by Rian Harper
Careful not to fall from the precarious position in which I was, I reached into the front pocket of my jeans to get my cell phone. When the screen lit up from my touch, I saw that I had no service. We truly were in the middle of nowhere.
“No service.” I said, defeated.
“What are we going to do? We need to get him to a hospital.” I could hear the tears welling up through her words.
“Well we need to be careful so that we don’t make the car fall. That would just add to our problems. I’m coming over there to look at his shoulder. Shift back to the passenger’s side so that the car will even out a little.” I instructed her.
When Emma was as far to the opposite side of the car from Everett as she could be, I leaned back into the car, unbuckled my seatbelt, and started slowly making my way over to Everett. The car continued to shift as we moved around the cabin, keeping me paranoid that we were going to drop to the ground at any time. I slid over the console so that I could examine Everett’s injuries.
He was sitting completely back in the driver’s seat now, instead of the previous lurched position that resulted from the impact. He had his head turned toward me with his eyes closed. His breathing was shallow. I knew that he wasn’t completely lucid, which was probably due to the blood loss. His blood was everywhere. He had a contusion on his forehead that was oozing from where he slammed into the steering wheel. Trails of blood streamed down his face from his head wound, making crimson paths around his right eye and down his cheek.
“Damn.” I saw a branch about one inch in diameter protruding nearly two feet from his left shoulder. The ivory V-neck t-shirt he was wearing was now stained dark red. We had to get the branch out of his arm, and then try to stop the bleeding.
“Emma, get my suitcase out of the back and get out of the car. I’m going to lower Everett down to you on the ground so that we can get this stick out of his shoulder.”
“Okay.” She said passively.
While Emma was getting out of the car, I opened my glove compartment to grab the flashlight I kept there for emergencies. I turned it on and shone the beam of light directly at the puncture wound in Everett’s shoulder. There was no way I was getting him out of the car with that stick in his shoulder. But, without something to keep the pressure on the wound so he wouldn’t bleed out, I couldn’t very well take it out either. I decided to break the branch off near the skin so that I could better maneuver him out of the car and to the ground.
Everett moaned in agony as the branch jostled in his shoulder from my attempt to shorten it.
“Sorry, Everett. I have to make it shorter so I can get you out of the car.” I evoked as much compassion as I could. He was in pain and delirious from the blood loss.
With a few more attempts, and Everett’s moaning escalating to screaming, I got the branch shortened enough so that I could lower him down to Emma, who was now on the ground below the driver’s side of the car. The car tilted to the driver’s side as I lowered Everett down, which frightened Emma and I, but actually made it easier to get him out. When Everett was safely lying on the ground, I hurriedly abandoned the precariously-perched vehicle to further assist in managing his wounds.
“I actually think we should leave the branch in his shoulder and just wrap it with one of my t-shirts.” I told Emma.
“That sounds like a good idea.” She concurred.
“No, take it out.” Everett moaned.
“We don’t want you to bleed to death, Everett.” Emma said sternly.
“Make sure you wrap it with enough pressure to slow the bleeding. I’m going to see if I can get back up to the highway.”
There was enough moonlight filtering through the canopy of the forest so that I could see where I was going without taking the flashlight, which Emma needed to dress Everett’s wounds. The embankment was steep and riddled with gravel that was not going to make it easy to ascend to the road. After several slips, a tear in my jeans, and a few scrapes and cuts, I was clutching the side of the guardrail, pulling myself level with the highway.
A section of the guardrail about ten feet ahead of me was mangled from the car exploding through it at high velocity. As I was scanning the area to familiarize myself with my surroundings, I felt a vibration come from the left front pocket of my jeans. I reached in and retrieved my cell phone, holding onto a glimmer of hope that the vibration meant I now had signal. When I tapped the screen to unlock the device, I saw two small bars in the far top-left corner of the screen. Finally, some good news amidst the chaos.
The vibration I felt was from a text message that came through when the phone picked up some signal. It was from an unknown number, probably a client, but I checked it anyway.
I see you. You got away.
But the hunt is on.
-Cade
Chapter 9
Missing
Panic flooded through me as I read the horrifying text message. He was watching me. I looked around, trying to locate anything that seemed out of place, trying to find him. I thought maybe, just maybe I could catch a glimpse of his glowing green eyes in the darkness, staring at me…stalking me. I hated not knowing where he was. He could ambush the three of us from anywhere and probably succeed in killing us all, especially with Everett in his weakened state. As I entertained that macabre notion, I thought about those words again. “…the hunt is on.” He could very well massacre us here and now, but he wanted to hunt me. I was far too vulnerable at the moment, and could be taken down easily, without any challenge. He wanted the challenge. He wanted the game.
I composed myself, and put Cade to the back of my mind. My first priority was getting an ambulance to Everett. I dialed 911 and the dispatcher sent the authorities our way. My next order of business was to get back down to Emma and Everett and warn them about Cade.
