Hanna, Aria, and Emily slipped out the back door into the cold, wet backyard. The porch was bathed in warm, orangish light, but once Hanna stepped beyond it, she couldn't see a few feet in front of her face. Off in the distance, she heard a small, muffled noise. The hair on Hanna's arms stood on end. Emily let out a whimper.
"This way," Hanna whispered, pointing in the direction of the barn. She and the others started to run. Hopefully they weren't too late.
The ground was slippery and a bit soft, and Hanna's strappy, high-heeled shoes kept sinking into the dirt. Her friends breathed hard beside her. "I don't understand how this would have happened," Emily whispered, her voice thick with tears. "How could Spencer have let Ian—or whoever A is—lure her out here alone? Why would she be so stupid?"
"Shhhh. Whoever it is will hear us," Aria hissed.
It took mere seconds to cross the vast yard to the barn. The hole where Ian had dumped was to their right, the reflective police tape glowing in the blackness. The woods were beyond, a small opening between two trees like an ominous gateway. Hanna shivered.
Aria rolled back her shoulders and plunged into the woods first, her hands out in front of her for guidance. Emily followed, and Hanna brought up the rear. Damp leaves rubbed against their bare ankles. Sharp, jagged branches brushed against the girls' arms, instantly drawing blood. Emily stumbled over the uneven ground, crying out. When Hanna looked up, she couldn't see the sky. The leaves had made a canopy over their heads, trapping them.
They heard another whimper. Aria stopped and cocked her head to the right. "That way," she whispered, pointing. Her pale arm glowed in the darkness. She pulled up the hem of her dress and started to run. Hanna followed, her body throbbing with terror. Branches continued to assault her bare skin. A giant, spiny bush pressed against her side. She didn't even realize she'd tripped over something until her knees hit the ground hard. Her head smacked against the dirt. Something in her right arm snapped. White-hot pain shot through her. She tried not to cry out, clenching her teeth together and wincing in agony.
"Hanna." Aria's footsteps stopped. "Are you okay?"
"I'm…fine." Hanna's eyes were still squeezed closed, but the pain had begun to subside. She tried moving her arm. It felt okay, just stiff.
They heard the whimper again. It sounded closer. "Just go find her," Hanna said. "I'll catch up in a second."
For a moment, neither Aria or Emily moved. The whimper turned into a sound more like a cry. "Go!" Hanna urged more forcefully.
Hanna rolled onto her back, slowly moving her arms and legs. Her head spun, and the ground smelled like dog poop. The back of her neck began to tingle, numbed from the cold slush. Aria and Emily's footsteps grew fainter and fainter until she couldn't hear them at all. The trees shifted back and forth, as if they were alive.
"Guys?" Hanna called out weakly. No answer. The whimper had sounded close—where had they gone?
An airplane soared high overhead, its little blinking light barely visibly. An owl hooted, low and angry. There was no moon in the sky. Suddenly, Hanna wondered if this was an incredibly stupid idea. They were out here, alone in the woods, because of a note that surely Ian sent them. They'd been lured out here as easily as Spencer had been. Who was to say Ian wasn't hiding in the shadows, somewhere close, ready to pounce and kill them all? Why hadn't they waited for Wilden to come out here with them?
The bushes across the clearing started to shake. Heavy footsteps crunched through the leaves. Hanna's heart began to thump. "Aria?" No answer.
A twig snapped. Then another. Hanna stared in the direction of the noise. Something was looming in the bushes. Hanna held her breath. What if Ian was hiding right here?
Hanna pushed herself up to her elbows. A figure burst out from between the trees, shaking off branches. A scream lingered in Hanna's throat. It wasn't Aria or Emily…but it wasn't Ian, either. Hanna couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl, but whoever it was seemed thinner, maybe a little shorter. The figure paused in the middle of the clearing, staring straight at Hanna, as if startled by her presence. With its hood pulled tightly over its head and its face completely in shadow, the person reminded Hanna of the Grim Reaper.
Hanna tried to scuttle backward on her butt, but her body sank uselessly into the mud. I'm going to die, she thought. This is it.
Finally, a hand moved to the person's lips. "Shhhhh."
Hanna dug her nails into the cold, half-frozen ground, her teeth chattering with terror. But the figure took three big steps away from her. Then, just like that, whoever it was turned and vanished, without the slightest sound of footsteps. It was as if Hanna had dreamed the whole thing.