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“Hey!”
The spare end of the handcuffs snagged, sending a searing pain ricocheting up my arm.
A soft cry fell from my mouth. I gritted my teeth and pulled with every ounce of strength I had, desperate to get away. In the process, I forced them closer to the hole in the floor.
“Stop!” they demanded, grabbing the warped frame to steady themselves and stop from falling in.
I took the opportunity to slam the door, trapping their fingers. His or her hold was relinquished behind a bellow of pain.
Stumbling down the rickety set of porch stairs, I was saturated immediately with a downpour that seemed to have only gotten worse since I’d gone inside.
Two figures came from around the corner of the house.
Stopping to see who they could be was the last thing I was going to do. My mind was like a rat in a maze. Nothing mattered but finding a way to escape.
Feet sliding, I almost collided with someone, dodging around them just before our shoulders met. I rushed past the front of the old house, heading towards the drive.
The barn was no longer an option, and I didn’t want to go back through the field. If luck was on my side, there’d be another shelter somewhere nearby. If not, I would have to take a risk and sleep in the woods.
I couldn’t keep going. My entire body ached. Each step was a mental negotiation. Spotting more than one vehicle in the center of the driveway, I tried to slow and change course, sliding across the ground like a drunken fool.
My legs slipped out from beneath me, sending clumps of mud airborne as I landed on my side. I scrambled to my feet, dripping in it, hair all over the place.
A set of headlights flickered on, blinding me further. I ignored the throbbing in my hip, holding a hand up as if it could ward them off.
What had I gotten myself into?
My decision of where to go was snatched away the second I turned around and smashed into a wall of steel.
Hands came up and locked around my forearms, preventing me from escaping a second time. I tilted my chin to try and get a look at who had grabbed me, shaking my head to clear my view but ultimately failing.
Without warning, I was spun back around, still caught within this stranger’s iron grasp.
“Don’t move,” he commanded, placing a hand over my mouth and pulling my flush to his solid chest.
His skin was soft yet calloused. Unable to move my hair out of my face, I was stuck peering through the strands.
I could barely make out two more people approaching, thanks to the glaring headlights.
As they got closer, I assumed one was a man, the other a woman. He was the first to speak.
“What’s this?”
“Not a fucking squatter,” the man holding onto me replied, tightening his grip.
“Obviously,” the girl retorted, “but what are you going to do with her? It’s freezing and raining, so whatever you decide, please do it quick.”
“I’m bringing her home with us.”
This was the last thing I’d expected him to say. Where was home, and why was he taking me there? I knew it wasn’t because of some grand act of kindness. Whatever the reason, I wasn’t keen on finding out.
He removed his hand from my mouth.
“Please let—”
“Don’t speak.”
I was nudged forward with a gentle shove, him guiding where I went. I resisted at first, smashing into his chest a second time as I tried to loosen his grip.
