Chapter 3
The rocking of the waves underneath my surfboard felt strange. It wasn’t the usual rhythmic lull, and it scared me. A swell of fear turned my stomach. It was our favourite surf spot, but something felt wrong about it.
A hand clasped around mine. I looked to my left. Rachel, sitting on her pastel yellow surfboard. My anxiety eased. The setting sun was gleaming in her blonde hair, turning it to gold. Her smile was reassuring, but her eyes held a deep sadness.
“Don’t be scared. We’ll find each other, A. We always do.”
I tightened my hold on her. “I’m not so sure, Rach.”
“We have a pact, remember? Don’t be scared.”
I jolted awake as the van came to a sudden halt. My surroundings came crashing into me, and an insurmountable grief filled my chest at the loss of Rachel’s presence.
My captor stood from beside me, making me jump. My nerves were in tatters. My whole body felt like it was vibrating. It was agonising not being able to see.
Death lifted me by my arm. “Get ready, cupcake. We’re going on a hike.”
When the doors opened, the crisp air hit me.
It smelled of pine trees and rich soil. I knew exactly where we were.
We were in the forest. More precisely, Frostford Forest. It was two days’ drive from our town.
My father used to bring me camping when I was young.
It’s where I fell in love with nature and learned just how much she had to offer us, if only we knew what to look for.
The problem was, Frostford Forest was over twenty million acres.
We could be anywhere. Still, the tension in my shoulders eased just a tiny bit. My surroundings were somewhat familiar.
As I was pulled from the van, another thought struck me.
Why were we here? This forest was a magical place, but it was also an abyss.
A place where things got lost and stayed lost. A place where secrets were hidden, never to be thought of again.
A place to bury the bodies you didn’t want to be found.
I shuddered at my captor’s grip on my arm, and on my life, as he dragged me out of the van.
“Where are we?” I asked, hoping to get more information.
The other man, the driver, took a deep, audible breath and sighed it out loudly. “In the great outdoors.”
Before I could muster the courage to ask more, I was being pushed forward by Death with his hand clasped around my shoulder.
I knew it was him. His scent and his dark, suffocating presence were already burned into my brain.
My feet stumbled over the uneven terrain.
Sandals were not the best shoes for this type of hike.
As I tripped over a rock, yet again, my captor caught me, just before my face hit the ground.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” he grumbled, intense annoyance seeping from his tone.
Sirens went off in my head. It would be a tremendously bad idea to anger this man. As messed up as it was, my life depended on keeping him calm and content. I had to do better.
I willed my racing thoughts to a stop and concentrated on my feet.
I lifted them higher and placed them down softly at first, being mindful of the surface beneath my shoe before I placed my weight on it.
After a while, I was able to move faster.
The irony not lost on me that I was practically moving faster towards my death.
But there was no choice. Angering my captor seemed like the greater evil.
I had no idea what he was capable of when angry.
We walked for a while. Their boots crunched over the ground, creating a familiar rhythm that kept my panic in check. I could almost pretend it was my father’s boots beside me. The two robbers ahead kept close to us, keeping with our slow pacing.
“This is taking too long. We need to get her blindfold off,” my captor said, while bringing me to a stop.
My chest tightened. This wasn’t good.
“Get the masks out. We’ll have to endure it. We need to move faster.”
Thank the gods. They would have their masks on. Their faces would stay hidden.
No one said anything; no one objected to his order. Was it because of his obvious annoyance? Were they scared of him too? There was a thump on the ground and then the sound of a zipper. A backpack?
“Shit,” the driver hissed. “I forgot one. I only have two. Fuck! Should I run back?”
“There’s no time. We can’t be out here in the dark,” my captor cautioned.
There was silence for a moment. He was right. Being in these woods in the dark was a bad idea. A shudder whispered through me at the thought.
“Put the masks on,” my captor said flatly.
“But what—” the driver was cut off.
“It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?” the woman asked.
There was no answer from my captor. He simply moved around me, my heart thundering in my chest. His fingers gripped the blindfold, and I instinctively clasped my hands over his, keeping them from moving, the zip-tie straining against my wrists.
“Don’t,” I begged. “If I see your face…” I couldn’t say it out loud. There would be no turning back. I would be as good as dead.
