When she thought about the situation, fear consumed her mind momentarily. She realized she had never met Dan’s family. She had never known his background really, or what he did for a living. They hadn’t dated very long, and realized she didn’t know much about him. He seemed well kept, but that was easy to fake. She had been lied to, or at least the entire truth was never put out on the table for her to see. Her thoughts were interrupted again as Megan kept throwing out questions that annoyed Dan.
“How much further?” she asked, getting impatient with the length of the drive.
“A couple more miles,” he replied. “We will have to tell her what is going on and see if we can talk her into cooperating before we have to do anything we don’t want to do.”
Shannon felt the car come to a stop and didn’t want to let them know she had been awake, let alone listening to everything along the way. She acted like she was asleep again as the front doors opened simultaneously. She heard gravel under the feet of the two siblings, giving her the notion that they were far away from the city.
The door opened near her head and she felt the breathe of Megan on her neck as she leaned down to whisper in her ear as though she knew she had been awake.
“Don’t worry babe, I won’t let him hurt you. I’m sorry for everything, but I’ll get you out of this.”
Shannon didn’t know what to think as Megan had lied to her and betrayed her more than anyone ever had. She wanted to trust her, but was in no position to do so at the time.
“Dan will be back in a moment to bring you inside. Do what he says and I will help you make everything right afterward, I promise. I love you Shannon!”
With all that had happened in the past few hours, Shannon wished she could tell Megan she loved her as well but couldn’t imagine ever saying those three words to her again. It was true though; she still loved her. She had fallen in love with a liar, who used her, but couldn’t change the fact that the love was real.
She heard gravel crunching again from afar but the noise was getting closer. Dan was on his way back to the car to bring Shannon inside. She didn’t want to be left alone with him without Megan, but she knew she didn’t have much choice in the matter. Dan opened the other back seat door, pulled on her legs, and out of the car she went. Just before her topside hit the gravel, Megan grabbed her arms lifting her up. They began walking her up the driveway and toward a building she saw as she narrowly opened her eyes. Dan noticed that her eyes had opened.
“ Didn’t expect you to wake up yet!” he said, with an almost happy tone, eerily smiling at her as they walked.
They brought her inside, and laid her on a bed in a small room just inside.
“We will be right outside, so don’t think about doing anything you will regret!” Dan said as they left her in the room, closing the door on the way out.
Shannon looked around at the dismal room, hoping it wouldn’t be the last she ever saw. It was a tiny room, with wooden walls. She assumed it was a cabin of some sort, and probably didn’t have anyone else around either. She decided to wait it out and see what they wanted with her before trying anything she might regret later. Oddly enough, she decided she was going to listen to Megan. She couldn’t trust her, but kept remembering what she said in hopes of getting out of this situation unharmed. It seemed like hours, but in reality only minutes, that Dan had come into the room.
“So Shannon, first of all, I want to let you in on a little bit of history. When I first met you, I thought you were the one for me. When we split up I was crushed, and from that moment on thought about you every day. I could not get you out of my head. I couldn’t sleep, eat, or go about my normal life without memories of us emerging. The love for you transformed into hate when I realized you were gone forever. I couldn’t help but think of one thing, getting back at you for what you did to me. So, money was the first thing I could think of and knew you had plenty of it. Megan was the first person that offered to help when I told her what I had devised. She is my sister Shannon, and would do anything for me. We planned for her to fall in love with you, get you to feel the same way, and give her access to everything you had. If she wasn’t so weak, it would have worked!”
He paused briefly, shaking his head. He didn’t expect this moment to come. No plans for what he was going to say, or do, next.
“So Shannon, I know you can get to all of your parent’s money, and I need you to do so for me. I need you to do this for us, and then never mention anything to anyone. If you do so, everyone will go home safe and sound. If not, things are going to get ugly and then we will get what we want in the end regardless.”
He paused, giving Shannon a chance to say something. She didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t going to just give in to Dan, but didn’t want to get hurt either. She still didn’t know where Julie was, and assumed she was here as well. She couldn’t risk her best friend getting harmed either, not if she had the power to stop it.
“I’ll do whatever you want if you promise to let Julie and I go,” Shannon whispered, still feeling the effects of being drugged earlier.
Dan smiled, feeling accomplished. “Good answer Shannon, you won’t regret it. I know it’s late, so you are going to sleep here for tonight and we will get everything worked out so you can go home in the morning. Again, don’t try anything because Megan and I are right down the hall. Not only that, but there isn’t anyone around for miles and you don’t have a phone anymore!”
Shannon reached down and felt her pockets, but they were empty. Dan must have taken her phone when she was asleep, making sure she had no access to call anyone.
“If you promise that I will leave here safely, I will do what you need,” she said, already devising a plan to get away regardless of what she said.
“Good!” Dan said. Now sleep tight.
Just before he left the room Shannon asked him something else.
“Where is Julie?”
Dan smiled again, answering Shannon’s question without a second thought.
