Cal gasped and trembled in my arms. I grabbed her hand and tugged her behind me. Will bolted straight for the hill and Grant came up behind me.

"I got you, Ry," he said.

I turned and our eyes locked. We had each other’s backs - literally - and I was filled with gratitude that if I had to be stuck on that island, at least he was there with me.

"How many of them are there, Cal?" I asked her.

"I’m not sure. Four or five?" she whispered.

I shot a quick glance over my shoulder and could see a small group coming up toward the tents. One guy peeked into the tent where Cal had been, called out to another guy, who ran over and also peeked inside.

"She’s gone!" one of them shouted.

We rushed along just as a voice yelled out, "They’re going up the hill!"

"Move!" Grant ordered and we all went at full speed.

Will would run ahead of us and would then backtrack to lead us to a clear path. We got to the woodsy part and dodged in and out of trees. Cal was panting heavily as I held her hand, pulling her along. My heart pounded in my chest. We ran after Will, weaving in and out without a designated trail to follow. There were still voices coming from somewhere behind us, but I couldn’t waste the seconds on turning to look behind me.

"I see them!" a deep voice shouted and rustling trees blew loudly.

"They’re right behind us!" Grant shouted up to Will.

I knew we needed to hide. We couldn’t continue running. There was no way we could outrun them. Cal glanced over her shoulder and cried out in fear. Her eyes were wide and she gripped my hand so hard I could see her knuckles turn white.

"It’s okay," I assured her, even though I shared the same fear.

She nodded and tried to keep up with my pace, but I was going too fast. Will motioned for us to follow him around a bend and as I tugged at Cal’s hand, she stumbled and fell forward. I yanked her arm up, hoping to somehow catch her, but she tumbled to the ground. She instantly hopped up, not paying any attention to her knees that were now bloody and covered in dirt, and winced in pain. I reached out for her and she hobbled to me, tears running down her cheeks.

"I’m sorry!" she cried. "Just leave me. I’ll only slow you down. You guys go!"

"What? No way! We just found you. I won’t leave you, Cal! Not ever again!" I said as I hooked my arm around her.

Grant ran up to us. "We can’t stop!"

"She’s hurt. There’s no way-" I started to say, but then stopped as we heard voices approaching.

Cal was visibly trembling.

"I’m not leaving her," I told him before the suggestion was even mentioned.

"I know. Of course not," Grant whispered gently.

Will had ran ahead of us and was now trotting back.

"I have an idea," Grant said, watching Will run closer to us. "Take Cal and go down that way. The first spot you can hide, stay there! Will and I can lead them away from here."

Grant had pointed off to the opposite direction. I shook my head.

"No! We should all stay together!" I cried.

"Trust me," Grant insisted. "I need to keep you both safe. I’ll come back, I promise."

Before I could protest, Grant was rushing to Will. The group that was following us was too close for us to stay put any longer. I stared at Cal and together we took off in the other direction. We were both crying, both of us sniffling as we tried to find a decent hiding spot.

"Ryleigh, look," she said, her voice a hoarse cry.

Weeds that were about waist high were only a few feet away, so we dodged into them. I knew she wouldn’t be able to crawl, not with bloody knees. We rushed into the weeds until we figured we had gone far enough and then crouched down. When my legs began to tingle, I sat down and Cal did the same.

Sitting so close to her like that reminded me of being with her in the basement. The two of us had found comfort in having one another, and we were doing the same once again. Neither of us spoke for a while. Her voice was hoarse and I kept my senses on high alert, desperate for Grant and Will’s return.

Eventually, Cal looked worn out and exhausted. I asked her if she wanted to lie down and she didn’t have the energy to argue. She simply nodded and reclined onto the ground. Not too long after, I laid down alongside her. We stared up at the sky in silence.

I turned to face her. "We found Beth. She’s okay."

