Chapter 170

"What the hell?" Ava stared at the massive flames in the distance, totally confused about what those kidnappers were trying to pull. The fire at the factory was so intense they could still see it from half an hour away. Flames lit up the path ahead, but they didn't bother looking back anymore. Instead, they kept moving through the overgrown hillside, pushing forward through the weeds. They'd only had an apple to eat in days, and their bodies were covered in bruises from beatings. At this point, they were just running on stubbornness. After walking forever, Louise was too numb to feel anything. They took turns wearing the only halfway-decent pair of shoes, and when it got too painful, they wrapped their feet in torn-up clothes. They kept going until the sky started to turn a pale grey. Standing by the roadside, Ava glanced behind them. Nothing but an endless stretch of plain, dotted with squat little houses. The road beneath their feet stretched so far it might as well lead off the edge