“No!” Carrie screamed as she and Sara plunged to their knees beside their fallen friend.
“Amanda,” Sara sobbed as she rolled her friend over to her back and cradled her friend’s head onto her lap.
Amanda breathed quick shallow breaths as silent tears stained the side of her face. Carrie held Amanda’s face and sopped quiet words of comfort while blood began to pool at the corner of Amanda’s mouth and under her back. Amanda’s shirt over her stomach became more and more soaked in a dark shade of liquid crimson, while the thick metallic fluid pooled underneath her body.
Carrie screamed as Gabriel approached the girls, still pointing the gun at them. His face had no remorse, just dangerous determination as he grabbed Sara by the hair and raised her to her feet.
“Stop, what do you want?” Carrie cried out in a terrified high pitched voice.
“Just this bitch!” He growled pulling tightly on Sara’s hair, she gasped as Carrie began screaming louder, “No, please! No, please Gabriel, let her go!”
“Shut that hole in the face before I give you another one!” He growled as he pointed the gun at Carrie.
“No,” Sara’s voice broke, “I’ll go with you, just, please don’t hurt anyone else.”
Carrie slumped over Amanda, sobbing brokenly.
Still gripping her hair, Gabriel pulled Sara back to the edge of the river boat where the three armed men waited.
In the speed boat one of the men duct taped her hands together and put a strip of duct tape over her mouth. She looked from man to man, each of them was between 30 and 40 years of age, one had a burly beard, while the other had a scar down his jaw line, there was Gabriel, and there was one man who Sara realized she recognized. She couldn’t quite remember where from.
To Sara’s surprise they the boat didn’t turn around to go back to Manaus but headed deeper into the rainforest. The boat bumped and jarred as it sped up the river, the tears distorting Sara’s vision created a Picasso-esc view of the river and forest scape in blurred tones of tones of greens, browns end intermittent bright colors emphasized by the sudden influxes of light shining through the canopy.
After what must have been hours the boat pulled to shore and Sara was lifted out of the boat. Sara cried silent tears as was led on foot into the forest on what seemed to be some sort of game trail that was barely there. Branches scratched and bruised her legs and arms, thorns underneath her feet were so large that they threatened to plunge through her thin slip-on hemp sneakers as she stumbled clumsily along the trail. Whenever she staggered she would be gripped by one of the men with such pressure it made her arm throb.
As she staggered along she glanced around looking for some way to escape. Sara was alarmed to realize that even if she could somehow get away from the men she would be running aimlessly into the jungle, either way she didn’t stand a chance.
The as they walked deeper and deeper into the forest, Sara noticed that it was surprisingly dark although it was still daytime. The canopy shaded the entire area, and the warm stick air was made it uncomfortable to breathe, especially with the tape over her mouth.
There was a buzz in the air from millions of bugs, and the intermittent screeches of birds in the background. The enormous tree trunks dominated the earth floor creating a maze, disorienting Sara even more.
Sara’s feet ached as she obediently walked for what seemed like an endless amount of time, she felt weak and exhausted when the men finally came to a stop. She wouldn’t quite call the spot a clearing, however, the large trees were further apart. The large man with the scar sat Sara down against a tree and taped her feet together so that she had no chance of escape.
While the men set up camp for the night they only spoke in Portuguese, Sara had no idea what they were saying leaving her helpless and confused against the tree. Sara kept trying to figure out how she knew the one familiar man, and couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
As the sun went down the group was surrounded by true darkness, the only light was the fire dancing through the night. The sounds of the night were much louder than during the day as more bugs flew about accompanied by animal cries and screeches from deep within the darkness.
As Sara leaned against the tree she felt her body grow heavy as somehow the exhaustion and stress from the day proved to be too much. Though she tried to fight the heaviness overcoming her eyelids, she felt the world dimming around her, and though she struggled to keep her eyelids from falling shut the world went completely black.
Sara awoke in the darkness to the tape binding her feet being cut. Other than the dancing fire light there was nothing but the silhouette of trees in the blackness.
She looked down to where the tape had been cut and saw the familiar man kneeling over her. He grinned at her, his one green eye glinting the fire light. She realized where she recognized him from, it was his one eye that gave him away was the hotel security from Rio who was at the bar where they met Gabriel.
Maybe he’s going to help me, Sara though hopefully after realizing that he had freed her feet, she hoped that he would free her hands next. But her hopes were shattered when he put his hand on her throat and unzipped her sweater past her breasts. Sara struggled and tried to kick him away with her newly freed legs, but this did little to deter him. He tightened his grip on her throat as he pressed his weight down on top of her and kissed down her chest down to the boarder of where her shirt began. Frustrated by her clothing he lifted her shirt and sweater up so it was around her head and she could no longer see him.
Terror flooded her body as she felt him licking her stomach and working his way up to her breasts. Through her shirt she could smell the liquor seeping through the pores of her attacker, and she tried to scream as she felt his mouth on her breasts, his tongue circling her nipple before he violently sucked. Her taped mouth let no sound out, so she did her best to trash around, if she couldn’t get him off of her maybe she could wake the others.
