by Ryan Casey
But nobody else had to know that. He could help keep him safe. Protect him.
They could protect each other.
He looked back out at the water and thought of Sarah, and of Ella. Something they’d both said resonated with him, kept hovering around his mind. “Everyone’s in the deep end. We’re all just trying our best to float.”
The more he thought about it, the more he realised Ella was right.
Everyone was in the deep end. Nobody felt ready for the challenges of life. Everyone was just doing their best, trying to float as well as they could.
But everyone could float.
They could ride the waves.
They just had to be willing to struggle around in the water a little before they could swim.
He held Ella’s necklace close as he stood at the edge of the water, and he thought about all the blame he’d put on himself for losing her. All the resistance towards looking after her. All the chastising himself, convincing himself he wasn’t strong enough to look after her. That she deserved better than him.
And shit. Maybe she did deserve better than him. Maybe she deserved the perfect dad who’d always been there for her, always supported her, never left her side.
But that’s not who he was.
And it didn’t change a thing.
He was still her dad. Whether he felt himself good enough or not. Whether he felt himself capable or not.
He was her dad.
He had to step up to the goddamned plate.
He’d seen the signs there. He’d seen the way she’d tried to connect with him. The way she’d tried to spark a bond with him. He’d seen them right in front of him, and he’d pushed back. He’d resisted.
She’d been crying out for him. She’d been through the worst kind of pain, the worst kind of loss.
She needed someone.
He was that someone.
He needed to be there for her.
He needed to step up to the plate.
He hadn’t been listening, all because of his own issues. His own sense of insecurity. His own doubts.
But he heard her now.
He heard her loud and clear.
And he knew what he had to do.
He knew how he had to change.
He looked at the necklace in his hand. A silver cross. He remembered going to that jewellery shop and buying her the most expensive thing he could afford. He was sure she’d have got rid of it by now. Hadn’t seen her wearing it, for one thing.
But here it was.
Right here.
Leading the way.
Then he looked out at the water. At the orange glow of the setting sun. At the trees and the hills in the distance.
He took a deep breath.
He was going to find Ella.
He was going to get her back.
He was going to be her father.
“Come on, Dog,” he said. “Let’s get moving.”
He tightened his grip on Ella’s necklace, and he walked.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ella didn’t know where she was going or what she was doing, only that it was dark, and she was afraid.
Trees surrounded her. They were like tall giants standing over her, staring down at her. She thought she saw eyes amongst them. Heard voices as their branches scratched against one another in the wind. She’d always been scared of big trees in the night when she was younger, for some reason. Always felt like there could be things hiding behind them, or that they could just come to life at any moment and terrorise her.
So she just squeezed her eyes shut. There was no use in looking.
Not when someone was dragging her along.
Not when she couldn’t escape anyway.
She felt the muddy, damp ground covering her body. She could smell things on her clothes: animal shit, rot. Her feet were tied. Her wrists were tied, too. She’d been trying to loosen them for a long time now, but it was no use. She was trapped. She was trapped, and this bloke wasn’t letting her go any time soon.
She remembered how it’d happened. She’d woken in the night to a hand over her mouth. A man with stinky breath and mad eyes staring down at her, smile on his face, telling her to “ssh”.
She’d tried to cry out. Tried to kick herself free. Tried to scream.
But it was no use.
He was too strong for her.
He’d dragged her from the caravan. And all the time, she’d looked back. Begged for her dad to step outside. To come after her. She needed his help. She needed somebody’s help.
And he had. He’d stormed outside. Shouted for her. Chased after them both.
But it was already too late.
They’d disappeared into the darkness of the woods, and Dad was gone.
She’d yanked her necklace from her neck while she’d had the chance. The one Dad gave her as a little girl. She used to think it made her look like a princess. She threw everything he gave her away, but something made her hold onto that. Something made her keep it.
She hoped he remembered it. She hoped he’d know it was hers. Especially after she’d thrown it over the Eskdale Green sign.
She hoped he followed.
But now she had rope around her ankles and her wrists. The man who’d captured her dragged her by her feet. Her throat was so dry. She hadn’t drunk anything in a long time. She was gagged with tape too, so she couldn’t say anything. She knew she needed some food, but the thought of food just made her want to throw up right now.
Most of all, she wanted to get away from this man.
Because she didn’t know what he wanted with her.
And that scared her more than anything.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he stopped walking and looked around at her.
It was nearly dark, but Ella could see him clearly now. He was tall. Quite muscular. Ginger hair. He had this look in his bright blue eyes. A mad look. A constant smile on his face, where a few teeth were missing. He reminded her of someone from a horror movie. A bad man. She didn’t know what it was about him, just a feeling she got from him.
Not to mention the blood splattered across his white shirt.
