Chapter 5
5
For a moment, I’m sure I’ve heard him wrong. Judging by Kieran’s face, he’s less terrified and more intrigued by the proposal, though he drums his fingers on the table with a sigh.
“Did I happen to mention I spent all afternoon cleaning up bodies and entrails and blood?” His voice is deceptively mild, but when I really look at him, I can see the complaint is just a front. The way Kieran’s gaze sharpens as he watches Val shows me he’s certainly into the idea of…
Well, if I’m being honest with myself, I doubt he’s looking for me to pick the good girl option. The smarter, safer option, maybe. Unless Val is lying to me about it. And judging by how much they’ve lied to me in the twenty-ish hours that I’ve known them, I can’t really take either of them at their word. I suck in a breath, then another, while my eyes dart between them as if I can find some secret part of this that they aren’t telling me.
“So if I stop dreaming of stabbing you guys with utensils and pretend I like you, you’ll be nice to me?” I ask, unable to keep the disbelief and slight sarcasm out of my tone. “You’ll pretend you didn’t kidnap me and aren’t keeping me in a cabin in the middle of somewhere?” Glancing at the windows, I stare at the pitch-black glass as if I’ll suddenly gain the ability to see in the dark.
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, princess,” Val purrs. “I’ll be the best boyfriend you could ever dream of. You’ll forget all about not being able to leave, and we’ll figure out what we need from you together.”
I don’t believe him.
Not for a second.
I lean back hard in my chair, still eyeing them as I worry my bottom lip between my teeth. Running isn’t really my favorite athletic activity, and I have no idea where I am. On the other hand, I have a very particular set of skills thanks to my camping obsessed family and apparently my latent love of old Liam Neeson movies.
Not that I think I could be a real threat to these two with my particular set of skills. But I know how to survive in the woods, and I’m not afraid of them. I won’t let this turn into a horror movie where I get lost, panic, and start jumping at every imaginary noise or shadow before tripping and breaking my leg before the big bad killer comes to chop me up.
To their credit, neither of them pushes me into making a fast decision. I’m as grateful as I can be, though belatedly I wish I was wearing leggings instead of shorts when they kidnapped me. Even though we’re in Tennessee rather than the North Pole, I don’t love the idea of running around on the first night of November in what I’m assuming is a forest outside this cabin.
“How long of a head start do I get?” I ask at last. There’s only two of them, and I like my odds if I’m smart about this. Only two of them, one of me, and the dark won’t help them either. As long as I don’t panic and flail around screaming or stomping or breaking every noise-inducing object I can, I should have a real chance.
But would he really offer if you did have one? A small voice in my head whispers while Val visibly considers my question.
“Five minutes,” he says at last. “Not a lot, but let’s be real. We’re not going to just let you make it too far for us to find at all. Five minutes of us being in here without looking for you.” Kieran nods his agreement when Val glances his way, then their attention is all on me.
It would be stupid to run.
It would be more stupid to stay.
I’m tired of talking, of worrying, of waiting for the moment they turn on me in this small, warm place.
I’m so fucking tired of sitting here when every nerve in my body is ready to run, to escape, to take my life back.
“Fine.” Without hesitating, I push to my feet, jerking my chin up in an arrogant facade that I’m sure neither of them believes. “Five minutes start when I walk out that door.” It’s not a question, and I barely glance at the door before my eyes are back on the two of them. I definitely sound a lot braver than I feel, since I’m about to shake myself apart in fear and desperation.
But I managed to not die last night…
So, I can make it through tonight as well if I just keep going. That’s what I’m going to tell myself, anyway, as adrenaline courses through me and leaves a ripple of goosebumps on my arms.
“All right,” Val agrees. But when I move toward the kitchen, he jerks his chair back, causing it to slide across the floor with a god-awful noise. I wince away from it, and when I start to ask him what he’s doing, my eyes find his shit-eating grin and the words die on my lips. “No utensils. No weapons. We’re not bringing any, I promise. So you don’t get anything from here, either.”
