Page 40 of The Hunted

Her voice is strained from screaming, pleading for my life. Tears rain down my face as I struggle against the ropes to get free. I have to save her.

“Knox. Knox, are you listening to me, sweetheart?”

I stop my frantic struggle and focus on my mother.

Tears spill down her face, washing trails through the bloodied mess my father made of her.

“I love you, Knox. More than anything on this Earth, I love you. I am so sorry I couldn’t save you from that monster. I failed you, and I’m sorry.”

“I’ll get us out of this, Mom. I will.” I thrash against the ropes, ignoring the blood that begins to trickle down my arms from the effort.

“No, baby. You won’t. There isn’t a way out for me. There is for you. Agree with him. Whatever he says, agree. He will ask things of you Knox, terrible things. You do them. Then one day, you can be free of him. I need you to survive. For me, Knox. Please survive.”

Mom struggles, and the stakes holding the ropes she’s tied to slant inward, causing her to lower deeper into the water. As the earth gives around them, it’s dropping her down to a watery abyss. I watch as the fear creeps up into her eyes. She can’t swim.

“Mom, stop moving! I will get you out!”

“Knox, there’s an anchor tied around my ankles. It’s pulling me down.”

I let loose a scream of fear and frustration. The birds roosting in the nearby forest take flight as I work tirelessly trying to free my hands.

I have to get to her.

My chest aches from the adrenaline pumping through my heart. Tears pour from my eyes and make it difficult to see.

“Knox!”

The sound of my mother’s garbled voice stops me in my tracks.

The water is up to her chin now. She holds her face up toward the night sky.

“Baby, I’m out of time. You know I love you, yes?”

How can she ask that? Of course, I know. She’s my mom. My best friend. The one person in this world who loves me without condition. She is my everything.

“Yes, Mom. I know, and I love you, too, but please, just hang on! I can get out of this! Please hold on!”

My words are so garbled by sobs, I’m not even sure she can understand me.

“Remember what I’ve said, baby. Remember. Survive. Promise me.”

“I promise, Momma, I promise,” I manage to choke out. “Hang on, Mom! Hang on! Please don’t leave me!”

“I will never leave you, Knox. Never. I am a part of you, just as you are a part of me. I love...”

The dark water swallows my mother.

I thrash in the binds that hold me witness to her horrific death.

Two days pass and I‘m still tied to this fucking tree, staring at this goddamned pond when my father’s goons finally come back and untie me. Vomit and piss cover me. My throat is raw from screaming, my arms cut and torn all over from struggling against the ropes. My eyes swollen and sore from crying.

I have been forced to witness the murder of my mother.

They drag me back to the manor, my legs useless and numb, and down to a cold, dank room in part of the old cellar that hasn’t been touched in decades. They throw me inside, and I fall to the ground, unable to stand. I have no strength left in my body.

I lie on the cold cement floor in a state of shock. I’m not sure how long I’m there before I hear the door crack open.

My bastard of a father comes in.

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