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and curled inward, and noticed the vine was gone from her ankle. Jocelyn glanced behind herself. The vine that had been holding her had become dark green mush and dissolved into the grass and black-red mud.
    She grinned, vibrated with excitement. And became angry.
    Carefully and quietly, she inched closer to Cameron and helped her onto her knees. They held each other, weak and shivering, but together.
    "Run with me!" she whispered.
    Cameron nodded. They scrambled to their feet, summoning all of their strength, and took off around the fire.
    Rowan heard the splashing of their fleeing steps against the wet earth and turned. Fury swept across his face.
    " No !" he bellowed. "Stop them! We need their blood! Without it, the age of the Three Oaks can never be realized! Our mother must feed !"
    *~*~*
    Jocelyn and Cameron raced through the forest, their hearts pounding and their bodies wracked with pain. They slid and slipped on the muddy earth, helping each other to stand, knowing they could not stop, and could not let each other go.
    The ground quaked and the forest roared around them the entire way. Branches swatted at their faces and roots burst from the ground as they ran, the tall trees slowly inching toward them.
    They dodged each assault but were slowed, and through the cracking trees and raining blood, they could hear the black dog barking, hunting them, with the rest of the Community following after it still chanting and singing to the Three Oaks.
    "We don't even know where we are!" Cameron sobbed. "We could be anywhere. What did they do to us, Joey? What's happening?"
    Jocelyn didn't say anything, refusing to think about the clearing, any of it. She just kept going, powering across the uneven terrain and between the shifting trees while pulling Cameron with her.
    Then they gasped and came to an abrupt halt, nearly running into Cameron's van. The vehicle was as awash as they were in crimson.
    "Those idiots!" Jocelyn exclaimed. "We did it, Cammy! Quick, get in!"
    Cameron hesitated, her gaze distant, and then, without a word, she took off, heading for the cabin.
    "What are you doing?" Jocelyn shouted.
    "I have to get our stuff!" she called back.
    "What? Just leave it!"
    "They'll find us!" Cameron shouted. "They'll get our names and our address, and they will come after us if I don't get our stuff, Joey!"
    She reached into her pocket, took out her keys, and threw them to Jocelyn. Jocelyn dropped them and had to collect them from the grass and sticky red mud. When she looked up, Cameron had disappeared into the shadows ahead.
    Jocelyn reached to her shoulders then but stopped as an icy chill surged down her spine. It only occurred to her now that she wasn't wearing her pack. The Community had taken their things while they were asleep, and she wasn't sure if they had written their names on anything they'd packed inside.
    She didn't know what to say, or if there was anything to say after this night, and chose to ignore it, to put it behind her with everything else, where it was silenced, if only for now. She ran around the front of the van, jumped inside, and jammed the key into the ignition.
    "Hurry up, babe."
    Cameron shivered, afraid as she felt her way through the dark, until finally she touched the cabin. It was only this morning, she realized, that they were having a wonderful breakfast together, the day full of sunshine and hope. And Sancho was there.
    She threw open the door. Inside, it was as black as a void. She entered cautiously, assured, at least, that there would not be any furniture in her way.
    And with her first step, she heard a crunch.
    The room erupted with chattering and clicking, and Cameron shrank. The cabin was full of insects! She swallowed, stifling her terror, and made her way to the table one step at a time. She soon found the bag, standing where they had left it, and started toward the door when, suddenly, the entire dwelling shifted. She fell to the floor. The beetles swarmed over her, and she