by Nina Lincoln
“Anyway, it was too late for little Sarah when she spilled the beans about Colt’s family, although I didn't give her much choice. I pulled the strings. I controlled her movements like a big fucking game, just as I controlled Ben and the others. Although fucking Ben never could take directions well, but he’s a good little minion, so I let him get away with a small punishment.”
Running the blade of the knife over my cheek, he says silkily, “But I don't like disloyalty, Finn, and well, you know what happened to Sarah. Did you wonder how she knew about the cranes? About being the light?”
“That was you?” I ask with disbelief.
All that fucking heartache because of this monster?
“Sure, it was. I have eyes and ears everywhere. It was easy to find the things he said to you and twist them. And oh, how fun, to put all the little bugs in your ear about Sarah and so on. To watch your face bleed with pain. I crave your pain, Finn.”
“And Ramie?” I whisper.
“Ramie, well,” he says with glee, “you were right she did disappear. I expect Ben is teaching her how to be a good little whore as we speak.”
Oh, no. Poor Ramie. Shivering, I turn my head and look into the flames. I sincerely hope her experience isn’t as painful as mine, but Ben’s a lunatic, and I’m afraid she may not make it out either. Is it even worth it?
“Anyway, you should know, when you came to North and Colt was determined to play his game, Sarah came to me because she was worried, and that’s when I saw you, Finn. That’s when I knew, but Colt stepped out of line, and I pushed and pulled to get him back, but he refused. That’s when I knew I had to up the game. He’s always been so cooperative, but I guess it just goes to show how special you truly are, Finn.”
“I don't understand.”
“I sent Nate in to intervene. I orchestrated Melissa’s befriending of you. I pushed Sarah on Colt, and I fucking pushed Colt into breaking your heart.”
“You’re delusional,” I mutter.
He grabs my chin and squeezes tightly, but it’s no match for the throbbing in my hand. “Anything but, Finn. Anything but.”
Slowly he saws at the ropes on my other wrist, ranting as he goes and clenching my fingers on my other hand, I wring them out tentatively, tingles racing up my arm in direct competition with the pulsing ache in my hand.
“I know everything about everyone, bitch. Oh, most of them didn’t know it was me, but I was there pulling the strings regardless. Those boys would have never played Sarah if it weren’t for me because I allowed it. I could have told her from the fucking start. Hell, Sarah would never have told Colt about his pathetic parents without me. They’d still be panting after Portia at that. You do know who her baby daddy was...don’t you?” he asks gleefully, leering into my face.
Quietly I watch him, waiting for the right move, any fucking move. I’m afraid he’s sliding down a slippery slope, madness at the other end, and I’m not sure which is worse, but I’m about to find out.
“C’mon, you’re not playing the game,” he says with a pout. “Fine...it was Colt, of course.”
I grimace for effect because he’s watching me so closely, and I’m afraid of whatever pain is coming my way if I don’t, relieved when his eyes light up with satisfaction.
“That’s right,” he croons, “your love impregnated another girl and left her for it.”
Tiffany shifts beside him, and he comes out of his reverie, pulling at the other restraint, as he tugs the rope loose with satisfaction. “Now-“
As soon as the ropes freed on my other wrist, I reach over, grab the knife from my palm and slice it through the air, catching Teddy on the cheek.
Grunting, he falls back, grabbing his face, and I sit up, even though my entire body protests, as I shove Teddy off of me and, with numb fingers, bend toward my feet.
Teddy flips over onto his stomach as I desperately saw at the cords around my ankles, pulling himself up by his arms, and I slice out at him again, enraged when he laughs at me.
The first rope goes, and I switch to the other, sawing at the fucking rope frantically.
Thankfully, Tiffany finally comes out of her stupor and intervenes, grabbing Teddy by the shoulders and pushing him to his back, but I sob out a breath when he easily pushes her off and turn desperately to the fucking ropes slipping and sliding between my fingers with my panic.
