Chapter Three: The Great Escape

Peyton let out a desperate sigh, her eyes had been trying to sag close for the past two hours. Every time they did though, she found the muzzle of Lucas's gun pushed harshly up to her head, as he spouted off random threats. Peyton almost wished he would just kill her and get it over with, she knew he would anyways. She was to much of a liability to keep around. She carefully eyed the clock on the radio, as it flashed in it's harsh green tint, that the sun would start to rise very soon. She tried to stifle the yawn that started to come out of her mouth, but she was unsuccessful, as she yawned very loudly, catching Lucas's attention.

"What the hell! Didn't I just tell you to keep your damn eyes on the road?" his voice was harsh, but his cold blue eyes were harsher.

She felt a shiver run the length of her spine at his words, as tears filled her eyes again. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, as she tried to keep her sleep deprived eyes opened.

"You know what, just pull the hell over. I'm driving!" he screamed the last part directly at Peyton, which caused her to squirm slightly in her seat.

Lucas threw open his door, as he climbed out of the passenger side seat, and walk proficiently toward the driver side. Peyton was still sitting, her head leaning forward, pressed against the steering wheel. Lucas shook his head slightly, before yanking open the door, and pulling her out of the car by her arm.

"Ow! Lucas what the hell!" she screamed as she balled up one of her hands and hit him in the shoulder.

"Really, Lucas smirked at her. You really think that is the smart thing to do when I have a gun? A loaded gun Peyton. One pull on this trigger, and your dead. Now, like I said plenty of times before. I don't want to have to kill you. I want to be able to let you go on your merry little way, but dammit you need to cooperate until then. Now, since you seem to want to hit me, yell at me, or just do any other annoying thing you can think of doing. I'm going to have to make you get in the trunk," Lucas said firmly, his arms crossed on his chest. His eyes burning with fury and seriousness.

"You cannot be serious!" she yelled at him, almost hoping to draw attention to them, until she realized that she could probably scream bloody murder and no one would hear her.

"Oh, I am, I'm very serious. Here, I'll lay out your choices..." Lucas paused for a moment, as if to think about her choices. "One, you get in the trunk, and stop screaming, or two, you die."

"Fine!" Peyton yelled as she threw her hands up in defeat.

Lucas popped the trunk, and opened it up making sure there was enough room in there for Peyton, before pulling out the torn piece of cloth, he tore off a shirt that was laying in the backseat.

"Hands behind your back," Lucas said, as she stepped up right behind Peyton, his breath tickling her neck, making her rather nauseous at the moment.

She listened, as she twisted her arms behind her back. Lucas grabbed them rather roughly, and tied the small piece of cloth around her wrists as tightly as he could.

"Lucas, that is really tight," Peyton squirmed.

"Oh really? I'm sorry," Lucas said, before pushing her toward the trunk. "Now get in."

Peyton sighed heavily, before climbing into the trunk. Lucas smirked at her once more, before shutting the trunk nice and hard, making sure she knew there was no escape.


Peyton felt as the car drifted to a slow and steady stop. Unaware at how much time had passed since she had been locked in her small prison, she hoped that Lucas had finally reached his destination, so she could get out of the foul smelling trunk.

She heard the obvious footfalls coming toward the trunk, and stop right in front of it.

"Are you going to be good?" Lucas asked from the other side of the trunk, and even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was smirking again.

"Yes," was all Peyton would offer. Like hell was she gonna promise it, when she knew that the moment she was alone, she was so busting out of whatever hell hole he'd have them locked in.

"Good, because I'm almost certain that if you were locked in here too much longer, you'd met your ultimate demise. I'd really hate to see that happen," Lucas said, sounding very sincere on the last part, like he really didn't want to kill her.

Peyton adjusted her eyes to the new found light that bore down on her. Lucas reached into the trunk, and grabbed her arm, with much less force this time, and helped her out of the trunk.

"Where are we?" Peyton asked.

"It's a cabin that one of the clients own. He used to let my dad come out here all the time. I stole the keys from Nate," Lucas explained.

"Didn't your dad own a cabin of his own?" Peyton asked, as Lucas untied her arms carefully.

"Yeah, but I thought that would be a little to obvious. Even to the Tree Hill police," Lucas explained.

"Oh, and you don't think Nathan will tell'em about this place?" Peyton asked carefully, afraid that it might make Lucas do something rash.

"Well, if he does, then...that's what this thing is for," Lucas said, as he shoved the gun he had been gesturing to behind his back.

He lightly grabbed Peyton's upper arm, and lead her toward the cabin. He grabbed the keys that were in his pocket, and quickly unlocked the door, before pushing Peyton inside.

"Sit down," he said, pointing to the available chair inside.

"Lucas, please don't do anything rash," Peyton begged, her hands in front of her face.

"I was just letting you rest until I check out the rest of the cabin," Lucas shook his head, he really didn't want to hurt her, he just needed her.

"Okay," Peyton said, tears apparent in her eyes.

"Nothing to cry over, I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want to hurt you. Just don't do anything that would make me want to hurt you, and you'll be fine, I promise," Lucas said, heartily.

Peyton wanted to believe him, but then again. It hadn't even been a full day since he broke into her house, pointed a gun at her head, threaten her multiple times, locked her in a trunk..but he wanted her to believe him. She shook her head at him, as he walked away, she never did ever get him.


Lucas poked his head out of the room he had just entered, looking at Peyton, as she ran her hands together nervously. Of course she didn't believe you, you idiot, you've only been threatening her with a handgun for nearly eight hours now.

"This is the bedroom, you can lay down and sleep for a while if you'd like. I gotta run out to get some supplies like food and stuff. I'll be back in about an hour," Lucas called over his shoulder, before stopping right at the front door. "Oh, and Peyton..."

"Yeah," she looked back at him, from the door of the bedroom.

"There isn't any use in trying to escape. You wouldn't know your way back to the main road, and the bears in the woods will get you before you even make it there," Lucas said, more so for her own good, than his.

"Okay," she said, as she disappeared into the bedroom, letting the door come to a close behind her.


Peyton waited until she heard the obvious sounds of the car backing out of the long gravel road, before making her move. She stood on the bed, and peered out the window. The lock was just out of her reach, even with standing on the bed, she assumed that Lucas had taken that into effect before he left. He just didn't realize how determined she actually was. She started to jump slowly up and down, until she was finally able to reach the lock on the window. She quickly flipped it, falling back onto the bed. She quickly stood back up, and raced over to the window, and raised it with relative ease. This was one of the many times she felt lucky to be so naturally skinny. Made it easier when trying to fit through small windows, that she knew that Lucas wouldn't have fit half of his body through.

She grunted halfway through as she seemed to have lost her momentum. She flailed her arms about, trying to grab onto something that could help her pull herself the rest of the way out of the tiny window. She winced when her arm came in contact with something, and watched a tiny amounts of blood trickled from her arm. She looked up from her arm, and saw a decent sized tree branch, and reached her hand over, and grabbed a hold of it. She pulled hard, until her legs came out, and she flipped herself over, her back slamming nice and hard onto the non giving ground below. She winced, as her arm started to sting from her new, fresh open wound, and now she felt like she had been beaten in the back with a baseball bat. She stood up, and wobbled a bit, before taking off into the woods, and trying to straighten herself to follow the gravel road, without being on the gravel road. She sighed, as a small smile trickled onto her lips, she was free, she had escaped, and she was free.