“I sure hope you don’t melt when it rains,” he quips as we pull off the road and stop just outside a locked gate.
Outside, lightning splits the sky.
There’s no rain yet, but the overcast sky makes it look like nighttime even though we’re still a couple of hours from sundown.
Anderson pulls on a thick jacket, then opens the back door and uncuffs me. As he pulls me out, I slam my knee into his groin and take off running. I only make it a few steps, though, before he hits me with the full force of his bodyweight, and I hit the ground.
Pain shoots through me, agony that feels worse than the bullet did.
I try to scream, but a strangled groan comes out, thanks to the gag in my mouth. “You’re making this so much worse on yourself,” he growls as he rips me to my feet. As I go up, I grip a rock and slowly pull it into the sling holding my arm.
It’s not big, and I certainly can’t move that arm, but it’s all I’ve got.
Cold settles in my bones, the air around me far too chilly to be out here in nothing but a hospital gown and sweat pants. Unfortunately, I doubt Anderson cares much about me catching a cold.
Not when he’s going to kill me anyway.
“Move.”
When I don’t, he draws his gun and presses the cool steel of his barrel against my forehead. “I’d really rather not kill you right here, Beckett. I’ve got something better in mind. But if you don’t follow instructions, I will put a bullet in you. And this time, I won’t miss.”
Tears stream down my cheeks, but I know that I need to buy time.
Shawn will find me. Right?
God, please let him find me. Please, God, don’t let me die here. “So do not fear, for I am with you.”Isaiah 41:10 pops into my mind as a calm washes over me.
“Do not fear, for I am with you,”I repeat to myself.
Over and over again.
Taking a deep breath, I turn and start walking. Every step is agony, but if I can just keep going, keep moving, then my escape will come. It has to because dying out here and never getting the chance to tell Lauren what really happened to her dad, or tell Shawn that I’ve fallen head over heels for him, is too sad a reality to consider.
So, I walk.
Through the trees.
My feet heavy from the mud.
My shoulder burns with pain now that the medicine they’d given me has worn off, and I’ve likely split the injury right open again. If the warmth on my shoulder is any indication.
Another bolt of lightning splits the sky, and rain hammers down on top of us in large, heavy drops. The storm rages furiously, but the pace Anderson has set is unrelenting. I can’t even ask him where he’s taking me, thanks to the gag still in my mouth.
But I do know that, the farther we get into these trees, the less likely it is I’ll be found…dead or alive.
Cold stings at my face as my tears mix with the rain.
Lightning flashes again, a heartbeat before a deafening crack fills my ears, so loud it momentarily mutes the storm.
Anderson screams, and I whirl around right as a massive tree comes down—right on top of him.
Hope.I don’t hesitate—I take off running, sprinting as fast as my injuries will allow. Every step is like fire in my veins, but if it’s that or death, I’ll take the pain.
A bullet whizzes past my ear and hits the tree beside me. Bark explodes, but I keep moving.
“Get back here!” Anderson bellows.
I weave in and out of the trees, my breathing coming out in ragged puffs of air as the temperature continues to drop. Behind me, the storm washes away my footsteps, but I know that he’s not trailing me too far back.
