It was dark outside when I woke up. There was a window that looked out to a dark forest. The lighting inside the room was low. I was in what looked like some sort of hospital room. I looked around to take in my surroundings and figure out a way to escape.

Thankfully there was no sign of Maverick in the room. I sat up. I felt a little unsteady but I gave myself a moment to recover before I slid the covers off me. I was dressed in on of those stupid hospital gowns, with the opening at the back. When had that happened. Had I been so out of it that I hadn’t even noticed? The vulnerability set me back and I wavered. It was a feeling I did not like at all.

It was time to get out of here. My clothes were folded on the chair beside the bed. I got up still feeling a little weak but I was determined to get out of here as quickly as possible. There was no way I was going to give Maverick the satisfaction of catching me now.

The dizziness made it difficult to get dressed. I couldn’t understand why I was feeling this way. Earlier I had been fine but I had convinced Maverick I was sick and now I was struggling to concentrate. I squeezed my eyes closed and took a breath trying to clear the fog from my mind. Time was precious and I couldn’t waste a second of it. I managed to get dressed, although it took me longer than I had hoped.

As quietly as I could, I inched my way to the doorway and slowly peered outside. The hallway was empty so I hurried out of the room and down the corridor, hoping I was going in the right direction. I had another moment of unbalance and I had to stop to lean against the wall. What the hell was going on?

I would crawl out on my hands and knees if I had to. My determination was greater than any physical weakness. Nothing in life came easy, I knew that better than anyone. If I wanted to get out of here I had to do it now so I pushed through the unsteadiness with determined willpower.

The entrance was empty except for one guy working on a computer. He was dressed in a doctor’s coat. It added more questions to where I was, but there was no time for that. I had to get away.

Once outside I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the cold air. It was refreshing and helped clear my mind. I was starting to feel a little better but I was far from safe.

The building I had been in was right next to a forest. I looked around and saw some larger buildings half circle the building was standing outside of. There were a lot of people and activity. It would be safer to escape through the forest.

It was the least populated way of getting out of there, but I did have a second of trepidation as I had no out door experience and I feared whatever wild animals there would be lurking in the darkness. I pushed the fear out of my mind reminding myself that I had been in far worse situations.

I looked back to the people and lights and wondered if this were some type of cult. It was the strangest place I had ever been and that was saying something.

Into the darkness I snuck trying to navigate my way through the tall tress in the darkness with very little light from the moon above. A couple of times I stumbled and scraped my knees but each time I got back up and persevered. My shoes were in no way wilderness friendly. All of the trees looked the same and it was difficult to determine if I was making any headway but I couldn’t give up. I had to get away.

It felt like I had been walking for hours. The sun started to rise which made it easier to see. My muscles ached and I wiped the sweat from my brow. At least I the dizziness had subsided but I feared that I was just walking deeper and deeper into the wilderness with no idea where I was going.

I stopped to leaned against a large tree trunk as I tried to catch my breath. I looked back to the way I had come and considered going back. Dying in the middle of nowhere from thirst had no appeal but neither did being a prisoner in that cult run by a bunch of freaks. There was something not right with the whole setup. Who kidnapped people right off the street? It didn’t make much sense, they had to be a cult. There was no other explanation.

My throat was so dry and my stomach rumbled but I kept walking. I began to stumble more as the heat increased. For the first time I felt a sense of hopelessness that this was a situation I wasn’t going to get out of. It made be think of Maverick. The stupid asshole. Why had he kidnapped me? Why had he locked me up? None of his actions made any sense.

In the distance I thought I heard a howl. I halted. Silence. I listened closer.

It must have been my imagination, the heat and lack of water was taking its toll. I was probably hearing things that weren’t there. Then I heard another sound again. It sounded like something moving toward me but I couldn’t make out what it was.

Fear kept me rooted to the spot as the sound of movement on the forest floor drew closer. There was something moving at a speed that would rule out a human. It was an animal. I remembered the howl.

Panic took hold, I couldn’t think. I was too weak to climb up the tree which was my first instinct and I would not able to outrun the threat.

In a frantic moment I considered this was how I was going to die? Eaten by wild animals in the middle of nowhere, while trying to escape some crazy cult.

Then a huge wolf broke through the trees and I closed my eyes. I had caught a flash of the wildness in its eyes and knew I was no match for it. It growled and I trembled with fear.

I trembled as I waited for the predator to knock me over and sink its teeth in me.

But when I opened my eyes the wolf was gone and in its place stood the Maverick. The asshole. I blinked, not fully trusting what I was seeing. He stood where only moments ago I had seen a large wolf. Was I hallucinating? It wasn’t possible. He strode purposefully to me. Was I that dehydrated that I was seeing things that weren’t there?

“You really have a death wish, don’t you?” He muttered as he approached me.

I shook my head weakly. He had no idea how hard I’d been fighting to survive not just in this situation but my whole life.

I didn’t have the strength to fight him when he picked me up like I weighed nothing. I was weak still trying to figure out how this was happening. This time I didn’t fight him, I held onto him like my life depended on it. His arms tightened around me, giving me the assurance of his strength and protection.

“You got her?” another male voice spoke.

It took too much effort to open my eyes. I just wanted water. The thirst in my throat burned.

“Yeah,” Maverick answered. “She’s in bad shape. We need to get her back.”

“She got further than we expected,” the other voice said, sounding surprised.

“Yeah.” There was a hint of something that wasn’t his usual hard, angry tone. I couldn’t quite decipher it but all that mattered was they would help me.

At this point I would rather a room filled with these crazies than die of an animal attack or dehydration in the wilderness.

“Water,” I croaked.

“Soon,” he murmured.

I wasn’t exactly heavy but I did note how easily he seemed to be able to move with me in his arms. It was another thing that didn’t make any sense and I put it down to hallucination. What he was doing, just wasn’t possible, was it?

I tried to hold on but it became impossible with each passing moment until I gave into the dark allowing myself to drift free.