“I will give you Harry,” he cried out. The man froze. Steam continued to rise. Fire crackled. The sword hung still in his hand.

  “What did you just say?” The man asked.

  “I will deliver Harry to you,” he said once again. His voice shook so badly he could barely recognize it as his own.

  The man released him. Collins hit the ground hard, coughing, gulping air, his chest burning. He scrambled backward, palms scraping stone, eyes never leaving the man’s face. “If you bring me Benjamin Salim, I will let you and your friends live.”

  The words hung heavy in the cave. Collins’ breath came in ragged bursts. His head spun. He nodded desperately, over and over, tears streaming freely. The man crouched in front of him, close enough that Collins could smell him. Smoke. Blood. Something rotten beneath it all.

  “You have two days, if you do not bring me Benjamin, I will chase you, catch you and skin you alive.”

  Then he bent and untied Collins. The last knot fell away. Collins staggered to his feet, legs shaking so badly he almost collapsed again. He stared down at his hands, flexed his fingers, as if unsure they were real.

  His eyes snapped toward Max. Toward Frank. They hung there, silent, watching him with wide, terrified eyes. Collins swallowed hard. He nodded once. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

  Collins did not hesitate. He turned immediately and bolted. He ran blind through the darkness, lungs burning, feet slipping on damp stone. The cave mouth burst open in front of him. Night air slammed into his face. He didn’t slow. Didn’t look back. Branches whipped his skin. Roots grabbed at his ankles. His heart thundered as the forest swallowed him whole.

  Meanwhile, Harry and his crew continued to run. Their legs burned. Their breaths tore from their throats in ragged gasps. They burst through undergrowth, stumbled over roots, nearly collided with trees looming out of the dark. Finally, they slowed. Bent over. Hands on knees. Panting.

  A rope snapped tight around Cole’s leg. He was yanked upward, screaming. “Help me! Do not leave me, please.”

  His body swung violently, smashing into branches. Panic flooded his face. He clawed at the rope uselessly. The boys flinched. Larry turned to run.

  “Stop!”

  Harry stood. Drew his sword. The blade caught what little light filtered through the trees. His jaw clenched. “I will never leave you behind.”

  He charged forward. Slashed at the rope. It resisted. Snapped back. Larry hesitated only a second before joining him. Together they hacked, muscles screaming, breath burning. The rope fibers frayed slowly, stubbornly. Sweat poured down their faces. The forest groaned around them, branches swaying, shadows shifting.

  Minutes stretched. Ten of them. The rope finally gave way. Cole crashed to the ground. Larry caught him before he hit fully. They cut the rest free. Cole sobbed, clutching them, shaking uncontrollably.

  That night the tree boys made some fire. They rested beside it and slept off.

  At the middle of the night, the flames struggled against the damp air. Smoke curled low. The breeze grew heavier, whispering through leaves, brushing against their skin like cold fingers. The forest answered with distant sounds. Cracks. Rustles. Something moving, unseen.

  The fire flickered. Shrunk. Then, went out. The boy woke up, sensing the danger and stood. “He is here,” Larry said.

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  A massive shape rose from the darkness. Scales slid against each other with a dry hiss. A long body uncoiled. Dark. Endless. Eyes glowed low and cruel.

  A big snake came up. Its head lifted high above them. Its mouth curved into something like a smile.

  “You can not run from me,” it laughed. “I own this forest and I will eventually kill you all.”

  The boys gritted their teeth. “Perhaps we were not meant to run, perhaps we were meant to bring you down.”

  The words hung in the night air, thin but defiant. Harry’s chest rose and fell hard. Sweat slid down his temple and into his eyes, stinging, but he did not blink. Cole stood beside him, knees shaking, fingers white around his bow. Larry swallowed, his throat working, eyes never leaving the towering coils before them.

  “Hahahaha.”

  The snake’s laughter rolled through the forest, deep and vibrating. Leaves shuddered. The ground seemed to hum beneath their feet. Its massive body shifted, scales scraping against bark and stone, each movement slow, confident.

  “You are a fool if you believe you can kill me.”

  Larry grabbed Harry’s arm, nails digging into skin. “Let’s run. We cannot kill him.” His voice cracked halfway through the sentence.

  Harry ripped his arm free. “That is not true.” He took a step forward. Another. “They sent us here to fight him because we can kill him.”

  The snake’s eyes narrowed, pupils thinning into sharp slits. Its head lowered slightly, almost curious. “You are welcome to try.”

  Harry screamed and lunged.

