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But just because the outcome seemed bleak didn’t mean that I had given up. I couldn’t. I had far too much to lose, and there was no price I wasn’t willing to pay to survive. No matter what it took, no matter how difficult it was, I refused to give up before it was over.
I promised myself that I’d come up with a plan. That wasn’t exactly easy to do, considering I had not a single clue where I was heading. Based on the way the van had been moving, I was relatively certain we’d been on the highway for a period of time. We were driving a bit slower now, so that led me to believe we had gotten off at an exit.
On the one hand, I liked knowing that we couldn’t have been too far from home. On the other hand, getting off the exit now might have meant that I wouldn’t even have an hour left.
We were probably getting closer and closer to wherever this was going to happen. As Kurt continued driving, I silently hoped that wherever he wound up stopping would be a place that wouldn’t make it impossible to get away, because I had every intention of doing what I could to save myself.
Kurt made a turn, and the van started moving at a much slower pace. The tires no longer sounded like they were traveling on a roadway. I heard the crunching of gravel beneath the tires, and the van moved awkwardly across the bumpy terrain.
None of this gave me a good feeling.
I didn’t know how much time had passed—it had felt like a lifetime—when the van finally came to a stop.
This was it.
If I was lucky, I was going to have a matter of seconds to assess the situation and react to it.
The front door opened and slammed shut. I listened closely to Kurt’s footsteps as he moved around the backside of the vehicle. When he made it to the opposite side and I heard him at the door, it was safe to say the nerves I’d been feeling had ratcheted up a notch.
But for all the nerves and terror I felt, there was just as much determination.
Then, the door opened. When it did, I had to admit that my resolve faltered. Kurt had brought me into the woods. I had no clue where I was, and if he killed me here, there wasn’t a question in my mind that nobody would find me.
At that realization, images of Jesse danced in my mind. He would feel nothing but tormented for the rest of his life.
I couldn’t let that happen. We’d come too far. We’d gotten through too much. This couldn’t be the way it ended for us.
Kurt pulled me from the van. I didn’t know how he intended to execute his plan, but I wasn’t interested in finding out, either.
Barely taking another moment to think, I started fighting.
I clawed.
I scratched.
I swung my fists.
I threw him off balance enough that he loosened his hold on me. When he did, I reared my foot back and kicked him in the groin.
Kurt doubled over in pain, and I took off running.
I didn’t know where I was going, but I figured my best option was to go in the opposite direction of where the van had been pointed.
Mere seconds passed when I heard gunfire. My body jolted at the sound, but I didn’t feel any pain.
So, I kept going.
And as I ran, I didn’t do it in a straight line.
Moving targets were harder to hit. If Kurt planned to shoot me, he was going to have to hope he was a really good shot.
My adrenaline was pumping, and my lungs were burning, but I refused to stop. I could hear the sound of Kurt’s footsteps somewhere behind me, and it was all I could do to push myself harder.
The next thing I knew, I was hit from behind. Kurt tackled me to the ground. Out of breath and panting, I managed to find a way to scream.
Nobody would hear me. Nobody was around.
I squirmed and screamed beneath him, hoping that I’d somehow get lucky. But he was bigger than me by a sizable margin. It eventually got the point that I couldn’t scream. Oxygen was in short supply as the weight of him was crushing me.
