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by Leona Keyoko Pink

  “Mmm,” he said, “What about them?”

  “I dream of beaches sometimes,”

  “You like them,” he said, “It isn’t uncommon to dream about what we like. I’ve dreamed about you plenty of times,”

  Thankfully I hadn’t dreamed about him at all.

  “You were always running away,” he sneered, “But sometimes, I’d catch you,”

  My heart sunk. No….It couldn’t be...Those were just nightmares. It had to be a coincidence.

  “But then I’d wake up and you’d be gone,” he sighed and then smiled to himself, “But now, now I have you,”

  I didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t have been the shadow in my dreams. I’d been dreaming of a shadow chasing me since I was little. He hadn’t seen me until I was at least sixteen,”

  “What about your real dreams?” asked Lynn. I didn’t know what he meant. “Your aspirations. You were going to college, weren’t you? What did you want to study?”

  “I...” Thinking about it depressed me. I didn’t know how much time had passed but I knew I wouldn’t be going. I’d barely been accepted. My parents could barely afford it. I’d worked so hard just for a chance, but it didn’t matter now. None of my plans mattered now.

  “You always do that,” he said, annoyed.

  “What,” I said.

  “Zone out. It makes me wonder what you could possibly be thinking,”

  “What are you thinking?” I said, trying to get the focus off me.

  “About you. I’m always thinking about you.”

  Of course. I walked into that one. I sighed as he ran his fingers through my hair.

  I continued to look at the water and then asked, “Could I go swimming?”

  “No,” he said, “The water is too cold. It might be nice and hot out but it’s like thirty degrees,”

  “So?” I said. Around him I always felt like I was freezing, “A few minutes wouldn’t hurt,”

  “Maybe later,” he said but I doubted him. I doubted he’d give me a chance to swim away. “What else would you like to do? I have other things, books, games. If you’re really good I could hook up the TV. I think you’ll enjoy my movie selection.”

  I wasn’t interested in anything he had to offer but my freedom. But I knew if I asked for that it would just start a fight and we’d have to go back that much sooner.

  “I know,” he said, “Why don’t we go fishing tomorrow? We bought you that pole,”

  I remembered it. I’d sworn I wasn’t going to be around long enough to use it. Still, that had to take an hour or two, right? “Why not today?”

  He groaned, “I said tomorrow,” Then he got up and tugged me to stand as well.

  We started to head back to the cabin but I kept going, “But I really, really want to!”

  “If you’re that eager to do something, perhaps we can do something tonight,” he smiled at me charmingly, teasing, but it made my heart sink. I just didn’t want to go back so soon. The cabin felt suffocating but I knew it wasn’t the cabin. It was Lynn.

  I dragged my feet as we slowly walked back. He could see how unhappy I was and sighed, “I suppose I could consider it,” I perked up as he continued, “If you said you loved me,”

  I stopped walking and he paused as well. We were several feet away from the cabin. I thought about what he said. He wanted me to say I loved him. He was trying to bargain with me again. He’d used my brother to get me say it before and now he was trying to use this to get me to do it again. I refused...refused to give him the pleasure and instead smiled.

  “But I don’t,” I said in an upbeat, carefree tone.

  He looked at me, “You will,”

  “I won’t,” I said happily and then I continued, “You see, from the moment I met you I knew I hated you,”

  He snorted as if he’d caught me in a lie, “You told Julia you didn’t like me. There’s a big difference,”

  I’d forgotten he’d been in the closet but bitterly said, “Not to me,” I don’t know what had gotten into me. I guess it was the fresh air going to my head or the beautiful return of my hatred. My anger… I’d been feeling down on myself, depressed and scared, but I had something now.

  Something he wanted that I could withhold. He might be able to beat me, rape me, but I wouldn’t...I vowed to myself in that moment I would never say those three words to him again. I rubbed it in his face, “I won’t ever say those words to you again for as long as I live.”