“Let go.” There was no empathy in Death’s voice.
I shook my head, tears soaking the blindfold. No, I couldn’t.
He ripped his hands free, the blindfold with it. I clenched my eyes shut, covering them with my fists.
Please, no.
A sob ripped from my throat.
He pushed my hands down roughly. “Open your eyes, we don’t have time for this.”
No. I refuse to die like this.
Please don’t let me die.
I can’t die here.
I spun around, fast as lightning and ran in the direction we came from. I was running blindly, my eyes still trying to adjust. I was desperate to get away. To live. My only thoughts were that I couldn’t die. Not here, not now. I had a promise to keep. A pact with Rachel to uphold.
A branch ripped along my upper arm, causing an instant searing burn through it, but I didn’t stop, didn’t slow. The sound of his boots hitting the ground behind me, propelled my feet forward.
I stumbled and hit the ground but was up in an instant. Shit! It had cost me. He was close.
Three seconds later, he yanked my arm backwards and we slammed into each other, tumbling to the ground as I screamed in desperation.
We rolled and his body crushed me to the forest floor.
We rolled again, and I had the upper hand.
I pushed off him with my bound hands, trying to get away.
But he grabbed the front of my dress and yanked me back to him.
I brought my elbow up and used the force of his tug to drive my elbow into his throat.
I knocked the wind out of him with the blow, and he let go of me.
I pushed off him again, but this time he wrapped his legs around my waist and twisted.
Before I could process, I was pinned beneath him.
I screamed in sudden rage, clawing and scratching at his face.
He hissed as my nails hit their mark, leaving two deep gashes over his left eye.
He grabbed hold of my wrists and pinned them above my head.
I writhed beneath him in defiance, fighting hard to get free.
But he held me down seemingly effortlessly while he tried to catch his breath.
He coughed and clutched at his throat. Then a raspy chuckle—his coughing turning into a fit of laughter. He threw his head back, his whole body shaking with it.
I was fighting for my life, and it was funny to him? He was a fucking monster. A psychopath. The disbelief and rage of people like him existing, walking around freely, with no concern for living beings, burned through my body.
“Fuck you!” I screamed over his laughter, my throat burning.
My blood was simmering as he lowered his head to look at me, his laughter subsiding.
Blood trickled down his face. The white of his eye was stained red by the blood, but he seemed unbothered by it.
It made him look like a demonic maniac as he grinned down at me.
I stared right into his soulless eyes. I wasn’t going to let him see how scared I was.
Evil men like him got off on it. No, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
If he was going to kill me, then I would do everything in my power to make it an unsatisfactory experience. Because fuck him.
We stared each other down. All the disgust I felt towards him gleamed in my face, while he smirked at me.
Bastard.
“You’re quite the fighter. I underestimated you, cupcake.” His mouth was still upturned in a mocking smile.
“Don’t call me that!” I spat, yanking my arms down, trying to get free. Trying to get away from his cruelness, unsuccessfully.
“Then what’s your name?” he pressed.
I turned my head away defiantly, not answering him. Movement caught my eye. It was the other two hurriedly struggling through the dense vegetation.
Did I run through that?
The woman froze as she caught sight of us, my captor still pinning me down with his body. “Grayson, what are you doing?” her voice sounded bewildered. She quickly brought her hand up to where her mouth would be, stepping backwards, visibly distressed from letting his name slip.
My eyes shot back to him. Death had a name. Grayson.
He winked at me, mockingly. “Don’t worry, we’re just getting to know each other,” he answered the woman, picking a leaf from my hair. I winced. “We can have some more fun another time,” he said low enough that the others couldn’t hear, but it echoed loudly in my head.
He pushed off me, pulling me up with him by the zip-tie around my wrists. My muscles were screaming, and I could suddenly feel every nick and cut along my body. But it was nothing compared to the sick feeling in my stomach.
I saw his face. I knew his name. And he wanted to have fun.
“We’ve wasted enough daylight. We need to move. Now,” the driver urged from farther away.
I turned to walk towards them, deciding to stay as close to the woman as I could if I were to survive this. Grayson gripped my arm, holding me back. He lowered his head to my ear.