by Sara Schoen
“I know that it’s to be held against my will, as I am.”
“Well you’re partially right at least, but in a few weeks you’ll warm up to the idea of being with me.”
“You mean Stockholm Syndrome? That sounds like a completely free choice,” I asked with sarcastic humor in my tone.
Damien said nothing; he just turned to glare at me. I could see the frustration in his eyes, along with an emotion he was trying to hide. The frustration was clear, but clouded by worry and fear. The fear worried me; I thought this was all part of the plan, but clearly that wasn’t the case. Damien hadn’t expected the fire; he had rushed to get us out of the house and save me. Steve didn’t plan for that—I wasn’t who he wanted.
Damien looked away from me and back toward our lonely stretch of road. There was nothing around us except for trees. There were no signs to tell me what we were near, or street signs, unless you lived in the area you wouldn’t know where you were and wouldn’t know which way to go.
All I wanted was to find a way home—somehow, and then beg my parents for forgiveness. I shouldn’t have said I hated them; it may be the last thing they ever hear me say.
Chapter 11
"I can't wait any longer, Audrey," a dark voice said filling my ears. I glanced up to see Steve Bennett standing above me as he looked at me with lust in his eyes.
"Please, don’t!" I cried out as he played with the waistband of my shorts.
"Now I can get these things off, finally," he said with a sigh, as he popped the button of my shorts.
"Please don't do this!" I screamed.
"Shut up!" he ordered. The sound of ripping cotton met my ears. My shirt split in pieces, turned to tatters in a matter of seconds, and thrown aside like garbage.
I heard him moan, “Ready, Audrey?”
"Please stop!" I screamed as pain shot through my body.
I shot up and banged my head against the roof of the car Damien had me cramped into. My hands crashed to my head as I winced in pain. A low hiss escaped through my teeth, and again when the seatbelt pulled me backward into my seat. I glanced over to see Damien with a worried look on his face, more like horrified. I could smell burnt rubber and could see the smoke coming from around us. It must have been a rough stop.
“What’s wrong?” Damien asked, his face stuck in the same contorted position of fear. He didn't take his eyes off me as I glanced around the car to make sure I was safe. I was still buckled in, with Damien driving, and luckily no Steve anywhere in sight. I put my hand to my chest as I tried to slow the rapid heartbeat, but it was no use, the dream had caused more than just fear. It reminded me what I was running from.
“Sorry, I had a bad dream,” I said, glancing at the tamper-proof door lock to see if I could escape just as the car started.
“What was it about?” Damien asked picking up the conversation as he continued down the road. I guess he had been driving in silence for so long, that he was looking for something to talk about.
“Steve Bennett," I answered curtly, not wishing to explain that I had seen him. I knew the case as well as anyone; I just never dreamed about it. It felt so real, and that was terrifying to think about.
“What about him?”
“I don’t know really,” I said with a long drawn out sigh. “It was really unclear, I felt as if I was my mom. I could see the attack from her point of view, and it was awful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you care?” I sneered at his sudden interest in me. He had been ignoring me lately; his moods would change faster than the weather in a mountain town. He never wanted to talk to me, why should that change?
“Like I have anything else to do right now,” he growled as he glared at me, taking his eyes off the road. I suddenly felt uncomfortable having him watch me, it only reminded me of Steve's gaze during the dream.
“If you want something to do, you could look at the road, or pull over.”
“Fine, I’m looking at the road now,” he said maneuvering so that he could look at the road, and me at the same time. It looked more as if he was about to fall out of the car if he wasn’t careful, and it didn't make me feel any better.
“Fine, it was about Steve Bennett. It was as if I was living through an experience that my mom had, but like I was living through it. It’s so hard to explain.”
“You were living an experience because you compare me to Steve Bennett. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on hurting you,” Damien said, placing his hand on my leg and patting me lightly.
“I think you already have,” I scoffed, shoving his hand off of me and moving as far away as I could from him in the tight space.
“You’ll grow to love me. It won’t be hard since you already find me attractive,” he said in a tone that sent me into an angry frenzy.
“I don’t know what gave you that idea, but—”
“You struggle to control yourself around me, when I get close to you it’s hard to focus, but you try to look away from me. You stare at me, watch me, and I know what you’re thinking when you do. It’s all in your eyes, your breathing gives it away too. Especially when I’m so close to you that you can’t control how you react.
“So? That doesn’t mean anything!” I shrieked in annoyance as Damien stopped the car again.
“I know that you get tempted when I’m close to you like when I leaned close you on the couch. I could see it in your eyes that you wanted to kiss me, but you were too proud and had to look away when you knew I was winning,” he said with a smile as his hand moved up my thigh slightly, making my body tingle with anticipation.
I felt my breath catch as his hand slowly moved up my thigh. I could feel my lip starting to hurt under the bite of my teeth. My back was starting to arch in hope for another night with Damien. Even though I disliked him for taking me from home to help Steve, I couldn’t ignore the effect he had on me. He was attractive, and I had growing feelings toward him. He leaned closer, his lips only inches from mine. I leaned forward, but before I could kiss him he pulled away.
