Chapter 26 – Jennie
My head hurts. It’s throbbing, and the pain is excruciating. I can’t see a thing—it’s pitch black. Is it nighttime? Where am I?
My heart starts pounding because I don’t know. I can’t remember a thing.
I try to sit up, but I can’t. My limbs are tied down. I’m on something soft. A bed maybe?
I smell something—smoke. Like woodsmoke. A fireplace maybe? Or a woodstove?
“Who’s there?” I ask. My voice is raw, and it hurts to speak.
No response.
“Who’s there!” I yell. Or at least I try to. My words come out a garbled mess.
Heavy footsteps approach on a wooden floor, the boards creaking with age. I freeze, stealing myself for the unknown.
“You might as well save your breath, Jennie. No one can hear you out here.”
That voice! I thrash, trying in vain to free myself, but the more I struggle, the more the ropes tighten on my wrists and ankles. Terror seizes me. He’s not just a monster. He’s insane. “Let me go, David!”
I’m having trouble breathing, and my mouth is dry. My head is killing me, and I can’t think straight. The words tumble like pebbles from my lips. “You—can’t—do—this.”
“Of course I can,” he says. “I can do anything I want. You underestimated me, Jennie-bean, for the last time.”
“Chris will—”
“Your sheriff will never find you, I guarantee it.”
Chris—Oh, God—Chris.