“She’s at her house, safe and sound.”
Shannon was confused. Julie was at home and hadn’t wondered what was going on? Why hadn’t she tried calling her, and if she had, why wasn’t she worried? At this point, she wouldn’t have really known since she had no phone but she still was really worried that Julie had no idea what was really happening. Megan must have lied to her so that she knew nothing at all. If Dan was telling the truth, Shannon was okay with it. It was for the best that she didn’t know what really was going on.
Dan closed the door and left Shannon sitting in the room, all alone.
“Everything is going to be okay,” she whispered to herself.
She was going to find a way to get out of there tonight. She wasn’t going to give in and risk Dan hurting her anyway, even if she did what he said. There was no way he was just going to let her leave, risking her telling the police. She couldn’t wait until the morning, she was going to leave tonight.
As she was planning her next step, the door opened abruptly.
“Megan! What are you doing in here? I don’t want to see you now, or ever again. Please, get out of here!”
Megan didn’t act as if she heard anything Shannon said as she quietly shut the door behind her. Shannon repeated herself with an even louder voice. Megan cut her off by putting her finger over her lips.
“Shut the fuck up Shannon, I’m going to get you out of here!”
CHAPTER TEN: BREAK FREE
Shannon was hesitant as she didn’t know if she could trust Megan or not. She had been lying all along so why would she want to help now? Something inside of Shannon was telling her to trust her, at the same time, she didn’t want to go along with another part of Megan and Dan’s plan if that is what was going on.
“How do I know you aren’t lying to me again Megan?” she asked, holding back tears. “How do I know this isn’t all part of the plan?”
“Baby, listen to me,” said Megan, begging Shannon to give her a chance to talk. “I went al
ong with Dan’s plan to get back at you for hurting him. I didn’t know how wonderful you were, that I would fall in love with you. The plan was to fake it and get you hooked, but that isn’t how it went. I’m sorry for everything, but we have to get out of here. Dan is going to try to get what he wants and he may not let you go afterward. I don’t want you to get hurt Shannon.”
“Okay Megan, I believe you,” Shannon said, kissing Megan on the forehead quickly. “What now? Do we call Julie and get her to come get us?”
Megan shook her head sadly. “We can’t do that Shannon. Julie is in on this as well. She led you right to us so we could all benefit. We are going to have to stay away from her or she will tell Dan exactly where we went the first chance she gets.”
Shannon couldn’t believe what Megan was telling her but really didn’t have an option in the matter.
“Are you saying Julie has been in on this since day one?” she asked, covering her face, overwhelmed with emotion.
“Yes Shannon,” said Megan, regretfully. “I am sorry that this has happened to you. Time is of the essence, we are in the middle of nowhere and there are not many folks around for miles. Cell phone service won’t allow calls out from here and we can’t take the car. I’m not sure what we can do, but we certainly cannot sit around here.”
“How far is the walk back to civilization?” Shannon asked, thinking in her head about the next step they should take.
“About ten miles, give or take,” Megan replied, knowing it would be a stretch to walk that far and not get turned around in the darkness of night.
“Well, I don’t really think we have any other options Megan. We are going to have to try.”
Megan nodded, knowing Shannon was right. The only problem was getting out of the cabin without Dan hearing them.
“Where can we go once we get out of here?” Megan asked, as if Shannon knew anything about the area.
“We could go back to your house and leave from there!” Shannon said, almost as if Megan should have been the first to think that.
“Well, there lies another problem. That house isn’t mine Shannon.”
“Well, if it isn’t yours, whose is it? Also, where do you live if that isn’t your house,” Megan asked, confused about the situation even more now.
“It’s Julie’s house. Her parents bought it for her before they moved away to Australia. I live here, with Dan. We acted like that was my house so we could set everything up in terms of the plan we had all worked out.”
Shannon was stunned at just how deep they were in this elaborate plan. They were never going to go to Julie’s parents house on Christmas Day. Julie’s parents were not even in Michigan anymore. Julie had led her straight to the place that would forever change her life. Julie made it seem as if Megan was the one with all of the money and benefits of having an amazing home. This plan was well thought out, mainly by Dan, Shannon presumed.
“How long have you been working this plan out Megan?” Shannon asked, pausing her train of thought momentarily.
“For a couple of years now honestly. Since you broke up with Dan, Julie and I both wanted to help him get back at you. She always liked him and he was my brother, so we started conspiring from there. I am completely done with it now though after getting to know you and falling in love with you. At the time, I didn’t like the person Dan told me you were, but I love the person you actually are. I can see he was hurt by you, but it couldn’t have been intentional. You are the sweetest, most caring person I have ever met.”
Shannon gave Megan a smile, even though the situation wasn’t a happy one in the least bit.
“Okay Megan, we have got to get out of here, we will talk more once we are away from this place.”
