I fly past the bunkhouse and bathroom, hardly breaking stride when I weave my way through the narrow pathway where I met the deer. I have no concern for the thorny bushes attacking my legs, the rock in my shoe, or serial killers hiding in the shadows. I manage to reach the bottom of the hill Quinn told me about and yank my phone from my back pocket. The display still says NO NETWORK. I grunt out an exhausted breath, blowing wisps of sweaty hair from my face, and look up at the steep path that winds to the top of the hill. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t even consider climbing something this high. Hell, I couldn’t even make it to the top of the cheer-pyramid sophomore year. But this isn’t a normal circumstance—this is about cellular salvation! An eternity passes before I finally make it to the top. I’m too amped at the three bars showing on the display to care that I’m covered in dirt and sweating like a pig, or that there’s fresh blood dripping down my right leg. I punch number one on the speed dial before collapsing against the hard-packed earth.
