He landed awkwardly, jarring his ankle on the ground, shooting pains flaring up his leg. So much for his hope of outrunning the beast.
It had covered its face with its clawed hands, and Cade swung his rock, letting out a garbled scream of fear and revulsion. His blow glanced off the monster’s head, poorly aimed and with little weight behind it. Still, the creature rolled away from him, yowling in pain.
For a moment Cade stared at the rock, surprised at his own daring. Fear pulsed through him, the reality of life and death hitting home for what felt like the very first time.
Even as he prepared to run, the beast sprang, slamming headfirst into the wall next to him. Cade tumbled onto his back. The creature was still blinded by the dust, grasping for him as it hissed its displeasure.
He scrambled away, slipping and sliding in the mud, horror choking him. The monster heard the slap of his feet and lunged again, this time landing just beside him. Cade bellowed and flailed the rock, his vision filled with needle teeth.
The sharp tip of the stone sliced deep into the creature’s foot, pinning it to the ground before the beast wrenched itself free with a squeal of pain. Its tongue darted over its face, and Cade readied himself, even as the inky black eyes fixed upon him once more. The creature took a tentative step forward, then yowled as it put pressure on its injured foot.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Cade backed away from it. When the creature turned its tongue to the bloody wound, he ran.
Ran through the agony of a twisted ankle, fueled by the adrenaline pumping through him in wave after wave of fear. On and on, down the gully, high walls looming on either side. It was only when he stumbled and fell that he stopped, waiting for the monster to give chase at any moment.
Cade shuddered, inhaling with deep sobbing breaths. Finally, when he had calmed, he was able to think once more.
The beast seemed to have given up on him, for now at least.
So he limped on, gripping his hand axe as if it was his lifeline.
Perhaps it was.
CHAPTER
2
Six months earlier
Cade shuffled down the line of boys in the cafeteria, careful not to meet anyone’s eye. He could feel them watching him, their gazes sweeping up and down, seeking weakness.
What they would see was a skinny, light-skinned Indian kid, though they wouldn’t know his father was white.
Not short, but not tall either, with amber eyes and wavy hair, cut in a tight-back-and-sides cut. A military cut, one that he hoped would make him look as tough as all the other “troubled youths” at the school with him.
Lucky for him, he had no glasses or smattering of acne to give away the inner nerd hiding just beneath the surface.
He tried to convince himself he looked no more vulnerable than the other teens he’d seen at intake that day. Yet, try as he might, he could not keep the cafeteria tray from shaking in his hands.
His blue uniform itched. It was the “therapeutic” boarding school uniform, though it felt more like a prisoner’s to him. Looking at the high walls outside the facility, he couldn’t see much difference.
“What you want?”
Cade looked up at the snaggle-toothed kid in front of him, a hairnet on his head, ladle in hand. Cade pointed at the mashed potatoes, peas, and what he assumed was meat loaf, and the kid dutifully slapped them onto his tray.
The cafeteria reminded him of the gymnasium at his old school, but there were no basketball hoops on the walls here. Only straight-backed drill sergeant–like counselors, their eyes scanning the tables.
Cade quickly realized he should have been planning where he was going to sit. Most of the tables were full, and the air filled with the loud banter of kids who knew each other well. How could he sit down in the midst of all that?
Cade hesitated, searching desperately for somewhere neutral to sit. There were no empty tables, but he spotted a kid he recognized from the intake. A gangly, pockmarked guy who had cried silently through it all as the counselors shouted at them to face the wall and shuffle sideways toward their rooms.
The kid was sitting alone on one end of his table, while a trio ignored him on the other. Cade realized he had taken too long to find a seat. He didn’t want to look intimidated, even if he was.
Adrenaline coursing through him, he walked the gauntlet of tables, his ears filled with the shouts, laughs, and belches of the guys on either side. It felt like an eternity before he reached the other newcomer, who startled as Cade dropped his tray opposite him.
Cade nodded, then turned to his food. He soon realized yet another mistake. He’d left his cutlery behind.
“Damn,” Cade muttered under his breath.
He had to go back. He went to stand, but suddenly a plastic spoon clattered onto his tray.
Cade looked up.
“Cade,” he said.
“Jim.” The kid gave him a tentative smile.
Cade felt himself relax, and he dug into his mashed potatoes with the spoon. They were watery and unseasoned, not to mention that Cade wasn’t hungry. He ate regardless.
An awkward silence filled the space between the two.
“Why’d your parents put you here?” Cade blurted, the words spilling from his mouth before he could stop them. Was that rude to ask? It was too late now.
Jim looked up, surprised.
“I … a lot of things,” he began. He paused, looking shamefacedly at his tray. “But the last one did it. I threw a party,” he finally said. “Our place got wrecked. My parents didn’t like that.”
Cade gulped. “Sorry,” he muttered. He racked his brain, trying to think of something else to say. Instead, he filled his mouth with another spoonful of bland mush.
“Well, hello there.” Cade felt a hand clasp his shoulder, and his heart sank.
Here we go.
“Making friends already?”
Cade looked up, taking in the new arrival. He had a shaved head, with cool blue eyes and a pout to his full lips.
Cade’s heart sank even further as he took in a bruise on the boy’s cheek and scabs on his knuckles. The kid had been fighting. Cade had never been in a fight in his life.
Fear seized his throat, even as he searched for an appropriate answer. Any words would come out in a croak, so he remained silent.
“Nothing to say?” the boy said, taking a seat beside Jim, as another kid plonked his tray down beside Cade.
Cade turned and felt his heart thundering in his chest. The other kid was heavyset, with small piggish eyes and the beginnings of patchy stubble on his ruddy cheeks.
It was only then that Cade realized that the first guy was talking to Jim, not him. This made him feel a bit better, but the relief dissipated in an instant as the ruddy kid beside him cleared his throat, then licked his spoon purposefully, making sure Cade was watching. Cade felt his stomach twist as the boy reached over and dug it into Cade’s meat loaf.
“You were just making introductions, right?” the newcomer next to Jim said, shifting unnecessarily close to him. “You’re Jim, he’s Cade. Aren’t you going to ask our names?”
“Wh-what’s your name?” Jim stuttered.
“I’m Finch, and this here is Gobbler,” the first guy replied. “We call him that on account of his appetite.”
Gobbler stuck his spoon into Cade’s mashed potatoes demonstratively before slopping them into his mouth. He chewed loudly before going in for more.