Annie made it to the front door and flung it open, falling to her knees and rolling at the first blast of a gun. It was definitely bigger than hers. WAY bigger . . .
Scrambling to her feet and leaping into the yard, she veered when another shot rang out, blasting through a tree near the driveway.
I can't run. I've got to stop him. I've got to catch him.
But, she had no way to do it. She was alone, and he was after her, and she just had to stay alive long enough to get help. She could see her mistake now as plain as day. Staying. God, she was so dumb!
Now, she would run. He'd be back. He promised. They'd be ready then. She'd go into hiding this time if she had to. She'd stay alive. Goddammit, she'd stay alive!
With a sob, she flung herself into the woods, running as fast as she could through the underbrush, grateful she had actually put on shoes this morning for some reason.
A shot rang out over her head, and she ducked instinctively, losing her footing on wet leaves, but gathering herself. As her feet pounded on the uneven ground, she repeated the same phrase over and over.
I have to stay alive . . . I have to stay alive . . .
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Ferg left his door open, car running as he leapt from the car, gun drawn.
The front door was open. It only took him a minute to walk carefully through the house, all senses alert, gun ready.
Bullet holes . . . he found her .22 empty . . . the security system ripped from the wall . . .Annie said he'd get around it when he installed it . . . she was right apparently . . .
Annie . . .
Where was she? Did he have her? Why didn't she call?
Sirens wailing, he heard the crunch of tires on gravel, but he had to check upstairs.
All he found was her cell phone charging innocently on the nightstand.
Son of a fucking bitch!
Branch met him on the stairs, his gun also drawn.
"She's gone." Ferg brushed past him, fighting panic.
They still had time. They could find her. He could find her. He had to find her.
"I think she ran," Walt called from outside. He pointed at the bullet hole in the porch railing. "There's another just like it down near the driveway." He pointed towards a small tree, the bark ripped from the side.
Ferg stopped, trying to make his mind react to this information.
She ran.
There wasn't any blood. He didn't get her.
Junior didn't have her.
She was alive!
But, she could be anywhere.
They heard a muffled gun shot from the woods.
Ferg didn't stop to think and launched himself in that direction.
"Branch, you go west, I'll go east. When Vic gets here, I'll have her stay here in case they double back!" Walt gave orders, but not to Ferg.
Ferg had no intention of following them, anyway.
He had to get to Junior first if this was going to end for good.
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Tears blurred her eyes from the cold wind and her fear as she ran, no destination in mind but only to get away from this threat.
She had been out here before with Ferg, and vaguely remembered a creek with a small cave.
She could hide there.
Her sensible mind told her there was probably a bear hibernating in there, but she'd take her chances with a bear over Junior. Definitely a safer route.
Stumbling a little, she slid all the way towards the creek, her shoes and pants soaked. Gasping for air and trying to think, she splashed across it, scrambling onto the rock on the other side.
The cave was somewhere around here.
Think, Annie, think . . .
A hand grabbed her roughly from behind. She screamed, but he clamped a leather gloved hand over her mouth, muffling her anger, her panic.
"Gotcha, bitch."
Annie struggled to get out of his grasp, but he held the business end of a .44 against her temple.
"You're going with me. And we're gonna have some fun."
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Ferg wanted to call out, but he didn't want to alert Junior to his presence. For all Junior knew, it was just him and Annie in the woods.
Predator and prey.
Desperately, he tried to search for signs that someone had been through here as he ran, but he could only propel himself forward, hoping he was still going in the right direction.
Hoping he wasn't too late.
A scream.
Annie.
He stopped, gasping for air, desperately listening again, trying to pinpoint where it came from.
Silence. The only sound the water from the creek gurgling happily over the rocks.
The creek.
He vaguely remembered a happier day when they walked through the woods. He showed her the creek. And the cave.
She asked if there were bears in it.
He had teased her about her fascination with bears.
She was going for the cave. He knew that as sure as he knew anything.
His chest heaving with exertion, he made himself slow down, not wanting to give his position away as he approached, afraid he wouldn't see anything at all. Or he'd see something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Another scream. Right near the creek.
She was still alive.
Hoping Walt and Branch heard it, too, he moved forward, gun drawn.
What he saw made his heart leap to his throat.
Junior was dragging her away from the creek. Ferg didn't know where he was going, and he didn't plan on finding out.
He thought about announcing his presence – that was what he was supposed to do – but he found he wasn't going to follow the rules on this one. It was too personal.
He had one shot at this.
Steadying himself the best he could, he sighted on the sorry scene below, waiting for his chance.
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Junior roughly jerked her around, and she whimpered and fought.
"Be still, bitch!"
