With the Villagers gone, the Flame Defenders can see us plainly. If only my orange hair wasn't a dead giveaway, we might go unrecognized. With their guns in hand, the FDs charge toward us.

"Take my hand." Jacob shoves his hand at me.

"No way!" I push it away and turn on my heel, but my ankle still throbs. I stifle a cry as a sharp pain shoots up my leg.

Without hesitation, Jacob seizes my hand. "I'm not asking you to marry me, I'm trying to save your life."

Jacob drags me forward as the FDs shout at us. They want us to turn around. They don't want us to run, but they aren't firing. Why aren't they firing?

"Where are we going?" I'm out of breath already. My ankle is screaming at me to quit running.

"Just keep going." Jacob's hand is sweaty and threatens to slip from mine. If he lets go, I'll be caught. I'm sure of it.

"Coleman! Miller!" The FDs howl, the thump of their boots on stone ringing in my ears.

"In here," Jacob pulls me through a hole in the wall of a rundown shack. My shoulder scrapes against something hard and sharp. I start to scream, but Jacob covers my mouth with his hand and leans his forehead on mine, his eyes shut tight. Sweat pours down his face and he's breathing hard; he's exhausted and terrified.

Moments later I hear the FDs rush past us. Somehow, we fooled them. It's strange, but I can't think about that now. All I can think about is the pain in my shoulder and ankle.

Jacob removes his hand from my mouth and glances at my wounded shoulder. My eyes trail down and to the left to see a red mess.

"I'm sorry," Jacob brushes the skin of my shoulder with his fingers and I wince. The flesh around my wound is raw. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It was an accident," I groan. "Just help me get cleaned up."