“C’mon Finn. You know how this ends. And it’s with you in the ground, where you belong.”
“Fuck you!” I grit through my teeth.
He lunges for me again, but my feet are finally fully functional, the tingles no longer cascading up my legs painfully and pulling myself to my feet, I stagger away, watching him watch me with his head cocked to the side and a deranged smile on his face.
Walking backward, I look to Tiffany, but she’s gone now, staring mindlessly at the sky, and sadly I return to Teddy’s stare, watching as his malice turns to a pout, his eyes dark with rage until I slip into the trees.
I could try to kill him, but frankly, I want him to live behind bars knowing he couldn’t bend me to his will in the end. Let him rot in a fucking hole.
Clutching the knife, I turn and limp away, my bare feet aching, but I ignore the pain, uncaring about the shit I step on along the way. It’s still dark, which means even though it felt like an eternity, only a few hours must have passed.
I don't know how far I walk or for how long, but it feels like days before I reach the road, and the sun is just pushing against the sky, the faint blush warming my cold skin when I breach the trees.
Exhausted, bleeding, numb, half-naked, and cold, I stagger into the roadway and continue walking. I have no idea which way is back to the camp, but I figure if I’m on the road, I’ll reach safety eventually.
Gazing at the horizon, I take a deep breath, my feet aching painfully and surely a shredded mess, and pray. I can make it through this, and Colt can too. Please let him be alright.
Idly, I think of my dad and smile. He may have been a self-righteous prick with the need for violence, but he taught me a valuable lesson in all his cruelty. Don’t ever fucking back down.
I’m using the last of my steam, my body bent at the waist, staggering when a truck comes around the bend and turning, I wave my arms in the air, relief flooding through me when the semi-truck slowly comes to a stop with a hiss.
Sinking to my knees, I watch through pained eyes as the driver emerges from the cab and drops to the ground.
“Miss, are you okay?” he asks.
“No,” I whisper.
Chapter Fourteen
Run, Finn. Run, he says, clutching my cheeks in his bloody hands.
With a last glance at her laying there bleeding out, I pull myself up and stagger away, sobs caught in my throat.
I will survive this if only to make the fucker pay.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Sliding my lids open, I view the sterile hospital room hazily as I press the button near my hand, dispensing more pain medication. Maggie is asleep in the chair beside me, her mouth dropped open as slight snores puff from her mouth.
Now free of the specter of my death and Teddy screaming vehemently in my face, the quiet of the room with only the incessant beeping of my IV is overwhelming.
Shifting in the bed, I look at my hands, wrapped tightly in bandages, my feet no better - I look like a mummy and feel like one too.
I overheard the doctors speak of surgery, something about repairing some of the tendons, but I passed out before I heard the particulars. The remainder of my injuries, though macabre, are superficial, cleaned, and stitched up as needed.
I’ve been so out of it, I didn’t have the presence of mind to ask, but now I need to know.
Please let him be alive.
“Maggie,” I whisper.
Her head shoots up in the chair, her eyes flying open as she looks around wildly. As soon as she meets my gaze, she eases, but I see the concern written across every line of her face, and I wince for waking her up.
Surely this took years off her life, her features shrunken with worry and fatigue. Guiltily, I wait for her to respond, regret pulsing through me at the grief I’ve put her through.
Leaning forward tiredly, she asks, “Hey kid, how are you feeling?”
Smiling tremulously, I say, “Colt? Dirk...Hayden?”
Her gaze softens as she says, “The boys are fine. Colt...he had to have surgery, but he’s in recovery.”
Sagging against the bed, I fight back a sob, but it escapes anyway. I’m so fucking relieved that my limbs feel tingly. We survived!
“There there, kid,” she says, grabbing my hand.
“Ramie,” I gasp, wincing against the pain throbbing in what feels like my entire body.
“Calm down. Is that the creep’s sister? They found her nearby in a cabin. She’s down the hall too.”
Collapsing back to the bed, I sob until my throat aches, finally passing back into exhausted oblivion.
*****
The following day, I give my official report to the police, who inform us they found Teddy at the clearing, raving like a lunatic. He was taken to a hospital where they’re evaluating him for mental competency. I can tell anyone who asks that he’s batshit crazy, but I guess no one wants my amateur assessment.
Once the police have gone, I can no longer wait and insist on being taken down the hall to Colt. The nurse is dubious but relents when I beg with tears in my eyes.
Shuffling me into a wheelchair, I hide my wince of pain and hold my head high, projecting a calm I don’t feel as she wheels me down the hall.
The hospital is quiet, but I don’t notice it for the clenching in my stomach, tight in anticipation of what I’ll see when we get to Colt’s room.
When we enter, his mom lifts her head tiredly and gives me a soft smile. She looks no better than Maggie, and I glance back at my aunt for the first time, understanding what Celia meant when she stated that Maggie was a parent now too. It’s not about duty. It’s about love.
Smiling softly at Maggie, I turn back to Colt. He’s asleep,
