“Oh, honey...when you hear what I’m going to be doing upstairs, you’ll wish for a thousand years with these little rodent friends,” he hissed. Then he threw her to the ground and headed back up the stairs.
Aby cried out for help, but of course, no one heard her. She felt a rat scurry over her leg and tried to kick out at it, but her bound legs weren’t cooperating with her. She sobbed loudly, wondering what the hell she’d done to deserve this. She should’ve killed Tex when she had the chance. She should’ve run as fast as she could when he let her out of the car…
But Peaches...poor Peaches. Was she going to die anyway, even though Aby stayed to try and save her? Above Aby’s head, she heard Peaches begin to scream and a shiver ran through her body. She had no idea what Tex was doing to her up there, but it couldn't be good. How long would it last? How long would it be until they died from the things he was doing to them?
Aby felt like he was going to make the horrors last a lifetime.
Sixteen
Megan
Megan was so out of breath from running that her already burning lungs felt like they were on fire. Between the smoke from the fire and the excessive exercise, her body was struggling to keep up. But when she finally dared to look over her shoulder, she saw that no one else was in sight.
She finally allowed herself to stop, bending over with her hands on her knees to try and catch her breath. Even the cold air didn’t feel like enough to help her breathing return to normal. They must’ve run for a couple of miles, which was pretty impressive to Megan considering their condition at the time. Jake surveyed the area.
“Do you think we can afford to stop?” he asked. Megan didn’t feel able to talk yet, but she nodded. Jake collapsed on the ground next to her, wiping his brow with his shirt. Silence enveloped them for a while and relief washed over Megan for a moment. They’d been so close to death. So close to giving up. Now, they had a bag full of supplies and they’d managed to evade capture. They’d taken a rough road to get to that point, but they’d made it all the same.
“We should rehydrate,” Megan gasped. “There are only a couple of bottles of water...it won’t last us long. But we really need to drink now.”
“Alright. But don’t gulp it down. If we’re dehydrated, drinking it too fast will make us sick,” Jake said. He almost seemed like his old self for a second. But Megan hadn’t forgotten the look in his eyes back in the burning house, or when he’d just been beaten by the gang. His sanity was hanging in the balance. Every time they faced a hardship, he was on the verge of giving up. Megan knew that it was possible that she’d have to keep being strong for the both of us, but even though her exhilaration at their escape was keeping her going, she didn’t know how much longer she could last like this. They needed somewhere to stay, somewhere safe to settle down.
But Megan knew deep down that it was a pipedream. The lake they’d been told about seemed further away than ever. They’d been knocked off course now and Megan’s lack of directional skills meant she had no idea how to get back on track. Besides, she’d have to somehow persuade Jake that it was still the best place to aim for, and she could tell that he was heading back to having a one track mind. He was only interested in finding Aby, and she understood why.
He was looking for a reason to keep living.
Still, as the pair of them sat quietly, drinking water and trying to recover from their long running session, Megan couldn’t help thinking that looking for Aby was a wild goose chase. They’d ventured so far from where they woke up in the truck by now, and it was possible Aby had wandered off in the complete opposite direction. If they didn’t find the lake, they wouldn’t even have a landmark for Aby to head toward. Right now, they were just in the middle of some random forest. It didn’t seem likely that Aby was going to show up there.
But Megan figured she could speak to Jake about that later. They both desperately needed to rest, particularly Jake. Megan couldn’t imagine the things he’d been through that night. After she finished her water, she offered him a smile.
“You should sleep first,” she said. “Get a few hours in. I’ll keep watch.”
For once, Jake didn’t argue with her. He nodded tiredly and rested his head. While he slept, Megan took some time to survey the things she’d managed to grab from the gang. There was a lot of dried food, including a big packet of chips, a half drunk bottle of vodka and the empty water bottles. She’d also managed to pick up the hammer, which she tested in her hands. It felt heavy and deadly in her grasp. She wondered if she’d have the courage to use it if it came to a fight. It wasn’t the same as using a gun. It was so up close and personal. She didn’t want to imagine how it would feel to crack someone’s skull using it.
She let Jake sleep for almost five hours. She was on edge the whole time, wondering what would happen if the gang happened to show up again, but they were nowhere to be seen. They’d been so