  His eyes lit up with my threat...My challenge. He leaned into me, pulling on the handcuffs so that I couldn’t squirm away. He bared down on me with his presence. His voice got quite dark, “I can make you. You, of all people, should know by now what I’m capable of,”

  I swallowed hard, cringing internally, but I stared right back at him, “You can try,”

  He studied my expression, the rebellion in my eyes. He smiled mischievously. Without a word he turned, yanking me along. He pulled me back to the cabin. I wondered what he was thinking. What was I was doing challenging him when I was clearly at his mercy?

  He entered the code on the door. I watched him this time but he was so fast that I didn’t catch a single digit. As soon as we were back inside my sudden confidence was beginning to fade. When the door shut I found myself questioning everything. What was I thinking? Was I asking for him to hurt me again? Rape me?

  I bit my lip thinking what did it matter? What did three little words matter? He’d said them to Julia easily enough when supposedly I was all he wanted. What did it matter if I said them or not to him? He removed the handcuffs. I massaged my wrist as the hairs on my body began to stand up.

  He grabbed the back of my neck and I began to whimper. I should just...take it back... ‘No,’ I thought, ‘I wouldn’t. I’d made a vow.’ A vow… What did my vow matter? He forced me over to a large trunk in the room. He undid the latch and opened it. There was nothing inside. He thrust me towards it wanting me to get in but I struggled against him.

  He squeezed my neck tighter to the point where I thought he was gonna pop my head off. When I saw his fist coming at me I held my breath and closed my eyes, expecting him to beat me again.

  After a second I opened my eyes to see he’d stopped inches from my face. He unclenched his hand and brushed my cheek before he roughly forced me into the trunk. It was large but I had to curl up to fit inside. When the lid closed I breathed again and started to hyperventilate. I heard the latch shut and then lock.

  I thought I was trapped and then I saw little lights where he’d drilled air holes. He’d already made adjustments for me. For some reason this calmed me and I began to breathe normally once again. He’d always intended for me to be in here. He probably intended for this to be a punishment but small places didn’t bother me.

  If I looked at the holes just right in the darkness they almost reminded me of stars in the sky...I thought back to the field. He was trying to manipulate me and scare me but if I didn’t let him, if I didn’t see this trunk as a bad place, then he couldn’t win.

  He banged on the trunk, shaking it. I turned my head to the side and attempted to look out of one of the holes but it was too small to really see anything out of it. I could hear, though. I heard him laugh before he said, “You’ll stay in there until you tell me what I want to hear,”

  For a moment I wondered if I should just say it and get it over with. I knew I couldn’t stay in here forever even if it wasn’t half bad. But part of me wondered could he keep me in her forever? I knew he didn’t want to kill me.

  Would he really let me die in here if I didn’t say it? Or would he eventually cave in and let me out. He tapped the box again and I felt the top of it creak. He must have sat down on it, “Come on, Becca, let me hear those three words,”

  I stared at the top of the trunk and then emotionally said, “Lynn,”

  I paused for a moment before smiling, “FUCK YOU!”

  He kicked the trunk repeatedly. It made a lot of loud sounds. I knew I was going to pay for th
is later. I half expected him to rip me out but he stopped pounding. Things got quiet and I just stared at the air holes.

  I could hear he was still on top of the trunk. Every so often it would squeak with the shifting of his weight. Tears welled up in my eyes as I again wondered what I was doing. What outcome I expected from this…

  I laid there wondering if I could fall asleep like this. If maybe, for a little, while I could escape, if only in my dreams.

  There was a loud noise. A loud BANG. My eyes shot open. I hadn’t realized I’d closed them. I wondered if Lynn was attempting to mess with me. I heard the lid creak, then Lynn’s voice. He sounded surprised, “Who the fuck are you?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  I heard some rustling, then scuffling of feet. Was someone else here? There was a moment of silence and then a slam. I heard things falling to the floor and felt vibrations. Something hit the trunk. Glass shattered. Someone coughed and then there was a thud, more things falling to the floor. I heard Lynn bellow.

