Chapter 14 #2
“They didn’t disappear out of thin air, T. Work your magic and find it!” I snap into the earpiece. I’m on edge and losing them is about to send me over it. T mumbles into the mic, and I can’t give a shit about what he has to say unless it involves Kelsey.
The interstate isn’t busy, so at least we have a little luck there. It makes it easier for us to weave in and out of other vehicles.
My fist presses to my lips, while my elbow rests on my anxiously bouncing knee. A feeling deep in my gut has my knee stopping, and I stand abruptly, running to the driver of the van.
“They’re not taking her to headquarters.”
“What?” T asks, confused by my sudden outburst.
“I mean, they wouldn’t make it that easy on us, T. They know we would go there first, earning them more time to escape with her. Check the street cams heading East. I think they switched vehicles.”
Kelsey
My head slings forward, and the sudden braking has the zip ties digging further into my battered wrists. I hiss in pain, and a few colorful words slip from my lips before I can stop them.
“Concussion, broken ribs, dripping wrists, and now whiplash,” I mutter under my breath, hoping none of them heard me, because who knows what punishment I’d receive next. I definitely don’t want to find out, considering I’m already beaten and broken enough.
I wonder if anyone knows I’m missing yet. Surely, they’ll be looking for me. I haven’t seen my parents in two days, and I can’t even remember our last words. Did I even tell them I love them? My heart cracks thinking about what my last words might have been to everyone I love and care for.
The trunk of the SUV lifts open, allowing the bright afternoon sun to shine through, blinding me. My eyes squint as I study the men staring back at me. The one I recognize from the bar—still don’t know his name, and the one I heard them call Mark.
“Alejandro!” A voice I’ve never heard before shouts. His voice is smooth and velvety, yet dark. Unlike these other men I’ve been trapped with. He speaks a foreign language—Spanish, maybe?—It makes me wish I had paid more attention in Spanish class.
The nameless guy from the bar responds—Alejandro— in that same foreign language, and Mark eyes me with a cruel, knowing half-smile that chills my bones.
I drop my head and squeeze my eyes tightly. There’s nothing I can say or do, so I choose to pretend I’m somewhere else. Not here. Not here in the hands of these bastards.
“Sì.” Answers that velvety smooth voice. Spanish, they’re definitely speaking Spanish.
The SUV shifts as a man rests his knee on the edge. The man with that beautiful voice. It’s unfortunate that he is equally as beautiful, with his sharp, cleanly shaved jaw and greenish-brown eyes. Looks are so deceiving.
My head lifts as I follow where he reaches for my bleeding, ziptied wrists.
I wince, waiting for the harsh tug that never comes.
Instead, he unlocks the cuffs that have me attached to the roof of the trunk.
My hands are purple and numb, but as the blood slowly flows back into them, they become overwhelmingly tingly and painful.
The man never once makes a face toward me.
His features remain cool. Bored. As if this is just another day for him.
Another worthless life he couldn’t care any less about.
I’m nothing more than a bargain to these people.
His hands wrap around my ankles, and I wasn’t prepared for the force of his yank that came after. My head bounces off the seat behind me, making me grunt as pain explodes through my skull as if lightning struck through it.
“Fuuck,” I groan.
“Should we sedate her?” I hear the question so clearly, I begin to wonder if the damage to my brain has me understanding Spanish.
“No,” Alejandro barks as if that was the most absurd thing he’s heard all day.
“What if she memorizes where we take her?” I’m not hearing things. They are speaking English. I’m going to have whiplash from the back and forth of these people. What was so important earlier that they had to speak a different language? What was I not supposed to hear?
“She has brain damage. The bitch doesn’t even know her name.” Alejandro states, and I bite back a snort that I’d know would lead to another brutal hit to the face. Besides, leaving me awake means I have better chances of escaping wherever they’re taking me.
I’m yanked to a stand, the ground shifting under my feet. The world spins around me like it does when I’ve had too much vodka, and those little black stars cloud my vision. Mark shakes me—aggravated—as if I can help any of this.
“Who are you people?” I ask out of breath through my clenched jaw.
“Your worst nightmare if you don’t get fucking moving.” He snarls, showing off his brilliant, straight, white teeth.
My feet move, one in front of the other, against my will and despite the alarm bells screaming in my head. Each step puts me a foot closer to my death sentence. At least that’s how it feels. My heart races, and I feel each beat in my ears like a gong.
Cars pass by on the interstate, and I wonder if anyone has noticed me and if they just don’t care, so they keep driving. Or maybe they’re too scared to intervene.
My steps falter as I near the car door, and the deceivingly beautiful man rips the door open, shoving me into the backseat, where he proceeds to lock metal cuffs through my ziptied wrists.
I pull against the cuffs, but it does me no good.
They’re attached to the seat anchors, so there’s no give.
Son of a bitch. My head drops forward, chin-to-chest in defeat.
He slams the door shut, the sound vibrates through my bones and pounding head, and I spew a list of colorful words while I’m alone.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see the four men nodding to each other, discussing me, no doubt. I close my eyes and rest my head against the cool glass window. Deciding to relish what little bit of peace I have right now.
Only a few seconds pass before he strides back and drops into the driver’s seat.
