"Run, both of you! I'll hold them off!"
A man's voice echoed in Ethan's ears.
Something unseen coiled around him, pinning his limbs. He struggled, but his body refused to respond. It felt as if he were sinking underwater, all strength drained from his muscles.
"If we go, we go together!" a woman's voice cried out, melodious but unyielding.
"June, listen to me… they won't kill me! We'll split up. As long as they don't catch you and the child, I'll be safe!" The man's words cracked with urgency.
The woman did not answer, yet Ethan felt the man's resolve, sharp and immovable. Then came the clash of bodies, the sounds of a desperate struggle. And just as suddenly, darkness pulled him under.
…
He had no sense of how much time had passed when the world returned in fragments: voices first, then the faint blur of light.
"I can't possibly take him back there!" A cold female voice cut through the haze.
