5. -
CHAPTER FIVE
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“Should we call the police?” I ask, turning back around to face Kyle.
“They won’t get here for hours—if they even bother coming. The roads are probably closed,” he replies.
“What do we do then? Stay here?” Tears start to roll down my face again at just the thought of being stuck here any longer with these men.
“Give me a second to think!” he snaps.
Rage rushes through my veins in an instant. How dare he get mad at me after what just happened?
“Lose the fucking attitude, Ryan!” I angrily spit out.
“I-I’m sorry, Lyla. I just don’t know what to do.”
Kyle clears his throat. “There’s a trail that leads to the main road. Take one of the sleds…” he suggests as he backs up against the wall.
“Oh—now you’re being helpful?” I clench my teeth, wanting to shoot him dead just for the sudden change of heart.
“Don’t think for a second that we’ll spare your pathetic life before we leave this cabin…” Ryan suddenly walks next to me and snatches the rifle out of my hands, storming toward Kyle in a rage.
I watch in horror as he flips the rifle around and violently smashes the end of the gun into the side of Kyle’s cheek, sending him to the floor gasping.
“Where are the keys? Which sled is yours?” Ryan asks, bending down with the rifle end held against Kyle’s cheek.
“Still…in…the…sled…” he replies while blood runs out of the corner of his mouth. “Take…the…red one…”
I look back at Tristan and Buck, sighing in relief when I see them still unconscious on the floor.
“Where the fuck is the trail?” Ryan continues.
“You’ll see…the tracks…from our…sleds…”
“Let’s fucking go, Lyla.” Ryan stands and reaches for our coats that are hanging on hooks by the door and hands me mine.
I toss it on, zipping it up and following Ryan out the door without looking back.
Luckily, the sled starts right away and we hightail it out of the driveway, following the tracks through a thick wooded area.
After a few minutes, we enter a clearing that’s illuminated by the moonlight and I take it all in, amazed by how beautiful the sparkling snow looks around us.
Once again, we follow the tracks through another section of trees until we finally reach what looks to be a main road. The only problem is that we don’t know which direction leads back to the closest town.
Ryan stops the sled and turns back to me. “Do you remember which way we came in?”
“No idea. Do you have your phone on you?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “It’s still in the cabin.”
“Fuck…” I sigh. “Maybe we should just pick a direction and hope it’s the right one?”
He nods and starts the engine again, turning left onto the road. Even if this isn’t the right way, surely we’ll get somewhere safe at some point.
After at least fifteen minutes, a faint light can be seen in the distance, indicating that there might be someone living along this road.
Considering everything we just went through, I’d rather keep going until we get to a town or a well populated area to seek help.
Ryan must feel the same, because as we get closer to the lit up property, he drives past without hesitation.
Soon after, a lit up haze can be seen in the sky up ahead, which means only one thing. It’s a town. Ryan points toward the sky and I squeeze my arms tighter around his waist, excited that we will finally reach help sooner rather than later.
Tonight has been a living hell and I just want to sleep the fucking nightmare away.
Just as we’re about to turn onto the road that leads into the town, the sled starts to stall. We’re out of gas. Just our fucking luck.
“Fuck!” Ryan hollers out as he pulls off the road into the ditch and kills power to the engine.
“Can we walk the rest of the way?” I ask, knowing damn well that we’ll freeze to death if we try.
“No, Lyla! We can’t fucking walk the rest of the way!”he hollers, returning me to the rage I felt earlier when he yelled at me.
“Why are you being such a prick?!” I fire back, kicking the side of the sled, denting the metal frame. “I’m so fucking tired of your attitude! We’ve been through hell and back in the last few hours and this is how you fucking treat me?”
He turns away from me and bends down, resting his hands on his knees.
“Fuck this. I’ll walk there myself then,” I declare, taking off down the dark road alone.
“Lyla! Get back here!” I hear him holler after me, but I don’t stop or even bother to look back at him.
My legs are freezing, so much so that I can barely feel them. If it wasn’t for my thermal boots, my feet would have frozen off by now.
“Lyla! I’m sorry!”
Still, I don’t turn around. My stubbornness will get me there eventually—with or without Ryan.
Suddenly, a vehicle can be heard in the distance, but I can’t see any headlights or anything indicating which direction it’s coming from.
I glance behind me, but it’s pitch black and I can’t tell whether Ryan is following behind me or not, which makes me anxious.
Taking off down this dark road alone may have been a stupid idea.
In a matter of seconds, I can see faint lights ahead of me on the roadway. Instead of excitement, I’m filled with fear. What if they stop and they’re exactly like the men we just escaped from?
I consider taking off into the woods to my left to hide until they pass, but another part of me is wondering if this is our chance to finally get help.
At this point, I don’t trust anyone anymore.
I look back and see Ryan’s silhouette not far behind me, so I stop and wait for him to catch up. Regardless of how mad I am at him, I need him.
“Lyla…what the fuck? Why would you take off like that?” he asks when he gets a few feet away from me.
“Because your attitude is shit, Ryan! We’re in this together and you’re acting like you’re the only one that’s allowed to be frustrated.”
We stand in silence as a large truck approaches us and slows, rolling the window down.
“Are you two okay?” the woman in the passenger seat asks.
Instead of responding, I instantly burst into tears, my knees shaking so hard that I nearly collapse to the ground.
“Long story short—no,” Ryan answers, wrapping his arms around me to pull me close to him. “It’s been a long night, ma’am.”
“Where are you headed?” she asks.
“We don’t know. We just need to find somewhere to sleep and possibly find something to eat.”
“Do you want a ride into town?” Her friendly voice is comforting, to say the least.
“If you could…” Ryan replies.
“Of course. Hop in. There’s blankets back there too if you need them to warm up.”
Without hesitation, Ryan opens the back door and guides me into the truck first, then gets in himself, reaching for the blanket beside me. When he drapes it over the both of us, I rest my head on his shoulder and take a deep breath, relieved that our hell is finally coming to an end.
The couple don’t press us for any more information, which I appreciate more than anything.
It’s bad enough that we’ll have to explain everything to the police.