“Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll keep telling you where the creature is, and you keep shooting while I pull Aidan into the car. Then we drive away as fast as we can and hope we leave it behind.”That is the worst plan I have ever heard. In spite of his dire situation, there was a hint of humor in Aidan’s voice. Stefan snorted aloud. “That is absolutely the worst plan I’ve ever heard. You aren’t strong enough to get Aidan into the car. And we can’t trade places, because you’ve probably never fired a gun in your life.”“Well, I don’t hear anything brilliant from either one of you,” she snapped indignantly.”

“I’ve loved you since we had that first long walk together, and I’ve never stopped loving you. I don’t plan to ever stop loving you if you’ll let me.”

“When we’re there I’ll create a distraction. You have to keep your wits about you, Lady Rogan. Watch me all the time. When I make my move, you make it with me and we run.”I blinked owlishly, hoping I’d heard wrong. “That’s your big plan? A distraction?”He smiled cheekily at me. “Yes. It’s good, right?”“You’re going to get us killed.”“Well, since you got us kidnapped in the first place, I think it’s only fair.”

“We can have everything we’ve ever dreamed of, but I can’t do it by myself. You have to help me, Carly. You have to try.” His voice broke, and tears filled his eyes. “Please.”

“Archer, Jenna, and I weren’t exactly clutching each other and sobbing, but we were pretty shaken as we formed a little huddle. “Okay,” I finally said. “Can we all agree that this is maybe the most screwed-up situation we’ve ever found ourselves in?”“Agreed,” they said in unison.“Awesome.” I gave a little nod. “And do either of you have any idea what we should do about it?”“Well, we can’t use magic,” Archer said.“And if we try to leave, we get eaten by Monster Fog,” Jenna added.“Right. So no plans at all, then?”Jenna frowned. “Other than rocking in the fetal position for a while?”“Yeah, I was thinking about taking one of those showers where you huddle in the corner fully clothed and cry,” Archer offered.I couldn’t help but snort with laughter. “Great. So we’ll all go have our mental breakdowns, and then we’ll somehow get ourselves out of this mess.”

“Nobodys life ever goes according to plan. So why do we keep on planning?Because that's how we know who we are. By what we intend to be. By what we try to become. And fail.I don't say 'fail'. I saw we aim and miss. But we still hit something.”