She turned her head to look at me. Her eyes welled up with fresh tears. "You did? Beth? Oh, I was so scared! I hoped she’d be okay, but then...I just-"

"It’s okay. She told us you saved her and you were taken by another group. We came looking for you. I wasn’t leaving here without you. This will sound crazy, but you’re my best friend, Cal," I confessed.

She covered her face with her hands for a moment and her body shook with sobs. Tears streamed down her face and she removed her hands to wipe her cheeks.

"I’m sorry! You were looking for me? I thought...I thought it was coincidence you found me. You seriously came to find me?" she said and coughed.

"It was no coincidence. Beth saw which direction they took you in and we came to get you."

She stared up at the sky again. "I can’t believe it. I thought I was a goner, you know? When they took me...I’m so sorry, Ryleigh."

"No way we’d leave you!" I told her. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Cal turned to face me again. "You’re my best friend, too, Ryleigh. Thank you. Thank you for coming for me."

"We don’t know where Aaron is though," I said softly. "We got split up; Grant and I went one way and Will and Aaron went another way. I guess they got split up, but Grant and I stayed together."

Her eyebrows went up and down really fast. "Ohhhh, I bet you did!" She tried to chuckle, but then broke into a coughing fit.

When she stopped, I poked her in the ribs with my elbow. She smiled.

"We ran into Will and he had Beth with him. She’s okay; we stationed her...somewhere safe. We’ll go back for her as soon as we find Grant and Will again," I said.

"What about Aaron?" she asked. "Shouldn’t we look for him, too? I’d feel bad if we didn’t, considering you guys came looking for me."

I debated telling her Will’s theory about Aaron. Instead, I asked her about the group that had taken her. She told me she wasn’t sure what they intended to do with her or why they were on the island at all. They put her in that hole, covered it with a hollow tent, and would leave for hours on end.

"I couldn’t see anything. I could barely even hear anything. They threw food and water down to me like a caged animal," she whimpered.

My heart ached for her. I could see in her eyes that she was traumatized after the entire ordeal of that island, but being captured and put into a hole had almost broken her. I had to get the old Cal back somehow. The Cal I knew was strong and determined.

"There’s something I should tell you about Aaron," I said, looking up at the sky.

"What about him?" she asked cautiously.

"Will has a...theory. Maybe he’s paranoid or crazy, I don’t know."

"What’s his theory about Aaron?" she asked me softly.

I took a deep breath before summarizing it for her. She didn’t say anything while I spoke. I told her Will’s theory and his reasoning behind it, adding that Beth agreed with him. When I was finished, I exhaled loudly and waited for her reaction.

"Hmm," she hummed.

"What do you think?" I asked her. "Do you think Aaron could be a spy of some sort?"

She rubbed her forehead before answering me. "Not really. If he is, he’s terrible at it. He got caught again by Dean and Gina and you had to go rescue him, and now he’s gone again somewhere. What kind of a spy does that?"

She had a point. I stayed silent as I mulled it over.

"If it’s not Aaron," I said finally. "Then who is it?"

"Does it have to be someone?" she asked. "I’m just saying, we don’t really know for sure that there’s a mole or spy, do we? Isn’t this just some crazy theory of Will’s?"

I shrugged. "Well, yeah, but Beth agreed with him. And honestly? Grant and I had some weird things happen, too. I could see how his theory makes sense."

She cleared her throat and winced at its dryness. "If there really is a spy, then doesn’t it make more sense that it’s Will?"

I turned to stare at her in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"If he’s saying there’s a mole, it’s probably him."

I bolted upright. Cal reached out to grab my arm.

"What is it? Do you hear something?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"No, it’s not that." I glanced at her over my shoulder. "If what you said is true? Will is out there somewhere and he has Grant with him. And Grant won’t suspect Will at all."

The expression on her face said she shared my fear. She rubbed my arm, but it didn’t comfort me. I pulled my knees in and hung my head.

Grant, please be careful.

Next Chapter: Thirty Four