From the corner of my eye, I see Tiffany roll away but turn back, only to meet Teddy as he runs the knife now clutched in his hand across her throat, and she emits a strange bubbly, garbled sound.
After which, time slows as she grabs her neck with a gasp, blood overflowing her fingers, and for a horrible moment, I pause and stare as she looks at me desperately, terror shining behind her eyes. Fuck.
With a grimace of apology, I turn back to the ropes, terror sliding down my spine, as I cut my skin for my efforts.
I inadvertently caused her death, and the weight of that burden will live with me until the day I die, I just hope that day isn’t today.
Finally, the last piece of my rope flies free, and pulling from my reverie, I slide away quickly, moving to get up, but my ankles and legs tingle from the lack of movement and blood flow.
Teddy, strong for all his barriers, crawls toward me quickly, an evil grin on his face that speaks to the pain coming my way if I don’t get the fuck out of here now.
Tiffany’s lying on the ground, convulsing as the last of her life bleeds into the cold ground and swiping out with the knife, I continue to crawl back awkwardly, terrified this too is my end.
Teddy comes to a stop with a smile, his upper body supported by his arms, his legs crumpled behind him, and my heart pulses at the cherubic look, so at odds with the blood on his hands, as I stare at him like a wild animal.
“C’mon Finn. You know how this ends. And it’s with you in the ground, where you belong.”
“Fuck you!” I grit through my teeth.
He lunges for me again, but my feet are finally fully functional, the tingles no longer cascading up my legs painfully and pulling myself to my feet, I stagger away, watching him watch me with his head cocked to the side and a deranged smile on his face.
Walking backward, I look to Tiffany, but she’s gone now, staring mindlessly at the sky, and sadly I return to Teddy’s stare, watching as his malice turns to a pout, his eyes dark with rage until I slip into the trees.
I could try to kill him, but frankly, I want him to live behind bars knowing he couldn’t bend me to his will in the end. Let him rot in a fucking hole.
Clutching the knife, I turn and limp away, my bare feet aching, but I ignore the pain, uncaring about the shit I step on along the way. It’s still dark, which means even though it felt like an eternity, only a few hours must have passed.
I don't know how far I walk or for how long, but it feels like days before I reach the road, and the sun is just pushing against the sky, the faint blush warming my cold skin when I breach the trees.
Exhausted, bleeding, numb, half-naked, and cold, I stagger into the roadway and continue walking. I have no idea which way is back to the camp, but I figure if I’m on the road, I’ll reach safety eventually.
Gazing at the horizon, I take a deep breath, my feet aching painfully and surely a shredded mess, and pray. I can make it through this, and Colt can too. Please let him be alright.
Idly, I think of my dad and smile. He may have been a self-righteous prick with the need for violence, but he taught me a valuable lesson in all his cruelty. Don’t ever fucking back down.
I’m using the last of my steam, my body bent at the waist, staggering when a truck comes around the bend and turning, I wave my arms in the air, relief flooding through me when the semi-truck slowly comes to a stop with a hiss.
Sinking to my knees, I watch through pained eyes as the driver emerges from the cab and drops to the ground.
“Miss, are you okay?” he asks.
“No,” I whisper.
Chapter Fourteen
Run, Fi
nn. Run, he says, clutching my cheeks in his bloody hands.
With a last glance at her laying there bleeding out, I pull myself up and stagger away, sobs caught in my throat.
I will survive this if only to make the fucker pay.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Sliding my lids open, I view the sterile hospital room hazily as I press the button near my hand, dispensing more pain medication. Maggie is asleep in the chair beside me, her mouth dropped open as slight snores puff from her mouth.
Now free of the specter of my death and Teddy screaming vehemently in my face, the quiet of the room with only the incessant beeping of my IV is overwhelming.
Shifting in the bed, I look at my hands, wrapped tightly in bandages, my feet no better - I look like a mummy and feel like one too.
