The woods were a scary and unfriendly place, since Hailie had no idea where she should run to escape from Jayson. She chose to go further into the woods, but still stick close enough to the lake, so she wouldn't get lost too easily. Even though she was in a proper condition, after such a fight, she wasn't feeling well. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and the sweat was running down her back as she was running as fast as she could. There was no telling how far she got from Declan's cabin, but after a few minutes of intensive escape, Hailie got tired. She felt like her legs weren't able to run anymore and with each step she was getting weaker.

Hoping that she had run far enough, she stopped by the big tree to catch a breath. There wasn't enough adrenaline in her to stop the pain that was spreading through her body. She had several cuts from the broken glass and bruises from the belt. The worst was the cut that Jayson made on the leg, because after running for what felt like a few kilometers, it started aching and bleeding, making it impossible to keep going.

When she woke up in the cabin, she felt quite good, but now it was like her body was no longer able to hold on. She was flooded by the memories of their journey In Between, of pain in Hell and of her fight with Jayson. She has had enough. There was no more strength in her.

She tried to calm her heartbeat, but her lungs were desperately looking for more air. Hailie doubled over, hearing how the wind was howling. She tried not to think about spending the whole night in the woods, but that might've been the only option. She didn't even know if the direction in which she was going was the proper one. Maybe she was getting deeper into the woods and not closer to the road? And Jayson was still somewhere out there. 

He isn't going to stop until he finds her.

Running away from him and hiding in the woods, she felt like an animal, who was chased by the hunter. So defenseless. Another injustice in this world. Maybe it wasn't a good moment to think about such things, but Hailie couldn't help herself. She felt sick when thinking of the hunters. Maybe being chased in the forest by Jayson would clear them out how wrong their actions are.

She finally calmed herself down a bit. At least enough to go further. She was too weak to run, but she must've kept moving. Fear of Jayson was getting bigger with every second passing by. And it was justified, because after a few minutes of walking among the trees, Hailie heard something in the distance. It might've been only an animal, but she quickly hid behind a big trunk, trembling out of cold. Now, after some more time, she understood that surviving a night in the forest might've been not too easy, if not impossible even. She was wearing only a t-shirt as her upper clothing and the temperature was dropping down. It was December and she already had goosebumps. Her entire body got numb, and the cold air painfully pressed into her lungs. She realized that she was trembling, but not because she was scared. She was just completely cold.

Freezing to death. That was still better than being found by Jayson. But the thought of dying out of cold was scary, even though she heard that it wasn't that painful. She would just slip into sleep.

"No!" she quietly whispered to herself. She wasn't going to give up that easily. She still had chances. She just had to find the road.

The noise from the distance became louder and clearer. Hailie's heartbeat sped up as she realized that it was human footsteps. Someone, who was coming in her direction really fast, was getting closer. She hoped that her hideout behind the tree would be enough. If Jayson passed by, she could even come back to the cabin and look for something to increase her chances. Or at least, she would take her jacket and some blankets.

Hearing Jayson coming closer, Hailie decided to move around the tree, so he wouldn't see her, while passing by. But she just kept getting more and more unlucky, as she stepped on a branch. In the silence of the woods that sound was like an explosion. He must've heard her, because the footsteps stopped.

"Hailie?" he called out, making her realize that she was already lost. "I know you're somewhere around!" Jayson's voice was coming from a short distance, so that meant that he was already around her. She hoped that he'd go further, but suddenly he started walking way more quietly and it was hard to hear where he was at the moment.

Her heart was beating so fast that for Hailie it seemed way too loud, just as if Jayson was about to hear it, even though it was impossible. She slowly moved to the left to peek out, but Jayson was nowhere to be seen. For Hailie it wasn't that obvious if that was either a good or bad thing. She was gazing around, trying to see or hear him, but maybe at once she got lucky and he went looking for her further into the woods?

Run back to the cabin or stay behind the tree?

She wanted to take her chances, but the moment she looked ahead, it felt like her heart stopped at once.

