Chapter 206

The Prey

Somehow, I survived.

I wasn’t supposed to. I wasn’t supposed to open my eyes, breathe, exist—but I did.

Maybe it was a miracle. Maybe it was sheer luck. Or maybe it was because Judas had jumped after me, and Ralph had followed right after, pulling both of us from the jaws of death.

That’s what Kyle told me, at least. He refused to say anything else after that, just stared at me with something unreadable in his eyes before changing the subject.

I didn’t push. Those memories were too raw, too haunting.

And to be honest, when I jumped…

I wasn’t thinking. Not about who I was leaving behind. Not about who would pull me back. Not even about myself. That was selfish of me on some part. There was just nothing. A single, endless moment of weightlessness, of cold air slicing against my skin, of the deafening rush of wind in my ears. And then—impact. Water swallowing me whole. Darkness pulling me under. Pressure crushing my ch