Page 57 of The Player
What if we were heading right into another trap?
We could be going from the frying pan into the fire.
But at this point, we had no other option than to flag the car down and get help. It was that or risk dying out here in the wilderness. And yet, the horror of what’d happened, of having to leave my father behind, cut deeper than any wound that sicko could’ve inflicted on me.
“Oh my God! What the hell has happened to you?” The woman glared at us with part horror, part pity on her face. She didn’t open her doors right away. Can’t say I blamed her. She had to think of her own safety too.
“We got lost,” I panted breathlessly, those words being the only ones I could think of to say. My brain and body felt like they were shutting down.
“I fell down,” Will chipped in. “Cut my head.” She winced as she saw the blood, and Will turned, positioning himself so she couldn’t see it fully and it wouldn’t look so bad.
“Please, can you help us?” I begged, taking her attention off Will, and putting it back on me. “We just need a ride out of here. Please.” She hesitated then nodded, unlocking her doors for us.
I climbed into the back, and without hesitation, Will joined me. The woman turned to stare at us strangely, two misfits looking like extras from a Z-list horror movie, sitting in the back of her car. She probably felt uncomfortable having us both back here, having to drive with her back to us, but we weren’t ready to be parted yet, not even by seats in this car. I needed Will beside me and I knew he felt the same.
Will put his hand on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze as I sat upright, my whole body tense. I couldn’t even settle back into the seat; I was so on edge.
Was this going to be my new normal?
Living life like you’re playing a part but never feeling like you’re actually present? Because that’s how I felt right now. None of it seemed real, and yet the reality of what we’d left behind was like a gaping open wound, and I wasn’t sure it’d ever heal.
“Do you want me to take you to a hospital?” she asked. “Or the police station?” She swallowed nervously as she waited for our response.
“No,” Will shot back, then in a calmer tone, he added, “It’s okay. We just need to get home. Clean ourselves up. We’re okay, just a little bruised.”
Bruised was an understatement. The aches I felt weren’t superficial, they were bone deep. Soul altering. Life changing. But I smiled in agreement, pretending all of this was normal and we weren’t escapees from a sadistic hell-game that beggared belief, and she smiled back, kindness shining in her eyes. Eyes that’d never seen the kind of brutality we had.
My head felt woolly, as if everything happening around me was happening to someone else. But when I heard Will start to give her the address for The Sanctuary, my world sharpened, noise screeching in my ears as reality came hurtling towards me. I went rigid, slapping my hand over his that rested on my thigh.
“Not there,” I snapped, my eyes wide as I turned to face Will. Then I rattled off the address for Kate’s apartment.
He nodded as realisation set in. He knew what I was thinking without me even having to say it. I wasn’t ready to face his friends, and I really wasn’t ready to see my sister, Shelley, who lived there now.
What would I say to her?
How could I look her in the face, knowing what’d happened?
The soldiers would be all over this, and I wasn’t mentally or physically ready to deal with that level of attention. I needed time to myself first before we told anyone else what’d happened. I needed to process it, if that was at all possible.
Will leaned in closer to me and whispered, “Are you sure?” And I nodded.
I was adamant.
That was where I wanted—no,neededto go. He didn’t argue. He knew I wasn’t in the best state of mind. Neither of us were. But having the noise of the soldiers of Brinton Manor clouding our already foggy brains would only make things worse.
The lady turned her back to us, tapped the address into her Sat Nav, and then she pulled off, driving down the road, taking us away from the hell we’d existed in for weeks, to some form of salvation. As she drove, she tried to make polite conversation, asking us how long we’d been lost, what we were doing in such a remote location, questioning why we didn’t want to see someone to check us over. We gave her short, polite responses, but the less said, the better. I just wanted to get to a place of safety and solitude, and right now, that was Kate’s.
It felt alien being in a car with a total stranger, no matter how kind she appeared to be. I’d learned the hard way that people couldn’t be trusted. The last few weeks had only cemented that fact. I wasn’t sure I’d ever trust anyone again, apart from my family and Will. I’d always trust him. I’d trust him the most.
Soon, country lanes turned to busier, built-up streets, and then, as she pulled into the road where Kate’s apartment stood, the desperation to leave the vehicle and race inside overtook me. I grabbed the door handle, ready to push it open the second we stopped. And I did, the moment she pulled up at the kerb. I didn’t care that I looked rude. I just wanted to get out. Get away. Be somewhere I felt safe.
“Thank you so much for your help,” I heard Will call out behind me.
“Yes, thank you,” I added, my focus solely pinned on the front door ahead of me.
“Are you going to be okay?” she hollered after us. But I didn’t respond.
Will turned and said, “Yes,” giving her a wave, but I just pushed the communal door open and sprinted up the staircase towards the apartment.