She tried to bite him again, but he let go of her mouth long enough to backhand her.
She screamed again.
He hit her over the head with his pistol, and she saw stars, momentarily losing the ability to struggle.
Annie could feel herself being dragged along, and she made herself focus on what was going on.
Fight, girl, you have GOT to fight!
She dug in her heels, and he stopped long enough to grab her by the hair, making her look at him. "You stop that, or I'll shoot you here, then go back to-"
There was an explosion that made her scream again, blood flinging across her face in a fine mist. For a moment, she thought Junior had shot her. She waited for the intense pain . . .
Instead, Junior's grip on her loosened.
Annie's mind struggled to keep up.
Someone shot him.
I'm not out here alone.
She tried to shove him aside, but he had years of hatred in his corner and refused to let go despite the pain she knew he had to be feeling from his now-useless left arm. He held her just that much tighter as she struggled, trying to lash out as his wound.
Get away . . . I've got to get away . . .
Someone is out here . . . maybe a hunter realizing I'm was in trouble . . . maybe someone who heard the gunshots and screams . . .
"Let . . . me . . . go!"
He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head at an awkward angle, the cold metal of his gun pressed to her temple.
"I said be still, bitch-"
Annie thought she heard another gun cock, all her senses now heightened with fear.
Someone really was there!
Junior seemed to hear it, too, pulling the gun away from her head and pointing it at this new threat.
"Well, well, well . . . what do we have here?" Junior said, breathing hard, but still appearing to enjoy himself.
"Let her go."
Annie's relief at being found was short-lived when she realized who had come to her rescue. She struggled to see him, her heart pounding out of her chest.
"No-"
Briefly, Junior let her go, and the hope that her situation was getting ready to improve filled her soul. It was short-lived when he grabbed her again with his one good arm, this time across her chest, his gun trained underneath her chin. It didn't escape notice that he was using her as a human shield.
Ferg couldn't shoot him if he wanted to.
"I said let her go." Ferg's voice was shaky, but his revolver pointed at Junior never wavered.
Junior grinned despite the blood dripping off his useless left arm. "Or what? You'll shoot me? Well," he shook Annie for emphasis as she whimpered, "you'll have to shoot her first. Isn't that a bitch?"
Her heart was beating so hard, she thought she may faint.
"I'm not letting you out of these woods alive, Junior. I swear on all that is holy you're going down."
The rage in his voice was unmistakable.
She had to stop him. He couldn't win this game. Junior wrote the rules to it, and they just had to play along, hoping they were still alive at the end.
"Ferg, no . . ."
Junior's laugh made her skin crawl. "Really? You really think that's how this is going to work? I could shoot her right now and take you out before you can even react." He cocked his weapon to prove his point, and Annie shut her eyes against the cold metal biting into her neck, the only sound the whoosh of blood in her ears.
She had no doubt he would do it, too. Not that she didn't have faith in Ferg. Junior was just more ruthless.
I have to do something! Get Ferg to stop! Get Junior to understand! Something! Anything!
"L-let him go, Junior. I-I'll go with you. J-just . . . don't hurt him . . .please don't hurt him . . ."
"Oh, it's his call," Junior said flippantly. "If he doesn't put his gun down before I count to three, I'm putting a bullet through your brain. While he watches." He tightened his grip. "One . . . two . . ."
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Ferg didn't know what else to do. He strained to hear someone – anyone! – coming to their rescue, but there was nothing. No sound in the woods. Only his labored breathing and Junior's words filled the air.
Annie's eyes pled with his.
Maybe I can get off a shot. I already got him one time. If he'd just move her a little to the left . . .
Junior started counting gleefully. "One . . . two . . ." His finger tightened on the trigger, and Annie gasped, squeezing her eyes shut again as tears rolled down her face.
Realizing his time was up, Ferg let go of his revolver, letting it fall to the ground.
Junior's look of triumph made him want to pick it up and empty its contents into the man's brain.
Obviously counting on that, Junior kicked it aside, the gun skittering out of reach into the underbrush. "That's a good deputy. Now get down on your knees. That's right, easy does it . . ."
Ferg glared at the man, but did as he was told.
"Junior! Junior, stop! Don't do it! Please don't do it!" Annie cried out, still struggling in his grip despite the gun digging into her neck. "Leave him alone! I'll go with you! I won't fight, I swear!"
Junior's maniacal eyes were trained on Ferg's, ignoring the woman struggling in his grip. "You really thought you could keep her away from me, did you? That you could stop me from having her? Well," he moved the gun away from Annie and pointed it at Ferg,"shows how much you know."
Ferg didn't flinch. He was just glad the weapon wasn't on Annie.
