THE EDGE OF DECEPTION

Lena's POV The inn felt colder after Finn's words set in, the weight of his warning hanging between us like a dense cloud. 'You need to leave. Now." Those words repeated in my thoughts, whirling with a sensation of dread that threatened to strangle me. I gazed at Finn, trying to make sense of what he'd just said. His look was enough to throw me—he was pale, untidy, and unlike the confident, collected person I'd always known. Something had changed. His eyes darted around, as if expecting someone to break in at any minute, and his hands shook at his sides. Alex was the first to break the stillness. 'What are you talking about, Finn? What's happening?" His tone was cool, but there was an edge of urgency that told me he wasn't going to let this drop without answers. Finn glanced over his shoulder uneasily, then ran a hand through his sweat-drenched hair and came toward us. "TheOrder... They pursue you not just here. More than you could ever know is happening here. this village? It is not safe. My heart accelerating, I looked at Alex. "What then is not safe?" Attacked in the wilderness, who were they? Struggling to keep my voice steady, I asked. Finn hurriedly responded, "They're scouts," his words pouring out. "The Order ordered them to hunt you; they did not come to murder you. Not presently. They are laying a trap here. "A trap?" Alex tightened his eyes and moved forward Finn. "For who?" Us all? Finn shook his head, speaking hardly more than a whisper. "No., for me." A cold crawled over my back. As I attempted to understand what he was saying, my heart quivered in my chest. "What do you mean for yourself? Are you working for them? Finn said firmly, "No," with flaming eyes. "No more. They wish me dead for this reason. They know I have been providing them misleading information and that I have been assisting you. I could not, however, understand their distance. Alex retreated a step, eyes narrowing. "You were working for The Order all through?" His voice was low, threatening, and I sensed the air changing. Alex betrayed me clearly, and I could feel the wrath building in his chest. I gazed at Finn and hardly could breathe. The man who had been with us through so many hardships—or so I thought—the one who had always been on our side. "You mislead us?" Finn's face turned to show agony. Lena, it was not like that. I had nothing to choose from. The Order... They controlled my family, myself. I had to keep them off our route. I reasoned that I could shield you all from within. The ramifications of what he was saying swirled around my head. Finn had been monitoring The Order for what length of time? Had it not been for him, how much of what we had done—that which we had moved—had been? Alex closed his hands and stepped perilously near Finn, his voice a hoarse snarl. "Give me one decent argument against killing you right now." Finn did not flinch, but his clearly regretful eyes revealed "Because you will be stepping directly into their trap if you kill me." I watched the heated interaction while holding my breath. Finn was correct, much as I loathed to say it. Not while we were precariously holding on, we could afford to lose anybody else. Alex gazed at Finn for a long, excruciating minute before turning away. His jaw was clenched so firmly that I assumed he may break his teeth, yet he did not move to strike. " Start the conversation. Which trap? Finn choked hard, his voice quivering yet steady. "They bait the village from here. They knew Samantha and you would have come here. They have been waiting for you to show up so they can close in. Right now, their want of me alive is the only thing keeping you alive. They hope I will lead you directly into their hands. And you have been guiding us here all this time. The venom that seeped into my voice was uncontrollable. Perhaps irreversibly, my faith in Finn had been undermined. Finn responded, "No," his voice cracking. "That is not what I intended. I have been attempting to alert you and prevent them from catching up. Still, they are constantly one step forward. Now: There is, I believe, a path out, but it will call for confidence. We had to get off right away. Alex turned to look at me for a choice. We had little time to fight, but every thread in me was screaming not to believe Finn once more. The settlement turned out to be a trap. It made sense now—the terrible stillness, the vacant streets. But time was not to linger in the past or to focus on the betrayal. I looked at Samantha, her delicate shape lying asleep on the bed. The period for decisions has gone by. We now had to get moving. "Fine," I nodded. But if you are lying once more, Finn... "I'm not," he answered. "We must travel south. Out of the settlement, there is a secret road over the forest. Though risky, this is our only chance. Alex nodded stiffly, however I could see the maelstrom of feelings building in his eyes. He despised this, despised having to rely on someone who had lied to us. But our choices were limited. The air smelled like rotting leaves and moist ground, the woodland darker than it had been. Finn set the example, going fast yet carefully. Alex and I kept close, Samantha carried between us. She was hardly holding on and her fever had not broken. Either nothing else would matter or we needed her aid shortly. Every sound seemed magnified as we descended into the forest—the snap of a twig, the rustle of leaves. My heart hammered in my chest, every stride dragging us toward whatever doom was waiting for us. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Alex inquired, his voice quiet, but there was a menacing undertow to it. Finn's treachery is still fresh, and none of us could get rid of the anxiety that he may bring us into yet another trap. Indeed, Finn replied decisively, looking back at us. " Not far from here is a safehouse. Once we arrive, we may reassemble and decide what to do next. "Safehouse?" I said again, mistrust coloring my words. "How do we find out it's safe?" Finn said, his voice tense, "you don't." Still, right now all we have is this. Knowing the hazards but with no other alternative, I looked at Alex. We have to keep on shifting. The heavens had darkened totally by the time we arrived at the edge of the woodland. Just barely seen through the underbrush, a solitary, run-down cabin tucked among the woods. It appeared to be little more than a shattered window and abandoned building with peeling paint. However, if Finn said it was a safehouse, this was it. Finn remarked, pointing us ahead, "Inside." "We have to relax even if we cannot remain very long. By now the Order will be prowling the village. We grudgingly trailed behind him inside. Though the air smells stale, it was covered. Samantha slumped on a dirty cot, her breathing labored and weak. I could feel everything weighing down on me as we sat in the low light—the betrayal, the anxiety, the uncertainty about what was ahead. Alex sat across from me, eyes tired, but there was something more too—a flutter of something deeper. Enthusiasm. hurt. But also resolve. He said, "We can't trust him," looking at Finn, who was pacing near the entrance. Not exactly. "I know," I said gently. Still, for now we have to. Finn turned to face us, and for the first time I paused as I noticed something in his eyes. Mistake. Envy. perhaps even terror. It was obvious now that he was sprinting too, exactly as we were doing. And should he be speaking the truth, we were all far more vulnerable than we had ever thought. Though none of us really rested, the night passed in silence. We always felt on edge, always waiting for the next shoe to fall. We would have to face whatever was ahead beyond the shadow of the trees when morning at last dawned. For now, though, we waited—on the brink of dishonesty—dependent just on each other.