“Sounds like a plan babe. I’ll tell Dan I am going to the car to get something, and you will have to follow me when there is a chance. I will leave the door open behind me. Once we get out, run for the woods behind the house and we will make our way to the town from here. I’m going to grab my coat from the car while I’m out there and we will have to switch off wearing it to stay warm.”
“Alright Megan, sounds like a plan to me. Try to time it well so I have enough time to get out with you.”
Megan nodded as if to say not to worry. “I got it babe, I won’t let him hurt you.”
She walked out of the door and left it cracked so Shannon could hear everything in the living room. She heard Dan talking with her, telling her that she did a great job and that everything was going to be perfect from this moment on. Megan agreed with him, playing along for the time being. Shannon heard Megan asking questions, trying to get Dan to leave the room by subtly giving hints as to why he should.
“Are you hanging Dan?” she asked first.
He replied quickly, almost as if he knew what was going on. “No, I’m good for now.”
Of course he had know way of knowing what the girls were scheming, but he wasn’t budging from his post just outside the room with Shannon inside.
“Well, I am thinking about getting a shower really quick, do you want to get one before or after me?” she asked, as if she was giving him an option. Shannon was surprised when it worked like a charm.
“I’ll get one first because you always take all the damn hot water!” Dan said, chuckling at his sister. “Don’t leave this room though, just in case she tries to leave.”
Megan laughed back at him, “Aye aye Captain, I will stand guard until you come back.”
Shannon heard footsteps throughout the house as Dan walked back into another room, most likely where the shower was located. She heard water turn on as the pipes ran through her room as well. It was quite loud, giving her the green light to get out of the house. Just as she was walking to the door to peak out, it swung open, startling her and sending her falling backwards onto the ground.
Megan laughed and said, “let’s go angel, we don’t have long!”
Shannon got up, breathing heavily, grabbed Megan’s hand as they rushed towards the door.
They headed to the car and opened it up, looking for anything they could use on the long walk ahead of him.
“Wait Megan, why don’t we just take the car? He wouldn’t know until he got out that we were gone.”
Shannon had a good point, but Megan had a better one.
“He has a GPS unit attached to it. We may get away quicker, but he would come find us.”
Shannon thought for a second and then realized something that the two girls hadn’t thought of yet. She had a car in the city that they could get in, after dropping this one off.
Megan had a come back for that plan too that scared Shannon badly.
“He has a GPS in your car too Shannon. We are going to have to do everything on foot and quietly. Hurry up, grab the gun under the seat!”
“Gun? Why do we need a gun?” Shannon asked, scared more than ever now.
“Well, there are two reasons. We never know when it might come in handy. Secondly, if we have it, Dan doesn’t.”
Megan had an extremely valid point. Shannon didn’t want Dan, angry at them both, to come storming through the woods with a loaded gun. It was better if they had it for protection from him or anyone else they might come into contact with. Shannon pulled the gun and holster out from under the seat and strapped it around her waist quickly, adrenaline pumping through her veins more than ever now.
“Let’s go Shannon,” said Megan, throwing her coat around her body and pointing into the woods behind the house.
Shannon stared into the darkness and then looked at Megan. She was scared, but knew she didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. She nodded her head, pointed at the woods herself, and started jogging toward them. It was going to be a long haul, but the girls weren’t going to stick around any longer than necessary. They headed into the night, ready to make their way home.
As they were getting farther from the house, they slowed down a bit. Dan wouldn’t be able to track them anymore as they had went a good distance. There were woods all
around the cabin and he wouldn’t have a clue which way they went, especially in the dark. He couldn’t hear them anymore either, giving them a sense of relief.
“Okay Megan, we have to think a little more about the long term now. We are safe for now, but where are we going to go after this?”
The girls didn’t have any money because Shannon’s wallet was in Julie’s house and Megan, not thinking about money, left her money back at the cabin.
“We are going to have to start a new life together Shannon. I know you have a life back home, but Dan and Julie know where you live, sleep, and eat. They know where you go to school, and everything else about you. They will come after you there baby. We are going to have to go far away, and start over.”
“I know Megan, I know,” Shannon said as tears came to her eyes. “I have so much back home; it’s going to be hard to leave it all and start from scratch.”
Megan nodded her head, knowing that Shannon was having a tough time. “I am doing the same Shannon, and better yet, we are doing it together. I will stay by your side forever and help you through anything you face. We will face life together from now on.”
Shannon stopped and hugged Megan, letting go only to give her a deep kiss on the lips.
“Everything is going to be fine,” Megan whispered.
“Is there any way to get into Julie’s house without her knowing?” Shannon asked, needing to get her purse back so they could have some money for the time being.
“That’s not going to be easy whatsoever. You can see people coming from a mile away there, and I’m sure she will be on the lookout. We could wait until she left and then find a way in afterward,” Megan said, thinking out loud basically.
“How do you know she will leave?” Shannon asked.
“She will go to Dan, and they will come looking for us together. That is how I know,” Megan said.
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