Page 47 of Fear the Reapers
“Just go.” He said, deciding for me. “If you don’t want to be here, leave.”
I felt my heart fracture as I laid there and watched him leave. Once the front door shut and the lights downstairs turned off, I knew that the damage I caused would leave lasting marks on the both of us.
I couldn’t bear to face the mess I made any longer, so I picked myself up off the floor and I ran. I ran as fast as my body would allow me. I ran towards my freedom. I ran away from my fears. I ran until the strange pain in my chest became too much to bear and my lungs screamed for a reprieve.
Stopping to catch my breath, I peered into the distance and saw the colossal iron gate a few yards away. The dark moonless night was a blessing. It meant that while I couldn’t see very much in the darkness, neither could the guards that surrounded the property. Cyrus stopped chasing me. But that didn’t mean he’d call off the guards if they found me.
My first instinct was to gun it for the gate. It seemed as if my body was in flight or fight mode and she desperately wanted to get the hell out of there. But I knew the only way I’d ever get out is if the guards didn’t suspect there was a problem.
I crept towards the gate on silent feet. Every creak or shuffle in the night had my heart threatening to explode in my chest, but I was too close to stop now. Once I reached the giant metal structure, I climbed. The climb up was seamless. The detailed ironwork of the main gate gave my hands and feet ample places to latch on to and the adrenaline coursing through my veins gave me the strength I needed. Every step I took was a step closer to what I wanted, yet the dull ache in my chest persisted.
On the descent, thoughts of Cyrus crept into my mind.
He caught me. He had me in his arms. Why did he let me go?
Too distracted for my own good, my foot slipped on one of the slick iron bars and I fell, crashing to the ground and landing hard on my hands and knees. I stood up with a wince and accessed my injuries. The gravel had dug into my knees and palms, but I’d survive.
As I readjusted my still drenched dress and got my bearings, two bright lights shone out of the darkness and focused themselves directly on my back. Fuck. I thought, cursing my arrogance. The guards must have been watching my pathetic attempt at escaping the entire time.
“Can you cut the lights?” I yelled, trying to shield my eyes from the blinding light as I turned to face them.
Within seconds, they cut lights, and darkness surrounded me again. As my eyes struggled to adjust, I peered into the darkness and could just make out the silhouette of a man approaching.
Squeezing my palms at my sides, I paced back and forth and tried to rack my brain for what to do next. I never planned on getting caught by the guards, then again, I never planned on making it as far as I did.
His silent approach was my first sign that something was wrong. He should have been scrambling to come grab me and doing a lot of screaming at me, but the only sound I heard was the quiet thud of his boots crunching against the asphalt.
He carried a flashlight and aimed it directly at my face. I squinted into the light, trying my best to shield my eyes from the obnoxious rent-a-cop fucking up my retinas.
“Jesus. You caught me okay?” I screamed. “Enough with the fucking light.”
As soon as the light cut out, a heavy hand squeezed my throat, instantly cutting off my airflow. Everything happened so fast, I had no time to react. One minute I was complaining about the fucking flashlight and the next, my lungs were burning and my vision was blurring.
Chapter 28
Stevie
The first sound I heard was the purr of an engine. I could feel the gentle vibration of the wheels beneath me and knew that wherever I was, we were in motion.
“How much did you give her?” Asked a voice that sounded light years away.
“Enough.” Said another, sounding just as muddled.
My head felt as if it were caving in on itself. Fear trickled up my spine. Something was wrong. The tiredness I felt went beyond any normal grogginess I’d ever experienced before.
When I finally mustered enough strength to peel my eyes open, darkness overtook my vision. Panicking, I violently twisted my head from side to side, terrified I had somehow gone blind. That’s when I felt blindfold tightly bound around my eyes and the restraints around my wrists and ankles. I tried to lift my hands to my face, but they fell weakly back into my lap.
“Don’t fucking move.” A man’s voice hissed into my right ear.
He felt much closer than the other two, and as I felt out my surroundings, I realized I was in the backseat of a car.
“She’s awake.” A man to my left called out.
Multiple voices started speaking up, and I had a hard time deciphering what they were saying. Every word they said seemed distorted, almost as if a thick haze was jumbling the translation.
“Whereyam I?” I stammered, the words strangely slurred together.
They had given me something. They had to have. This wasn’t normal. None of this was normal. When none of them answered, I tried again.
