Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Had she gone far enough?
Makayla shook from exhaustion, or shock, or the cool temperature up here in the mountains, or probably a combination of all three, but she couldn’t seem to stop moving.
It had been hours since she managed to slip out of the house unseen, and she knew that it had probably also been hours since her escape was noticed.
They would be looking for her, and they had the advantage.
They knew these mountains, while she didn't. She had no idea where she was going, although after running blindly until her legs threatened to give out and she couldn’t push herself to keep going any longer, she’d tried to start working her way down.
Down had to lead to a town, a city, or a major road where there would be people.
Safety.
Once she got to other people, she could find a phone, call one of her friends, ask them to get in touch with Prey Security, and ask for Van. She could go to a police station and wait there until someone she trusted came to get her.
Maybe the people Van had said would come to rescue her were already in Japan. Would they go to the house and find her gone? Did they know that she’d killed and escaped?
Those tremors wracking her body in a constant stream picked up intensity as she thought of the woman she’d stabbed.
Murdered. Of course, she recognized that she had to do what was necessary to save herself, but the idea that the woman could have been forced into servitude wouldn't leave her. How was she supposed to cope if she’d killed an innocent?
“Worry about finding help first. You can fall apart about that later,” she coached herself aloud. If she kept thinking about it and fell apart now, she was sealing her fate.
Already her future was shaky. Getting out of the house had turned out to be the easy part.
Once she was out, things got so much harder and more confusing.
What if she couldn’t find her way to help?
What if exhaustion finally took over and she just passed out, would she be able to survive the elements?
What kind of animals lived in the mountains in Japan?
Were they dangerous? What if she got to a road, a car, a town, but whoever she found was loyal to the man who bought her and simply handed her back over to him?
What if the cops here had been bought off, and when she got to them, they turned her over to the man who purchased her?
It was such a big risk to take. If she went to the wrong person, everything that she’d worked for so far would be for nothing. She’d wind up right back where she’d just escaped from, and this time they’d make sure she wasn't able to get out.
Fear almost paralyzed her. Makayla knew she had to find someone, it was the only way to get to a phone and call Van. If she stayed out here, she’d wind up dead, but it was so terrifying to know that what should be the easy part was instead so difficult.
Spotting a stream up ahead, she headed for it. She was so thirsty, hungry too, although it was the lack of water that was really getting to her. Functioning hungry was an option, functioning without hydration wasn't.
Stumbling over, she dropped to her knees at the bank, barely registering the sting in her knees as the debris on the ground cut into her skin, the craving to inhale water too strong.
Holding her hands together to form a little cup, she didn't even stop to worry about bacteria or other contaminants in the water that could make her sick.
She needed the water before dehydration took her down, leaving her alone and helpless if she was found, or leading to her death if no one ever stumbled upon her.
Once she started, she couldn’t stop.
Mouthful after mouthful she gulped down.
It wasn't enough. Ever since she’d been abducted by Azure she’d been deprived of the necessities.
She’d been able to drink a little water in that room all the women shared because there had been the tap by the toilet, but she’d also spent a lot of time out of it.
Then she’d been drugged and sleeping it off, keeping hydrated wasn't her top priority.
By the time she had sated the worst of her thirst, water dribbled down her chin, drenching the neck of the maid’s uniform she wore.
She hated having it over her bare skin, the blood stain a constant reminder of what she’d done to get out of that house.
Beneath it, she was completely naked, no panties or bra.
She didn't even have any socks or shoes, and after hours of running around out here, her feet were cut up and bloody.
The thought of having to get back up on those feet and start moving again felt like too much. One step too far.
Finding a little place to tuck herself in and curl up, close her eyes and fall asleep, sounded almost too good to resist. She was so tired, and it was starting to feel like she was never going to find her way out of this forest. For all she knew, she was just walking in circles, even though she was sure she was steadily heading down the mountain.
Maybe she’d just walk around out here until her body physically gave out on her and she collapsed, unable to move anymore, lying there until nature took its course and she just … stopped existing.
“No. You can't give up,” she told herself, planting her palms on the rough ground and pushing herself up until she was standing. The soles of her feet protested the pressure on them, but she didn't have any choice. “Help is coming. Van told you that people would be coming to save you. Do you want to be dead by the time they get here? If they get to the house and don’t find you there, then they’ll come out here and look for you.”
At least Makayla was reasonably sure that’s what they would do. Surely, they wouldn't come all this way to Japan to look for her and then just give up because she wasn't where they thought she’d be. They wouldn't go anywhere until they found her.
Would they?
Fear that they’d just leave her behind was enough to spur her back into action. Every muscle in her body protested moving again. She was so tired, a bone-deep kind of weariness that seeped all the way into her soul. But moving was her only option, so she had to do it.
Pushing through the pain as she had so many times before in her life, Makayla started walking. Running was out for now, she just didn't have the energy for it, but that didn't mean she would give up.
If she couldn’t run, then she’d walk.
And if she got to a point where she couldn’t walk, then she’d crawl.
And if she couldn’t crawl, then she’d roll, or something, anything, but she wasn't going to lie down and give up.
That wasn't in her nature. She was a fighter, a survivor. She harnessed the bad things she’d endured in her life and found a way to use them for good.
Without those horrors, she never would have made it through this last week.
Those same survival skills could save her now if she just didn't give up.
She could push through the pain in her feet, shut it out, and keep walking.
She could find her way to people, and watch, find someone who she thought she could trust. She could refuse to go anywhere but remain in a public place once the cops came for her, so that it would be harder for them to hand her over if they were dirty cops.
Once she’d called home, it would be harder to make her disappear again, because people would know where she was, and that she was alive and waiting for them.
All she had to do was keep moving.
Help was out here somewhere, and she wasn't going to find it if she stopped looking.
So Makayla put foot after foot on the ground, shoved away the pain that walking caused, and kept going.
She’d walk either until she found a road or a town, or until dark.
After dark, she’d find a safe place to hide until morning, when she’d start walking again.
At least the man who had bought her and whoever he sent out to look for her had a whole forest to search, so there was a good chance they wouldn't stumble upon her.
Patting the pocket of the uniform where she’d tucked her knife, she knew that if they did, she’d do the same thing she had in that glass cage. She’d kill anyone who tried to take her back because she wanted to live.
August 31st
8:36 P.M.
He wanted a plan now. A foolproof, detailed plan that outlined everything they were going to do step by step, ready to be executed as soon as they landed.
So far, they had nothing close to that. Mostly because they really had no idea where Makayla could be right now.
As far as they could guess, she was likely somewhere out in the forest surrounding the house where Asahi Watanabe lived.
There were miles of it, and she could likely walk it for days without ever finding her way out.
At least Van was holding on to the hope that she was still free, because he’d gotten no word from Griffin telling him that Asahi Watanabe had contacted him to say his people had found her.
If she was still out there, she was still safe.
But it was going to be hell trying to find her.
There were just too many places for her to hide, and the area was too large for the eight of them to cover in a short period of time.
The longer she was out there, the greater the chance she wouldn't still be alive by the time she was found. Hypothermia could get to her despite it being summer. It got cold in the mountains at night. She had no warm clothing, and no way to keep herself warm, build a fire, or build a shelter. She had no food, which was going to start taking a toll on her body pretty quickly, and although she could find water and stick close to it, that would also make her easier to find, so he couldn’t really hope that’s what she’d do.