They slept a while and then continued. Megan found herself looking over her shoulder every few seconds, convinced that they weren’t alone.
“Jake...I really feel like there’s someone watching us,” she hissed. He carried on moving, his feet crunching loudly through leaves and branches.
“If there was someone here we would’ve spotted them by now,” he snapped. She didn’t try to protest again. She was tired of fighting with him, even though she was increasingly becoming the one who got things right.
But late that night, she knew for certain there was someone out there. She heard a cough in the dark that made both her and Jake turn around. It sounded like a deep cough...like someone who had inhaled too much smoke.
“They’re here,” Megan whispered. In the distance, they saw four figures emerging, dark, faceless shadows in the night. But there was no mistaking them. They were members of the gang. Megan ground her teeth together. Once again, Jake had led them into the lion’s den.
“Listen to me if you want to live,” she snarled. “We have to run. Now.”
Seventeen
Aby
Aby couldn’t stop sobbing. She knew she should be using the time she had left to make peace with her own life, or to find a way out of the dark, dank basement. But her hands were tied, literally. Tex really hadn’t been messing around when he tied her up. There wasn’t even a little wriggle room for her to get out. The ropes cut deep grooves into her wrists and ankles. The more she struggled, the tighter the binds seemed to get.
She could still hear Peaches screaming upstairs. Aby wondered whether Tex planned to kill Peaches before he started on Aby, or whether she’d soon be dragged up to be tortured too. He said he wanted to make it last. Aby was certain that he’d been planning this for a long time, and that meant he knew exactly what he was doing. He’d know how to push her to the limits of human endurance. He’d know how to make her feel every single thing he did to her without passing out. Aby shuddered, tears pouring out of her eyes. The whole thing was starting to look hopeless.
Aby wondered if death had been chasing her down since Pittsburgh. Every single time they escaped one horror, another followed. Maybe this was a sign that she had to give up. She was meant to succumb to death.
Or maybe it was the opposite. Maybe it was a sign that she was supposed to fight harder to stay alive. What use was she lying on the cold ground and feeling sorry for herself? Aby gritted her teeth as she heard a rat scurrying close to her head. She couldn’t go out like this. She had to at least try and find a way out.
What would Jake do if he was here? Aby asked herself. She knew he’d have a solution. He’d find some way to escape the ropes that tied her up. He’d find a makeshift weapon and unleash hell on Tex. He’d find Peaches and convince her everything was going to be okay. They’d all make it out alive and live to fight another day.
Ideas swirled around Aby’s head. She was getting desperate now. Could she find something sharp in the basement to rub the rope against and cut it free? No, it was too dark. Perhaps if she waited long enough one of the rats might take a nibble at the binds, but the thought of them so close to her only terrified her...especially if they decided to bite her instead. Her knife was still attached to her ankle, but she had no way of getting it free. It was pretty much useless to her.
But something occurred to Aby suddenly. Peaches has stopped screaming. Aby’s ears hurt from the silence. Did that mean it was too late for Peaches? Was she already dead? Aby felt her skin turn cold. If Peaches was dead, how long would Tex wait before turning to Aby? How long would he be satisfied by his sick pleasure of hurting Peaches before he needed another hit of his high?
Aby heard footsteps above her, slow and steady. She knew right away that she’d run out of time. Tex was coming for her.
She was going to be tortured.
Daylight flooded the basement from above as Tex opened the door. He grinned down at Aby and she struggled uselessly against the rope around her hands and ankles. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it might explode. He took his time walking down the stairs, a form of torture in itself. He knew that every step he took terrified her. He knew the power in just approaching her. He could take his time because he had all the time in the world, even if hers was running out. Aby shuffled back away from him a little, breathing hard.
“What did you do to Peaches?” she asked desperately. Tex grabbed her by her shirt and began to drag her toward the stairs.
“Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” Tex laughed to himself. He began to drag Aby up the stairs, ignoring her cries of pain. She tried to wriggle from his grasp, but it was useless. She knew that even if she managed to get away from him, she was still never going to escape him. She’d run out of
