The Pendants and the Mystery of the Wozniak Five Part I

by Stephanie Steele

  The window next to her was broken. Bits of glass crunched under her hands and knees as she crawled out, but she didn't feel the pain. Once out of the car, she rolled onto her back. She needed to rest, only for a moment, she told herself. She only needed a moment to breathe to try and comprehend what was happening. The cold air hit her and she was grateful for it. It seemed to connect her to what was happening. Valie sat up and looked around. They had crashed in a wooded area, and from what it looked like, the bottom of a ravine. The only light came from the headlights of the car.

  Valie tried to stand, but fell down quickly, her head was spinning. She got back on her hands and knees and crawled slowly to the front of the car.

  That's when she froze. There, nearly 10 feet ahead was the man who must've been driving, lying motionless on the ground. Valie wondered if he was alive. She almost wanted to see if she could somehow help him, but he had just kidnapped her. She crawled away, trying to stand once more, but it felt like anything below her neck wasn't connected to her body, everything around her was spinning and she fell again. Crying, Valie put her face into her hands. It was all so surreal. As fast as her thoughts were, she couldn't think of one logical reason why someone would want to kidnap her. She was searching for logic in the situation, trying to understand why, but there was nothing. No reason she could possibly fathom as to why this was happening.

  She slowly tried standing again, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Finally to her feet, she staggered towards the hill, sticking her arms out to help balance herself, looking up to the top of the ravine and knowing that's where the road was, that's where she needed to be.

  Her head was still spinning, and her body felt like Jell-O, but she pushed forward, thinking about her uncle and Trent and how worried they would be if she didn't come home. She couldn't put them through that, especially not her uncle; he had lost enough in his life. He would probably never let her leave the house again, but that was okay with her, as long as she was safe, as long as she got out of there.

  She started to crawl up the hill, feeling the dirt make its way up her fingernails. The dead leaves were causing her to slide back--sticks were poking into her hands and legs and her limbs, but she kept going.

  Just as she was nearing the top-- feeling the adrenaline surge of relief, a cold hand clamped around her mouth and pulled her to her feet.

  Valie started screaming.

  “Shhh!” A voice hissed in her ear. “I'm not going to hurt you!” It was a woman's voice.

  Valie tried to turn to see her face, but the woman held onto her tightly.

  “I'm not going to hurt you,” she repeated in a calm voice.

  Just for a moment, Valie felt safe and fell quiet.

  The feeling didn't last long.

  "She's got her!" A deep, booming voice yelled from behind them.

  Valie was already halfway up the hill. She didn't want to turn around; the woman began dragging Valie to the top.

  "Stop her!" The man yelled.

  Valie had to summon what strength she had left. The woman was practically carrying her. Once at the top, the woman dragged Valie by the waist to a white car on the side of the road. The entire front end was smashed in. She opened the door and pushed Valie inside.

  Valie turned to look out the back windshield and saw the man from the store running towards them with a limp.

  "Go!" Valie screamed. The woman pressed on the gas and the man quickly faded into the distance as the car accelerated.

  Valie was shaking badly; she clasped her hands together and pulled them to her chest. "Who are you?" She asked desperately. The woman's voice didn't sound familiar to her and Valie didn't know if letting her throw her into a car was a deadly mistake. For all Valie knew, she was just as dangerous as the men who were trying to kidnap her.

  “Please? Who are you? What's happening? Please!” Valie yelled, her voice had grown hoarse from all the screaming.

  The woman didn't answer.

  Valie was trying to form words with her mouth. She had so many questions, but all she could do was shake, and try to control her breathing. She leaned her head back, continuing to cry. She wasn't giving up on her questions, no, but she needed to catch her breath. In that moment, trying to gain control over her body, Valie's thoughts shifted to stories she had heard on the news about people getting abducted. She always thought, “how awful, how sad,” but it certainly wasn't anything she ever thought would happen to her.

  For just a second, Valie thought about jumping out of the car, possibly tuck-and-rolling herself out of that situation, but the car was going too fast and she was already hurt. Plus, the woman would probably just recapture her. Just then the car came to a stop.

  Valie sat straight up in her seat, watching the woman get out of the car and open Valie's door. Her body tensed. The woman knelt down, leaned in, and gently turned Valie's head towards her.

  Valie instinctively flinched, but the woman only set her hand softly on her cheek.

  It was the first time Valie saw her face. The woman didn't look that much older than her, she thought. She was beautiful, with long dark hair that was almost black. She had tanned, flawless skin. Her green eyes were surrounded by thick eyelashes; she had full lips and a perfectly symmetrical nose. This was the woman Valie would come to know as Phaedra Kinney.

  Valie didn't say anything and neither did Phaedra. She only brought a tissue from her pocket to Valie's forehead and gently started dabbing blood away.

  "It's only a superficial wound...you're going to be fine," she said.

  "Why are you doing this to me?" Valie asked in a hoarse voice, ignoring her statement.

  She sighed, looked at Valie tiredly and said, "I just saved your life, little girl,” then closed the door and got back into the driver's seat. They started to drive again.

