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“You should’ve thought of that before you got me into this mess.” Johnny was waving the gun around in the air. Dale was convinced this guy might have a screw loose, the way he was treating the weapon so carelessly. Which made him even more dangerous.
The two were arguing like an old married couple. Dale decided they were in some kind of relationship; boyfriend and girlfriend at the least, perhaps even married.
“The longer you argue with me, the less chance we have to get away. So start fucking thinking. How do we get rid of these two?” Johnny finally said, advancing toward Sally, hand raised as if to take her by the throat again. But she saw him coming and scuttled backward, out of reach.
“Wait.” She raised a hand to stop him. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What?” he said, retaking his seat on the log.
“We could drive them up to the lookout in their ATV and run it off the edge. Make it look like an accident.”
Dale’s blood ran cold. Daisy gave a squeak of alarm and he turned to look at her.
“Ah, I knew there was a reason I loved you.” Johnny smiled for the first time that night, and it was a terrible sight to behold. He stood and walked over to where Sally was standing, and grabbing her by the nape of the neck, he pulled her in and kissed her hard on the mouth. Dale averted his gaze.
Even with the man’s chilling words reverberating around in his head, Dale knew that was some majorly fucked-up kind of behavior to show your love. But then, these two deserved each other.
“It means one of us will have to walk back and find their ATV first,” Sally said when Johnny finally let her up for air. “I drove past it on the way here. They left it in the— Eeeee, I hate those things.” Sally jumped sideways, looking down at her feet, where a cane toad squatted, seeming oblivious to her alarm. She swung her leg and aimed a kick at the creature, but at the last second, it hopped into a tussock of grass and she cursed loudly when she missed. Dale felt obtusely happy that her kick had gone wide.
“I’ll get it. You stay here with these two, I won’t be long.”
Sally looked at Dale and Daisy for the first time. “Give me your gun,” she said, holding out her hand.
“They’re tied up, they’re not going anywhere,” Johnny said with an exasperated sigh.
“I don’t care. I don’t trust them.” Sally said. “And what about the other one? The brother. Should we tie him up as well?”
“You can, if you want. There’s more rope in the shaft.” Johnny flicked his wrist in the direction of the boarded-up cave. “I don’t reckon he’s gonna survive much longer, anyway.”
Daisy gave a low moan. Bastard. He wanted to maim that guy so bad.
Surprisingly, Johnny handed over his gun. “Do you remember how to use one of these?” he asked, as he placed it in her palm.
“Of course, I do,” she replied huffily.
Johnny merely grunted, then turned and flicked on the flashlight and began walking in the direction of the river and their ATV.
“Right,” Sally said with purpose, once Johnny was out of earshot. “I’m going to find some rope, you both stay here.” She giggled. Then glanced at them as if unsure, adding, “This gun is loaded and ready to fire.” She made a show of raising the weapon and releasing the safety catch, then pointing it first at Dale, then at Daisy. There was a feral glint in her eye. Dale was seeing another side to this woman who’d worked at the station for two years. How had he not seen this streak of crazy before? She’d been good at hiding her true self, that was for sure.
After giving them one more glance, Sally threaded through the clumps of grass toward the entrance to the shaft. Leaning down to grab the small hurricane lamp, she suddenly leaped backward in alarm. “Oh, you little…these fucking things are everywhere.” She made a swipe at something with her foot, then gingerly picked up the lamp and sidled around something on the ground, finally disappearing behind the wooden boards. Dale couldn’t see, but he imagined it was probably another one of the hated cane toads.
They were alone in the clearing. The bright headlights of the ATV were still shining on them. If they were going to get away, now was their chance. He cast his gaze frantically around the area. What could they use to help them escape?
Daisy made an impatient noise, and he zeroed in on her face. She was making strange grunting sounds and straining against her bonds. These gags made it impossible for them to communicate, which was the whole point. What was she up to?
All of a sudden, one of her hands popped free, then her other appeared, with loops of rope still wrapped around her wrist. She shot him look triumph, and he knew a second of sheer relief. She was free! Her fingers fumbled with the rope at her ankles, but before she got one knot untied, a flicker of light caught their attention. Shit, Sally was coming back.
Daisy quickly put her hands behind her back, shooting him a wary glance. She’d been so close. But now she had her hands-free, there was still a faint hope that she might escape.
Sally walked over, a length of rope swinging in her left hand, the gun in her other, on open display. She stopped and studied them minutely for a few moments. When she was satisfied that nothing was out of place, she went over to River and rolled him over. River didn’t make a sound, which scared Dale. Sally bent down and tied his feet first, making sure she kept them in her line of sight as she did so. Daisy glowered at Sally. He could almost feel hatred coming off her in waves. Sally ignored Daisy’s stare, instead, roughly pulling River’s arms behind his back, and tying them as well.
Sally stood, staring out into the forest, ignoring them. Which was good. Now was Daisy’s chance. If she was going to do anything with her free hands, it had to be now. The sound of an ATV made Dale turn his head. Shit, he’d returned already. Johnny must have run the entire way, he’d made it in a little over five minutes, while the trek had taken him and Daisy closer to ten; admittedly, they’d been sneaking their way through the undergrowth.
Johnny stopped the ATV next to the one Sally had brought. He left the engine running and the lights on.
“Bring the girl over first. I’ll tie her in, make sure she’s secure,” Johnny called to her. What was Daisy going to do? They would figure out her hands were loose. She should’ve done something to escape already, before Johnny returned. Dale willed her not to try anything. It was too dangerous now.
Sally sauntered over, tucking the gun under her arm as she knelt down, and untied Daisy’s feet. Dale was a little shocked at her blasé handling of the weapon. No person with half a brain or half an hour’s training would store a loaded gun that way.
Daisy stared at Sally as if she could bore holes through her with just her eyes. Sally didn’t react, however. Instead, as she finished untying the last knot and slipping the coils of rope from around Daisy’s ankles, she leaned in closer, so her nose was almost touching Daisy’s.
“I’m going to enjoy watching you tumble over the cliff,” she said, with a smirk.