“I could say I told you, but I think you found out for yourself,” Damien said pulling his hand away and leaving my body crying out for more.
I really needed to escape, because if I didn’t I would let myself give in to him and never leave. I would get to have amazing experiences with him; I would almost trade my freedom for that. Almost, but I couldn’t do that if Steve was going to be let loose again. I couldn’t give in to temptation, until I knew Steve would be dead. I just had to remember if Steve got out, we would all be in danger.
“Well, you’re wrong. Now stop touching me,” I ordered, pushing him away from me.
“Why do you have a problem with me touching you? I think you rather enjoy it from the reaction you just gave,” Damien stated with a chuckle as he leaned back against the door. There was a subtle click of the door lock disengaging. Damien didn’t hear it or ignored it, until I pushed open my door and took off running.
I heard him yell as I raced to the trees. I didn’t turn back, I had to take my chance, and with any luck I was as tough as my mom, and would make it back to them to tell them how sorry I was.
Chapter 12
I skirted through the trees before Damien got out of the car. There was no clear path anywhere so I cut through the brush. The forest was thick with foliage and brush; it was almost too difficult to walk through. I had to get away from him, then I could focus on finding a way home. Damien’s voice followed after me, he sounded amused as he looked for me. What’s so amusing about me getting away from him? Didn’t he need me for his plans?
I raced past trees and fallen logs that looked like an animal had raked its claws along it. I stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath and listened to see if Damien was close to me. There was no sound for a while; it was eerily silent. It was the silence that brought shivers to my spine. With silence came unknown; I had no idea where Damien was or if he was still following me. The silence could mean that he stopped following me. I could
have lost him, or he gave up, but I had a feeling that he wasn’t the kind of person to give up. He would chase me until he was sure I was either dead or he had me again.
“There you are, Audrey,” Damien said, as he slapped his hands on my shoulders to hold me into place.
“Yep, here I am,” I said with a nervous tone. How had I not heard him coming? How had he managed to sneak up on me?
“You shouldn’t have run away, you don’t know the woods well enough to escape.”
“I don’t need to escape. I just need to get away from you,” I said smartly, as I tried to move away from him again.
“I think you’ve already learned that running from me doesn’t do you any good, Audrey. So please, for both our sakes stop trying to run away,” Damien said with a frustrated tone.
“It’s worth a shot, right?” I said with a smirk forming on my lips.
“If you say so, sweetheart,” Damien said with a smile on his lips. It was almost as if he found it cute to call me that, but I think he just found it funny to push my buttons.
“Don’t call me that.”
“If I stop calling you that will you stop running?” Damien asked in a suddenly annoyed tone.
“Yes, if you stop calling me sweetheart I’ll stop running,” I lied smoothly. I needed to get him focused on something else or at least in a better position so I could try to escape again. He looked skeptical, but he wasn’t in the mood for an argument because he quickly moved on.
“I’m glad you’ve gotten it out of your system. Let’s go,” Damien said, sticking his hand out for me to take.
“Sorry, I have other plans,” I said, as I took his hand and lifted my knee into his groin.
Damien automatically fell to the ground in agonizing pain. I took off running once my knee met its mark. I kept running until I was sure Damien was a safe distance from me, when I couldn’t hear his groans. I slouched to the ground beside a large tree, my chest was threatening to crush my heart. I was heaving, hard short breaths due to the cold temperatures. I suddenly wished that I had run in high school instead of joining the swim team. Being able to swim long distances wasn’t going to do much for me here, but being able to run fast and far would have helped.
As I continued to walk, I could feel the brush digging into my legs, but I had to be quiet to hope that I would remain hidden. My foot snagged on a raised root, and I tripped into the dirt. That's when I heard laughter, maniacal and crazed, coming from behind me.
“Who’s there?” I asked worriedly.
When no one answered, I decided it was time to keep going. I didn’t know who else would be out here except Damien, and I hoped he was the only other person out here. I ran through branches, twigs, thorns, leaves, and continually tripped over ingrown roots and rocks. The sun had almost completely vanished in the darkening twilight, giving off an orange glow around the trees and through the branches. This would be the last visible light of the day; I would be sent into darkness. I glanced around the area to see if there was any cover I could use to sleep for the night.
There were a few branches laying askew on the ground, crafting habitats for the animals. There were dead branches and tall bushes littering the ground, making it difficult to walk through the brush. I could hear animal claws scratching into the earth around me as they seemed to get closer and closer. There was a growl, here and there, while pairs of yellow eyes watched every one of my movements.
“I’m going to be fine here,” I said to reassure myself, as I found a small opening under a tree.
I reluctantly crawled into the small opening and curled up. I could hear the nocturnal animals begin to stir while the others went to sleep. The claws were raking into the sides of the trees and in the soil around me. For a while I thought I heard footsteps and a few times they got really close to me. I watched carefully as I fell into an uneasy sleep.
When I woke up, the sun was almost in the middle of the sky. It made me wonder if Damien was already out looking for me or if he had given up the search. I could only hope for the latter so I could escape and be free of him as I crawled out of my hole. My scream pierced the cool November day when a hand grabbed my shoulder. There was something different about this, it was rougher and angrier; it wasn’t Damien.