“It’s getting late,” he said, his voice deep and slow. “Figure we should get some food down us, then take a rest. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
He turned to her. Walked over to her. Crouched down, looked right into her eyes. “I can trust you to stay here while I go catch us some food. Right?”
Ella’s heart raced. Fear gripped her body. She wanted to throw up, but she couldn’t because of the gag. She wanted to fight back. Stand her ground.
But at the same time, she didn’t want to upset this guy.
She was worried what he might do to her if she upset him.
So in the end, she just nodded.
The man smiled. Those two missing teeth on show. Chuckled a little. “Good,” he said. “That’s what I like to hear.”
He leaned in. Put a hand on the back of her neck. Rubbed his icy cold fingers against her, which made her skin recoil.
And then he leaned in and whispered in her ear: “Everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to get along very nicely. Especially if you co-operate. I’m going to look after you. I’m going to keep you safe. Until the time comes, anyway.”
He stepped away. Walked off into the woods, out of sight. But Ella couldn’t move. Those last words stayed with her, hung over her. Until the time comes.
She didn’t know what he meant by that. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
But she feared she knew exactly what he was getting at, and that terrified her.
She watched him disappear beyond the trees. Lay there, totally still. Back sore from the distance he’d dragged her across the ground.
And then she spun around onto her front and yanked at the rope around her wrists.
She clenched her teeth together and pulled. Pulled as hard as she could. She didn’t know if it was working. Didn’t know what good it was. Just that sh
e had to try.
She couldn’t just sit back. She couldn’t just give up.
She had to get out of this.
And this was her only shot.
She clenched her teeth together even more. Pulled so hard the rope dug right into her skin. She felt her skin tearing. Felt it bleeding. She wanted Dad here. She wanted him to help her.
But she just thought about all the pain she’d been through, and she channelled it.
She felt it.
She pulled.
She kept on pulling for longer than she could count when she felt something.
A shift.
A shift in the rope.
She opened her eyes.
The rope around her wrists. It was loosening.
She pulled that rope even more. Pulled her ankles apart, too. She’d loosened the rope around her wrists. If she could do that for the rope around her ankles too, maybe she’d have a chance. Maybe she could get out of this. Maybe she didn’t have to die here.
She closed her eyes again. Thought of Mum. Thought about how she used to hold her hand when she was upset. Tell her how strong she was.
And she thought about Dad, too.
When she was younger. The way she could speak to him about anything. The way he made her feel okay with everything.
She heard him two nights ago telling her he was there for her, and she pulled even harder at that rope.
And then she felt it again.
The rope fell away from her ankles.
Loose around her wrists, but gone from her ankles.
She opened her eyes. Her heart raced. Her breathing raged.
Her feet were free.
She had a chance to get away.
A chance to run.
She looked around the darkening woods. Thought she saw movement. Thought she heard voices.
Just the trees. Just the trees. They’re not alive. They can’t hurt you. Just the trees.
She staggered to her feet. Her back ached with the pain of being dragged along. Her legs were weak. Her mouth was dry.
But she was on her feet.
She had a chance.
She looked at the darkness around her. Tried to think which way to go, which direction to head.
But in the end, there was only one thing she could do.
Run.
She turned and ran off into the darkness, towards the trees.
Adrenaline surging through her.
Excitement building.
She’d escaped.
She was strong enough to survive.
She was—
She slammed against something and fell back to the ground.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Her head ached. Her back hurt with the impact. She didn’t know what she’d hit. Must be a tree.
But it felt softer than a tree.
It felt...
She opened her eyes, and she saw him.
He stood over her.
Rope in hand.
Smile on his face.
“You’re not as obedient as you looked,” he said.
And then he crouched down and grabbed her by the throat.
Tightened his grip so tight she couldn’t breathe.
Lifted her with one hand so her heels scraped the ground.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re going to go someplace a little more cosy.”
He squeezed her throat tighter as she hovered there, choking.
And then he let go of her, and she fell to the ground.
As she lay there, coughing, spluttering, vomiting behind the rough tape on her dry lips, she knew one thing.
She wasn’t getting away.
She wasn’t escaping.
She was trapped.
Chapter Forty
Martin saw the tents up ahead and tightened his grip around his crowbar.
Morning was breaking. He’d spent the whole night walking. First, back to the caravan to gather his supplies. Then on the road, in the direction of Eskdale Green again, past the sign where he’d found Ella’s necklace. He was exhausted, sure. His body ached with pain after yesterday’s beating, absolutely. But nothing was slowing him down. Nothing was stopping him.
His goal was simple.
Find Ella. Then focus on the next step.
Dog walked alongside him. Every now and then, he nudged Martin’s leg, usually when he was slowing down. He was a good dog. Certainly helped Martin keep the pace. Motivated him to keep going. He had to be grateful for that.
