Page 11 of Shadowed Rubies
Alarmed by his angry outburst, I started the song again, but this time with the words added in with the tune. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy…”
14
Dani
By the fifth time Kevin demanded that I restart the song as soon as it ended, I was sick of it and the sound of my own voice. Molly must have felt the same way because she slurred out the side of her mouth, “Don’t you know any other songs?”
Her eyes were narrow slits, but I took it as a very good sign that she felt enough like herself to complain about my singing.
As I finished the verse, I tried to come up with another song I knew well enough to sing all the way through. This time, when Kevin said, “Again,” I started singing, “Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall.”
“No!” Kevin shouted. In his fury, he flicked his pocket knife open and hurled it at me.
Panicked, I quickly ducked my head. I heard the blade whizz by my ear––dangerously close––before it clanked against the cave’s rock wall and clattered to the ground.
I looked up at the sound, just in time to see Kevin’s alarmed gaze. He realized at the same time as I did what a grave mistake he had made. He made a quick move to stand and get across the small room to retrieve his weapon, but I was much closer to it. I hurled my body in the direction of the blade and clasped it within my hand.
Flinging around, I sliced the knife across the binding around my ankles to free them. Holding the blade up in the air, I made eye contact with Kevin to let him know in no uncertain terms that I now had the power.
He stood frozen, obviously trying to weigh his options.
Molly used her elbows to sit up. Either the flurry of activity had awakened her, or she really had been faking her wooziness, because she seemed fully alert when she said, “Cut me loose. I’ll watch him and yell if he moves a muscle.”
I made quick work of slicing through her bindings, and we both stood up. Kevin’s jaw worked furiously as he glared at us, but he didn’t try to move. He must have sensed that I was just frightened and crazed enough to use the knife on him if the need arose.
“What are we going to do with him?” Molly asked, tipping her chin toward Kevin as if I could have any doubt about who she meant.
“I can hold the knife at his throat, and we can march him back to civilization,” I suggested.
Molly mulled that over for a moment before deciding, “Nah, there’s too much of a chance that he could overpower us and get away or take the knife back.”
I knew she was right, but I wasn’t sure what else to suggest. Luckily, Molly didn’t seem to have the same problem.
“Get on the ground on your stomach,” she ordered the large man.
Kevin’s eyes darted around. He was obviously looking for a way to keep from doing what Molly was demanding.
“Now!” Molly shouted. Her yell echoed around the small chamber, reverberating in our ears.
Kevin cringed at the loud noise, raising his shoulders up near his ears, but he slowly kneeled down to comply. Once he was on the ground, Molly ordered him to spread out his arms and legs.
“We need to find some more of those zip ties that he used to bind us. Do you want to look for them or be in charge of holding the knife on him?”
“I’ll be in charge of the knife,” I decided, but I must not have sounded capable enough because Molly eyed me warily. I tried to look more confident than I felt when I nodded at her because the last thing I wanted was to go rummaging through Kevin’s stuff.
Evidently, I was convincing because Molly said, “Fine, but hold the knife by his balls and if he moves a muscle cut them off.”
I blinked furiously at the mere idea of having to do that, but moved to comply with Molly’s instructions.
“You hear that, Kev? If you try anything, you’re going to be castrated. Understand? Nod if you do,” Molly said.
Kevin’s head bobbed frantically up and down from his spot on the ground. If he wasn’t such a deranged lunatic, I might have felt sorry for him. As it was, I was glad to have Molly on my side. She was turning out to be a total badass.
It didn’t take long for Molly to search Kevin’s belongings and return with a handful of zip ties. She made short work of binding his wrists together behind his back, then she ordered him to stand up.
I wondered what her plans were for him, but she seemed to have it under control, so I decided not to worry about it.
Looking at me, Molly said, “Stay right behind us with that knife. If he tries anything, stab him in the neck. Got it?”
