Chapter 38. Hopes Still Alive

Evelyn

We didn’t speak, didn’t look back. Just ran—through the cold air, through the squelching mud, our breath sharp in the silence.

And then he screamed—

“EVELYN!”

A roar. A fury. Like my name being dragged through the gravel.

We didn’t stop running.

But I did look back.

For just a second.

I saw him—still frozen—standing in the ruin of that shattered door, staring. His eyes were on me. A gun rested in his belt, untouched. He could have used it—but he didn’t.

He could have chased. He could have pulled the trigger.

Instead, at his feet, I saw the contents of the bag he’d brought.

Jars of supplem