Betrayed

holding it up. It's some weird shit in here, dude. The seats are all cut up.”

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Jase ranted. “Gina, you fucking bitch! This is all your fault! I should kick your fucking ass for letting her get away!”

“I didn’t let her get away,” Gina yelled back. “The psycho bitch attacked me. I coulda been killed, for all you care!” She broke into exaggerated sobs.

'It's not too fucking late for that,' Jase threatened. 'It's still an option, far as I'm concerned.'

“Leave her alone,” Pete hollered. “You shouldn’t have left her alone to do your dirty work for you.”

A pregnant silence met this statement. Brook imagined Jase pacing at the side of the road, fuming. “You want to come up here and repeat that, dude?”

Pete didn’t reply.

“That’s what I thought!”

After a few more minutes of silence, Jase spoke again. “Benny, wipe the car clean of prints. There’s no way we can pull it up. Oh, and get the plate off the back. Pete, look around and see if you can find the bitch.”

“If I get in that car, I could dislodge it,” Benny called up to Jase. “I’m telling you, man, it’s just barely hanging on.”

“Then I guess you better be careful,” Jase answered.

Oh, god! They're going to hunt me down! Brook prayed the car would plunge into the ravine taking Benny with it and hopefully Pete too. Whatever happened, she had to get away from here. She fled, clutching her purse, the pain in her feet forgotten as she ran. She couldn’t let them catch her again. Nothing mattered but to put distance between her and her abusers.

'What the hell was that?' Pete's voice carried through the crisp air. 'Did you hear that, Benny?' Brook stopped in her tracks. She hadn't thought about the noise she was making.

'I didn't hear nothing. Not one mother-fucking thing.” Benny's answer was muffled. 'I'm pissed off right now, don’t even talk to me. You want to make me knock this fucking car loose?'

'Alright, dude. I'm gonna check over that way,' Pete announced. 'I know I heard something.'

Brook couldn't tell how close he was. Fear overriding caution, she took off again. The improvised shoes loosened in flight and flopped against her feet, nearly tripping her. They soon tore away one after the other, but Brook continued to run, heedless of the rocks and sticks that gouged her. Stumbling over a large limb, she fell face- first into a patch of cold, clammy leaves. The wind was knocked from her and she couldn’t utter a sound, which was lucky since Pete moved within sight of her. The limb blocked his view. Trying to restore her breath without making a sound, she peered from under the fallen branch at his jean-clad legs. Mentally she willed him to turn the other direction so he wouldn't spot her makeshift shoes lying in the snow.

Relief flooded her when Pete moved away, calling, “I don't know what I heard, but it wasn't that woman. She ain’t anywhere to be seen. She’s probably dead, and if she ain’t, she will be soon. No one can survive out here naked and barefoot for long.” He added under his breath, 'The poor fucking woman.'

“Well, get the hell up here and let’s vamoose. If we get out now the snow will cover all our tracks. Nobody will even know we were here.”

A female voice mumbled something intelligible, and Jase snapped, “I said to shut your fucking mouth, Gina. I've taken all the shit I'm gonna take from you. You are this close, bitch. This close!”

Brook drew in long, quiet breaths, gasping for air as quietly as possible. Benny slammed the car door and she hunched her shoulders, expecting the wrecked vehicle to come crashing down the slope. Nothing happened.

Pete had rejoined Benny and they were talking to each other in low tones, but Brook couldn't make out what they were saying. She waited several long minutes and then began crawling away from the voices. Her purse was a hindrance, but she refused to leave it behind. It was the only string attaching her to her old life and she desperately needed that connection. Once she felt certain she couldn't be seen, she stood and hobbled further into the woods.

A tortured scream rent the icy air, trailing away to nothing. Chills ran up and down Brook’s back as the haunting cry sounded again and then faded, echoing off the rock walls that towered above her. Did Jase just kill Gina? Brook didn’t wait around to find out. She ran like a track star, ignoring the consequences to her damaged feet.

Chapter 16

Lance dropped what he was doing and hurried to the house for his bow. The scream had raised the little hairs on the back of his neck. He rushed toward the sound, sliding on the slick ground, grabbing bush and shrub to help him down the slope. His heart was pounding and he feared what he might find. Gilbert and Belinda were nowhere to be seen, and his intuition was tripping like a live wire.

Watching the ground closely for signs, he spotted some scat and noted the prints as he hurried along. The light snow covering would make it easier for him to track the beast, but he worried he would be too late.

Lance hit a particularly slick spot, a leaf-covered slope wet with snow, and slid several yards before stopping himself by grabbing a low-hanging branch. His bow fell from his hand and tumbled to the bottom of the incline. Dangling from the limb, he tried to calm his breathing and use his head. It wouldn’t pay for him to get hurt. Carefully, he released his hold and made his way down, retrieving his bow from where it had fallen. Glancing around, he picked up the cat’s trail again and using a little more caution, he moved alongside the prints.

He saw no hoof-prints in the fresh snow, but that didn’t mean anything. The snowfall had been light but steady all morning and would have covered any signs left by the goats. He tried to remember if he had seen either goat since he’d released them that morning, but he couldn’t recall. He’d been too wrapped up in his fence project to really pay attention. However, the big cat’s tracks were fresh and he hoped she was just trolling for a mate, not for prey.

As he went deeper into the forest, his hand clenched the bow tighter. How he hoped he would come upon the great cat and bring her down! The trail led around a copse of aspen and through some underbrush, which he skirted. As he cleared the brush, his eyes found the sight he had been dreading. His heart raced as a flush crept up his neck and over his face.

Ah, damn it all to hell! He dashed into the clearing where Belinda’s bloody remains lay lifeless in the snow. He rushed to her side, dropping his bow to the snowy ground. Lifting her mangled body to his chest, he howled like a madman.

Chapter 17

Running full-bent through falling snow, Brook didn’t see the incline until she was on it. Unable to stop, she fell and rolled down the long brushy slope, tumbling to the bottom. She lay flat on her back, gasping, each breath causing a stab of pain in her chest. It took a moment for her to notice she was actually a bit warmer from the exertion, but her body stung with a hundred fresh scratches and scrapes.

“Oh lord! They killed her! They killed Gina. God help me!” Brook sobbed, staring heavenward through the denuded treetops, praying she wouldn’t be next. Flakes of snow drifted down onto her face as she waited for her heart to stop hammering. Gradually, her tears subsided and her pulse stabilized. It wasn't exactly grief she felt for Gina, more like pity. The girl was hateful, immature, and not very smart, but killing her seemed outrageous. She was one of them. How could they just kill one of their own? Brook closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds, but there was no time for rumination. I have to keep moving.

Sitting up, Brook released her grip on her purse and with difficulty undid the catch on one of the straps. She looped the bag around her neck, reattached the strap, and tucked it inside the shirt. Now her hands were free and she felt relieved. Keeping the bag safe had become a necessary burden; now it would be easier to manage.

She couldn't go back to the road, even if she could find her way. For all she knew, Jase might be patrolling the area, just waiting for her to be foolish enough to return to the wrecked car. How long would she have to be out