AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know that was self defense. And as much as you don’t like the implications, you know I know what I’m doing. Do you believe I’d also know if someone was going to shoot me? That was his only option because there was no way he could let a witness leave either.”
If this guy really wanted to hurt me, he could take me out like he had Trevor. He wouldn’t even have to use his gun. It would be quiet and easy. A quick snap of my neck—a little crunch of bone to oblivion.
It didn’t seem plausible that with no plan or intention to, he’d interrupt his weekend fun time to kidnap a woman he’d randomly stumbled upon. But then, what Trevor had done seemed even weirder when you thought about it. How long had he thought he’d get away with it? How long could he have put me off about looking for other survivors? Where was he getting the money to survive without his job at the hospital? Wouldn’t he get tired of living like this? But then there were long periods he was gone. I thought he’d been hunting. Maybe not.
Suddenly, remembering all those gallons of purified water in the kitchen, I realized he’d probably stocked the deep freezer ahead of time with stuff he’d bought from the grocery store. I was such an idiot.
I jumped when Shannon put a hand on my knee.
“Elodie. I will not hurt you. I’m sorry I’m scaring you, but I trust you as much as you trust me right now. Not at all. You’re putting me in a bad position. My training screamseliminate the problem.I’m not going to do that, but youarecoming with me.”
I found myself nodding before I realized I had. The stress of being in this position of not only not remembering anything and having the world pulled out from under me, but being in this limbo with someone so dangerous had me making choices I was sure I would otherwise never make.
He untied me and put the rope back into his bag. “Now, come help me put out these fires. It’ll help if you can stay busy.”
I nodded and followed him to the fireplace.
He handed me the small shovel and said, “Just keep scooping the ashes on top until the fire goes out. And then do the other one. I’m going to look for something to store the body in. Can I trust you not to run? I don’t want to chase you.”
I nodded again and focused on putting out the fires. When he left I tried not to think about running because he was right about all that stuff he said. I couldn’t make it on my own with no memories without involving the police. And if I involved the police, well... Shannon would never let that happen. He’d die before he’d let me get out of this park to implicate him.
Right around the time I’d finally gotten the fires out, Shannon returned, practically gleeful and giddy with two large rolling pieces of metal luggage. “Look what I found in the lost and found.”
He took the shovel from me and scooped out Trevor’s charred remains and put them in the wheelbarrow. Then he went back to the kitchen. When Shannon returned several minutes later, he was empty-handed.
“Where’s Trevor?”
“In the freezer. He needs to cool a bit before I can pack him in the luggage. I think he’s in small enough pieces to fit.”
As fucked-up as that statement was, by this point it was hard to work up a lot of shock and distress after I’d been immersed in this macabre process for hours now. And he was right, putting out the fire had helped settle my nerves a bit.
“Do you have shoes?” he asked.
“Y-yes.”
“Let’s go get them.”
I found myself anxious again, moving with him up tight staircases and up to the tower. We were isolated and alone anyway, but before we’d been in a much larger space. Shannon had this really strange sort of energy. On the one hand, he was terrifying. But on the other, a solid, stable calm emanated from him, and for small bits of time, I could imagine that if I could somehow trust him, I could start to feel truly safe again.
He waited just outside the door while I put my shoes on, then we went back downstairs. Neither of us spoke while we waited for Trevor to get cool enough to transport. Finally Shannon took the plastic and luggage and went back to the kitchen. I followed him and watched while he moved Trevor out of the deep freezer and into the luggage. With the plastic in there, too, he just barely fit.
Shannon did a final sweep to check everything, and then he led me out of the castle. I got the feeling he was taking me purposefully in a different direction than he otherwise would have and then doubled back to avoid his traveling companions.
He was right; it was dangerous getting out of here. His group had hacked their way through some of the thickly growing bushes around the perimeter and had cut through a fence. It made me wonder how Trevor had gotten in and how he’d gotten me in. There must have been some other easier entrance at another part of the park that Shannon and his group didn’t know about.
We came out in a nearly deserted parking lot. The street lamps were all out, and the pavement was cracked and full of pot holes. Just looking at the physical state of the parking lot, it was possible to imagine the apocalypse really had happened, but Shannon led me to a shiny black SUV and pressed a button on his keys to unlock it. I got inside while he put the luggage containing Trevor in the trunk.
I was still half-convinced he’d drive me to a remote location and kill me. Even though all reason and common sense said he could have just as easily done this back at the castle. There was no reason to drag it out, to take me through the park, risking one of his buddies catching him in the act. But what if he wanted me forother reasons?
I mentally rolled my eyes at myself. There was that vanity and conceit again that Trevor had mentioned. Shannon was plenty good looking enough to get his own dates without having to resort to kidnapping. And though I knew he was some type of predator, I wasn’t sure his elevator even went up to the sex floor. Not once had he looked at me that way. Could it be possible that his intentions really were noble?
“How far are we going?” I asked as the SUV pulled onto the road.
“This is a rental car. My friends and I flew to get here, but I can’t get you on a plane. We’ll have to drive.” He plugged coordinates into a GPS in the dash. “Twelve hours to our destination. But we’re going to stop and stay somewhere. It’s getting late, and I’m too tired to drive straight through.”
I clasped my hands on my lap and tried not to think about sharing a motel room with him. When we reached the interstate, I started to cry
“Are you hungry?” he asked, ignoring the tears. He just didn’t seem to respond to crying.