“Fine.” I wonder if I can find a sharp rock or a particularly pointy and sturdy stick outside. Relinquishing my desire for a pronged object, I take a step back with my hands up and fingers splayed in surrender. “Five minutes,” I repeat, trying to keep my voice from shaking.
“Five minutes, princess.” God, Val is enjoying this way too much. Kieran isn’t doing much better, though. Even though he hasn’t said much, I can see the excitement rolling off of him. When our eyes meet, I notice his attention is trained on me like he’s a bloodhound and I’m the prey about to be flushed out for him to track, catch, and kill.
Maybe that’s a pretty accurate analogy, all things considered.
My steps take me to the door across the room, but I don’t bolt out of it immediately. Instead, I lean my forehead against it, listening to my heart beat a continuous warning in my chest. “If you catch me…” I trail off, gazing at the door only inches away from my face.
“If we catch you…?” Val prompts when I don’t finish the question. He’s nice enough not to argue with me on the if , but I shut down the thought that I don’t have a chance as quickly as I can. Before I can talk myself out of this.
I have to get away from them to stay alive.
“Will you just kill me?”
My words are met with silence, prompting me to clench my fingers into my palms at my sides. I want to turn to look at them, to see their expressions and discern what I can from them. But I force myself to stay here, just like this, and focus on taking deep and even breaths.
“No.” It’s Kieran who answers. “And maybe when we do catch you, you’ll see we really don’t want to kill you at all. But you still have a choice here, darling girl. Come back to the table. We’ll make you some coffee and cut you a slice of pie. You don’t have to open that door.”
Fuck , it’s awful how good of an option that suddenly sounds like. But I shake my head slowly, still staring at the door. “I can’t,” I say with a huff. “Because I don’t trust you. And this sort of feels like my only chance of survival. So…” Before I can stop myself, I push off of the door and glance back at them. “Five minutes.” I can’t really stop them if they choose to cheat that number, but I have to believe they’ll stick to it. Even in three minutes, I hope I can be far enough away that they won’t find me.
Forcing my legs to move, I yank open the door and stride out onto the small porch. A motion light flicks on, illuminating the shapes of towering trees that look particularly menacing in the darkness. Realizing I have no idea what time it is, I also decide it doesn’t exactly matter right now.
Five minutes , I remind myself like a mantra and pull the door closed behind me. I don’t run, though. That would be a recipe for disaster in the dark. I expected woods and it seems we’re in a forest, though the temperature already has my bare legs prickling with cold.
My mind races as I stride through the trees, barely able to see anything once the light goes off somewhere behind me. My steps are loud, and my hands brush tree branches and trunks as I go. Between the darkness and trying to stay upright, I can’t tell anything about the area and the back of my neck prickles.
After what has to be five minutes, I stop to listen to the surrounding woods. I don’t hear crashing steps or my name being yelled or yodeled. All I hear are the far off rustles of wildlife and the natural, whispering noises of the woods.
The clouds shift, revealing the half-full moon that’s bright enough to filter through the thick trees in some places. The light provided isn’t much, but my eyes adjust enough so I can pick my way through the trees to follow the patches of it. Nearly stumbling makes me realize I’ve found a small hill, and I carefully work my way down it toward the sound of running water. I won’t call it rushing, exactly. I doubt I’m near some impressive river or even an overly large creek.
Sure enough, the brook I find is small. The water looks like it might come up to my ankles in some places, but no more than that. Still, it gives me something to follow?—
A twig snaps somewhere nearby and I look up as my heart races, anticipating the worst. My eyes scan the darkness and the patches of moonlight patterning the ground through the branches for any sign of something bigger than a mouse.
But there’s nothing. Despite standing there listening for a solid thirty seconds that I count out in my head, I don’t hear or see anything at all.
I can’t keep standing here, I tell myself, and force myself into movement again. I veer off of whatever imaginary path I’d been following, instead choosing to follow the small brook. Surely it has to lead to something. Eventually. Hopefully. That’s what I cling to at least, as my quick, nervous steps take me further into the trees.
