“But what if Tex is leading us away so that someone can steal our supplies from under our noses?”
“We hid our supplies! Besides, why bother with the ruse? We’re two unarmed women...he could’ve just taken anything he wanted. Face it, Aby, there are people out there with good intentions. You just don’t want to believe it.”
“Of course I want to believe it...I just don’t know if I do.”
Peaches sighed. “Look...just think it over. You’ve got until morning to make a decision. But there’s something you haven’t considered, Aby. I think you should think about it…”
“What? What have I overlooked?”
Peaches gave her a smug glance. “Tex has a car...he has connections. He’s your best chance of finding your fiance again. You can ask the neighbors for information...ask Tex to drive you around a little. Don’t you want that? A chance to see Jake again?”
Aby’s heart skipped a beat. Peaches was right for once. Aby had covered some ground on foot, but nowhere near what Tex could cover a day in his car. If he was willing to let her borrow the car, or drive her around, maybe she’d be able to find Jake.
And she wanted that more than anything in the world.
Peaches offered to take the first shift on watch that evening, allowing Aby to go to bed, but she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of finding Jake again. It was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to pass up. She felt so lonely without him and Megan. Peaches was company, but it wasn’t the same. She wanted to hold him, even if only one more time…
She had to at least try.
Twelve
Jake
Every inch of Jake’s body hurt. He kept passing out from the pain only to wake up and relive the torture again. It felt like he was stuck on some sadistic loop. Each time he opened his eyes, the men would jeer at him and grab the lighter again, dragging the hot flame across his arm or his cheek and watching him scream out in agony. The only indication that he had that he wasn’t just running the same moment over and over was the change of lighting outside, taking him from day to night.
“Why are you doing this?” Jake asked each time they hurt him or laughed in his face. He couldn’t understand it. He wasn’t a bad person. He hadn’t done anything, but try to help one of them when he thought he was in danger. Now they were taking sick pleasure in torturing him, watching him squeal as they dragged the lighter across his skin.
“We’re doing it for the hell of it,” one of them sneered in his face. “There ain’t any rules anymore...so we can do what the hell we want. And what we want…” He flicked the lighter on once again with a sadistic smile. “Is to see you burn.”
Another few hours passed. Jake passed out once again and then opened his eyes to find that it was completely dark outside the kitchen window. Now all of his torturers were drunk as hell, falling about and laughing among each other. They weren’t paying much attention to him anymore and he was beginning to wonder if he might have a chance to escape. His hands were tightly bound, but every chance he got, he was doing his best to loosen them without being noticed. If only he had some help. If Aby had been there, they could’ve helped one another…
And where the hell was Megan? Jake hoped that she hadn’t just left him behind. He would never do that to her. But with each passing moment, the possibility seemed more and more likely. He’d been in the kitchen being tortured for hours now and she hadn’t so much as made an appearance. Maybe she was angry with him for the way he’d been treating her lately, but angry enough to leave him to die?
He reminded himself that Megan wasn’t like him. The world terrified her long before the EMP hit. She wasn’t built for daring rescues and risky ideas. If she had even managed to hatch a plan to save him, would she be able to pull it off? He doubted it. He didn’t want to think so negatively of her, but it was hard when he was the one strapped to a chair being tortured. If it was the other way around, he would’ve got her out by now, no matter the cost.
He closed his eyes to stop tears pouring from them. The fact was that he was bitter. He should’ve listened to Megan when she said she had a bad gut instinct about the house. It was his own fault he was in that position. If she’d left him behind then she had more sense than him. He was becoming erratic, unhinged, impulsive...it was going to get them both killed. If she was gone, then she at least had some sense.
She was better off without him.
Jake remembered the ghost of a feeling he’d had a few days before. It was one of the few hazy memories he had of the car crash. He recalled the hopelessness in his heart and his desire just to let go. To let his life slip through his fingers and give in to death. How easy it would be. If he just stopped trying to escape, just let the men do what they wanted to him...then it would all be over son. It was easier than fighting for his life. He was outnumbered and his hope was gone. Aby wasn't going to show up and save him or give him a reason to keep going. Megan had most likely abandoned him too, and with good reason. Maybe it was just time to give up.
Jake closed his eyes once again, waiting for someone to pick up on the fact that he was awake. Then the torture would begin again. He was sure he could smell the smoke coming off the