"Gotcha," Jayson said, standing just a few meters away with a gun pointed at her. He had a winter jacket on, but it was unbuttoned, so Hailie noticed a bandage that was wrapped around his belly. Something to stop the bleeding from the wounds.

"You're going to kill me now?" she asked, trying to come up with a new plan. Jayson, with his leg that was clearly in pain after being hit with a club, wasn't nearly as fast as she was. Hailie might've taken a chance, because even though it was Jayson holding the gun, she knew that he wasn't an excellent shooter. Moreover, he was probably quite ordinary. In the dark, maybe she had a chance to run away.

"You're always so problematic. Even now, I guess, you're thinking about running away?" he asked, but didn't wait for the answer. He pressed the trigger of the weapon, sending a bullet right into Hailie's leg. With a painful groan she slipped to the ground. "Oh, that doesn't feel nice, does it? I know something about it, thanks to you. I just gave you a chance to find out what it really feels like. And I believe there will be no more running in the woods."

"Fuck you, Jayson," she hissed, trying not to cry out of pain, while her leg ran down with blood. She would try to stem the bleeding, but she had nothing to do so.

"Fuck you too, Hailie," he replied, coming closer, because she had no possibility to move. "You stabbed me," he reminded Hailie, before hitting her in the face to be sure that she won't get up so easily. "And hit me with a club. You're quite a fighter."

"Had to be, since my ex-boyfriend is mentally ill stalker with a psychotic personality." She wiped the blood from her mouth, sending him a challenging gaze. "I'm not afraid of you, not after everything I've seen. I know you're going to Hell, and I was already there. You're not gonna like it there."

"You were in Hell?" His voice was amused, like he didn't believe her. "What, did you meet the Devil as well?"

"How did you know?" Both of them heard footsteps coming from the distance. For Hailie it was like a salvation, so without hesitation, she screamed, "Help! I'm here! Help!"

Jayson had no idea who was coming, but he caught Hailie and lifted her up, forcing to stand on her legs. She would've fallen, but his grip was strong.

"I have a gun!" Jayson yelled, trying to scare the intruder.

"And? What can a gun do to me?" Hailie recognized Lust's voice right away. Her eyes got bigger, as the happiness spilled over her body. She was not only happy, because somebody came for the rescue, she was happy, because Lust was free. Lucifer didn't hurt him.

"Don't come any closer or I'll kill you!"

Lust came out from the shadows, dressed in what he was wearing at the casino, only more wrinkled after their adventures in Hell. Hailie had so many questions, besides, she just wished to fall into his arms.

"Then shoot." Lust blinked and his eyes suddenly changed into intensively red. Jayson shuddered, surprised by this unnatural turn of events. "What? Not so brave after all?"

Jayson thought that the demons were trapped in the house, but the presence of one of them in the woods meant that something had changed. Or maybe they were always free? He definitely came for Hailie. And Jayson knew that whatever was about to happen, he wouldn't get out alive.

"I guess demons cannot be killed that easily," he said, because that was no secret. "But humans can." Jayson stopped pointing the gun at Lust and he put it to Hailie's head. "Don't try anything or I'll kill her."

"You're not very good at it either, considering that Amy's still alive."

Hailie frowned. Amy's still alive?

"Impossible. I shot her in the head."

"As I said, you're not very good at shooting, or anything else, truly."

When they parted their ways with Shane, Lust knew that he'd be the first one to find Hailie. They were bound and he was craving for her. He felt like an invisible force was bringing them together, and then he heard a shot that made him freeze for a moment. Now, he noticed that Hailie was bleeding from a leg and the anger rose inside of his body like a tsunami. He clenched his fist, wondering what will happen if he kills Jayson after all.

"Honestly, I was expecting something better from a demon than cheap glowing eyes."

Lust smiled. He could make quite a show, but he must've been careful. Jayson was holding Hailie and Lust wasn't going to gamble with her life. Maybe his spell would've done the trick, but maybe Jayson would press the trigger.

"Let go of Hailie and I'll show you what a demon can do." Oh yes, he wanted to rip him open, to gut him or to cut him into pieces, while he was still living, so that he could feel every part of the torture. That was a nice thought. He already had some ideas for Jayson, after he'll get to Hell. Surely, he will end up in Lust's realm.

