April's POV

We'd been wondering around the woods for god knows how long and I'm pretty sure we were lost. I'd decided to go in a straight line - the woods had to end someday, right? Kayla and Nina were furious with me and threatened to turn back - it took every bit of my strength to drag them after me, arguing that it was better to stick together. I sighed and took a deep breath, calming myself down, but I ended up snapping.

"Stop it! Both of you, just stop it." 

Both of them stopped bickering between themselves and stared at me, wide-eyed, surprised I'd raised my voice. I was usually the calm one. 

I was sick of these endless woods and their constant complaining and mini breaks. Hello, I'm trying to help us escape from this trap and you want to go back there? But then again, they didn't know the full truth, which wasn't their fault. 

"Look, we need to stick together. We will find our way to the end if we just keep going. It will be okay." I sounded uncertain, even to myself. 

The woods were completely dark - only the silhouettes of trees rose around us, their tall willowy limbs filtering out the sunlight from above. It almost felt stale being trapped in the woody prison. Every single tree we walked past looked the same and I had already tripped over so many broken twigs and branches. My knee was bleeding and it stung every time it scraped against something. I could feel my throat constricting. 

As much as I hated to admit it - I think we were lost.

"April, I think we should head back. Or split up. Either one is better than doing what we're doing now - look at us." Kayla pointed out, her tone sharp. "We're filthy, hurt and thirsty. How are we meant to survive out here for another hour, let alone the night?"

Nina hummed in agreement, leaning on a tree trunk to examine her grazed elbow. "I agree."

We can't split up. 

She can't leave. 

We can't go back. 

"No wait!" I I couldn't tell them the truth - they wouldn't believe me. I just knew it. Aiden was a master manipulator - he'd always outwit me. Even if I did tell them I was kidnapped against my will, they would ask questions. They would say:

Why didn't you tell us right away?

What about the police?

There were hundreds of people at last night's party? You couldn't have told us then?

Ah, crap.

"There's - there's wolves in these woods. I hear them at night - they're obviously still out here. We need to stay together. The worst possible thing we can do is split up, guys." I looked around at them, my eyes pleading. "Please. Just - just trust me?

I heard Kayla sigh before turning back to face me. I shot her an encouraging smile, raising both eyebrows at her hopefully, silently asking for forgiveness. Something in my expression must have moved her because she punched me half-halfheartedly, muttering that she was going to kill me once we got back.

When I turned to Nina, her eyes weren't on me. They were looking at something behind me. She whimpered. "Guys... I think there's something out there... watching us." I froze. My eyes slowly moved to the spot she was staring at and I could feel my body become rigid.

There was a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at us from beyond the darkness. Me and Nina were rooted to the spot with fear. It must have been a few seconds pass before Kayla's ear-splitting scream shot through the air. 

"Run guys! Run!" Kayla shouted. I heard the sound of ragged breathing - it sounded like a wild animal. 

And so I ran. The wind bit at my face, the branches reaching out to entangle me in their grasp. Adrenaline coursed through my body, temporarily setting aside the fatigue that had set into my bones. The sound of heavy breathing from behind me urged me to run on, my legs moving faster than I could imagine. Ahead of me Kayla was running and whimpering, turning back constantly, her eyes huge with fear. Nina had the sense not to turn back and was dragging Kayla along beside her. 

I was behind the two of them and was screaming at them to run. This is all my fault. 

Why did I go into the stupid woods? We're going to die and it's my fault.

When I first glanced behind me, I felt as though I would trip. But when I turned back around, Nina and Kayla were going - in two separate directions. Those idiots! Why did they split up? Before I could panic, my brain made a decision for me, and urged me to follow the path that split off on the left, maybe because it was slightly more open.

I tripped over branches on the floor and my elbows and knees were bleeding but I didn't care. My shoulder crashed into trees and I cursed my clumsiness. My breathing was hard and shallow and the only noise there was was the sound of my breathing and the animal's behind me. What the hell is that? How long was it watching us? 

I glanced around wildly, hoping for an escape, a human, something. I felt something hard crash into me and I fell backwards, hitting my head onto the ground with full impact letting out a scream as I fell into darkness.

***

Darkness. 

I felt my eyes open heavily and the crunch of leaves beneath my head. I inhaled and smelt the smell of damp leaves and mud. Where the hell am I? Then it all came back to me - going to the woods to escape, a wild animal chasing us, crashing into something. 

And here I am. Alive. I think. 

I got up, dazed and touched my forehead. There was blood on my fingers from where I had touched my head, but it was semi-dry and felt crusty. I quickly got up and backed up against a tree, stumbling on my way, my head still spinning. My eyes scanned the clearing wildly, searching for the animal that split me and my friends up. 

"April? What are you doing here?" I heard a familiar voice say. 

I looked up and saw Noah standing at the entrance of the clearing. He was looking at me with a mixture of expressions on his face: confusion, worry, shock. I was shaking - what if the animal was around? What the hell was Noah doing here? Where were Nina and Kayla? 

