
Henry stumbled forward, breathing heavily as he looked around.
A jeep stood there, its powerful headlights bearing down on them.
What greeted them was a figure they had seen before.
Henry froze.
The others slowly came to a stop behind him, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
It was him.
One of the masked figures from the train.He sat in the jeep, almost leisurely.
But this time, there was something different.
Displayed clearly on his mask was a single number.
3.
No. 3.
Before any of them could process what was happening, No. 3 reached beneath his coat and pulled out a gun.
Henry's eyes widened.
"No—"
BANG!
The shot echoed through the clearing.
Theo staggered.
For a moment, nobody moved.
They remembered what the other masked men had done.
Moving could mean death.
So they stood completely still.
No. 3 looked at Theo, then back at the others.
"He would've died either way."
The voice was unmistakably that of a woman.
Henry's stomach tightened.
She turned away from them as though what had just happened was nothing more than an inconvenience.
"Let's go."
She began walking toward the only building in the area leaving the jarring lights and the jeep behind.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then, one by one, they followed.
Not a single word was spoken.
They left Theo behind.