Chapter seven
-Escape?-
The loud ring caused Martin to jump. He was languidly sitting at his desk deciphering the computer screen. He reached in his jacket pocket and grabbed his cell phone. "Fitzgerald?" Exhaustion and worry was dripping from his mouth.
"Hey, Martin, you're a good man. I have to be honest, but I didn't think that you could pull it off. I knew you wouldn't let anything bad happen to Samantha," Anthony said. He was laughing.
Martin's body tensed up. He felt like his heart dropped to his stomach as it began to beat twice as fast. He sat at the edge of his chair, fully erect. "So, are you going to let Sam go?" he inquired.
"Well, yes of course. I made a deal didn't I? I'll call you back in an hour," Anthony said.
Martin stuttered. "Wait…let me talk to Samantha."
"No."
"Please, Anthony. I just want to know if she's alright." He waited on the phone. The other end grew silent. "Anthony, I need to talk to her," he said in an authoritative voice.
"Hello?" Samantha said. Her voice sounded shaky but strong.
Martin never felt so happy in his life before. Hearing her voice was like having all the money in the world. "Sam, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Samantha said.
The sound of Samantha's voice made Martin cringe. He knew she was lying. He wanted to be with her, to protect her. He had been feeling very guilty about what he told Samantha and even worse about her situation. He cared about her, and he knew that he had hurt her. He lowered his voice. "Where are you?"
"In the Red Fo…" Samantha said but was cut off.
Martin heard Samantha scream followed by what sounded like skin slapping skin. He became anxious and helpless; he wanted to hold her and protect her. Anger filled his heart. "If you touch her, then I swear to God that I will…"
"You'll what? Yell at me? I have your girlfriend. I'm in control, not you," Anthony yelled so that he could be heard over Martin's eruption.
Martin heard the steady beeping of the dial tone. He immediately ran up to the team who was gathered around their desks. "Anthony called me."
Danny shot up from his seat. "What did he say?"
"He said that he was going to let her go."
"Yeah right," Elena said. "He doesn't seem the type to follow through with his promises."
Martin looked to the ground. "Samantha said that she was in the Red something, but Anthony pulled the phone back. I don't know what she said."
Martin couldn't believe this. Samantha didn't deserve this especially not because of him. His heart churned in his chest creating a sting that disseminated throughout his body. He had spent the hours since the hostage situation trying to convince himself that he no longer wanted Samantha in his life other than being a friend. He didn't love her; it was unfeasible. He only cared for her, deeply.
"Let's just see what we can recover from tech," Jack said. He and Martin made their way to the tech room.
"Looks like he called from the Red Forest Woods," Lucy explained a few minutes later.
"Where's that?" Martin asked.
"I don't know. You two weren't on the phone long enough to get an exact location."
Martin sighed. He knew that he had to be on the phone for at least 2 minutes. Why was he so stupid?
Jack looked to all of his team mates. Then he looked outside. "It's too dark right now. We'll have to go first thing when the sun rises."
XxX
Samantha's jaw was hurting. He has slapped the same area twice. She rotated her jaw so that the pain would ease up.
Samantha began to wiggle. She was working at the emaciated duct tape with her finger nails. She wasn't sure if she was getting anywhere, but she had to try.
"I can't believe that you tried to give up our location. It would have ruined everything." Anthony paced in front of Samantha, gripping the gun tightly.
Samantha smiled. "That was the plan."
Anthony was about to hit Samantha again. He was tired of her sarcastic remarks that made up Samantha's personality. He raised his hand but thought better of it. Hitting her wasn't going to make her stop. Then he stopped and said, "I'm going to take a leak."
Samantha's eyes followed Anthony as he went into the bathroom and closed the door. Her fingers began to work harder and faster to tear the duct tape. And with one jolt of her wrist, the tape gave away. At first Samantha stared at her red wrists for a second. Then she thought fast. She reached down and unwrapped the tape around her ankles. Without reservation, she sprinted to the door. When she placed her hand on the door knob, she heard the toilet flush. She suddenly became overcome with fear. When she opened the door, the night air exposed her to the bitter cold. Small patches of snow were still on the ground indicating that the temperature was nowhere near warm. The little hairs that covered Samantha's body began to stick straight up as the frost bit at her body. She wished she hadn't taken her coat off in the bank.
The thick blanket of darkness proved to be both against and for Samantha. She couldn't see anything, but that also meant that Anthony couldn't see anything either. She could hide easily. She ran to the woods using the moon as the only source of light. She maneuvered herself through the trees. It was impossible for her to go fast.
"Where are you?" she heard Anthony roar. "There is no escape! There's nobody around for miles! You're trap, just come back to me, and I'll take you back home!"
Samantha's brain registered that as long as she could prevent it, she was never going to back to Anthony willingly. As Samantha made her way through the woods, she continuously snagged her skin on bushes, shrubs, and trees. Tiny drops of blood trickled from each wound. Her fear made each wound go unnoticed. Her heart raced as she ran. She had goose bumps, and she was extremely cold. She ran with her hands extended out in front of her to feel for any obstacle that might jump out at her.
The woods were silent. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her heart beating. She didn't even hear Anthony. She didn't know how far she had ran or how long. But her legs were burning with protest. Her lungs were on fire because of her continuously heavy breathing. She decided to stop. She found a ravine covered with thick, heavy bushes. Samantha slowly walked down trying to grab onto anything she could but nothing was prominent. She ended up catching her foot on an uprooted root of a tree. She fell to the ground and rolled down the ravine, resting in a pile of bushes and leaves at the bottom.
She wasn't hurt; she just added a few more scratches and bruises to her already outrageous collection. Her main concern was that the amount of noise that she created was going to give her whereabouts away. So she lay there, unmoving, afraid to breath. The bushes, leaves, and darkness were a good enough cover.
The night was impossible; it was full with uncertainty. Sleep never came. Fear controlled every somatic and autonomic function in her body. With every bristle of the plants, Samantha's eye became vigilant. The sound of animals scurrying also maintained Samantha's concentration.
After a while, Samantha couldn't feel anything. Her whole body was numb because of the relentless pounding of the cold on her body. She was curled up in the fetal position, maintaining her warmth that way; however, it wasn't very effective. Her body shivered and her lips were blue. If hypothermia didn't kill her then Anthony would.
The night dragged on; until, finally, the first light broke. It wasn't much, but the sun provided Samantha with the necessary warmth that the night had plagued on her fragile, petite frame. She waited until the sun was higher in the sky before she moved. With her stiff, frozen body, the task of crawling out of the ravine proved more dangerous than she had originally thought. With every tiny step she took closer to the top of the ravine, the rotated her head 365 degrees scanning for any sign of Anthony. When the coast was clear, she took another tiny step.
When she reached the top and uncurled her body, the bitter cold ate at her flesh. She crossed her arms around her chest. She suddenly thought that she should have stayed down in the ravine. She realized that the ravine was blocking the wind, and now her body was exposed to all the aliments. But if she wanted to get out of her situation, she would have to brave the cold and start walking. She didn't take a step without looking around her to see if Anthony was there.
Samantha was exhausted, and with nothing to nourish her, she was weak. But if she wanted to live, then she would have to push herself. She wrapped her arms tighter around her body and carefully walked through the forest. With no idea where she was and a murderer looking for her, Samantha felt that she would need a miracle to get out of here.
XxX
I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating. I have to go home for the holidays because we aren't allowed to stay in the dorms. I don't have internet at home. But if I'm motivated by all of your reviews, then I'll figure something out and update.
Merry Christmas!!!