"Junior! Goddammit, he's not armed! Just leave him alone!" Annie's struggled even harder, and Junior's one-arm grip slipped. His attention was momentarily diverted and his gun wavered as he tried to keep his hold on Annie.
Ferg knew he would only have one chance at this. He didn't care if he was shot in the process, but he was determined to get Annie out of here alive. He lunged in the direction his revolver had been kicked.
A gun went off, but the bullet ricocheted off the rock he had been kneeling on and harmlessly ate into a tree trunk.
Annie screamed and struggled even harder, falling to the ground out of his grasp.
If I can just distract him long enough, she can get away . . .
"Run, Annie!"
Junior pointed his gun at Ferg again.
Ferg grabbed his weapon and rolled out of the way, the next bullet going wild into the woods.
But Annie didn't run.
Still on the ground, Annie had gotten her hands on the only weapon in the vicinity - a tree limb -and swung it as hard as she could at Junior's legs. It connected with his knee, throwing his aim off.
"You bitch! I'll kill you for that!" Junior whirled around, so crazed with anger and pain he didn't realize what he was turning his back on the bigger threat, and pointed his gun at Annie still lying on the ground, only a tree limb in her hands for protection.
Ferg didn't hesitate, didn't care if he was shooting the man in the back. He raised his weapon and pulled the trigger.
Junior lurched forward, no longer able to control his movements, his gun falling to the ground at Annie's feet as she skittered out of the way. He fell forward where she had just been sitting, a neat hole in his back.
But he didn't stop there.
Blood dribbled from his lips as he struggled to grab ahold of her, the same crazy grin still on his face. Still screaming from the terrifying sight, she backed away as far as she could as he reached for her with bloodied hands.
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Annie felt like she was losing her mind. Everything went so fast.
All she could do was react, grasping for any weapon she had to fight back, to stop it from happening.
And now just like a horror movie, Junior was reaching for her, blood foaming and dripping from his mouth, his hands clawing at her as he died.
After what she had just been through, she couldn't stop screaming if she wanted to.
Someone had her, pulling her to her feet out of the way, shielding her from the horror, holding her against him tightly.
She gratefully shrunk against him, sobbing.
He kissed her face, her hair. .
"You're OK, you're OK," he said over and over. "He can't hurt you anymore. You're OK."
She was . . . yes, she was . . .
Safe . . .
It's over . . . it's really over . . . he can't hurt me anymore . . . he can't hurt anyone anymore. . .
Without warning, a sharp pain doubled her over, making her gasp for breath.
"Annie? Annie!" Frantically, she could feel Ferg grasping for her, sinking to the ground with her as she fell. But, he sounded like he was yelling at her through a tunnel, the pain the only thing grabbing her attention.
Another pain, this one sharper than the first. She curled into a ball to try to ease it, but it didn't help.
More voices.
"What is it? Did he shoot her?" Branch. It sounded like Branch. Hard to tell . . .the pain dulled all her senses too much to tell.
"No! I- I don't know! She just . . . she just . . ." Ferg's voice was frantic as he pulled at her, trying to figure out what was wrong.
She knew what was happening. She felt wetness, like something in her body was letting go. It wasn't icy like the water from the creek now soaking her shoes. It was warm, sticky, nauseatingly so.
The next pain was so intense, she felt herself begin to blackout, gratefully sinking into the darkness away from the horror she knew was happening to her body, one she was helpless to stop.
Vic splashed across the creek and skidded to a stop, taking in the scene in front of her.
"I thought I told you to stay at the house," Walt mumbled, out of breath from his own run through the woods.
Vic ignored him as she watched Branch kneel down next to Ferg and Annie who was curled in a tight ball on the ground.
"Jesus, look at the blood . . ." she heard Branch whisper.
Vic gaped. "Oh . . . shit!"
Walt was already on the walkie-talkie, telling Ruby to call an ambulance and the Feds.
In shock, Ferg heard none of it as he held onto her and tried to figure out what was going on. "He didn't shoot her . . . I don't know what happened . . . she just fell. . ."
Vic blurted it out before she realized it. "She's losing the baby . . ."
They all looked at her, various states of shock registering on their faces.
"What?" Ferg's voice was incredulous.
Vic had told Annie she wasn't going to be the one to tell him. But, it looked like she was going to have to, anyway.
Ferg stared at her as if he didn't even know her. "You mean . . . she's . . . she's . . ."
At the look on his face as it finally soaked in, Vic could have kicked herself for agreeing to go along with what Annie wanted.
The wail of a siren in the distance launched Ferg into action. Without a word, he scooped Annie up and headed carefully back towards the house.