And he needed some motivation. The truth was, this search for Ella wasn’t going great. He’d walked in the direction of Eskdale Green. Looked for more traces of her—footprints, clothing, blood. But it was impossible. There were traces of so many people on the country roads. More debris from fallen planes. More crashed ambulances, dead bodies in the back. More reminders of just how quickly society had slipped out of control—and just how much more dangerous it was going to be in those towns and cities.
But every time he doubted himself, he remembered exactly why he was doing this.
He saw movement at the front of the nearest tent and tightened his grip around his crowbar.
A man stepped out. Quite a bulky guy. Looked like he worked out a lot. He was holding a blade.
“Don’t come another step this way,” he said.
Martin didn’t want to piss around. But that meant not being reckless, too. He stopped. Saw more movement inside the tent. Someone else in there, hiding away. Someone this guy was protecting.
“I don’t want any trouble,” Martin said.
“Then you turn away right this second. I won’t ask you again.”
It was sad, seeing people so confrontational already. But he knew why. He’d seen it himself. Nobody could be trusted. Everyone was in it for themselves now.
“Did you hear me, mate? Turn the hell around right this second. We ain’t got nothing for you here.”
“I’m looking for my daughter,” Martin said. “Someone kidnapped her. I think they brought her by this way. Just wondering if you’d seen anything. That’s all.”
He looked at the tent again. Saw that movement. Could this be the guy? He hadn’t seen him properly in the dark. Just about made out his figure. He was bulky. Strong build. He could be a match.
The man stood there, wide-eyed, knife raised. “Haven’t seen a thing. Now keep moving or there’ll be—”
“Who’s in the tent?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“The tent,” Martin said. “Someone’s in there. Mind if I see?”
The man walked over towards Martin, then. Lifted his knife even higher. “I don’t get what’s going on in your head, mate. I don’t get whether you’re not all there, whether you’re a bit dense or whatever. But I told you straight. Get the hell away from us. What’s in the tent is none of your goddamned business. Do one. Right now.”
Martin stood his ground. Held his breath. Braced himself to fight. “It is my business if it’s my daughter in there.”
The man’s eyes studied Martin’s face.
And then he lifted his knife.
Pointed it right at Martin’s neck.
“You’re walking a fine line, mate. You’re—”
“Dad?”
The voice made time stand still.
He looked over at the tent.
“Ella? Is that…”
And then he saw her.
A little girl.
Short. Red-haired. Pale-faced.
Younger than Ella.
Not his daughter.
Standing at the mouth of the tent.
The man spun around and rushed back towards the tent. “Get inside, Claudia. It’s not safe out here.”
“But I heard what the man said about the girl—”
“Claudia, I told you. Get inside.”
But Martin couldn’t shift his focus. He couldn’t turn his attention from what that girl said. “What did you say?”
The man spun around. Swung his knife back in Martin’s directi
on. “I told you to get the hell away from here.”
But Martin didn’t stop. “Claudia,” he said. “You said something about a girl. What did you mean by that?”
The man stood up. Rushed back over to Martin. “Don’t you talk to her!”
So Martin did something, then.
Something he knew was risky.
But something he had to do.
He dropped his crowbar.
Lifted his hands.
Walked right up to this man, within touching distance.
“I know you’ve gone through hell,” Martin said. “We all have. Truth be told, I wouldn’t trust me if I were you either. But I’m just asking for your help right now. My daughter is missing. Some psycho took her in the night while we slept. Can you imagine if that happened to your daughter? Can you imagine what you’d do? The lengths you’d go to to get her back?”
The man’s eyes twitched. He kept that knife raised. “I told you to turn away. Leave us alone.”
Martin nodded. “And I will. I swear, I will. But I’m just asking you to help me. Have you seen my daughter? Have you seen anything suspicious? Please.”
The man looked away. For a second, Martin half-expected him to come back at him with the same old stuff he’d been spouting this last five minutes again.
But he lowered his head. Nodded. “We saw something.”
The hairs on the back of Martin’s neck stood on end. “You saw her?”
“I don’t know it was her,” the man said. “But… but we saw someone pass by here last night. A young kid, running from something. Me and Claudia, we kept quiet. Stayed as silent as we could. But I had to look. I had to see, you know? So I took a look outside, and I saw them both. The man. Carrying this girl over his shoulder. It looked like she was punching at him. Trying to break free, you know?”
Martin felt his world opening up around him. Bastard. He’d strangle the bastard.
“I wanted to stop them. I wanted to help the girl. But… but I thought maybe I’d got the wrong end of the stick. And besides. I’ve got Claudia to look after. She’s my priority. You get it, right?”
Prick. He should’ve helped her. Should’ve come to her aid.
But at the same time, Martin heard what he was saying, loud and clear.
“I get it,” Martin said. “Just… just tell me which way they went.”