I hopped over the guardrail and slid down the gravel on my rear, which was not pleasant. I wanted to reach my friends quickly though. When I hit the bottom, I looked over where I left Emma and Everett just minutes before. Everett was still lying on the ground, now unconscious, but Emma was gone. All that remained of her presence was the glowing flashlight she had, laying on the ground next to Everett.
“Emma!” I yelled into the night. “Emma! Where are you?!”
“Up here!” Her voice came down from the car that was still wedged in midair.
Relieved, I walked over to the car. “What are you doing back in the car?”
She poked her head out of the rear driver’s side door. “I was looking to see if you had a first aid kit.”
“I just called 911. Ambulance will be here soon. How’d you get up there, anyway?” I asked curiously.
“Climbed up the tree.” I heard faintly as she rustled around the cabin again.
“Could you come down, please? You being in that teetering car is making me nervous. It’s not safe.”
“All right. I’m coming.” She conceded.
Emma backed out of the car on her hands and knees, and then dropped her body to a hang when she got a good grip on the running board below the door. I knew that she was quite capable of dropping to the ground unassisted, but I wanted to help anyway. I walked around her dangling legs so that when she dropped down into my arms, we would be facing each other. I wrapped my arms around her hips and waited for her to fall into my embrace. When she did, I lowered her down just enough so that our eyes met. In that moment of gazing into her azure eyes, all of the anxiety of the night vanished. All I needed was her.
“Nate, you can put me down now.” She whispered as she looked back into my eyes.
“I don’t want to. I want to hold you. You make everything better. You make it all go away.” I confessed to her.
She said nothing. I said nothing. I held her for a few more seconds, relishing the sweet feeling of ecstasy I was now awash with. The moment was interrupted by the sound of sirens in the distance.
I exhaled with slight irritation. “That was quick.” I lowered Emma until her feet touched the ground. “I bett
er take the flashlight up there and flag them down. Make sure they don’t drive right by us.”
I thought about the text message again. I didn’t want to leave her in the ditch by herself with Cade lurking around, watching.
“Come up with me.”
“What about Everett? We can’t leave him alone.” She replied.
“I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere. It’ll just be for a minute. You can keep an eye on him from the road.” I told her reassuringly.
“Okay.” She stretched out the word, signifying her reluctance.
The ambulance came into view as soon as we hit the top of the road with the fire truck and a Sheriff’s car close behind. Emma looked over the sloping hill down to where Everett was still lying on the ground, making sure he was all right. The ambulance came to a stop right in front of us, and a woman stepped out of the passenger’s side to come interview us about the accident. She was average height and build, middle-aged, with dirty blonde hair that she had pulled back into a sloppy ponytail. As she approached, I saw the name Lynette embroidered in white on her black paramedic polo shirt, which she had neatly tucked into her khakis.
“Do either of you need medical attention?” I was taken aback by the bitterness in her words; although, if I were working at 4:30 in the morning, I probably would not be pleasant either.
I took it with a grain of salt and replied. “We’re fine, but her brother is down here with some serious injuries.” I walked over to the side of the highway, as Lynette followed, and pointed to Everett. Only Everett wasn’t there.
“Nate, where’d he go?” Emma nervously asked as she grabbed my arm.
“I don’t know. He was right there a minute ago. You saw him, didn’t you?” I asked her.
“Yes. He was right there.” She pointed to the spot where we both knew Everett lay just minutes before.
The first horrific thought that came to mind was that Cade kidnapped Everett. His game had begun, and Everett was his first move. Emma meanwhile jumped the guardrail and slid down the hill to start searching for Everett. I followed closely behind, not wanting her to be down there alone.
“Sir! Ma’am! We’re going to need your statement about the accident!” Lynette called to us from the top of the slope. We ignored her.
“Everett! Everett!” Emma and I both shouted into the dark. She was hoping for the miracle that he was still in the vicinity. I knew otherwise.
“Where did he go?” Emma started sobbing. “He was unconscious. He couldn’t have just gotten up and walked off.”
“I have to show you something.” I pulled my phone out and showed her the text message.
“He’s here?” She said in disbelief. “He has Everett.”
“That’s what I think too. He’s turned this into a game just to get to me. What does he want with me?”
“He wants to kill you.” She said bluntly as she stared at the text message, reading it over and over again.
We were startled by the sound of the firemen descending to the car. I looked up behind us and Lynette was no longer there. The firemen didn’t seem to even notice Emma and I were standing there as they discussed ways to get the car dislodged. As they toiled away, I thought of what our countermove was going to be in the cruel game our lives had become. We had to get Everett back. I couldn’t even imagine the sadistic things that Cade would do to him just to get to me.
“Sir? Ma’am? Could you come back up here so we can get your statement for the record?” Lynette called to us from the road.
Emma and I looked at each other. Her eyes were filled with distraught, while I gazed back at her with understanding and hope. As we were ascending toward the tart paramedic, Emma grabbed my arm to get my attention.
“Follow my lead.” She said with ambiguity.
What she was planning on doing, I couldn’t fathom, but I trusted her. When we reached the top, Lynette was standing in front of the ambulance with a clipboard in hand waiting for our testimony.