  There was a large crack and then the whole floor vibrated as something heavy hit it. I head Lynn cry out in pain. There was more scuffling. Then flickering of lights. It was dark in the trunk save for the light the air holes let through. The light changed, flashing as I heard what sounded like a bug zapper.

  I turned on my side trying to see through the holes. I saw colors and shapes but I couldn’t see anything clearly. Lynn screamed like I had never heard anyone scream before and there were noises...thuds and thunks. My heart raced with curiosity and excitement. Someone else was here! Someone was hurting Lynn!

  I thought to call out but I waited. I didn’t want them to stop. I wanted them to kill him. I heard more zapping and Lynn’s cries stopped. There was another sound, a thump. I waited but didn’t hear anything. Was it over?

  I bit my lip and thought I should call out now. I wanted them to know I was in here, “HELP…HELP….PLEASE HELP ME!” I banged on the trunk, trying to move it, “I’M IN HERE!!! HELP!!!”

  I heard footsteps and my chest rose with anticipation. I expected to hear the lock. For the trunk to open. I heard movements, listening for the slightest of sounds. I attempted to look through the holes again. There was silence. I waited and what felt like forever passed. I began to worry they hadn’t heard me and shook. I moved, shaking the trunk, “HELP! HELP! HELP!!!

  I punched at the trunk and attempted to open it but it was still locked. Had...had the person left? Were those the footsteps I heard, them leaving? What if I couldn’t get out? What if I was trapped here forever until I died? No, no, I shook, starting to cry. I screamed loudly, as loud as I could, and attempted to break out of the trunk once again.

  I almost didn’t hear the footsteps until they were right next to the box. I saw the light in the trunk shift through blurry eyes. Someone was standing in front of it. Tears streaming down my face I cried out, “HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?! I’M IN HERE! I CAN’T GET OUT!”

  I heard the latch on the trunk. My heart skipped a beat. They’d heard me. They’d heard me! The lid lifted slightly, letting more light in. I expected it to open all the way. I expected to see someone. Maybe the police, maybe someone who had just been passing by and saw us. Surely by now someone had to know I was missing. Of course. I hadn’t thought about it. My parents they would have been looking for me. My picture might be all over the news.

  The trunk didn’t open any further. I heard footsteps again. They were moving away. Why were they walking away? I pushed on the lid, opening it. I sat up and looked to see the back of a man as he walked away from me.

  I was filled with a sense of familiarity. Without thinking I called out, “It’s you!”

  Was I crazy? That was a dream. It couldn’t possibly be him! Still, he paused in the doorway just as the man in my dreams had. He turned slightly. He had a hoodie on. I could only see the tip of his nose before he continued again, stepping outside.

  “Wait!” I said, scrambling to get up. I nearly tripped on a book. My eyes widened as I took in my surroundings. All those noises I’d heard. There were things everywhere. The wall shelves had been broken, their items tossed around the room. It looked like a hurricane had swept through.

  The table had been split in half and I could see a spot where there was blood, but I didn’t see Lynn. I didn’t see him anywhere in the room. I carefully rushed to the door, afraid for a second that it might swing shut and I’d be locked in.

  Only when I got to the doorway I saw the door was gone. Completely gone. I turned around and saw it in the bathroom. I hadn’t noticed it behind the privacy glass. It had landed on the toilet, shattering it. What could have removed a door like that and sent it flying across the room? Had that been the bang I’d heard earlier? Maybe it was a small explosion.

  I rushed outside and it was still light out, though it was later now. I looked for the man, looked for any sign of anyone. It had taken me only a few seconds to get out of the cabin but he was gone. He was gone and there was no one in sight, nothing but nature all around me.

  Epilogue

  I had no idea what had just happened. I was confused but I didn’t dwell on it long. Lynn was gone. I was free. I was getting out of here. I walked away from the cabin and stumbled through the forest. Maybe I should have gone back inside the cabin and gotten some proper shoes but I was scared that Lynn was still around.

