“What do you want?” Sarah asks.
“I want a lot of things, starting with you tying up this chick.” Colt says pointing the gun briefly at Jen before pointing it back to my head.
Sarah looks around and spots the rope on the table. She moves slowly like she is scared to make any sudden movements. Colt looks at Jen and jerks his head towards the floor. Jen kneels down next to Sarah and lets her tie her hands and feet together. Sarah can barely tie a knot because her hands are shaking so hard. When she is done he grabs the rope from her, keeping the gun on me the whole time.
“Now get on your stomach so I can tie you up. Me and Elisa are going to take a little road trip.”
“No,” Sarah yells at him and gets up suddenly.
“Don’t be stupid, Bitch.” Colt warns her.
“Take me instead, please, she is just a kid.” Sarah pleas with him taking a step toward him.
That’s when he swings the gun in her direction. “I don’t think I can get Jaxon to do what I want with you as my hostage, so don’t be stupid and sit your ass down.”
Sarah ignores him taking another step. “I can’t let you take her.”
“I’m not playing with you. Back on the floor or you are done.”
Please, please, sit down Sarah, is all I can think, but she is determined. She takes another step raising both of her hands in front of her like she is trying to calm a wild animal. That is exactly what Colt looks like at this moment, more a wild animal than the young man that he is.
Sarah takes one last step before I hear the loud sound of a gun going off. I hear the shot but nothing else. I see her body fall to the ground but I don’t hear the sound. I see Sarah’s mouth opening, she is saying something but I can’t hear her voice. I look down to her hands. She is holding her stomach, blood is covering her shirt and her slender fingers. This is a dream, it must be a dream. My body moves on its own, I'm trying to get to her, hold her. I want to tell her she is going to be fine but I can’t get to her. Cruel hands grab me and start to drag me out of the room. The last thing I see is Sarah’s eyes vacantly staring back at me.
Colt pulls me out the back door. One hand gripping my arm tightly, the other pushing the gun into my ribs. I look around, hoping to see somebody, anybody. The shot must have been loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Someone must already be on the phone with the cops. Colt brings me to the back of a car and opens the trunk. He pulls my cell phone out of my jeans pocket, shoves me in the trunk and closes it, confining me to the small, dark space. I lay there still trying to form a thought. The car engine roars and the car starts to move. I need to find a way out of here, out of this situation. I'm trying to think of what to do, but the picture of poor Sarah laying motionless on the floor is taking up all my thoughts. Sweet, innocent Sarah who wouldn't hurt a fly. So selfless and caring, with a heart of gold, why her? All she wanted to do was help. It just doesn't make any sense. She was there a minute ago, we were carefree and laughing in the car and now she is gone, just like that. The light that was in her eyes, that surrounded her, snuffed out in an instant. For what? What could Colt possibly want that was worth killing her for.
After driving for a while the ride gets a lot bumpier, we must have turned on some kind of dirt road. When we finally stop I anticipate him open the trunk and think that this might be my only chance. Maybe I can surprise him and push him over. I’m not strong but I can run fairly fast. I just need to get away so I can run. He doesn't open the trunk right away. I feel like the air in here is getting thinner and I am lightheaded and disoriented by the time he finally opens up. My plan on running away dissipates. As soon as he opens the trunk he grabs my arms and pulls them behind my back. He pushes his knee on my lower back while he ties me up. I struggle but that only makes him hold me down harder, making my back ache. He lifts me up like I weigh nothing and puts me down a few feet away.
“Walk!” He barks at me and points me to old run-down trailer. As I look around I realize we are out in the middle of nowhere. I don’t see a road or another house, there is nothing but fields and trees in all directions. I walk like a baby deer, unsteady and wobbly on my feet. I stop in front of the door waiting for him to pass me but instead he walks off to the side, startling me when he kicks a bucket into the field.
“I told you not to leave your shit laying around!” He yells to no-one.