  After a while, Valie's breathing was normal, she stopped shaking, but she was also starting to finally feel the pain in her head, hands and legs. Her throat felt scratchy from all the screaming, but it no longer felt as if her heart was going to pound right out of her chest.

  Valie had been staring out of the window. The only sight was trees, nothing was familiar to her, and somehow it seemed to be getting darker. There had been no other cars on the road since the woman took Valie. She finally turned her head and studied the woman in front of her, well, the back of her anyway. Valie could see the reflection of her lovely green eyes on the rearview mirror, concentrating hard on the road and in spite of the woman's demeanor; Valie saw a flicker of fear in her eyes. She didn't know her, she didn't know why her life would need saving, or why the woman had been the one to save it. All she knew was that something bad was happening and she was the center of it.

  "Are you taking me home?" Valie asked, knowing full well that they were nowhere near her home, but still, she hoped.

  At first, the woman didn't answer. Then, finally she said, "My name is Phaedra."

  "Are you going to hurt me?"

  "I already said I wouldn't."

  "Why is the happening to me?"

  Phaedra reached to her side and handed Valie a bottle of water. She reached for it and took a few short sips. The water was cold and it felt good against her sore throat.

  Valie appreciated the gesture, but the woman was doing a good job at evading her questions.

  "Where are you taking me?"

  "I'm a friend of the family," she answered.

  "What?" The name Phaedra wasn't familiar.

  "Look, something is happening here that I can't really explain."

  "Were those bad people you saved me from?" It sounded childish when she said it, she knew. Almost like a little girl pleading with her mother to give her answers.

  "Yes, Valie. They were bad."

  As soon as she said her name, Valie felt her heart lift a little, it had to be a good sign right? She had an opportunity to hurt Valie, but she didn't, maybe she really was there to help. Maybe.

  "I had no choice but to force the accident, it was m
y only chance of getting to you out of that car. I was going to grab you before you got off of work, but I had some...difficulties." Phaedra said, moving her head back and forth as if she was trying to work out a kink.

  “Difficulties? Grab me? What? My phone, I need my phone," Valie mumbled.

  "That is not an option; your phone is not going to help you. All you need to know is right now...you're safe." It wasn't that Phaedra didn't want to answer her questions, she did, but she also knew that once she started answering a few, she'd be answering a flood of them and there wasn't time for that.

  Valie stopped asking questions and turned back towards the window; she looked into the darkness and cried. There was no bright light to help her this time.

  About an hour and a lot of turns later, they pulled into a gravel driveway surrounded by trees. Phaedra stopped the car and turned towards Valie. Valie had been resting her head on the door, at first she had attempted to memorize the turns, even catching a street name, but after about the 15th turn she gave up and rested her pounding head.

  There was nothing around them but trees and nothing in front of them, but more gravel road.

  Phaedra was facing Valie, but not looking at her, she was concentrating hard on the screen of her cell phone. "Once you get out, walk to the left, there is a narrow dirt path, it's small, but you'll see it." She set her phone down and looked at Valie. "Follow the path and eventually you will come to a small cabin. Let yourself in and wait."

  Valie turned her head and looked back out of the window, she had heard Phaedra's instructions, but didn't feel much when she gave them. Valie only nodded, suddenly feeling very accepting of the situation and as she reached for the door handle, Phaedra set her hand on Valie's knee.

  "Valie..." she began, “I’m so very sorry that this is happening to you." It was the first time that Valie had sensed any real emotion from her. She gave Valie a sympathetic look and gently squeezed her knee. It was a moment that provided some comfort, there was something about Phaedra that made Valie feel safe. It was at that moment Valie realized that Phaedra, a woman that she didn't know, risked her own safety to help her.

  Then, Phaedra turned in her seat to face forward, ripping herself from the moment. "There is a flashlight on the floor--take it."

  Valie looked down at her feet, and hidden underneath the seat, there it was. She picked it up. It had heft to it, it felt like a weapon. Valie got out of the car and looked up at the ominous woods in front of her. Phaedra rolled down her window.

  “Remember, look for the cabin, keep going until you see it,” she paused, “and run...don't walk. You'll be safe there.”

  She rolled up her window and pulled away. Valie watched the car's rear lights fade away and felt her stomach tighten. She looked up at the sky. The moon was almost full, providing a little light.

  "I can't believe this is happening," Valie whispered to herself, still not really feeling connected to her body...or her surroundings, or anything really. She flipped on the flashlight and walked off the gravel road towards the trees.

  To Valie, it felt like she was in a dream, a very vivid dream. Pretty soon, she thought, she would wake up and be in her bed and the nightmare would be over.

  Wrong.

  Valie used the flashlight to scan the ground; she was shaking again, in her arms and in her breathing, but this time, it was from the cold.

  “Be strong, be brave,” Valie advised herself, but she was struggling. She put her chin up and shoulders back to somehow symbolically convince herself that she was braver than she felt.

  Valie kept her eyes on the ground, waiting for the path to appear, but only saw dead leaves and dirt. Before she could panic, there it was. The path was only about a foot wide, but it was there. She kept the flashlight pointed on the forest floor, deciding not to think, only run. Branches snapped at her arms and legs, the ground was uneven, nearly sending her face first into the dirt several times, but she kept going. Valie still felt so tired, but she pushed herself to run as fast and as long as her body would allow.