  I worried that the man had just hurt him and that Lynn had escaped into the woods. Perhaps that was why the man hadn’t stuck around. Maybe he was going after him. I saw several drops of blood as I was leaving the cabin but they disappeared after a few feet.

  I was also scared that this might all just be a dream. That I might still be in that trunk. It would make sense why I had seen the man from my dreams if I was in a dream. Please, please don’t let me be dreaming...

  The woods were vast and deep. Once the cabin was out of sight I had no idea where I was going. I hoped I wouldn’t run into any danger. At one point I heard the crackling of twigs. Every so often I would hear leaves moving but when I looked around I didn’t see anyone. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone or something was out there watching me.

  I bit my lip and just continued walking, hoping I’d fine my way out or find someone who could help me. One of my shoes broke and I had to slow down. When it started to get dark I wondered if I should be looking for a place to spend the night. Maybe I should start gathering some firewood. Who knows what I would do if I couldn’t see anything.

  I heard some dogs barking in the distance and spun around looking for them. Suddenly I spotted them. There were at least three, maybe four. I was worried they might be wild. I wasn’t sure if I should run. If I could outrun them. After a few feet I saw men behind them. A lot of men, policemen.

  I cried out, throwing my hands into the air. Even after they saw me I kept waving and shouting to them. The dogs reached me first. They sniffed me, wagging their tails before sitting in front of me. My heart swelled with joy. They found me, the police had found me.

  When the police reached one of them asked, “Is your name Becca?”

  “Yes,” I said. They knew my name, “Yes, I’m Becca. I was kidnapped,”

  The officer spoke into a radio on his shoulder, “We found the girl. Repeat, we have located the girl,”

  I turned, wanting to tell them where the cabin was, but wasn’t sure now. Everything felt so surreal. “There’s a cabin somewhere,”

  “We’ll find it,” said the police officer. A medic came over to me. They checked me out, making sure I was stable enough to keep going. They wrapped my feet for protection and then helped me out of the woods escorted by several police officers.

  They took me to a place I hadn’t been. To be fair, this whole area was new to me. There was another side road, different from where Lynn’s shack had been. I mentioned the shack and his car to the police in case he was going for it. A police officer reported it on the radio.

  I was taken over to an ambulance and then taken to the hospital. When I got
there they contacted my parents. They continued to treat my injuries and I found I had a few broken bones. They did a rape kit and my eye was indeed infected. It needed surgery, the sooner the better. Since I was eighteen they needed my approval.

  I gave it to them. I told them they could do whatever they needed. Afterwards, the police wanted to take my statement. I told them everything I could think of and then some. They wrote it all down. I wanted to know how they knew where to find me.

  They told me someone had anonymously called in a tip. They’d been told someone named Becca had been kidnapped and was being held at a cabin. I couldn’t help but think it was the man from my dreams. The man that had saved me. They asked me about him but I didn’t know anything. He’d just disappeared almost as soon as he’d appeared.

  My parents arrived a few hours later. They’d caught the first flight they could. They told me I’d been gone for over a month. I couldn’t believe that. There was no way. Maybe a week or two, but a month? I found I was pretty far from home. I must have been drugged longer than I’d thought in those first few days.

  When I calmed down I asked about Tam, worrying Lynn had lied to me. He was indeed safe and so was Chip. They were both back at home with my Aunt. She’d been staying with them since I had gone missing. I told them what Lynn had said about Tam. The pictures he’d shown me. That it was the reason I hadn’t tried to get away harder…

  My mom just hugged me and I could see the devastation on my father’s face. Later they told me I did what I thought was best at the time. That I had chosen Tam’s safety above all else. That I was a good sister.

  They told me about what had happened after I’d been taken from Julia’s. My mother had tried calling me when I didn’t return the next afternoon. When I didn’t answer my father tried. Then they’d both gone over to Julia’s.

  She’d claimed we’d never had a sleep over and that I had only stopped by long enough to tell her I was running away. That I had met a guy online and my parents just wouldn’t understand. I’d told her goodbye and then had just left. She claimed she tried to reason with me but I thought I was in love.