Chapter 28 A Self-Rescue In The Van
As soon as John's words fell, the terrified girls scrambled to get out.
It wasn't that they didn't want to run, but after being locked up for days, underfed, and drugged every day, they were mentally exhausted and physically weak.
It was already a miracle that they could even walk.
The last girl to get out was swaying, clearly in poor physical condition.
After everyone had left, John picked up the two children on the ground and followed them. Joe was waiting outside the cellar. When he saw the girls coming out one by one, his dark and vicious gaze landed on each of them. In the dark night, it made their hair stand on end.
"Be smart and follow me. Don't even think about running! In this deep forest, no one will come to save you even if you scream at the top of your lungs! You'll just get eaten by wild beasts! If I catch anyone trying to escape, you won't like what happens to you!"
After intimidating them, Joe turned and walked to the small van. The terrified girls followed him with tears in their eyes.
Joe opened the door and gestured for them to get in. Inside, all the seats except for the driver's and passenger's had been removed. Kendall was lying on the empty and dirty floor of the van. She had her eyes closed and didn't move.
The first person who climbed into the van didn't notice that there was a person lying inside. When her hands accidentally touched Kendall's body, she was so scared her legs went weak.
Luckily, her mouth was taped shut, so she couldn't make a sound. If she had screamed and scared Joe and John, she would have definitely been beaten.
A blinding light shone in. John came over with a flashlight in his mouth, holding the two unconscious children. His perverted and greedy gaze was on the girls who were climbing into the car. After everyone was in, John casually tossed the two children in and slammed the door shut.
This time, Joe was driving, and John sat in the passenger seat. He said ingratiatingly, "Brother Joe, I'm going to take a nap. You can wake me up when you're tired of driving."
"Okay," Joe replied.
The engine slowly started. The small van drove on the rural roads, and the body of the car shook. The girls huddled together, their faces pale and their bodies uncomfortable.
In the dark, Kendall, who had her eyes closed, opened them. She gently moved her body, brought her knees closer to her chest, and leaned forward. She reached into her socks along her shins and took out a folded curved knife. Kendall had hidden a knife in each of her socks before she left.
After getting the folded curved knife, she fumbled around for a while and then started cutting the rope on her hands. The rope Helen used was as thick as a bamboo. Kendall slowly cut it in the dark.
Kendall was lying on one side, and the other girls were huddled together like small animals on the opposite side, as if they were sleeping. They weren't leaning against Kendall's side, which was good news for her. This way, they wouldn't notice her small movements.
Kendall was very patient. She held the folded curved knife in one hand and moved the other hand back and forth, rubbing the rope against the sharp blade.
The mountain roads were rugged, and the small van shook back and forth.
The sharp blade occasionally pierced Kendall's delicate skin, and a stinging pain came from her arm, but her expression didn't change, and she didn't make a sound. She continued what she was doing.
After about ten minutes, one of the ropes finally broke.
Kendall's hands were freed. She silently moved her wrists and turned to a more comfortable position.
Then she used the folded curved knife to cut the rope on her ankles.
With her hands free, her movements were much easier, and with the sharp blade, it only took ten minutes to undo the rope on her legs.
The entire process went unnoticed. Kendall put away the folded knife and lay on the floor, waiting for the right moment.
John and Joe were two grown men, and the van was still moving.
It wouldn't be safe for her to make a move now.
As for untying the other girls in the van, the thought only crossed Kendall's mind for half a second before she dismissed it.
She had secretly observed that more than half of the girls in the van were underage.
And she didn't know how long they had been captured.
They all looked weak and stumbled when they walked.
After getting into the van, they huddled in a corner like sick little chicks and didn't move.
It would be more harmful than helpful to risk being discovered by the two traffickers just to untie them.
Kendall held the two pieces of rope in her hand. Since John had said they would switch drivers, they would at least stop once in the middle of the trip. This would be Kendall's best chance to save herself and everyone else in the van.
Kendall lay in the back, her eyes closed and her mind clear, like a predator in the wild waiting for its prey to fall into a trap.
The unpleasant smell around her didn't affect her at all.
Time passed slowly. After what felt like a long time, John's voice broke the silence in the van. "Brother Joe, can you pull over? I need to use the bathroom."
Joe didn't want to waste time and didn't take his foot off the gas. "There's a bottle on your side. Just go in the car."
John looked a little embarrassed. "I was so happy to get my mom's call tonight that I ate too much. I need to take a dump."
Joe frowned and impatiently stomped on the brake. "Hurry up. I'll drive for another hour, and then you can take over."
"Got it!" John replied. He grabbed some tissue from the side, quickly got out of the car, and ran into the forest.
Kendall opened her eyes. She hadn't expected her chance to come so quickly. John would be gone for at least a few minutes. Kendall didn't move immediately and patiently waited for a bit longer.
In the driver's seat, Joe took out his phone and opened TikTok. The sound from the phone was loud, which was an unexpected bonus for Kendall, but she knew that the more favourable the situation was, the more she shouldn't rush.
Hidden by the sound of the phone, Kendall slowly sat up and crouched behind the driver's seat.
One of the girls who was huddled with the others groggily woke up. When she saw Kendall, who had been lying down, sit up, she didn't think much of it until she saw Kendall slowly stand up, her hands and feet untied.
The girl was a little excited and instinctively moved her legs, accidentally knocking over some things in the car and making a small sound. The sound was very faint, but Joe, who was watching video clips, still heard it.
(End of Chapter)