“If we can outrun them, then their weapons will be pretty useless,” Megan whispered. Jake didn’t like their odds. Running in their battered state wouldn’t be easy. The men certainly had the advantage, even if they were still recovering from the fire. But Jake had agreed to go along with the plan and he didn’t want to back out now. He had to put his trust in Megan for once.
“What now?”
“They’re sleeping...hopefully we can just find where they’re keeping their supplies and get in and out,” Megan said. “I know it’s a loose plan...but it’s all we’ve got.”
Jake nodded. He didn’t see how they could plan any further ahead either. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
The two of them moved as silently as they could toward the campfire. Every crunch of leaves beneath their feet seemed as loud as a scream in the dark, but none of the men stirred from their sleep. Jake suspected the smoke in their lungs had exhausted them. He was suddenly grateful for his own resilience. He was glad that Megan hadn’t let him give up…
The campfire crackled as they drew closer. Jake could see that their supplies were piled on the far side of the fire and he looked at Megan. She smiled and reached in her pocket. She brought out a crumpled plastic bag. It seemed she had come prepared. He followed her quietly to the other side of the fire and she quietly opened the bag, loading in the hammer, several bottles of water and cans of food. Jake couldn’t deny that the sight of it all gave him a new lease of life. The idea that they might finally be back on track was an exciting one…
But then he heard someone stir behind him. Whipping his head around, he saw the young man he’d saved from the fire staring at him with drugged up eyes. They stared at one another for a long moment before the man let out a warcry, waking the others.
“Run!” Jake cried to Megan. She didn’t need to be told twice. Clutching the bag of supplies to her chest, she began to race away from the campfire with Jake on her tail. He knew better than to look over his shoulder, knowing it would slow him down, but he couldn’t tell if they were being chased until he heard the thudding of feet behind him. He pushed his body to the limits and ran harder, faster. His muscles cried out in agony, but he didn’t stop. He kept running, knowing his life depended on it. He wasn’t going to try and give up this time. He was going to keep going.
The chase was on.
Fifteen
Aby
Aby couldn’t stop shaking as the car came to a complete stop and Tex turned around in his seat with a sinister smile. Before Aby could think to pull out her knife, Tex produced a gun from down the side of his seat and pointed it directly at Aby.
“Don’t think of trying anything or I’ll shoot you in the head,” he said pleasantly. Peaches gasped, but Aby wasn’t shocked in the slightest. Her gut instinct about him had been bad. She’d been a fool to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“You don’t have to do this,” Aby murmured. “If it’s supplies you need...if you’re in some kind of trouble, we can come to an arrangement…”
“I’m not interested in any of that,” Tex said. “I want you to get out of the car. Right now.”
Aby glanced at Peaches and saw how quickly she had come undone. She was whimpering, clearly terrified of what Tex might be capable of. He certainly seemed familiar with the gun in his hand, and Aby didn’t plan to stick around to see how desperate he was to use it. She did as he asked, opening the car door and stepping out, moving slowly away from the car.
In her head, she was plotting escape routes. She thought she could maybe get away if she ran into the trees, but that would mean leaving Peaches at Tex’s mercy. Sure, it was her fault that they were in this position in the first place, but she wasn’t going to leave her behind. They were in this mess together and they’d get out of it together.
Or die trying.
It took Tex longer to get Peaches out of the car. She was sobbing on the backseat, desperate to stay there, but Tex got out of the car and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her to stand with Aby as she whimpered pitifully.
“What are you going to do with us?” Aby asked. She might not have trusted Tex, but she had no idea what he wanted with them. If he was interested in supplies, then what was his game?
“You don’t even want to know,” Tex said, smiling. He never stopped smiling. It made Aby feel sick to her stomach. Her mind was running wild, wondering what the hell he might try and pull on them. She wanted to reach for her knife, but his gun was trained right over her heart. Clearly, he saw her as the bigger threat of the two. He cocked his head at her with a smile.
“I bet you wished you listened to your gut about me, don’t you?” he asked her. “But what’s done is done now...let’s make this easier for everyone and comply with my plans, okay? I’m going to tie you both up now. One wrong move and I’ll shoot you through the head...and that’ll ruin the fun for all of us.”
Peaches wept as Tex tied Aby up first, binding her arms behind her back and tying her feet together. Then he tipped her over, allowing her to fall to the ground with a hard thump. Pain shot up Aby’s spine from the fall and she was forced to lie on the hard ground, watching Peaches struggle against Tex. She wished she wouldn’t, knowing that a man like Tex would only want to hurt her