I overheard the doctors speak of surgery, something about repairing some of the tendons, but I passed out before I heard the particulars. The remainder of my injuries, though macabre, are superficial, cleaned, and stitched up as needed.
I’ve been so out of it, I didn’t have the presence of mind to ask, but now I need to know.
Please let him be alive.
“Maggie,” I whisper.
Her head shoots up in the chair, her eyes flying open as she looks around wildly. As soon as she meets my gaze, she eases, but I see the concern written across every line of her face, and I wince for waking her up.
Surely this took years off her life, her features shrunken with worry and fatigue. Guiltily, I wait for her to respond, regret pulsing through me at the grief I’ve put her through.
Leaning forward tiredly, she asks, “Hey kid, how are you feeling?”
Smiling tremulously, I say, “Colt? Dirk...Hayden?”
Her gaze softens as she says, “The boys are fine. Colt...he had to have surgery, but he’s in recovery.”
Sagging against the bed, I fight back a sob, but it escapes anyway. I’m so fucking relieved that my limbs feel tingly. We survived!
“There there, kid,” she says, grabbing my hand.
“Ramie,” I gasp, wincing against the pain throbbing in what feels like my entire body.
“Calm down. Is that the creep’s sister? They found her nearby in a cabin. She’s down the hall too.”
Collapsing back to the bed, I sob until my throat aches, finally passing back into exhausted oblivion.
*****
The following day, I give my official report to the police, who inform us they found Teddy at the clearing, raving like a lunatic. He was taken to a hospital where they’re evaluating him for mental competency. I can tell anyone who asks that he’s batshit crazy, but I guess no one wants my amateur assessment.
Once the police have gone, I can no longer wait and insist on being taken down the hall to Colt. The nurse is dubious but relents when I beg with tears in my eyes.
Shuffling me into a wheelchair, I hide my wince of pain and hold my head high, projecting a calm I don’t feel as she wheels me down the hall.
The hospital is quiet, but I don’t notice it for the clenching in my stomach, tight in anticipation of what I’ll see when we get to Colt’s room.
When we enter, his mom lifts her head tiredly and gives me a soft smile. She looks no better than Maggie, and I glance back at my aunt for the first time, understanding what Celia meant when she stated that Maggie was a parent now too. It’s not about duty. It’s about love.
Smiling softly at Maggie, I turn back to Colt. He’s asleep, pale, and still under the hospital blanket, and it’s so at odds with his vibrant personality that I’m taken aback.
Grimly, I clutch his hand and stare into his face, holding onto him for hours before the nurse comes back and forces me away.
Although I saw him rouse a few times, he was so out of it that he didn’t see me.
On the way back to my room, we pass Ramie’s, her name written in black ink on a dry erase board just inside the door. Balking, I insist we go inside by taking the chair's wheels and refusing to allow us to move forward, which by the way, hurts like a mother fucker.
The nurse sighs but complies, pushing me through the doors grimly. Ramie’s alone. There’s no one here to hold her hand or tell her it will be alright.
I know Teddy mentioned his parents a few times, and Ramie spoke of her mother’s death, but now that I think about it, he never really got into the details, and the one time we were at their home, her father lay in his own stink of sour sweat and alcohol.
Sadly, I watch her still form, her eyes closed, bandages wrapped around her neck, up her face, and surrounding her head, her face badly bruised, both eyes black, her lips swollen.
Her once beautiful hair hangs in a jagged edge around her chin. She looks horrible, and my heart pulses in pain for her. Not only was she abused by Ben, horrors I may never know of, but her brother was responsible for multiple murders, kidnapping and currently resides in a fucking insane asylum.
Where her family is, I’ve no clue, but I can't bring myself to leave, not when she’s alone like this. Never.
When the nurse tries to push it, I downright refuse, giving her an evil eye and clenching my jaw in preparation for a dirty fight. Instead, the staff who must feel sorry for her arrange to move me into her room.
