Disclaimer: Fox Family = Higher Ground characters; Me = nothing.
Hostage
Part Three
By: SparksJSH
"He's got them." Peter locked eyes with Curtis.
The sheriff frowned. "How do you know? Daisy sounded fine."
"It's what she said that clued me in; not how she said it. You heard her Curtis. She said that Shelby and David were caught making out."
Curtis nodded. "Peter, you and I both know your kids are not angels. It is not beyond the realm of reality to believe they were caught making out."
"Curtis, Shelby can't stand David. She'd rather spend all day climbing The Wall than even pretend to be interested in him. No, Daisy was telling me there was a problem in a way that only Daisy could or would. Thompson has them; I'm sure of it."
Curtis swore. "Do you know where Sophie was taking them? We need to get there."
Peter sighed. "Not really. Knowing Sophie though, I could probably narrow the choices down to two or three. She has some favorite places that she tends to gravitate toward more than others."
"Show me on the map and I'll get men up there looking."
"I'm coming with you."
Curtis shook his head. "No way, Peter. Thompson is dangerous. I can't put you at risk."
Peter frowned. "Curtis, Sophie and the kids are out there, in danger. I can't just stand by and do nothing when they are going through who knows what. How could you even ask me to do that?"
"Peter, I don't know what we'll find when we do find them. There's no telling what he will do to them; what he may have already done to them, especially the girls."
"All the more reason for me to be there."
Curtis could see that he wasn't going to change Peter's mind so at last he nodded. "Okay, let's go then."
As they started out, Peter said a silent prayer that everyone was okay and that they'd get to them before anything happened to them. He had a bad feeling that they weren't going to be that lucky though.
*****
Juliette blinked back tears. Sophie was unconscious. Shelby was still locked away in her own private Hell. Even Daisy looked more frightened than Juliette had ever seen her. The boys looked as helpless as she felt, especially Scott. She wished, not for the first time since this nightmare began, that Auggie wasn't tied up. She could really use his strong comforting arms around her right then.
She took a deep breath. "Sir, please, Sophie needs a doctor. If you let us go, we won't say anything about you."
Thompson laughed. "If you're dead you can't talk either. Besides I have plans for you. It won't take long for the local authorities to find out I'm up here somewhere. They may know already. Right now I have eight hostages. I think I'm safer with you here with me."
"What makes you think people care what happens to us?" Scott taunted him from his place tied to a tree. "Mt. Horizon isn't just your everyday school. It's for emotionally troubled kids. We're here because we all screwed up somehow. If they really want you, they aren't going to stop just because we're here."
Thompson shook his head. "That's too bad. I thought killing you might be fun torture but it sounds like life is torture enough for most of you. Maybe you'll finally catch a break. Maybe I won't kill you when I leave. I'll just have my fun with the ladies and get away before anyone even knows something's happened to ya. If no one accidentally stumbles on this spot I won't have to kill ya."
"What if we are found?" Daisy asked. She still couldn't believe Peter hadn't caught on to her hint. She had to hold on to the hope that he was nearby, ready to rescue them.
"Pity for you if they do. I'm a dead man walking. If they get me to that prison, all that's waiting for me there is the gas chamber. I don't want to die but if they find me here I'm a dead man either way. I figure I'll take as many people with me as I can when I go. You eight will be my shields and my targets."
Daisy looked away. She may not have to worry about Shelby getting her later for her comment about her making out with David. They were all going to die before then.
Ezra shifted uncomfortable. "Um, sir, I'm sort of allergic to dying. Can we rethink this plan?"
Thompson laughed. "You just better hope the local yokels don't stumble onto this place before I'm ready to leave in the morning then. Otherwise, you are going to have a major allergic reaction."
"They know where you are." Everyone stared at Shelby in shock. Why was she telling him that? "Daisy clued Peter in on the radio. He'll tell the cops where Sophie was taking us. They'll be here any minute now to take you down."
"WHAT?!"
*****
"They're not here." Curtis frowned.
Peter threw a rock down the path they'd just left. "I was sure this was the most likely spot for Sophie to take the kids."
"Don't beat yourself up, Peter. We'll try the other spot. Hopefully, they are there and…" He trailed off. There was no sense upsetting Peter anymore than he had to.
"And what? That they are in one piece? I hate this, Curtis. The school prides itself – I pride myself – on the fact that the kids are safe here. No matter what happened in their past, they don't have to worry about being hurt while at Mt. Horizon. Then this happens."
