“Is he? Is….is he here Kyle?” I could barely ask the question, fighting nausea with every word.
“It doesn’t matter. No one is getting near you. We’ve all got you covered.”
“Oh God!” A sob escaped. I knew he was there. Kyle would have just said ‘no’ if he wasn’t.
“What the fuck are we doing? If someone is out there, we can’t just stand here!” Cole snapped, clearly worried and angry.
“Cole, calm the fuck down. Local police are on the way. I sent them GPS coordinates when we found the place, so they could find this road to drive in. They’ll be close now. We’re just going to wait here for them, and stay calm, ok?” Kade explained.
“Did you go in…..t-to The Darkness?” I asked Kyle as I desperately clung to him.
“Yes.”
I cried at the realisation that the little missing girl really wasn’t there, that the whole thing had been for nothing! If The Shadow had her, it was unlikely she would be found. He was clearly good at hiding. He had kept me for eight years, and likely would have had me until the day I died if I hadn’t escaped. No one was ever going to find me out here.
“It’s all going to be ok, Princess.” Kyle soothed, but it didn't help.
“Not for that little girl it’s not!” I cried.
“I’ll find her, Love. Whatever it takes I’ll find her. I won't stop looking.” Kade promised, and I knew he meant it. I realised then that was the difference between my kidnapping and this new one. No one had any leads when they were looking for me. They came up on dead ends and pretty much gave up. We wouldn't give up. I knew who The Shadow was, and I would do everything it took to help get that little girl home to her parents again.
“The police will search in there?” I asked, nodding toward the cabin, but not daring to actually look at it, as I fought to get myself together again. “They’ll search for clues to help find him, right?”
“We’ll tear the place apart for leads, if that’s what it takes.” Kade replied.
“There could be DNA on that body, linking back to this fucker.” Evan added.
“Body?” I gasped, my grasp on control loosening. “Is it the little girl?” I asked, horrified.
“Jesus Ev. Shut your fucking mouth!” Kyle barked, then he turned to me. “No Liv. I promise it’s not the little girl.”
Then the realisation hit me, and my breathing picked up again as I fought my way from Kyle’s arms. Kyle let me go, and as soon as my feet touched the ground I backed away from him.
“Is…..is it him? D-did I…..did I kill him?” I gasped, terrified at what it would do to me if I had taken a life, even if it was The Shadow’s.
“No!” Kyle cried as he tried to approach me again. I backed away further, not wanting to be near any of them. If I had killed a man, I needed to stay away from them. I needed to stay away from everyone. If I had killed him, I was just as much a monster as he was.
“He has on the wrong clothes Liv. He’s wearing jeans.” Kyle added. That confused me. The Shadow had never worn anything but the camo outfit, I was sure of that.
“I need to see.” I was moving around the house where I had seen the guys coming from before anyone could stop me.
“Olivia, just hold up!” Rob barked. I stopped and turned to him briefly.
“The body is a couple of months old. It’s basically just bones. You need to brace yourself if you feel the need to look.” He warned, but that just spurred me on. Two months ago I had still been there in that hell. What the fuck was going on?
I continued around the building, and only faltered once I rounded the last corner and caught sight of the black plastic wrapped bundle ahead.
I felt an arm envelop my shoulders and looked up to find Cole at my side, silently offering me the support and bravery I needed to move forward.
Three more steps and we were before the plastic wrapped body. Rob had been right, it was a skeleton, but the clothes were weirdly still intact.
Light blue jeans and a blue sweater of some kind. They were filthy, caked in dirt and blood, just like I always used to be when I was in the hell below my feet.
I stepped a little closer and bent down, looking closer at the sweater. There was a logo of come kind stitched onto the right side of the chest area, and the second I realised what it was, a face flashed through my mind.
“It’s ok, little one. I’m not going to hurt you.” He was crouched before me, an unsure smile on his face. I had been terrified, not having heard a voice for a long time. I studied him hard, trying to make sense of this strange man suddenly with me. He had a flashlight in his hand, lighting the space, and I could make out a small crown stitched into his sweater. My first thought was that he was a prince, come to save me, just like the fairytales.
“Can you tell me your name? I’m Christopher….Chris, for short.”
“Chris.” I whispered as the memory slipped away and I found myself staring at that, now blood stained, crown stitched into his sweater.
“Livy?” I looked up and found all four of my guys, and Rob, watching me.
“I….I think he was with me….in The Darkness….at the end.” I told them. “I think he….he was called Chris.” The impact of that realisation must have been more than my exhausted brain could handle because as I stood, things went all wavy and I just managed to utter Cole’s name in panic, knowing he was closest, before blackness descended.
***
I was confused when I opened my eyes and realised I was tucked into my own bed at home. I glanced to the