When I do end up on an actual trail—even though it’s small and probably rarely used—I can’t help the ripple of surprise and relief that flows through me. I can’t be too far from civilization if there are trails cut through the woods, right? It also makes it easier for my steps to speed up, until I’m almost jogging while using the moonlight to look out for roots, stones, or anything else that might trip me.
Though the second a spiteful cloud covers up the moon again is the moment I really needed it to see by. The toe of my shoe hits something hard and curved, and I yelp with unhappy surprise as I flail, trying to keep myself upright.
Naturally, I don’t succeed. I was going too fast and paying too little attention, and my knees hit the ground hard enough to drag a pained cry from my chest. At the same time, my palms scrape against the dirt; my left hand naturally nails a few sharp stones that make me suck in a shocked and very unhappy breath.
For a few moments, I don’t move. My knees hurt, and my hand stings like a bitch where I hit the rocks. Still, this can’t stop my escape. Everything in me is screaming for me to get up, and as I throw my head back so my hair is out of my face, the moon does me the favor of peeking out from the clouds once more.
Just to illuminate a small, reflective object tucked into a nearby tree. Curiosity gets the better of me as I stumble to my feet, and I make my way toward the Y-shaped tree that bends and twists upward toward the sky. The whole time I’m walking, I go through what it could be in my head, though none of the answers are realistic or appealing.
I reach out and feel around the object, finding it anchored in place instead of just sitting in the V of the tree trunk. Plan B requires me to stand on my tiptoes and pull myself up until I’m barely on my toes, but it works well enough when the moon is finally clear of any clouds and shining down onto my patch of forest.
“ Fuck !” It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I realize what it is. “Fuck ,” is also the second thing I yelp as I drop down and back away from the tree.
And the trail camera.
My heart pounds wildly in my chest as I stare at the spot like the camera might grow legs and start chasing me. I tell myself it might not belong to Val and Kieran. That they might not have access to it, and maybe these cameras are monitored by park rangers or…
Well, I’ll take anyone over Val and Kieran.
My fears are confirmed, however, when I hear footsteps echoing through the trees from somewhere far enough that I can’t tell where, but close enough to be audible. Without stopping to think, I take off at a jog, knowing it’s stupid of me since it means I have a lot more opportunities to trip. Especially since I’ve gone off of the trail and I’m running through the trees at random. There can’t be cameras everywhere in this forest, so staying off the trails could help me stay away from them.
Still, I can’t help but wonder how many of them I’ve unknowingly passed, and how many Val and Kieran could’ve seen me on, if they are the ones with access to the cameras. There’s still a chance they aren’t, since I’m not even sure the cabin belongs to them. But I’m definitely not willing to take the chance.
It takes about a minute for me to fall again. This time isn’t quite as bad, though it makes my hand ache as I struggle to my feet. Panting, I realize I need a better plan than just running through the woods, which is what I originally wanted to avoid doing.
“Stop panicking,” I murmur, standing straight and closing my eyes. “You’re okay, Noa. You just need to stop panicking and think .” I force myself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then I force myself to do it again. I can no longer hear any noise in the trees around me, which relieves at least some of the tension holding my body too tightly.
This time, I take off at the same quick walk I used before. The trees are thicker now, I finally notice, and the moonlight that manages to cut through the branches and leaves is sparse. It makes my escape harder, and I have to feel out any obstacles in my path when I set my feet down, instead of relying on my vision.
Footsteps approaching again have my heart racing, though this time I work to not freak out. Slowly, I move to press myself against a tree, wishing I had the skill to actually climb into the branches without falling and breaking my neck.
With my heart beating so hard I’m sure the whole forest can hear, I listen to the footsteps getting closer and closer, though they aren’t accompanied by voices. When I’m sure they’re coming from the other side of the tree than the one I’m standing against, I gain the courage to peek around the trunk, scanning the patches of moonlight for any sign of movement.
Sure enough, it doesn’t take long for me to see Val prowling through the undergrowth, dressed in clothes a lot warmer than mine. It must be nice to be prepared, I think sourly, nose wrinkling with jealousy. I’m sure by now my legs are scraped and raw, and my poor hand is throbbing along with the steady pounding of my heart.