He was wearing the same clothes from the party and walked towards me slowly, his forehead wrinkled with surprise at my ragged appearance. He reached me and held out an arm hesitantly. "April? You look terrible. Are you okay? My God, you're bleeding." 

"I - I'm fine," I lied, wincing at the pain on my knees and elbows. They were caked with dry blood and it felt absolutely filthy.

"Yeah, sure you are." He shot back sarcastically, smiling slightly at my defiance.

I paused. "You're right. I'm not fine. Something bad has happened - really bad."

He nodded, not asking any questions thankfully and was beside me in an instant, his arm looping around my waist, supporting my weight. Normally, I would have not been okay with this position, but right now I knew it was necessary. Without him, walking and supporting my weight wouldn't have been possible because my legs were shaking under me.

Noah told me that him and his friends were camping out here for the weekend. He heard a screams and ran out here to find me. Well that explains why he's here and why he came into the woods yesterday night after the fight.

He coaxed me into explaining why I was here, looking like this now. I told him the truth - well as much as I possibly could. I told him about the scavenger hunt and how a wild animal was chasing us and we split up. I was scared that I was going to be caught out at the scavenger hunt bit, but he simply raised his eyebrows. He told me that Nina and Kayla were safe - his friends had found them and taken them back to their camp. I let out a sigh of relief and gently released Noah's firm hold around my waist. I nodded at him to show I was okay.

We'd reached the camp site where several tents were set up and a fire was burning brightly. I spotted Nina and Kayla shivering, with blankets draped around their shoulders closest to the fire. Nina was leaning her head against Kayla's shoulder and their eyes were dull. They looked up, jumping when they heard a noise and their faces instantly broke out into a smile. They leaped up and ran to me, hugging me. The feeling of guilt inside me was squirming and writhing. I nearly got my best friends killed because of my own stupidity.

"I'm so glad you're okay! Splitting up was a stupid idea - I don't know why we did it, we're so sorry!" Nina babbled, crying against my shoulder. 

I hugged them back, a few tears escaping into their shoulders but shook my head, assuring them I was okay. 

Then, I finally decided to apologize. I said that I was sorry about taking them to this ridiculous scavenger hunt, that I was sorry about the wild animal. Even though I apologized, guilt still shook me every time I looked at them and the thought of going back to Aiden. They replied with a forgiving smile and light punch, reminding me never to do something that stupid again. 

I turned around and saw Noah leaning against a tree gazing at us intently. His clothes were dirty, but it was nice to see that he looked friendly compared to Aiden who was like a pregnant woman reaching the end of her pregnancy. Bloody Unpredictable.

I stood up precariously and made my way to Noah. He smiled at me and I returned his smile gratefully. I stood there awkwardly - I don't know how to thank someone for saving my life. It's not really a common thing, is it? I swallowed and racked my brain for things to say, but for once my mind wasn't buzzing with thoughts.

"Noah. Thank you for bringing Nina and Kayla to safety and I will always be grateful to you and your friends for that - and - thank you for helping me. I don't know what that wild animal was, but something scared it off because otherwise I would be dead right now." I said quietly, looking down at my feet.

"It's fine April. I'm just glad I got there in time." He mumbled modestly, rubbing his neck. 

I grinned stupidly at his sudden shyness and looked back at Nina and Kayla. These guys were too hard to lie to - I had to turn back and go to the house. Maybe Noah could help us. Even though talking to boys and people in general was hard for me, I decided to trust Noah.

I mean, his friends hadn't murdered us. Yet.

And he'd helped me.

Plus, he was at the party yesterday - meaning he knew the gang in some way or another. 

 I still wasn't fully comfortable with him yet but I asked anyway because him and his friends were the only way I could keep Nina and Kayla safe. For now anyway. He looked apprehensive about going back to the house but finally agreed after he examined our state again and how hopelessly lost we were.

Noah and his two friends accompanied us back. One of his friends, a burly-looking man with a shaved head and ear shot with piercings had a gun. Me and Kayla saw it when we were walking behind him and shared the look. Noah must have seen, because he later explained:

"It's how we ward away wild animals. It's our protection, I guess." 

During the walk back - which was surprisingly fast - Noah was chatting with Kayla whilst me and Nina were walking in a comfortable silence. I saw light peeping out from behind the trees and almost ran towards it. Sunlight! Finally we see the light! 

Once we emerged, I turned back to Noah and grinned at him, but he was looking over my shoulder into the distance, his eyes uncharacteristically cold. I'd never seen him so angry.

Standing at the other end, near the patio doors was Aiden, Carlos, Diego, Beau, Daniel and Emma all looking pissed. Tension rolled across the clearing, between both groups. I felt as though I couldn't even breath, without pissing someone off here. 

I looked back to both parties and gulped. Damn you April - you can't even escape like a normal person - and then you bring the world's most tense welcoming party to the door.