  Her calves were burning, her lungs felt as if they couldn't keep up, but she ran as if someone was chasing her. Running towards something she didn't understand. The cold air hit her lungs with every quick breath; she ignored the pain and kept going.

  Then, it was there. The cabin came about so suddenly that Valie halted and fell forward on her hands and knees, like it had appeared out of thin air.

  There was no light, no windows; it was a small, dark cabin that Valie would've run straight into if it wasn't for the flashlight. The moon had abandoned her as she got deeper into the woods.

  Valie looked around. There was no sign of life anywhere; it was quiet and calm. Valie was growing to hate the quiet; she was beginning to think it never meant anything good.

  Valie replayed the last couple of hours in her head. She had listened to a stranger who kidnapped her from some other strangers who kidnapped her. She was smarter than this, she knew, but as weird as everything was, Valie wanted to go into the cabin, almost like something was pulling her there. It didn't feel as wrong as it should have. It was the same instinct that made her stomach churn when she first saw the man who kidnapped her that night. That instinct told Valie a lot throughout her life and it was almost always right.

  She stood there and just stared at the cabin, the thought had crossed her mind--what if it had all been some cruel joke? The options were weighed, the pros and cons, the ridiculousness of it all—it all went through her mind. Different scenarios were churning quickly.

  Valie kept the flashlight pointed at the cabin. There was nothing special about it, other than an energy that seemed to be pulsating from it. It almost didn't feel real and she didn't understand why, but she needed to see what was in that cabin. She took a step forward, then another and another.

  Valie was at the front door when she could suddenly hear something inside, it sounded like a muffled argument. Valie jumped back. Phaedra didn't say anything about any people. She felt fear, then curiosity, then more fear. Who could be inside? Friends of Phaedra? She stopped kidding herself, the moment she saw the cabin, she knew she was going inside. Valie took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob.

  Chapter 5

  The cabin was poorly lit, but even so, Valie squinted from the light. The smell of pine hit her nose and the first thing she saw was a young man probably around her age, but he didn't look friendly. He was average height and really muscular. He looked like he could've been a football player, like the kind that are in charge of tackling people, the kind that are supposed to protect whomever has the football, yeah whatever that was called, she thought. He had blonde hair that was long enough to be tied back. His face was very defined; she felt an instant and strong attraction to him, something that instantly annoyed her. This first impression was all wrong and it was only going to get worse.

  He had blue eyes that were partially hidden by glasses, despite being as young as he looked; he was wearing thick glasses that had heavy black rims--the kind that you would see on an 80 year old man. Valie wondered why he didn't wear contacts instead. They didn't look bad, as handsome as he was, they didn't take away from his face, they just looked...different.

  Then, Valie heard her name.

  She looked to her right and there stood Trent.

  Valie inhaled sharply and felt relief run through her body. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She couldn't believe he was there, or how he ended up in some random cabin in the middle of the woods, but it didn't matter, she was just so happy to see him.

  Trent hugged his cousin back. Trent had never been much of a hugger, so Valie could only imagine what he had been through before he ended up there.

  "Trent! What are you doing here?" Valie cried, squeezing him as tightly as she could.

  He only answered by hugging her back.

  Their moment was interrupted by a deep thrum of someone clearing their throat that sounded intentional.

  "Okay, yeah, this is sweet
and all, but also uncomfortable and a little awkward." It was the young man that Valie had first seen when she walked in--Carson Fontaine.

  "Who are you?" He asked accusingly.

  Valie looked up at Trent, when he didn't say anything, she answered, "I'm Valie. Who are you?"

  He took a step towards her, but she didn't move. Valie thought he was trying to intimidate her, but she wasn't afraid of him.

  "Back off, Carson," a voice said, but it wasn't Trent, it was a female's voice and that's when Valie noticed the girl standing in the corner. She, too, looked to be the same age, but she was small. Her hair was platinum blonde, a little curly and just long enough to tuck behind her ears. She couldn't have been taller than five feet. She was petite, and her pink baby-doll dress and black Mary-Jane shoes made her look dainty. She was a pretty girl, but the most noticeable thing about her was her eyes. Valie noticed them right away. They were light, an almost clear-like blue. The intensity from such a soft color was mesmerizing. They were so striking that it was hard to look away. The small girl waved and took a step forward. "I'm Maddy. It's quite obvious that you know Trent and that's Carson." When she spoke, she had a very light British accent, which made her seem even more delicate.

  Valie would later learn that the reason behind her slightly different dialect was because she spent about half her life in the States and the other half England.

  "What is going on?" Valie asked Trent, “Who are these people?”

  "Wait," Carson said, taking away Trent's chance to answer, "I want you to answer my question, who are you and how did you get here?"

  "That's two questions," Maddy said, in her pretty voice and that's when it hit Valie, it felt like a punch in the stomach.

  Maddy. She had heard the name recently.

  Valie shot a look to Trent. Was he thinking the same thing, she wondered?