"This isn't your fault. Come on, Peter, don't blame yourself. It's not fair and it certainly doesn't help the kids or Sophie. They'll be fine no matter what Thompson does because you'll make sure they are."
Finally Peter nodded. "Okay, let's go find them."
"Good man."
*****
Shelby stood but she was afraid her legs were so shaky they wouldn't hold her. She knew the others were looking at her like she'd lost her mind. Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat she wasn't sure they weren't right. "Peter is going to have the police up here in no time."
Thompson shoved Shelby roughly aside and jerked Daisy to her feet. "You little witch. I oughta kill you right now."
"Shoot her and they'll get here even quicker." Shelby warned. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she continued. "Why make this your death sentence when you could get clean away before they get here? I can help you get away."
Releasing Daisy, Thompson looked back at Shelby. "Why would you help me?"
Shelby forced a smile even though her stomach was twisting into knots. "Maybe because I'm tired of being a prisoner too. This could be my chance to get away as well." Shelby moved seductively closer, ignoring the looks the others were giving her. "Or maybe I like the things you whispered you wanted to do to me."
"Shelby, don't!" Scott's voice was thick with emotion.
Shelby continued as if he hadn't said anything. "Either way, you get away alive. What do you say?"
Thompson kissed Shelby roughly. It was all Shelby could do not to spit in his face. "So, you're gonna help me escape. How?"
"When I first came to Mt. Horizon. I ran away. I found a spot where nobody could find me. I stayed away for two whole days and never saw anybody. If I hadn't ran out of food I would have never came back. But nobody knows where that spot is and we have plenty of food. We can take the food and go there. We'll have enough to last us until they stop looking."
Thompson smiled. "Yeah, we'll do that. I'll kill the guys and the five of us will go."
"NO!" Shelby shouted. Thompson gave her a hard look. She bit her lip. "Like I said, you fire that gun and you can forget getting away. Why would you want all five of us anyway? I can guarantee you I'm more than enough for you to handle. Besides, Sophie is bleeding; she'd leave a trail the whole way. Do you really want to listen to Juliette complain the whole time? Trust me she will. And as for Daisy, she's ratted you out once; she'll find another way if we take her. Why take the chance? Leave them all here and let's go before the cops get here."
"I like the way you think. Put all the food in one bag. Do it quick."
With shaky hands Shelby did as she was ordered. She tried not to think about what he would do to her once they were away. Instead she reminded herself that he couldn't do anything to her that she hadn't already experienced. Finally she straightened up and slung the backpack over her shoulder. "Let's go."
Thompson nodded and pointed the gun at Juliette. "You, I see you move before we are well out of sight and I'll shoot you just for the fun of it. I'm a good shot from any distance. At the least, you'd be dead before the police got here." He started to move away from the camp, grabbing Daisy as he went. Shelby looked at him in shock.
"What are you doing with her?"
"She's going with us. Like I said earlier, I like the fear in her eyes. Besides, like you said she ratted me out. I can't let that go unpunished. Now, let's go find that hidey-hole you were telling me about. I'm ready for some fun."
Shelby's heart skipped a beat. "You can't do that."
Thompson laughed and pulled her close. "What's the matter? You jealous? Don't like to share? Get used to it. There's plenty of me to go around. She's going with us, for awhile anyway. Then we'll be alone and I can do all those nasty things I promised you."
Scott had to turn his head away as the madman kissed Shelby. If he ever got his hands on the guy, he'd make him pay for everything he'd said and done to his girlfriend. "Shelby, don't do this."
Shelby just looked at him, her eyes devoid of emotion. "Why shouldn't I? What's here for me? You all may claim to be my friends but I know the truth. You're just waiting until the time is right and then you'll hurt me just like everyone else in my life has. Well, I'm tired of waiting for the next knife in the back. At least with him, I won't be tempted to trust him; I won't be surprised when he hurts me. This way I'll know the score."
Scott didn't try to hide the tears that ran down his cheeks. He hated seeing the girl he loved hurting so much. "You don't know what he'll do to you. He's dangerous."
Shelby shook her head. Suppressing a shudder, she recalled the graphic details Thompson had supplied her with. She blinked back tears. "I know exactly what he's going to do. It's nothing I haven't experienced before. Dangerous? Maybe but you want to know what's really dangerous? Trusting and caring about people. Men like Thompson can hurt my body; I can handle that kind of pain. What I can't handle is never knowing when someone who claims to love me will hurt me worse than any physical pain ever could."
TO BE CONTINUED…