Another man that I hadn’t seen slides into the passenger seat.
They’re both rather good-looking. Both are muscular but in a lean way.
Both have sharp, clean-shaven jawlines, with jet-black hair that’s side-swept on the top.
They look like they could be twins, and in any other situation, I probably would have been drawn to them.
We’ve been driving for almost ten hours.
I watch as the minutes tick by on the clock on the dashboard.
We’ve passed two state line signs, making us currently in Missouri.
I’m totally fucked, not a chance in Hell I’ll be found.
I need to accept my fate as their new pet or whatever they plan with me, but fuck if that doesn’t feel like I’m giving up, and I cannot do that.
I’m a fighter, and I will fight till I win with or without anyone’s help.
At some point, I fell asleep, and it doesn’t feel like I have been out very long.
The sun has vanished, and darkness envelopes me.
I wish I had some pain relievers, but highly doubt any of these assholes would have any kindness in their black ass hearts to give me something.
The gravel road crunches beneath the car, and I swear this dipshit hits every pothole, which feels like a relentless fist pounding on my head.
My head swivels as I take in my surroundings. The overgrown grass and bushes that are so tall they could be trees, and a large black house that appears abandoned. It’s only missing a condemned sign on the front door. My heart sinks.
“Welcome to Hell, sweetheart.” The driver says, chuckling grimly, and it takes an immeasurable amount of self-restraint not to roll my eyes.
Every cell in my body is demanding I jump out of the car and hightail it as fast as I can through the woods.
I’ve been digging my nails into the loops on the zipties for hours, trying to loosen them to break free.
Clearly, I’ve not succeeded. The closer we get to that godsforsaken derelict house, the more motivated I become to break free from these damn restraints.
Blood smears from my abused nails, but I hardly notice the sting of pain thanks to the surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
The car slows to a stop before he shifts to park.
Fuck. It’s now or never. What’s the worst they could do to me? Shoot me dead?
The driver and his buddy exchange a few words in Spanish, then his buddy exits, walking around the back of the car to open my door.
He pulls the key for the cuffs out of his suit jacket, and I lean forward to give him access.
As soon as I’m unlocked, I have to run. I breathe in through my nose before exhaling slowly. Steadily.
He chuckles when he sees my bloodied fingers, “Thought you could escape us, love?” He smiles widely, flashing those gleaming white teeth.
I glare at him, clenching my teeth painfully to keep from spewing the venom that lingers on the tip of my tongue.
“Cute.” He replies with a tilt of his head, as if he’s trying to read me. I school my features and return my gaze to the intimidatingly dark house. The ghosts that linger here. I feel them. Just a few more seconds.
“Don’t do anything stupid. I promise you’ll regret it.” He warns, gripping my arm.
My mouth dries, but I keep my eyes pinned ahead, giving nothing away. He’s reading me, and that doesn’t settle well. I nod once in response, and that must’ve been enough to appease him, because he removes the cuffs and pulls me from the seat.
Half a breath. That’s all it took for me to hitch my knee up where it connected with his crotch.
He grunts, dropping to his knees as he mutters something, but I’m already sprinting towards the treeline like a bat outta Hell.
Blood rushes in my ears, and my lungs are on fire, but I don’t slow.
Breaking through the trees, I hurdle over roots and branches.
My arms are still bound behind my back, making it harder to keep balance.
I chance a look behind me, but I wish I hadn’t.
My breath catches in my lungs when I see both men running after me, guns aimed at my back.
“I warned you, dumb bitch!”
Threaten all you want, bastard. Shoot me. Kill me. Put me out of my misery, because I’d rather die than go with you. Leaves and limbs crunch under my bare feet, but my pace doesn’t falter.
The sound of a gun firing echoes through the woods, and my heart palpitates in my chest. This is it. This is the end. A new hope blossoms in my chest. A sort of hope and freedom that I never thought I would crave.
More shots fire off, and my head whips side to side searching for the best direction to go.
Nothing but endless dark forest for as far as I can see on either side.
The trees are so thick that not even the moonlight can penetrate the canopy.
Heat and a biting sting penetrate my bicep, and I scream out.
I’ve been shot. Just keep running. You can escape.
” I chant over and over to myself as hot blood flows down my cold, clammy skin.
Where did I go so utterly wrong in my life to end up in this situation?
The lump in my throat returns, and I can’t force it down.
Hot tears threaten to flow from my eyes, and I don’t fight to hold them back any longer.
Tears blur my vision, and I’m no longer paying attention to my steps.
I never had a chance to dodge the thick root protruding from the ground.
My foot hooks under it, and I’m catapulted to the ground.
The breath is knocked from my lungs at the direct blow to my chest and face.
Get up. Run.
Getting to my knees is a challenge without my hands to help, but I managed to do it. The sound of many footsteps charging for me and the whipping glow of flashlights behind me sends an extra boost of adrenaline through my veins. Fueling me to keep going.
I run and run until I come to a dead stop at a metal fence ahead of me that’s line with razor wire.
No. No, no, no.
Leaves crunch to my right, my head snapping towards the sound, but I see nothing. It’s too dark. A twig snaps, and that’s the last thing I heard before a loud crack slammed into me, sending me back to the ground.
The world goes silent.