When he turns back to face me he looks at me confused like he doesn't know who I am. Then he snaps out of whatever he was just experiencing and heads my way. He grabs me, opens the trailer door and pushes me in. Inside he makes me sit on a chair and uses a thick rope to tie around my torso and the chair. When he is done he walks around the trailer murmuring to himself. He stops at a cabinet and starts looking through it. All of the sudden he screams into an empty corner of the trailer.
“I told you to shut up. Just shut up!”
He must be hallucinating. He looks completely out of it when he stops searching for whatever he was looking for and sits down on a beat-up couch across from me. He looks at me but I’m not sure if he even sees me. Suddenly, he gets up and walks out of the trailer leaving me tied up and alone.
I don’t know how long I try to wiggle out of the rope. The skin on my arms and wrists hurt and my muscles are sore. Its dark outside now and Colt hasn’t come back in but I can occasionally hear him scream or break something outside. I'm so exhausted and hurt, I give up trying to get free and just sit there waiting. I am unbelievably tired but for some reason I don’t want to fall asleep. It doesn't really make sense, I’m helpless either way I think to myself. I keep dosing off but waking myself up when my head falls to the side of me in this unnatural sleeping position. At some point I must have lost the fight.
I dream of Sarah laying on the floor in a puddle of blood. She is looking at me with her beautiful eyes. Her long lashes wet and not moving. Her mouth is open just a little and her lips are dry and cracked. Her skin looks so pale it is almost white. The blood expands around her, coming toward me. I look down to my feet and watch it flow over my shoes. When I look back to Sarah something has changed. The blood is gone and she is wearing a dress now, one that I never seen her wear before. When I step closer I realize it is not Sarah at all anymore. Its someone else. A woman I don’t know. I study her long blond her and her big blue eyes. Her slender face reminds me of what I see when I look in the mirror. She could be an older version of myself. Maybe it is me. Maybe I died instead of Sarah.
Chapter Twenty
Jaxon
Ilook at my phone and read the message for the hundredth time.
COLT: SIGN THE CLUB OVER INTO MY NAME OR SHE DIES. CALL THE COPS AND SHE DIES.
I am clinging to my phone in one hand and holding the deed to the club in the other. I don’t care about the club or the money. He can have it all. I will give him whatever he wants. I just want her back. Why is he not answering his phone? How am I supposed to give him what he wants if he doesn’t call me back? I didn’t call the cops. Someone else did. Brad, Christine and Jen are at the hospital getting checked out. One of their neighbors heard the gun shot and called the cops but it was too late for Sarah. By the time the paramedics got there she was long gone. I still can’t comprehend what Colt did or what he is still doing right now. I don’t want to imagine Elisa hurt, or worst. The thought of her suffering while I am sitting here helplessly waiting is killing me.
I’m pacing back and forth in my living room. Hunter is sitting on my couch staring at his phone. We called and texted anybody we know who could possibly know where Colt is hiding. We came up with absolutely nothing. We are his closest friends, we should know where he could be, but we had no idea. He is usually at the club or at his apartment and he isn’t in either place.
Hunter breaks the silence. “Maybe we should involve the cops.”
“Jenna told me that he looked like, he was high on something. He was acting all out of it, twitching and shit. If he sees the cops now he is going to freak out and hurt her. We are the only two people w
ho can calm him down.”
Hunter nod in agreement. “You are probably right, but maybe they can track his phone or something. Give us a location or at least point us in the right direction.”
That’s when it clicks in my head “I’m such an Idiot.”
I grab my laptop and flip it open.
“What?” Hunter asks from beside me.
“Elisa has one of my phones. I should be able to pinpoint her location with ‘find my phone’.”
I log in to my account as fast as I can and start the search. Ten seconds later a little red pin shows up on the map. Relief washes over me. I know where she is.
