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Before, she lost consciousness she heard the sound of metal striking skull, and she knew that Harold had hijacked the cab.
When next she came to, she was sprawled across the back of the taxi cab as it sped down a dark road. Fear gripped at her heart. She didn’t want to let him know that she was awake, so she very carefully reached for the door handle, testing it. It gave as if it wasn’t locked.
In the distance she heard the sounds of sirens and perhaps a helicopter. Maybe they were looking for her?
Moving with extreme care she rose up high enough to look out the window. No lights, no buildings. She wondered where they were.
She settled back down and tried to keep her breathing calm. She listened hard.
He was breathing heavily as if he’d just been in a fight. Maybe it hadn’t been too long since she’d passed out. She heard the steady strum of waves crashing and knew they were still close to the ocean. She tried to ponder what to do. If she could pull herself up into a ball without him noticing, she could open the door and jum
p out. But, if the fall didn’t kill or severely injure her at this speed, he’d certainly notice and just come back and put her inside the car again.
The car lit up as a vehicle passed going the other direction. Jana pressed her face against the sticky pleather, and hoped.
Suddenly the car jerked as he abruptly pulled off the highway. He slowed quickly to stop the cab from shaking and bumping against an obviously unpaved road. The engine made a coughing sound and died.
She heard Harold cursing as he started the engine up again. He raced the engine, but the car didn’t move. He did it again, and Jana could feel mud pelleting the car. He’s stuck in the mud?
Jana’s hopes grew. That hadn’t been part of his plan. Maybe she could take advantage of this.
She could hear him moving, rising out of his seat. She feigned as best as she could being knocked out, and lay motionless. “I should make you get out and push,” he growled.
He opened the car door. “It’s your fault, you goddamn bitch.”
Jana’s lungs ached as she prepared herself for him opening hers and dragging her out of the car. He was mad. Fear ripped through her.
She played dead, hoping he’d leave her alone. He opened his door and stepped out.
“I’d so like to kill you now bitch, but I have a movie to make. I’m going to make you a star.”
Jana’s insides turned to mush, and she had to stuff her fist in her mouth to stop from screaming. Her eyes squeezed shut, but she couldn’t stop the memory from rushing back – the one thing she’d been able to forget.
She’d seen the last star in one of his movies. Tears ran down her face as she returned.
Gagged and bound, Jana had sat in a director’s chair, as the video camera rolled behind her.
Jana couldn’t do anything but close her eyes as he made the poor teenage runaway the star of his porn. When it was over, after she’d heard the brutal rape and the almost compassionate bullet to the head, he’d untied her from the chair.
He forced her to open her eyes. “Look at this,” he screamed.
“This is what’s in store for you, if you ever try to leave me again, but just so you don’t forget, I’m going to let you stay here for a while.”
And then…. Oh, God, No.
Jana couldn’t bear the memory. Tied to the top of the dead girl. Forced to spend the night.
When he’d come back for her, she’d pretended to be obedient. But, when he was busy, burying the body in the back, she’d managed to get away. She didn’t know how she got out of the mountains, or how she’d made it to Holly’s apartment.
The car moved again, and Jana’s mind came back to the present. She couldn’t let him do that to her. She couldn’t let him make her his star. She had something to live for now. Merrick.
“Oh God,” she said as a pain kicked her gut. He’d already shot Merrick. If he’d killed him, she’d rip out his heart. Anger and a desire for revenge vibrated through every cell in her body. Where there was a will, there was a way. In a flash of inspiration, it occurred to her that his gun might not be on him. Carefully, she changed her position and inched slowly up so she could peer over the passenger seat. Adrenaline surged as she spotted the gun, sitting on the seat, assuming she was passed out. She made a lung for it.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
The back of the car dropped causing Jana to miss the gun and throwing her back. With all her strength she heaved her body over the seat again and this time grabbed the gun. When he yanked the back door open, she felt his hands grabbing her hips. He didn’t know she had the gun. She twisted her body around, distracting him with an elbow to his face. He pulled her out of the car violently and flung her back into the marsh. She managed to get off a shot before she fell painfully on her ass and one elbow. She heard him scream and saw him fall.
Gasping for breath she staggered to her feet in the mud, holding the gun in both shaking hands. She moved towards him, staying away from his long arms. He was still alive, breathing hard, a rattling in his chest. He lay on his back in an awkward position, the marsh water seeping up over him. His eyes were wide with rage, but he didn’t seem to have the capacity to move or speak. Maybe she’d paralyzed him.
