The thought stayed with me as I walked back towards the car, my mind weighed down by the burden of the burning question - where had Hans taken Ella? For I was sure that was what had happened. Hans had always been the smarter one, knowing my moves even before I had even come up with them. Perhaps our twin-to-twin connection only went one way - in his favor. Ella didn't know the area, wouldn't risk going out in the dark of the night and not take the car with her. Had Hans somehow gotten somebody to take them both away from this place - leaving the cars behind to stump me?
I reached for my phone, realizing I had no choice but to ask for help. Knowing how dangerous Hans could be..."Hello. Dad? I have to tell you something..."
Chapter 25
Ella
I didn’t know where I was, only that I was wet and cold and that the ties on my wrists were too tight, cutting into my skin. The dampness had seeped through the rag Hans had used to gag me, through the drawstring pants I had found in the bedroom dresser last night, the damp, cold soil serving to worsen my vigorous shivering, which did nothing to warm me. I suppressed a whimper, refusing to let my fear overtake me, the shadows amongst the trees become the monsters they weren't. The wind whistled as it raced through the broken path, barely visible in the dark, in the shadows cast by the tall, viridescent conifers that gave off an almost unearthly glow. Hans had left over an hour ago, after grinning down at me, surveying his handiwork. I wondered what I would look like, once I was found. Not if. And certainly not too long from now. The words I had chanted over and over in my mind, again and again, to stop the tears from forming. Would anyone think to look this deep in the forest? Where there were no signs of anyone having been here for a very long while now, and knowing these grounds were part of the Isaacs' private property? Hans himself had reassured me he hadn't trespassed, that I need not worry on that end. As if I was worried about the trespassing. It was the other part of this story. The part where I would be found, tied to an ancient tree, undoubtedly weak, if not unconscious, bound with metal ties on my feet and hands, topless. Maybe even dead. I refused to give that thought too much attention. I would be found before then. I had to be. Cole would come. My mom would try to call me and find me uncontactable and look for me. Maybe Sarah or even Melissa.
I looked down at myself. I wasn't sure why Hans had left my pants on - it was unlikely to be out of any sympathy or concern. I had spied scorpions scuttling past, varying sizes of eight-legged creatures, and reminded myself to be thankful for not being found instead by boars, or bears, or any other creature glad to feast on me. I was sure they would be happy to find me. I refused to think about the poison these creatures probably carried.
My thoughts drifted back to Hans' words earlier, thrown carelessly as he hummed to himself, working on tying me up. My thrashing and kicking had done nothing to stop him - a minor nuisance, his strength overcoming mine the way one would hold off a child's kicks. "Cole needs to learn his lesson. He forgot again, and a little reminder is what he needs."
"What reminder do you mean?" I had been hoping to get him to continue talking, to prolong the things he was doing - because I had a weird certainty that he wouldn't harm me beyond this. Why he had earned this portion of my trust, I wasn't sure. But I just knew he wouldn't harm me beyond tying me up - yet. At the very least, I knew he wanted Cole to find me. He was sure Cole would find me. And so, I placed my hope in Cole, too.
"Cole forgets, sometimes. Forgets that we are one, him and I. It shouldn't be otherwise." And that was that, no matter how I rephrased the question.
And he had grinned at me, a flash of white teeth, before sauntering off in a different direction from where we came, or at least from what I remembered. There were no landmarks that I could discern, the trees all appearing identical to each other. I could only hear insects from where I sat, any nocturnal animals staying away from me, and dawn was still many hours away. My eyes barely adjusted in the darkness, it was that void of light. I was glad I had no superstitions, didn't believe in ghosts, nor did I have an overactive imagination. I shivered again, hating the dampness that seeped into my undies, hating how I began to itch, hopeful it was only because of the wet, and not from the crawling creatures