“Shit I know where he took her.” Hunter tells me when he sees the map. “It's an old trailer Colts grandfather used to live in. It’s out in the middle of nowhere. We used to go there as kids but I haven’t been there in years. I didn’t think that place still exists.”
Ten seconds later we are out the door.
Chapter Twenty-One
Elisa
Iwake up with a stiff neck and headache out of hell. I'm still tied to a chair in Colts trailer, somewhere away from civilization. The sun is rising, letting only a little light into the dusty old trailer. I almost don’t see Colt sitting in the corner, he is sitting so still he looks like a statue. He is looking out the window which only allows me to see his profile but I think he is still somewhat out of it. I move my arm and twist my wrist trying again to free myself. The rope still doesn't give way. Colt must have heard me because he turns to face me. He looks calmer now, less distraught, but his eyes are still cold and detached. There is no reasoning with him. I need to get away. I do the only thing I can think of. I take a deep breath and announce with a shaky voice, “I need to pee.”
He doesn’t answer, doesn’t move. Just keeps staring at me for a few minutes. I think he is not going to let me go use the bathroom at all but then he gets up all of the sudden and walks towards me. It takes him a while but he finally gets the rope undone. Even though I am untied now I still don’t move. I wait for his direction to get up. He never says anything but he points at a door at the end of the hall and I slowly get up and walk to it.
When I’m in the bathroom I lock the door behind me quietly. I scan the tiny bathroom and I am relieved when I see a small window. I have never been so glad about my slender frame before. I can fit through that window. I wonder if he realizes that. Maybe he is just toying with me, anticipating I would try to leave. I know he could be waiting outside for me but I have to take this chance regardless. I turn on the water and let it run while opening the window as quietly as I can. Of course, it squeaks with every inch I nudge it open. Once I got it open far enough for me to fit through I use the bathtub as a stepping stool and climb out.
The second my feet hit the ground I am running. I don’t know which way I am going or if he is following me but I don’t care in this moment. All I know is that it is early in the morning and I have at least fourteen hours of daylight to find help. I run away from the trailer as fast as I can without looking back. My heart is racing and my breathing shallow as I am flying past trees. After a few minutes the initial boost of adrenaline dissipates and my muscles start to ache all over. I slow down just a little and start looking behind me sporadically. When I don’t see anybody following me I stop to take a breather. I lean against a tree and try to come up with a plan. I’ve got nothing. I try to think about a useful movie I watched where people run away into the woods. I still come up with nothing. I look around me trying to orient myself but everything looks the same in all directions.
Then it comes to me, in movies they always climb a tree so they can see where they are going. I look up at the tree I'm standing closest to. As good as any I guess. I grab the lowest limb and pull my body up. I keep going until I’m a good bit of the ground. I still can only see trees around me so I decide to go up further. The next branch I try to grab, is not as strong as I thought and breaks under my grasp. I lose my footing and start to fall back. I franticly try to grab onto something. At the last second my hand gets hold of a sturdy branch and I stop myself from falling.
I am now hugging onto the tree like a monkey, both arms and both legs wrapped around the trunk. I am too scared to move a muscle so I just stay there for a while. That's when I hear a voice in the distance. At first, I can’t make out who it is, but when the voice came closer I know its Colt.
“Come out, come out wherever you are!” He is taunting me.
Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more scared than I already am, Colt comes into view. He is coming towards me, holding a shotgun in front of him. He is looking around him but not up. If he sees me up here he can shoot me out of the tree like a bird. My hands are cold and sweaty and my whole body is shaking. I need to stay calm I tell myself. I need to be quiet and calm, just until he passes me and then I can run back to the trailer. I can get to his car or my phone. I can call for help. I hug the tree as close I can, making myself small. For all the times I have wished that I could be invisible, I have never wished for it so intensely. He is right beneath my tree now and hasn’t noticed me yet. He keeps walking, further away from me this time. Every step he takes I can breathe an ounce easier. Suddenly there is a noise coming from the right and I see some movement behind a tree. I hear the gun going off before I realized that it was a deer. He doesn’t hit the animal and the deer runs off, away from us. I think my heart stopped for about five seconds before picking up its current high-speed rhythm.
