Hope you guys aren't to mad about the last cliffy…sorry, it had to be done. Anyways, I just wanted to add a warning for language in this chapter.
Laughter. That's what Doug heard. The evil laughter of their captor. The laughter of the man who had just killed his partner…but, wait a minute. Doug never heard a gunshot. His eyes were still tightly closed, but he had to look. No matter how hard it was going to be, he owed it to his partner. So, slowly Doug opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw before him. Sitting in the chair, still tied and gagged was his best friend. Tom Hanson was still alive, although he was white as a ghost and with good reason. Standing beside him was Peterson, still laughing. Tom's eyes were open and he was shaking now, understandably shaken from what had just happened. Tom's eyes met Doug's and they could see the relief in each other.
Doug let out a shaky breath and looked over at Hanson, trying to see if he was okay. He calmed down a bit when Tom understood and nodded his head just slightly.
"Come on Hanson, did you really think that I'd let you off that easy?" Peterson had his hand on Tom's shoulder and as he desperately tried to shake it off, Peterson continued, "I've got something much more painful and drawn out than that. I've been planning this for a while and a simple bullet in the head wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" Then Peterson bent down and yanked the gag out of Hanson's mouth. He signaled for his friends to do the same to Penhall.
"Fuck off Peterson." Tom was able to get out between clenched teeth. His breathing had finally slowed and now was just pissed off. Obviously he had the same effect on Peterson because he backhanded the young officer.
"Leave him alone!" Doug screamed from his chair. He was still working on the ropes that had him defenseless, but he was making progress.
Peterson just laughed and motioned for one of his men. "Bring me that case, will you Ted?" Ted handed him a large black case. Peterson sat it down on the table and opened it up. Inside was what looked like a large baton with prongs on the end. "Now we're going to have some fun boys." He motioned for the two goons standing beside Penhall to come over and remove Hanson's shirt. Peterson held up his new toy and flicked the button, bringing it to life. Doug and Tom could see the sparks as the electricity flashed between the prongs. A smile crossed Peterson's face before he prodded Hanson's side with his toy.
Hanson's body writhed with pain as the voltage spread throughout it. Hanson squeezed his eyes shut tightly, helpless against the pain that coursed through him. He screamed as Peterson sent another volt through him.
Doug watched in horror at the scene unfolding before him. He watched helplessly as Peterson sent volt after volt into his friend's failing body. "Stop it you fucking son of a bitch! I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Doug struggled to free himself, to make it over to help Tom. "You're going to kill him!" He screamed as he watched Tom's body slump down in his chair and his brown eyes roll back in his head.
Peterson stopped the torture and turned towards Doug. "Exactly! I am going to make him and you pay for disrupting my business and for putting my brother behind bars! I want you both to suffer for what you've done!" Peterson turned his attention back to the younger officer, sending another volt of electricity through his body. Tom, barely conscious at this point, let out a blood-curdling scream and sank to the floor, where he received two more bursts of electricity, causing his body to become rigid and unable to fight the pain that threatened to take him over the edge.
Doug felt his ropes finally snap and bolted from his chair. The two men that had been standing beside him were caught off guard as Doug grabbed them and bashed their heads together. Stunned, they couldn't stop him from pulling back his arm and delivering a blow to both of them, knocking them unconscious to the floor. Next Doug turned to the man that Peterson had called Ted. Doug put his head down and rammed the man into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. Doug stood up and punched the man in the face and then brought his fists down on the back of his head, taking him out. Doug grabbed the gun that fell to the floor and tucked it into his belt. He then turned to Peterson, who was shocked at what had just happened. Peterson turned his attention away from Hanson and to Doug for the moment. He still held the cattle prod in his hands and turned it towards Doug, jabbing at the air in front of him. Doug jumped back and bumped into the chair that had held him captive. Quickly he grabbed it and swung it at Peterson, knocking the prod out of his hands. Doug took the opportunity to swing the chair once more, catching Peterson right in the face. Doug watched as the man sank to the floor and then took the opportunity to send a ferocious kick to his side. He was about to deliver another blow when he heard a small moan from his injured partner lying on the floor. Doug rushed over to him, turning Hanson carefully onto his back.
"Hanson, you okay?" Doug asked as he brushed the bangs out of Tom's face. Tom was barely conscious and flinched at the touch. "It's okay Tom, it's me Doug." Doug helped move his partner into a sitting position. He then undid the ropes that held his friend captive. "Come on buddy, wake up. We've got to get out of here."
"D-Doug?" Tom managed to weakly say. His body hurt so bad and he had a hard time making sense out of what just happened. "H-Help… me….up." Doug carefully wrapped Tom's arm around his neck before putting his other arm around the injured man's waist. He held on tighter as Tom began to sway.
"We have to get out of here right now Tom. I need you to walk." Doug stated, already starting to help Tom towards the door.
Tom was fighting the darkness that was threatening to take him over, but managed to get one foot in front of the other as they made it to the door. "Okay…" He said as Doug led him out onto the porch. Doug took a quick look in both directions before deciding to enter the woods on their left. It was almost nightfall by now and Doug hoped that the darkness would be on their side as they tried to escape Peterson and his men.
Doug held onto Tom tightly as he made his way deep into the woods. He knew that the men in the cabin would be awake soon and out searching for them. He also knew that if they found the officers, this time they wouldn't be so lucky. So Doug held onto Tom tighter and forced him to keep walking. He hated to force Tom to do anything right now, but their lives depended on it. Carefully Doug made his way through the thick trees and brush, hoping not to trip on some unforeseen object in the darkness. Most of the time, Doug basically dragged Hanson along, as his partner was in and out of consciousness. Doug knew when he was awake because Hanson would let out a soft moan of pain from time to time.