His hand was on her crotch, pressing down over her jeans, violently rubbing her. There was absolutely nothing she could do, her hands and mouth were still bound, and her thrashing was beginning to exhaust her, however she did not want to lose to this man.
He bit down on her breast, with such intensity that she would have cried out in pain if she had been able too. She could feel his dry thrusts against her and was terrified at the prospect at what could be coming next. Her eyes burned with tears as she heard a zipper and realized that he was probably undoing his pants.
This was it, he was going to rape her and she couldn’t even fight him off. With a new intensity she kicked with her legs and tried to defend herself but he again grabbed her throat with a strength that left her struggling for air. She felt him undo the top button of her shorts and braced herself for what she was certain was about to happen to her.
Then out of nowhere she felt a massive weight on top of her. The suffocating weight rolled off of her and her shirt was pulled back downward so she could see what had happened. She saw Eric standing over her with his knife, and quickly cut her hands loose. As she ripped the tape off of her mouth he beckoned for her to be quiet, and she nodded obligingly before throwing her arms around her and pushed her mouth against his shoulder to stifle a sob that was threatening to escape. Tears were still streaming down her face, what had happened became too much and she felt so vulnerable and so shaken. He held her tightly before stepping back to check that the group of kidnappers were still asleep by the fire. Their guns were dangerously close to them as they slept/
Sara looked down at the man who had almost raped her laid lifelessly on the dark earth floor. Eric took her hand and ran in what seemed some random direction into the jungle, she followed cooperatively trying her best not to stumble on roots. The moved quickly into the dark silently, and didn’t stop for about an hour. Sara was shaking, with exhaustion and with shock. Running aimlessly in the dark dint help improve her state. Once they gained some distance between the sleeping group of heavily armed kidnappers Eric stopped pulled
out a flashlight and shined the light over Sara.
“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice full of concern.
Sara nodded, “Yes”, her voice was still shaking.
“They are going to be looking for you as soon as they wake up. I know you’re tired but we have to push further away.” Eric’s voice was soft, too soft, it reminded Sara of her own victimization and made her feel weak and terrorized.
Sara felt a lump in her throat, threatening to erupt into sobs. She weakly nodded her head in agreement. He took her hand again and tightened her grip as he led her deeper into the wild forest. It was impossible to tell where they were going, but Sara knew that at that moment their sole purpose was to get as far away from the armed men as humanly possible. Still, she couldn’t help but hope that Eric had a plan to get back.
After a new more hours of tiredly trudging through the forest they stopped for a quick rest, he laid large leaves down on the ground next a large trunk for them to them to sit on. “We can rest for a few hours, but at first light we have to move, they might be able to track us” he warned.
Sara nodded understanding that they weren’t even close to being out of danger. He ran the light of his flashlight over her, looking over each bruise and every cut she got from the branches and thorns encountered on the rough journey. He saw the bruise on the top of her breast and flinched, Sara couldn’t help but see the glint of sadness and anger in his eyes through the deep darkness.
“They didn’t… he didn’t ... you know, you got there in time.” Sara whispered.
“I’m sorry, none of this should have happened.” Eric said shaking his head.
“This isn’t your fault,” Sara said, “I wish I believed you and my parents. I really didn’t believe there was a threat.”
Her voice was shaking as she continued, “If anything, this is all my fault.”
Sara’s heart sank as she remembered her friend laying on the boat deck covered in her own blood, struggling to breathe shallow breaths as she was taken off the boat.
“Amanda?” Sara asked.
Eric shook his head, his face was solemn and his jaw clenched, “I’m sorry.”
Sara began to sob uncontrollably, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her sweatshirt to muffle the noise. She felt strong arms surround her and pull her close. She put her face against Eric’s shoulder, welcoming the human comfort, and sobbed while he stroked the back of her hair. She couldn’t believe that Amanda was gone, and worst of all it was because of her. Never again would she hear Amanda’s laugh, or see the flaming red hair, and knowing that her friend was gone forever shattered her.
When she could finally calm her breathing she wiped her eyes and leaned back against the tree.
“Is Carrie okay?” she asked, with renewed pangs of fear stabbing into her gut. She remembered Carrie bent over their friend, distraught and crying as fear and pain consumed her. There were so many questions left unanswered.
Eric saw the concerned look on Sara’s face and seemed to interpret what she was thinking.
“After you were taken, the crew came and woke me up.” Eric began, “They tried to revive Amanda but she was already gone. Carrie wanted to come with me to go after you but the crew and I convinced her to go back on the boat to Manaus to contact your family and get help. I took one of the motorized dinghy’s to go after you.”
“How? You were unconscious, how did you know where to find me?” Sara asked, surprised that he had even attempted to go after her.
“The crew pointed me in the right direction, the dinghy wasn’t near as fast as theirs but I kept going until I saw the speedboat pulled over. By then it was dark, I began to track you guys, but, because it was hard to see it took me a lot longer than it should have.”
“But you found me,” Sara whispered, her voice breaking with exhaustion.