“Let’s start with your names.” She said demandingly.
“Na…” I started but Emma cut me off.
“May Kendrick. And this is my husband, Matt.” She gave Lynette fake names. A wonderful tingly feeling fled over me when I heard her refer to me as her husband, regardless of the farce behind it.
Emma thrust her hand out toward Lynette, gesturing for a handshake. Lynette looked at Emma as if she’d lost her mind. The same thought actually crossed mine. I was dumbfounded as to what Emma was doing until Lynette hesitantly reached out to shake Emma’s hand, and then crumbled to the ground, shaking from the jolt Emma delivered her.
“Sir! Officer! Help! She’s having a seizure!” Emma shouted toward the paramedic and deputy conversing next to the fire truck. They rushed over to Lynette, incapacitated on the ground, still shaking slightly from the shock.
“I don’t know what happened. She just started having convulsions.” Emma told them as they approached and knelt next to Lynette. When their full attention was on the convulsing paramedic on the ground, Emma reached over and touched them on their necks, rendering them helpless.
“Come on, Nate. Let’s go.” She said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the Sheriff’s car. “Get in.” She ordered.
“Emma, are you insane? This is a police car. We can’t hijack a police car.” I said, trying to bring some rationale to the situation.
“We just need it to get to the next town. We’ll ditch it and take another car when we get there. Come on.”
I reluctantly slid into the passenger’s seat and Emma peeled away in the lifted cruiser. I started thinking about the consequences of our rash actions. Then I realized that Emma didn’t give Lynette our real names, so we might actually get away with it if we ended up abandoning the commandeered police car before the authorities started pursuit. Although I trusted Emma’s judgment, I still wanted to know what her overall plan was.
“So, what is your plan exactly?” I asked as she went faster and faster over the speed limit.
“Get to a town. Get a less conspicuous car. Get to Athens. Find Everett.” She retorted quickly.
“How are we going to find Everett?”
“Cade wants you to find him. That’s the point. We’ll get Everett back. I’m just worried about the state in which we get him back. I don’t know what that monster is going to do to him.” She bit her bottom lip in nervousness, probably playing various ghastly scenarios through her head of Cade harming Everett.
I could tell that she was distraught beyond consolation, but I wanted to try anyway. I couldn’t be empathetic as to what she was going through right now because of my general detachment from human connection, but I could try and be sympathetic. I reached over and placed a reassuring hand on her leg, hoping she wouldn’t think me too forward.
“It’s okay Emma. He’ll be fine.” I watched as a glimmer of moisture rolled down her cheek. I couldn’t help but feel responsible for her pain. Everett was missing because of me. Everything was happening because of me, and I didn’t know why.
I looked around and saw that we were on the outskirts of a small town. Quintessential American homes were spaced randomly on either side of the road, their residents still asleep in the wee hours of morning. As we zoomed by a gas station, my phone alerted me that a message was downloading.
“Emma, it’s from Cade.”
“What does it say?” She asked with anticipation.
“It’s a picture of Everett.” The shock in my tone prompted Emma to pull off to the side of the road.
She snatched the phone from my hand to look at the picture. Everett was tied to a chair and gagged with a sign taped on his chest that read:
FIND ME
OR I DIE
Under the picture was a caption.
You have 24 hours. Need a hint?
I’m green with envy.
-Cade
I was furious and Emma was beside herself with worry. Cade was toying with my emotions and devastating Emma’s. The more he played the
game, the more I hated him. Emma lost herself to tears. Her outburst made me uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to do for her. I didn’t know what to say. All I could manage was to put my arm around her shoulder and hope she would calm down soon. She slid into my side embrace and cried into my shoulder until I felt her tears soak through my shirt. After a few minutes, she collected herself.
“We have to find him, Nate.” She choked through softened sobs.
“We will Em. We will.” I assured her.
I wanted to let Cade know he wasn’t going to win. I wanted him to know that I was going to prevail, no matter how impossible that may have seemed. I tapped my phone and started to compose a message.
I am going to end you.
-Nate
Chapter 10
Tick-Tock
Emma and I were still parked on the side of the road in a stolen squad car, that I was wagering someone would be looking for soon. We needed a plan to find Everett, and the clock was against us. I saw that we were just down the road from a used car dealership.
“Hey, can you jumpstart one of those used cars up there?” I asked Emma as she dabbed at her moist cheeks with the end of her shirt sleeve.
“Everett did it, so I guess I can.”
We deserted the Sheriff’s car and started walking toward the used car lot. We found an older model car that didn’t have an alarm system and broke a back window to unlock the doors. Emma jumpstarted it with ease and we were back on track to Athens.
A little over two hours after we boosted the car, we were on the outskirts of Athens. Dawn was quickly breaking over the horizon, turning the coal-black sky to a charcoal gray. We weren’t far into the city limits when Emma pulled the car into a vacant lot. It had been a store of some sort that was no longer in business. A bright yellow sign with big black letters advertising a closeout sale was lying on the ground in front of the entrance. There were some cars on the road, but not many. It was still too early for everyday business to be taking place.