Val doesn’t look my way. He’s also alone, with no sign of Kieran anywhere behind him. He’s so different like this, I think to myself. Val looks almost inhuman as he prowls through the moonlight while occasionally stopping to listen for any sign of me. The moonlight makes him look sharper, somehow. More graceful and like some kind of nocturnal predator I’d never want to meet when he’s out hunting.
He’s gorgeous without even trying to be, though I beat that thought away with an imaginary broom. This really isn’t the time, and I’ve already gotten myself into enough trouble by swooning over the two of them.
Finally he’s far enough away that I can’t see him any longer, and I can barely hear his steps. A sigh escapes me, relief flooding my chest, and I press my back against the large tree I’m hiding behind, taking a few moments for myself before opening my eyes and working on the next phase of my terrible plan.
But when I see who’s standing in the patch of moonlight a few feet in front of me, that plan goes right out the window.
Kieran is just… existing. Merely standing there, with his arms folded over his chest and his head tilted slightly to the side, while he watches me. All the relief I felt just a moment before streams out of me and into the cold ground below, taking my warmth with it until I can no longer repress a shudder.
“How long have you been standing there?” I whisper, though my voice seems too loud in the empty woods.
He doesn’t answer right away. He’s just as quiet as he was at the haunt, though this time, at least, there’s a bit more distance between us than there was in the tiny storage closet when he made me?—
“He’s pretty, isn’t he?” The words don’t make sense for a moment, until I realize Kieran must be talking about Valentin. “So gorgeous in the moonlight when he’s hunting. You’ve got him all worked up. This is his favorite game, you know. Though usually it ends with him satisfying his insatiable bloodlust.”
The words send a tremor down my spine, and I’m glad I have the tree behind me to lean my weight against. My brain seems to be buffering, and I have no idea what my next move is going to be unless I get in touch with my inner ‘feral little thing’ and attack him.
It’s not the worst idea, all things considered.
Until he steps forward and all thoughts of me fighting back against him fly out of my head along with most of my composure.
“ Run , little girl,” Kieran purrs. “Run away so I can chase you and catch you, and teach you how to be good for me.”
I wish I had it in me to stand up straight and refuse to move. To deny him the joy of the chase and act like I’m not afraid. The scenario plays out in my head in the blink of an eye, and I know the amount of satisfaction I’d feel at denying either of them what they want would be absolutely glorious.
But I can’t. I’m too afraid, and too much of a chicken. My body doesn’t give me a choice before I’m wheeling around the tree and bolting into the space behind it where Val had been. But I don’t follow where he went. I try to pick a different direction, one that seems to have more moonlit patches on it than any other place I can see. I know I shouldn’t all out run, that I’ll pay for it by eating shit eventually, but I can’t help it.
I run until my shoes are splashing through the brook again, though I resume following it instead of passing through. They know where I am, so being quiet and hidden won’t get me much. I follow the trail winding alongside the brook while desperately praying for the moon to stay visible, even if it means I’m more easily seen under its illuminating glow.
When I hear running footsteps behind me, splashing through the water, I don’t look. I can’t look while I’m praying for any unseen force to help me, to let me make it somewhere I can find people to intervene.
Stumbling only barely slows me down, though I yelp when my already injured palm scrapes against the rough bark of a tree I use to catch myself. My legs ache, and my lungs are burning so much I can barely breathe in gulps of cold, stinging air.
I can’t do this for much longer. I can’t?—
Arms wrap around my waist when I stumble again, keeping me from going down while also yanking me back against a strong, familiar body. “Oh, princess ,” Val snarls in my ear, prompting me to let out a hoarse scream from my stinging lungs and fight against him. I dig my nails into his arms, but he doesn’t seem to mind, no matter how much I fight.
“Chasing you has been more fun than I’ve had in ages. But you know what’ll be even better?” He spins me around so I’m facing him, and in the moon’s glow I see the predatory, cruel grin that curls over his lips. “What I’m going to do with you now that I’ve caught you, my perfect little prey .”