AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I try to shake the thought as I hurry along, staying hidden by taking advantage of the tall grass and numerous shadows worrying me so much, using the pitchfork to clear my path and to lean on for support at different times. Mosquitoes have started to bite my exposed skin, and I swat them away, the bites and sweat making me itchy and uncomfortable as I make my way through the field.
When I catch sight of a fence up ahead, my eyes fill with tears.
Please no.
It’s a dead end. There’s no way I can make it out through here…
The fence completely encircles the property as far as I can see. It’s thick and made of barbed wire, each strand no farther than an inch apart. It’s much more protection than what’s required to keep livestock in, which makes me wonder if it’s all to keep me inside or if I’m not the first person he’s kept here.
I can’t climb over or under the fence unless I want my skin torn to shreds, and since I’m already in rough shape, or unless it’s my only option, I want to avoid that. I try pushing on one of the wooden posts, determining whether or not it will be easy enough to push over, but it doesn’t budge.
Not that I’d really expected it to.
Resigning myself to the fact that I’m going to have to move closer to the driveway and find the gate that must exist, I hold the pitchfork tighter. I move slower now, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of movement or the gate.
When I finally find it, I stop in my tracks.
Can this really be happening?
Have I really found the way out?
Am I really going to escape?
I look left, then right, but there’s no one there. I’m free. Just a few more steps, and I’ll be on my way out of the fence. I reach the metal gate, which he shut behind him, and grab hold of the heavy chain wrapped around the post to hold it in place.
I lift it off and pull open the gate slowly, slipping outside. Instantly, relief washes over me.
I made it.
I did it.
Turning back toward the gate, I wrap the chain in place around where it was before, leaving no trace that I was here.
It takes me several seconds to figure out what happens next.
Lights appear from behind me, flicked on as if by a light switch. I stare in horror at the shadow my silhouette is casting on the silver metal of the gate.
I know who it is before I turn around, and when I do, shielding my face from his headlights with one hand, I spot the green car parked just behind the treeline.
I realize my mistake in an instant.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Mari.
He knew I couldn’t escape the fence.
He knew, wherever I was, I’d have to come out this way.
He just had to wait me out.
I walked right into his trap.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
It takes him mere seconds to reach me, and despite the pitchfork in my hand which I wield seconds too late, I can’t fight him off. I try and manage to swipe his cheek with the tines of it, but he kicks my shin without missing a beat, and I go down in a second.
From there, he grabs the pitchfork from my hand effortlessly and tosses it away from us, grabbing hold of my arm and jerking me to my feet.
He doesn’t say a word as he leads me to the car.
