I don't own any of the Higher Ground characters except Dawn.

Kat and Juliette spun around simultaneously, a look of terror on their faces. The look turned to relief.

"Shelby, Daisy, you scared us," Juliette said. "We thought you were Dawn."

"We're not," Daisy said. "But we just left her. And she was none too happy."

"That can be fixed," came the snide reply. They turned to see Dawn about 50 yards away, gun trained on them.

A chill ran through the girls. Each mentally tried to work out a plan of escape, while Dawn was gaining ground fast. Too fast. She tripped over a log and went sprawling across the ground.

That was a small miracle in itself. Another was that Juliette took off running for the lodge, going faster than the girls had ever seen her go. Their hesitation gave Dawn enough time to pick herself up off the ground. The three girls had blown their chance to break for the lodge. It was open ground and Dawn would be close enough to shoot them. Juliette was far enough away that it wouldn't be a problem for her. Kat, Shelby, and Daisy took off in the opposite direction.

Juliette was out of breath but she forced herself to keep running. The other girls' lives might depend on it. She stumbled up the front steps to the Administration building. She through the lodge, calling Peter's name hysterically.

Auggie came up to her. She pushed him away. She would explain it all later, she told herself. Right now she had four lives to save.

Peter came running out of the cafeteria. He'd heard Jules yelling. "Juliette? What happened? Where's everyone else?"

"Probably being held at gun point!" She couldn't help it. It just slipped. She took a deep breath. "Dawn went ballistic. She's been chasing through the woods since early last night. She has a gun. Sophie split us up into three groups. Shelby and Daisy, me and Kat, and Sophie. She said to try to get back here and get help."

"Where's Kat?" Ezra said. Quite a crowd had gathered. David, Scott, Jess, Ezra, Auggie, and Peter were looking at her eagerly.

"We got separated. I think she was with Shelby and Daisy," Juliette said taking the cup of water Jess handed her.

"Was anyone hurt?" Peter asked. He picked up the phone and started dialing.

"No," Juliette said. "We all managed to stay away from her. I haven't seen Sophie since we all split up, but we didn't hear any gun shots."

"OK," Peter said. He spoke into the phone. Juliette assumed he was talking to the police. She was right. He hung up and informed them the police were on the way.

"What if it's too late by then?" Juliette cried out. "I was out there. Don't tell me she won't kill them. I know she will. And she came very close to doing just that."

"We wait for the police," Peter said firmly.

Scott pulled Auggie and Ezra aside. "Juliette's right," he told them. "Dawn will kill Shelby for sure. And any witnesses. I know her. She'll do it."

"What aren't you saying?" Ezra asked. He didn't have a good feeling about that look in Scott's eyes. He had the same look the day he first saw Shelby's step dad.

"We go after them. Right now the odds are five to one. But Dawn's got a gun. It's only fair we improve the odds for us."

"Whoa, man," Auggie said. "Peter said to stay put. This is dangerous. Real dangerous."

"No kidding!" Scott yelled. He lowered his voice when several students turned to stare. "What if it was Jules out there? Wouldn't you want to go out there then?"

"Yeah, you're probably right," Auggie said. "I'd do anything for Jules."

"And I'd do anything for Shelby," Scott said. "I know I hurt her and I'm gonna make up for it. But how can I if she dies? And if Dawn gets to her first, I'll never see her again. Please, guys."

Auggie and Ezra look at each other. "OK," Ezra says finally. "But only because it's Shelby, Daisy, Kat, and Sophie." Scott smiled and they slipped out, unnoticed.

"I hope Juliette made it back," Daisy panted. "I really didn't realize I could be so out of shape. I'll have to talk to Peter about scheduling more quests." She was only half kidding.

"If we live that long," Shelby said. She wasn't kidding. She had faith in Jules, but Peter would probably call the cops and then wait. It could take hours. The girls were all exhausted, but didn't dare stop. They could hear Dawn tromping through the woods behind them.

"We'll make it," Kat said, reading Shelby's mind. "Don't worry. Don't give up hope."

"What hope?" Shelby asked. "I never had any hope! I've always known she's a psychopathic nut case."

"And here I thought everyone at Horizon was normal," Daisy cracked. Shelby shot her a dirty look. Dasiy sighed. "OK," she said. "What if we lie on the ground and wait for her to pass us?"

"No," Kat said. "For two reasons. One, we're making so much noise up here, she has to hear us. She'll realize her mistake immediately. Two, the grass isn't nearly tall enough to hide us." The grass didn't even reach their knees.

"So what do we do?" Shelby asked.

Kat sifghed. "Kepp running," she said simply.

Realization dawned on Daisy. "We're going to die, aren't we?" The girls slowed their pace, but kept their ears open.

"Not if w can help it," Kat said. But she didn't look too sure. Dawn could be heard behind them. Very close behind them. The girls took off running.

"Where are Scott and Ezra?" Peter demanded, coming over to Juliette and Jess.

"I don't know," Juliette said. "But I can't find Auggie either."

"I think I saw them leave earlier," Jess offered. "I didn't think anything of it, though."

"Do you think they would go after Dawn?" Juliette asked Peter worriedly.

"I think Scott's willing to do whatever it takes," Peter said. "And the rest of the guys will stand by him through that." He ran out of the lodge and toward the woods.

"They have to be here somewhere!" Scott slammed his fist into a tree. He was so frustrated. So far they hadn't found anything except three ditched backpacks. Cliffhanger packs.

Auggie placed a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, man," he said. Scott shrugged it off.

"Lets's het going," he said. "It'll be dark soon. We have to find them before then."

Sophie was exhausted. She'd been walking constantly for hours, stopping only for five minute breaks. But it was worth it. Horizon was in view. Police cars swarmed the driveway. So someone had gotten to the lodge. That was a good sign. She shouldn't have had doubts. Her girls were survivors.

She heard bushes shifting off to her right. She spun and threw herself into Peter's open arms.

Peter burried his face in her filthy hair. "I'm so glad you're OK," he said.

"What about the other girls?" Sophie asked. "Was anyone hurt? They're being checked out by a doctor right?"

"Juliette was the only one who made it back," Peter said. "Then Scott, Auggie, and Ezra took off after the other threee girls."

"Peter, she completely flipped out. She swore she'd kill Shelby and then Daisy the rest of us too. We've got to find those kids before they find her. The guys don't know just how dangerous she is." He nodded his assent. They took off, hand in hand, in search of their six lost kids.

The girls stopped suddenly. They were on a cliff. A very high cliff. And Dawn was too close behind for them to turn around and find a different path back into the woods.

"What do we do?" Shelby asked Kat, who seemed to be more in control of her emotions than either she or Daisy was.

"Why the heck are you asking me?" Kat asked. "I'm not responsible for this. You're her enemy here, not me."

"Whoa, guys," Daisy said putting her hands up. "We can't turn on each other. Not yet. We have to figure a way out of this. Together," she added extra emphasis on the last word.

"Maybe we could try to climb down..." Shelby said thoughtfully. They all peered over the edge. Nope. Too steep.

"Too bad we don't have our oacks," Daisy said regretfully. "We could rappel down. But Shelby and I ditched our packs before Jules took off."

"Well, I didn't," Kat said, producing her gear. The girls squealed. She hooked it up, tying it securely to a rock. "OK, one at a time. Shelby, seeing as she wants you dead most, you can go first."

"Gee, thanks," Shelby said. "You just want someone to test your work. OK, here goes nothing."