ESCAPE WAS NEVER AN OPTION . . .

Charly Highsmith is a survivor. Abandoned and left to live on the bitter streets of Denver, Colorado, with nothing but a jacket and a backpack, she spent her teens looking after her autistic brother. But now, things are better. She and her brother live in a two-bedroom apartment near a shopping center, and with the passing of her absentee father, she’s inherited a cabin high in the Rocky Mountains. She’s eager to go there. Relive the good times she had as a kid, running through the forest with her cousins.

Amanda the Overachiever. Cam the Recluse.

Too excited to wait for spring, she invites everyone to celebrate New Year’s eve, but then everything goes to hell. A blizzard obliterates the mountain roads. The cabin isn’t empty when they arrive. A hunter and his guests claim it’s theirs.

Randall the Hunter. Barry the Millionaire. Kennedy the Social Media Magnet.

Standing by the fireplace, Charly sees that look in her autistic brother’s eyes. There are too many people here. He’s going to run. He’s going to burst into the unforgiving snowstorm, sprint around the lake, and hide in the forest like he did when they were children.

So much for reliving the good times.

The hunter goes to the window. Opens the curtains. The blizzard rages on. He says no one is leaving. He says nothing will stop tomorrow’s hunt.