Arkin’s body went rigid. He stared at her, his lips trembling and twitching, but not a single word slipped out at the end.
His phone ringtone blared out again.
He glanced at the screen, then answered the call, "Wait for me. I'm on my way back."
After hanging up, he spun around and hurried down the mountain, his footsteps fast until he vanished completely from sight.
Instantly, complete silence settled over the mountaintop. The sky dimmed by the second, and the temperature plummeted sharply.
Pia slowly lifted a hand to rub her stinging, dry eyes, then pulled out her phone. But before she could even dial a number, the screen suddenly went black.
The battery had died.
She’d been left stranded all alone on a desolate mountaintop miles from anywhere.
Pia wheeled her chair toward the slo
