"Seatbelts," Thomas commanded. "This is going to be rough."
He slammed the van into drive.
The van roared across the concrete. Thomas aimed for the steel shutter door that led to the exit ramp.
"Hold on!"
The van hit the shutter. It didn't open; it tore through. The metal screeched and groaned, buckling under the force of the Mercedes. They burst out onto the service ramp, emerging into the humid night air.
The resort was burning. The main building was a skeleton of flames against the dark sky.
But the road to the front gate was blocked. Not by cars, but by bodies. Hundreds of them. They were standing in the road, blocking the exit.
"They're herding us," Aris said, looking out the window. "They want us to go... that way."
He pointed to the side road. The maintenance road. The one that led into the jungle.
"They're not blocking that," Thomas noted.
"Because it's a trap," Jax said.
"It's the only way," Thomas countered. He spun the wheel. The van drifted, tires smoking, and accelerated down the maintenance road.
As they sped away from the resort, leaving the fires and the screams behind, Lucas looked back.
He saw the Alpha standing on the roof of the main gate. Watching them leave.
"They let us go," Lucas said, the realization cold in his gut. "They didn't try to stop us."
"Why?" Maggie asked.
"Because," Lucas said, gripping his salt-sock. "We're not the prey. We're the bait."
The van plunged into the darkness of the jungle, leaving the burning paradise behind.