"Thanks, I'll pass."

"We can make a deal." There never would've been a deal, but Jayson didn't know that. And Lust was good at manipulating. "You surely don't want to lose everything because of Hailie. Tell me, what do you want? What can I give you, so you can release her?"

Jayson moved uneasy. It was tempting. He actually didn't want to die tonight. Maybe a pact with a demon? But his desire for revenge on Hailie was even stronger. She took everything from him. And now, after all that she has done, she gets to live happily ever after? While he's left with nothing? Knowing that it all happened because of her. And a deal with a demon, it always ends with going to Hell anyway.

"I want nothing," he replied, catching Hailie stronger. She groaned as the tears ran down her face. "Wait, there is something I want," he changed his mind and smiled. "I want to kill Hailie."

She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them again, locking them with Lust. She wanted to tell him so many things, but that one gaze must've been enough. They didn't have any more time.

"If you do that, I'll make you suffer more than you can imagine." Lust stuck out his hand, ready to tell the spell at any moment.

But it was always taking more time than simply pressing the trigger.

And all three of them knew that.

"You'll do that anyway. And from the look in your eyes, I can see, her death will hurt you. She has that something, luring you to her. Yes. But she'll never be yours. Or anyone for that matter." Jayson sent Lust a sinister smile. Hailie closed her eyes, while Lust started whispering the spell. "Goodbye, Hailie." And then the sound of the shot echoed in the woods.

Hailie shuddered and fell to the ground, along with Jayson. She felt nothing and was wondering if that was the beauty of death. That at least you get to leave without pain.

"Hailie!" There was more than one voice calling her out.

She quickly opened her eyes, just when two figures bent over her. One of them was Lust, and the other one was Shane. She blinked a few times, trying to understand what happened. Then she looked at Jayson, who was lying beside her. Shot in the head from behind.

Shot dead by Shane, who sneaked up on them from the other side. Jayson didn't see him, maybe even Lust didn't. He pulled the trigger first, aiming for Jayson. Aiming to kill.

He checked his neck, looking for the pulse, after what happened with Amy. But there was no heartbeat. No second chances.

"Dead," he stated. "Hailie, do you hear me?" Shane touched her by the cheek, noticing she was really cold. Lust quickly took off his jacket and helped Hailie put it on.

"Y-yes," she murmured, still in shock. Her head felt so empty, like there were no more thoughts inside. Just silence.

"We called the ambulance. They'll be here any minute. I'm going to take you back to the cabin," he explained it to her slowly, so she would understand, and then took her in his arms, because she wasn't able to walk. For him she was like a feather, so gentle and delicate. "It's over, Hailie. You're safe."

But she didn't feel that way. She was weak and tired, and numb. Everything seemed to be coming to her from the distance, like she was watching this scene from a third person perspective. Time seemed to slow down.

"It went quickly," Lust said, looking at Jayson's body. He wasn't eager to visit Hell again, but he might make an exception soon. There was a soul down there that was worth it. "She's not well." He suddenly turned to Hailie, who was laying in Shane's arms. He could feel her state thanks to the bound. And right now, she was going down really quickly.

"We need help." Shane moved towards the cabin that was a bit far from here. He was holding Hailie, trying to make her warmer, but her eyes started to close. She wasn't able to keep them open. She just wanted to sleep so badly. "Hailie, please, hang on. Fight it."

"I-I love," she didn't finish the sentence and neither of them knew about who she was speaking to. Maybe about both of them.

"Hailie!" Shane called her, but she had no more strength.

Losing consciousness, she slipped into the darkness. 

***

Dear readers! Sorry for not updating the story lately, but this week was really intensive, making me completely lost both in working and studying. 

But, I have great news! Today "AI in health" Conference took place and I had the honor to be the coordinator of this event! It was amazing, and I was on the live vision for a few minutes, talking about my other project, so I'm really happy right now! ✨

Love you all! ❤️❤️❤️

Kisses, Caroline ❤️