“It’s funny really, you look so much like your mother. You even took almost the same route your mother did when she tried to leave me,” a dark heavy voice said from behind me. I was frozen with fear, I couldn’t move—I couldn’t think. “You will turn to look at me when I talk to you,” the voice said, as he shoved me to the ground for not obeying.
As he stood over me I saw the person of my nightmares. He was what I grew to fear, and what I should have run from, but I was frozen where I fell. I felt my breath quiver as I tried to process who I was seeing, I was looking into the green eyes of Steve Bennett. Suddenly, being trapped with Damien and fighting the urge to kiss him wasn’t so bad.
“Steve Bennett, they let you out of jail?”
“Of course, who wouldn’t want to find you? They want to make sure they caught the right man, and they have to make an example out of my copycat so that more won’t step forward. I was shocked when they let me come with them, but I need your mother, not you. The only way for that to happen is to take you with me.”
He reached out for me and I screamed until the lining of my throat tore. I scrambled to get my footing, but before I could run off, he grabbed me roughly and pulled me toward him. His hands latched onto me, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to escape as easily as I had done with Damien.
My life was officially over.
Chapter 13
I swallowed my fear as I tried to process what to do next. Steve Bennett was the most feared criminal of the last century, and I knew the things he would do to me. Even if Steve hadn’t admitted to the rape and kidnapping on national television, my father’s journal had told me all about his actions, and that meant I had to escape if I wanted a chance to get home unharmed.
“Come, Anna.”
“I’m not Anna! Why do you keep calling me that?” I cried as he roughly pushed me forward.
“You look so much like your mother. So much alike in fact, that if I can’t have her, I’ll think of keeping you. What do you have to say to that?” he said, as his hands started to travel my body. Shivers traveled up my spine, and not the ones that Damien gave me, these were fear driven.
“I’d rather not!” I cried, as I pulled out of his hold and ran as fast as I could.
I could hear Steve’s maniacal laughter as I raced away. The thorns and branches were cutting deeply into my legs and stomach as I sped through the trees. I hopped over fallen trees, trying to escape, but the whole time I could hear Steve talking to me. He was always just a few steps behind me.
“Audrey, if it hurts your feelings so much, I will call you by your name instead of your mother’s.” He was following me no matter where I went, and I knew he would never stop. He was obsessed, and that would mean I would have to keep running.
I hid behind a tree as Steve got closer to me. I listened to his footsteps as they traced around me. He was beating around the bush, literally. His voice continued to drift over me. He was close by, and I realized that I wasn’t in the best hiding spot now. He would find me; he always found his target.
“Your mother and I had a wonderful time together. At that time I didn’t need an apprentice to bring me girls, but I wasn’t even planning on having you come to meet me. Why are you here?” Steve pondered as he passed by my hiding spot.
I shoved my hands into my pockets as I breathed a sigh of relief. My hand jammed into a crumpled piece of paper, which unfolded to reveal a map. The map showed towns—Charleston, Harrisonburg, and a few others that were small in comparison, with circles around their names. There was a large red star and a note above it that said ‘here’s where you’ll get out’ in messy handwriting. Was this Damien’s handwriting? Had he meant for me to escape? I glanced at the map and tried to match it to the landscape
around me, but I needed a road to figure out just were I was.
I started running back toward the road that I had escaped from Damien on, but the second I left my hiding spot Steve grabbed hold of me. He took the map from my hands and forced me to turn around to look into the dark green eyes that caused my fear to spike.
“How did you get a map?” Steve asked. I froze momentarily before kneeing him as I had done to Damien and speeding off again. Once I hit the road, I was able to look at the map. Charleston was the closest to me, and then it was off to Harrisonburg to head south for home. There was a low chuckle behind me, I knew that meant Steve was coming. I had to take off again. I turned on my heels, and raced through the trees until I was stopped once again by Steve Bennett. How was he always able to find me?
“You’re following the same paths as the other girls and don’t even know it,” he said with a smirk.
“Then I guess I’m going to have to think of another way to get back home,” I said smartly.
“You could, but I can’t let you go because I need you to get your mother back. My bastard of a son took her from me and now I will take her back. You for her, fair trade in that case,” Steve said with a knowing smile.
“What do you want from my mom?”
“I want my wife back, but it looks as if my apprentice is trying to prevent it. I was afraid this would happen.”
“Afraid what would happen?” I asked, trying to buy time so I could escape.
“That he would fall for you. Your mother had the same trait, and I regret falling into that trap. Now it seems that Damien has made the same mistake. It’s a pity. I had to blackmail him into this, and he still failed. At least, he did give me a pretty new girl,” Steve said, as he reached out and touched my face.
I cringed at his touch, obviously hurting his feelings. His hand swung back and landed on my cheek with a loud smack. I let out a yelp of pain at the force of the hit. I stumbled, and then ran out of Steve’s reach. I ran through the thickest part of the forest, it got so dense at one point I tripped on a tree root, or what I thought was a tree root. My face smacked against the dirt and I looked up to see Damien kneeling in front of me. His index finger was up against his lips as he tried to tell me to keep silent.