  The world blurred. The snake struck with terrifying speed. Its body snapped forward, a wall of muscle and scale. Harry flew backward and slammed into the ground. The air punched out of his lungs. Dirt filled his mouth.

  Cole and Larry loosed their arrows. The shafts cut through the air with sharp whistles. The snake twisted mid-motion, coils folding like liquid. The arrows glanced off its scales and vanished into the darkness beyond.

  Harry pushed himself up on shaking arms. His vision swam. The ground felt unstable beneath him, like it might open and swallow him whole.

  He charged again. The snake’s tail whipped around and slammed into his chest. His body convulsed. A violent vibration rippled through him, rattling his bones, stealing his breath. He crashed into a tree and slid down, gasping.

  Larry screamed and ran forward. Cole followed, rage and fear burning together. The snake struck once more. Cole was sent spinning through the air, crashing hard into the forest floor. His bow flew from his hands. He did not move.

  Larry barely had time to cry out before the coils wrapped around him.

  “Larry!”

  The snake lifted him effortlessly. Larry kicked and thrashed, fingers clawing uselessly at slick scales. His scream tore through the forest, raw and animal.

  The snake opened its mouth. It yawned wide, impossibly wide. Darkness stretched inside it, wet and endless. A foul stench poured out, thick enough to choke.

  Larry’s head disappeared between its jaws. His screams muffled instantly. Cole staggered to his knees. “Do something!” he screamed at Harry. “He is killing him!”

  Harry’s hands shook violently. His heart hammered so hard it hurt. He clenched his fists, eyes squeezing shut. He reached inward, searching for the power that has helped him out all his life.

  Nothing came.

  He lunged anyway, blind and desperate. The snake’s tail snapped out and struck him again. He flew backward, slammed into the ground, and felt something shift painfully inside him. He cried out, clutching his side.

  The snake continued swallowing Larry. Slowly. Relentlessly. Larry’s legs kicked wildly. Then slower. Then weaker.

  Harry watched, helpless. Cole watched, tears streaming down his face. The forest seemed to close in, pressing, watching.

  Only Larry’s feet remained. Then they slipped inside. The snake’s throat bulged as it swallowed. It lifted its head proudly, savoring the moment.

  Harry’s scream ripped out of him, hoarse and broken. He slammed his fist into the dirt. His body shook violently.

  Then a voice cut through the chaos. “Summon the power inside you.”

  Harry and Cole turned at the same time. A small shape perched on a low branch, eyes gleaming in the dark. The Monkey. Its fur bristled, tail flicking sharply.

  “You again!” He said. shock mixed with anxiety in his voice. “What do you mean?” Harry gasped.

  “I mean the God Hand.” The Monkey responded, pointing at the covered hand.

  Harry staggered toward it. His legs felt heavy, numb. Behind him, the snake’s body coiled tighter, muscles rippling.

  “The God Hand,” Cole whispered. His voice trembled. “It is real? It is not just a myth?” Then his eyes widened. “And Harry has it?”

  The Monkey’s gaze flicked briefly to Cole. “Very real.” The snake hissed. The sound scraped through the air like tearing metal.

  “The God Hand,” it growled. Its eyes locked onto the Monkey. “You should never have crossed into my territory.”

  It lunged.

  The ground shook as its massive body surged forward. Trees splintered. Branches snapped. Harry threw himself between them.

  The impact sent him crashing through a tree. Wood exploded around him. He rolled across the ground, barely conscious. Cole tried to stand. Tried to run. The snake’s body slammed into him. The world went black.

  “Benjamin!” the Monkey shouted, scrambling across branches as the snake chased it with terrifying speed. “Trigger the Hand now!”

  “I do not know how!” Harry screamed. He dragged himself to his knees, vision blurring, head pounding.

  “Remember your very existence!” The words hit him harder than any blow. The forest faded. His life surged forward.

  Laughter in corridors. Fingers pointing. Names whispered and shouted. Being shoved aside. Being told he was nothing. Being told he did not belong. Faces turning away. Teachers’ eyes sliding past him. The constant weight pressing on his chest.

  The heat erupted inside him. It burned. His breath caught as something awakened deep within him. His eyes flared with light. A sharp glow spilled into the darkness.

  His left hand tingled. Then burned. Then felt impossibly heavy and powerful all at once. The snake struck the Monkey.

  Its fangs sank in. The Monkey cried out as its body was flung aside, crashing hard into the ground, motionless.

  Harry screamed. The sound was not human. Harry gritted his teeth in pain and anger. “I will kill you!” He roared.