They had been walking for about 15 minutes when a gunshot sounded in the air. The noise stirred Hanson out of his sleep and he focused in on Doug. "Was…that what I think it was?" He asked.
Doug nodded and began walking a bit faster. "Yeah. They'll be looking for us now and Peterson is definitely pissed."
"We've got to find some help Doug." Tom said. He was beginning to see a bit clearer now and the fog that plagued his mind was beginning to lift. His body was still in a lot of pain, but he forced himself to move on. Tom noticed that the moon was full and shining down through the trees, casting an eerie shadow in front of where they walked. He shivered slightly as a cool breeze blew through his hair. His battered body wanted to give up and just stop right where he was, but Tom Hanson never gave up on anything and he wasn't about to start now. In the distance he could hear what sounded like a river. "Doug, do you hear that?" He asked.
Doug stopped for a moment and listened. "Yeah…it's coming from over there." He pointed to the direction of the sound. "I think we should head over that way. Maybe there's some more cabins around here and we could get to a phone."
Tom didn't say anything but nodded as they started to move through the wooded area again. He tried not to think about the shivering that was plaguing his body and just tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Once in a while Tom thought he heard movement behind them and would glance back to make sure Peterson and his men weren't on their tale. He knew that they weren't going to give up and would catch up to them sooner or later. Hopefully though, by some miracle, he and Doug could get to a phone and contact Fuller before it was too late.
"Come on Tommy. Watch your step here, it's a little rough." Doug said as he helped his partner down the embankment. Up ahead they saw a river. As quickly as they could they made their way towards it.
"Hanson! Do you see that?" Doug asked as he pointed to a cabin just ahead of where they stood.
Tom looked up and smiled. He felt some of his strength coming back and let go of Doug and took the lead into getting to the cabin. In no time the officers were at the door to the cabin. There were no lights on inside and there were no signs of life. Tom went up and tried the door. "Damn it! It's locked." He said, disappointed. He watched as Doug went around to the side where they had seen a window. He heard the glass shatter moments later and went around to see what his partner was up to. He watched as Doug cleared the glass away and climbed inside. Moments later he was at the front door, letting Tom in. "You do know Penhall, that this is considered breaking and entering." He said with a smirk.
"Well, in these circumstances I think we'll get away with it Hanson." Doug returned. "Come on, let's see if we can find a phone."
Tom and Doug made their way around the cabin in the dark. Neither one of them wanted to risk turning on any lights in case Peterson and his men were close by. A few minutes later, they met back in the front of the cabin. "Any luck?" Doug asked. Tom shook his head.
"No phones. Shit, now what are we going to do?" Tom asked. Suddenly he let out a gasp as he looked out the window. He quickly flung himself towards Doug as a gunshot pierced the air. "Doug, are you hit?" he asked.
Doug caught his breath and replied, "No…I don't think so." He took a quick look out the front window. "Damn it. How'd they find us so quick?"
Tom looked around frantically for a way out. That's when he spotted the old boat out by the edge of the river. He kept quiet, but pointed in the direction of the boat until Doug saw the boat. Doug nodded and then crouched down and slowly made his way over to the back door, motioning for Tom to follow.
Tom could hear Peterson yelling to his men to search the cabin. He could hear the heavy footsteps making their way onto the porch and then the front door swung open.
"You can't hide from us boys." Peterson sang out. "We know you're in here."
Tom and Doug just made it out the back door before another bullet flew through the air, piercing the wood on the door. Tom pushed Doug forward as they ran to the boat and jumped in. This was their only chance to put some distance between them and the guys trying to kill them. Hanson and Penhall frantically began to paddle their way down the river. Tom looked back and saw the four men standing at the edge of the river, their weapons drawn. Tom ducked, pulling Doug down with him as bullets flew over them. They could hear Peterson yelling to his men not to let them out of their sight. Tom peeked over the edge of the boat and could see the men running along the river, trying to aim at the small boat. Tom watched as the distance grew between them and certain death.
Before long, Doug and Tom could no longer see Peterson and his men. Doug ran a hand through his hair before saying, "That was close. Too close."
Tom nodded and sighed. "You're telling me." He had to grab onto the boat as it lurched suddenly. Tom looked around and noticed that the river was beginning to get a bit rougher. He could also hear a very loud, rumbling noise in the distance. "What now?" he asked with desperation.
Doug's face suddenly went very pale as he stared straight ahead. "Uh, Tommy…I think we might be in trouble."
Tom turned to take a look at what was causing Penhall to look so worried. He gulped as he realized what was up ahead. "Shit! Penhall, grab the oars and help me try to turn this thing around!" Tom began paddling as fast as he could, for up ahead was a waterfall…and by the looks of it, the drop was steep.
"Tom, we'll never make it over in this thing!" Doug screamed as he too began to paddle with everything he had. "We'll be crushed!" He continued paddling, but as the current became stronger, they began to lose the battle. They were getting closer and closer to the edge. "Tommy, hang on!" Doug screamed as the front of the boat lost contact with the water and began to plummet over the waterfall. Doug frantically grabbed for his best friend, who was just out of his reach. Before he knew what was happening, he felt himself thrown from the canoe as it capsized. Penhall was dragged beneath the surface by the swift current. Doug fought with all his strength to get back to the surface, but the current kept forcing him down. He could feel his lungs burning with the need for oxygen. He knew he had to get to the surface and soon or it would be too late for him.