Colt lets out some curse words before he keeps walking away from me.
I almost can’t see him anymore when I hear a voice again. I try to understand what Colt is saying when I realize it’s not Colt’s voice I am hearing. It’s Jaxon calling my name from the opposite direction. Colt turns around and sprints back to where he came from. The same direction Jaxon's voice is coming from. No, no, no! Not him, he can’t kill him. As soon as Colt passes my tree I start moving down the trunk. The fear that was crippling me a minute ago is obsolete now. My steps are no longer unsteady, my grip is no longer weak. I have never been so sure about anything. With resolute moves I climb down until I reach the forest ground and start following Colt.
It is not long until I can hear voices. They are arguing.
“Everything was great until you fucked it up and it’s her fault. She messes with your head Jax.” Colt yells.
Its Hunters voice who I recognize next.
“You are not thinking straight. It’s the drugs messing with your head, Colt.”
“Where is she?” Jaxon says slowly and with a dark tone that makes me shiver.
I hide behind a tree so I can see them but they can’t see me. I need to wait for the right moment. When I catch sight of Jaxon I am reminded of the time I saw him fight in the Bunker. His eyes are dark and angry. His whole body is tense and his hands are curled into tight first. He looks like a tiger ready to pounce.
“Give me the club and I’ll tell you where she is.” Colt replies.
Jaxon pulls out a piece of paper. “Here is the deed. It’s already yours. Tell me where she is.”
Colt nervously moves around from side to side while pointing the gun somewhere in the space between the floor and Jaxon.
“Where is she?” Jaxon repeats, this time louder and even more hostile than before.
When Colt still doesn’t answer Jaxon charges in his direction. That’s when Colt pulls up the gun and points it to Jaxon's head.
Time slows down. I can hear my own heart beating, pumping blood through my body at lighting speed, carrying oxygen to every fiber of my being. I feel the air moving around me. Leaves and sticks giving away under my feet as I run toward Colt. I can see his finger on the trigger starting to pull back.
“No!” I bellow as loud as I can.
It’s enough to startle Colt. He looks back at me, already moving the gun in my direction, but I’m too fast. I reach him before he can take aim. I put my head down and throw my body into him at full force. We both fly thought the air and land
on our backs next to each other with the shot gun in between. Colt grabs for it but Hunter is already on top of him, pinning him down.
Strong hands grab my arms, pulling me up and wrapping around my body like a fortress. Jaxon holds me so tight I can barely breathe, but I don’t mind at all. His head is on my shoulder nuzzling my hair.
“You could have been killed,” he whispers.
“You could have been killed,” I whisper back.
We call the cops on the way back to the trailer. We make Colt walk a few feet ahead of us. Hunter still holding onto the shot gun. Jaxon still holding onto me. By the time we get to the trailer sirens are closing in. Jaxon, Hunter and I are standing in a little group while Colt is off by himself. He looks up and glares at all three of us. It is not until this moment that I recognize the extent of the hatred he must have for me. He is looking at Hunter and Jaxon with a sense of betrayal and disappointment but for myself there is nothing but hate in his eyes. Last night I thought he was going to kill me because he was on drugs now I believe he would have killed me if he wasn’t on drugs.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Elisa
We meet Brad, Christine and Jen at the police station. After answering a lot of questions, we are finally all able to go home. Brad and Christine offer to take both me and Jen to a hotel where we can all stay for now. Going back to the house after what happen there is out of question.
I cling to Jaxon’s arm like a toddler to its mother. “I want to stay with you.”
Jaxon looks to Brad and Christine for approval.
“She would be fine at my place. Jen can come too if she wants. There is a hotel across from my apartment complex, you guys could stay there and we can regroup in the morning.”
The Quiet Game Page 9