We’re now side-by-side in matching hospital beds, and what a pair we make. Ramie sleeps through the commotion of the move, and I doze after the long day, and I’ll admit it to no one, but I’m dizzy from all the action.
Some time, during the night, I wake to a low wail.
Glancing around blearily, for a moment, I’m still back at the campsite, slipping from my tent after a wild animal attacked another and the death cry rang out around us.
I spy Colt across the way and step toward him with a wide smile, but then the memory pops, and I’m back in the hospital, Ramie thrashing violently in her sleep beside me.
“Ramie,” I whisper, but she doesn't hear me. Her dreams are too dark for the light to come through.
“Ramie,” I say more loudly, tears pricking my eyes at the horrible sound of her painful cries.
Gasping, she sits up in the bed, staring around wildly.
“Ramie,” I say again softly.
Turning her head, she blinks at me absently before slowly, she comes into focus and realizes where we are and who I am.
“Finn?”
“Yeah, it's me,” I say grimly.
She nods her head, looking me over sadly, observing the bandages and bruises before turning her stare to the wall.
“I’m sorry,” she says, pitifully, a world of pain and regret in her tone.
“For what?”
“For...Teddy.”
“Oh, Ramie, that’s not your fault.”
Smiling sadly, she wipes a tear from her cheek, “Maybe.”
*****
The following weeks are blessedly quiet. Colt and I spend it alone together, peaceful in the knowledge the ordeal is finally over. Sometimes we go to the lake and lay on a blanket, staring at the sky and holding each other close.
Other times we hole up at home and refuse to leave, and Colt spends the night to which Maggie does not comment.
Even she’s lost the grim quality that’s been dogging us all for so long now.
I’m still recovering from my injuries, but I have a clean bill of health. Maggie lectured me up one side and down the other about going out around town, but I begged her to understand I need normality after all of the crazy.
Teddy’s still in the hospital, where he’s heavily medicated and no doubt someone’s case study on unhealthy obsession. When they searched his room, the police found enough evidence of his stalking to put him away at the maximum sentence.
His room was like a fucking shrine to me, with hundreds of photos plastered on the walls, taped into notebooks, and laying loose on the floor, all of which he must have hidden when we came over that day. Perhaps in the piles, I spied in his room?
Beyond that were notes hastily scribbled on s
craps of paper, elaborate trees of dirty secrets he used to keep people in his clutches, and the crazed ramblings of his undying love.
Apparently, in the years before I came to this town, Teddy was a mean little shit who beat up kids and enjoyed torturing animals. After a fatal accident, he lost his mother and his ability to walk in one fell swoop, which didn't stop his rage, only amplifying it.
No longer able to use his fists, he turned to dirty secrets and blackmail.
The list of people he had on his payroll was astonishing, but none more so than Melissa. I guess his ramblings were real, and she dropped her intent to kick my ass because Teddy had a better use for her. When I confronted her about it, she told me grimly he forced her to choose between her mother in the states illegally and me.
Of course, she chose her mother for obvious reasons, including that she’s still battling cancer and needs the modern medicine the states can provide. When Teddy demanded she come on the camping trip to assist him with his last act, she drew the line, and the state trooper I saw when we pulled out of the lot that last day, well he was there because she reported Teddy’s plan to the police. It only took three days and some serious questioning for the dicks to believe her.
I understand why she did what she did, I do, but we’ve stepped back in our friendship regardless. Although Melissa insisted, she came to like me and valued our friendship - there’s still a seed of doubt that lingers. She led me down a trail at Teddy’s whim, and I fear I may never be able to trust her again.
Perhaps with time, I can forgive and forget, but there’s been too many lies, too much subterfuge and pain for me to consider it now. I get her fear, but I told her more than most and followed her around while she pretended to be my friend. How much of it was real? I just don’t know.