“I will tell you more when in the morning, rest for a few hours.” Eric softly insisted, and Sara couldn’t help but accommodate his request as sleep overwhelmed her and she drifted into a dreamless slumber.
~
Sara woke up freezing cold, curled up in a fetal position against Eric who was still sitting against the trunk. He was awake, and she didn’t doubt that he didn’t sleep at all. Sara was sore and found that although there was daylight creeping through the canopy that it was still surprisingly dark. Sara sat up and put the hood of her jacket over her head hoping it would give her some warmth.
“Did you sleep?” Sara asked noticing the dark circles around Eric’s eyes.
“Not at all,” Eric replied grimly, “I wanted to hear if anyone was approaching.”
Sara nodded, understanding that they were nowhere near safety.
“What’s the plan?”
“We have to get to the consulate, but getting to Manaus would be a start.” Eric replied thoughtfully.
“So, we just have to get back to the dinghy.” Sara said, confident they could make the trek within the day.
“No, I hit a stump while going after you. It’s probably completely deflated by now.”
Sara sat thoughtfully, “Well, we’ll just take the speedboat then. If they haven’t already taken it.”
Eric shook his head, “I already checked yesterday, it’s out of gas. We’re going to have to make it by foot, at least to a village where maybe we can get in contact with the consulate or find transportation.”
“But,” Sara felt the worry in her gut that had been haunting her since the previous day, “we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
Eric let out a breath, “No, there are villages throughout the amazon rainforest, along the rivers there are fishing villages and throughout there are also groups, many of which have contact with the cities.”
“They were taking you away from the river which makes me assume that they were taking you to a camp for the hand off,” Eric continued.
“What hand off?” Sara asked, feeling suddenly terrified.
“Well, it’s safe to assume that these guys, considering they only wanted you, were hired to take you.” Eric hypothesised, uncomfortably running his hand over his head, “Look, I probably shouldn’t even be talking to you about this. I don’t want to worry you.”
“You don’t want to worry me?” Sara repeated in disbelief, “Like hell, you shouldn’t be talking to me about this! I want to know everything you know! Why do I have people after me, who is after my dad? I don’t understand, and I think I deserve to understand what is happening and why.”
Eric glanced at her, his expression was disconcerted and apprehensive but with a sigh it was obvious that he was about to concede.
“I don’t know everything.” Eric said, “Just what I was told when your father hired me.”
Sara nodded encouragingly.
“So, from what I understand is there are some people who are after your father due to some international development dealings. They began by trying to extort him, which he ended up paying up, but they kept wanting more so when he said no he started receiving death threats. He responded to that by topping up his and your mother’s security. But then, they began leaving messages about you. Sending pictures, sending kidnapping threats, threats to harm…”
Sara shuddered.
“That’s when your father hired me”, he continued, “told me to stay close to you and keep an eye on you. But he didn’t want you to know or to worry…”
Sara nodded, but now she was worried. She was terrified. She had people who wanted to harm her and wanted to harm her family, and they obviously had the financial backing to orchestrate someone taking her in Brazil.
“Try not to worry,” Eric assured, “We’ll get out of here and get you back to safety. I promise.”
Sara gave the man a weak smile.
They began their journey early, Eric was certain that the armed group was searching for her, he was worried they had made contact with those who may have hired them and brought more people to find her. It was obvious that whoever it was who was after her would put in any amount of effor
t necessary. Their safest bet would be to find a village as quick as possible, but with minimal supplies it would be difficult.
Fortunately Eric always carried his holster which held both a gun and a large knife. When on the job he also always carried a small kit with a compass and a fire starter in his pocket. This was strangely reassuring to Sara who felt do helpless.
As they trekked through the warm and muggy air, the exertion began to take its toll on Sara who hadn’t eaten or drink since the previous morning. Sara’s muscles ached, her head throbbed and felt unsteady. She stopped for a moment bad squatted down as her stomach twisted and turned.
“Are you okay?” Eric asked, squatting down next to her.
“I just need a moment, I don’t feel so hot.”
“When was the last time you had any water?” Eric frowned.
“Not since yesterday morning” She replied weakly.
“You’re dehydrated…” Eric said looking around them.
He abruptly stood up and grabbed one of the low hanging vines. Sara looked up, watching Eric with curiosity. Eric cut one of the vines and gestured for Sara who forced herself up. He held out the vine, which she hesitantly accepted.
“Drink,” he commanded.
“F…from the vine?”
“From the vine” he confirmed.
She hesitantly held it to her mouth and drank, it tasted like water… real water. She immediately began to feel refreshed, it was simply divine. Eric had to cut a few more vines for Sara to get enough water to feel right again, but he was right, being rehydrated gave her the strength she needed to keep pushing through.
There was no path, just trees and plants everywhere. To Sara, they were in a completely overwhelming Labyrinth and it left her feeling trapped. Eric, on the other hand seemed calm and sure as he trudged through the endless maze of massive trees, vines, and brush. The constant hum of bugs and the endless bites didn’t seem to bother him at all.
Can't Run (Danger and Desire Book 1) Page 6