Chapter 2

Just then, Beth, Caleb' s younger sister, ran up behind the mayor. She had been raised with me after her parents were killed by the same gang my father hunted. She was more my sister than his.

"I' ll go," Beth said, her voice tight with fear but resolute. "Sarah' s pregnant. She can' t risk that trail."

She looked at me, her eyes filled with a fierce loyalty that broke my heart. She didn' t know about the first life, but she knew Caleb' s obsession with Amber was dangerous.

Before I could stop her, she grabbed the reins of her own horse and galloped away.

The mayor and I herded the women and children into the town hall basement, behind the thick steel door of the old bank vault. The few old men left in town stood guard outside with their hunting rifles.

An hour and a half passed. It felt like a lifetime.

Then, Beth returned.

She stumbled off her horse, her arm bleeding from a fall, her face streaked with tears and dirt.

"He wouldn' t come," she sobbed, collapsing into my arms. "He... he said I was being hysterical. That we were colluding, trying to ruin his fun with Amber. He told me to go home and stop making things up."

The other women gasped.

Before anyone could comfort her, a massive explosion rocked the entire building. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

The bikers were using explosives on the vault door.

Panic erupted. The children started screaming.

I held Beth, my own heart pounding against my ribs. My first choice had changed nothing. The outcome was the same.

Beth' s injury was worse than it looked. The town' s old doctor was tending to her, but she couldn' t ride again.

The explosions were getting louder, more frequent. The steel door groaned under the assault.

I looked at the terrified faces around me. I looked at Beth, pale and injured.

I had tried to stay out of it. I had tried to protect myself. But now, my inaction was condemning everyone else.

I stood up.

"I' m going," I told the mayor. "Not for Caleb. For help."

He looked at me, his eyes wide with a desperate hope. "Where?"

"Next county," I said, my voice steady. "I' ll get to Sheriff Brody. I can make it in two hours if I push it."

I walked out of the vault, promising I would be back with help.

This time, I wouldn' t fail.