He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing. But as he was starting to feel a little more normal again, he felt a sharp kick to his ribs. His eyes flew open and he saw one of the gang members standing over him. His jolly demeanor from the drugs and alcohol was gone. He was angry now.
“Your dumb girlfriend teried to kill us...big mistake,” he hissed. He kicked Jake again and he groaned. Each time he thought he’d escaped his own personal nightmare, it seemed to get worse once again. He heard Megan cry out in pain as she too was subjected to a cruel attack. He pinched his eyes shut. She should’ve run when she had the chance...now she was caught up in his mess too. Guilt stabbed his heart as sharp as a knife, but the kick to the ribs that followed was even more painful.
“Please,” Jake tried to say, but another set of feet joined the attack. He felt like his ribs were cracking with each kick. He was in too much pain to scream. It was the end for real now. It had to be. There would be no coming back from this if it carried on...and what reason did the men have to stop.
“Wait!” a voice croaked. Jake opened his eyes for a moment and saw the man he’d saved from the kitchen stumbling to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot, either from the smoke or the drugs, but otherwise, he looked very much alive. He glanced down at Jake.
“He saved my life,” he said. “Let them go. She was just trying to get him out of the house. Let them go...we’ve taken this far enough.”
“Are you kidding me?” the ringleader of the group snapped. “After all this, you just want to let them go?”
“Yes. We’re done here. Let’s move before the fire spreads,” the young man said. Jake prayed that the others would listen to them. The pain he was feeling was unbearable. He couldn’t stand anymore. The ringleader of the group sniffed and nodded.
“Fine. Let’s move out,” he said. He paused and spat on Jake before ushering the others to follow him. Jake groaned and closed his eyes once again. He couldn’t believe the horrors that were happening to him and Megan. Now, they were even worse off than when they arrived. They were hurting bad, their lungs burning and their heads fogged up. Plus, they still didn’t have any weapons, food or water.
Giving up seemed to be the only option.
Thirteen
Aby
Aby felt like she hadn’t slept a wink. She’d stayed up for most of her sleep shift thinking about whether she could trust Tex or not, and by the time Peaches asked to swap over, sleep was the last thing on her mind. As morning approached and so did the possibility of Tex’s return, Aby knew that she was going to have to go with Peaches in Tex’s car to meet the other neighbors.
The choice was simple when it came down to it for a few reasons. First off, Aby didn’t trust Peaches to be left alone with Tex. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but the thought made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was because she seemed so charmed by the tall stranger, or maybe it was because she seemed to have a complete lack of common sense. Either way, Aby felt it was her job to keep an eye on the older woman.
The second reason was much more personal. She couldn’t stand the idea that if she didn’t strike up a friendship with Tex that she might miss out on an opportunity to find Megan and Jake. Peaches had been right to point out that with a car they were going to cover much more ground, and Aby was still weak from her injuries. Her best chance was to hope that Tex would drive her around and help her find her friends.
Things just hadn’t been the same without them. She hadn’t known Megan for very long, but her presence always made Aby feel like she was in good company. Sure, Megan could be a pessimist and she was almost always causing one issue or another, but she had a kind heart. Peaches wasn’t a bad person, but she was a lot more selfish than anyone Aby would usually associate with.
And then there was Jake...she missed him with all her heart. She wished she hadn’t spent so much time fighting with him in recent weeks. All she had wanted was to be respected a little more by him. But now, she missed their power struggle. She missed fighting to be taken seriously by him. She missed schooling him on how bad his attitude could be. She even missed his ridiculous hero complex and his insistence on always being top of the food chain. She’d give anything to hear him condescend someone now just so she could roll her eyes at him. She’d give anything to be able to put him in his place just one more time.
But time was slipping away from her like sand through her fingers. Every passing minute it felt like Jake was getting further from her grasp. She wasn’t sure she could cope if she lost hope of ever finding him.
Aby still didn’t feel good about going anywhere with Tex. As nice as he seemed on the surface, she had no idea of the man he was inside, and that scared her. But she had to try. She realized that now. When Peaches woke up, Aby was ready to go. She had strapped a knife to her ankle and put another in the deep pocket of Peaches’ cardigan, just in case. She had decided it was the only way she’d feel comfortable getting
