MacKenzie pulled Brennan out of the van and threw him on the ground. He zapped him with the stun gun and watched as Brennan awoke, shaking his head. "The key to your handcuffs is over there on the ground. Better get going."
MacKenzie dashed back to the van, got in, and drove away.
Brennan was on his knees trying to find the key in the dirt. The moonlight wasn't casting much light so trying to find the key wasn't easy. "Damn it!" He looked around and saw nothing but land and hills, no houses or city life at all.
He continued sifting through the dirt trying to find the key and started to get frustrated. "Shalimar!" he yelled out into the night air at the top of his lungs.
The van came to a stop and MacKenzie got out. He opened up the doors in the back and Shalimar lunged out at him, tackling him to the ground. She head-butted him and he grabbed his forehead in pain as she got up off of him. She was about to begin kicking him but he pulled her legs out from under her. She fell to the ground on her back and was greeted with a gun pointing in her face.
"Stupid move," he said, out of breath. "I WAS going to give you the key to your handcuffs but now you can just forget it." He continued to look at her, squeezing the gun in his hand. "I'd love to put a bullet in you right now but unfortunately that's not how this game is played. But when Aaron finds you, there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to make it painful for you. You'll be begging to die." He began moving away from her, backing up towards the van. "Remember that while you're running for your life." He got into the van and drove away.
Shalimar laid on the ground for a moment and looked at her desolate surroundings. She got to her feet and winced as the handcuffs continued to rub on her sore wrists. Then she began walking in the direction MacKenzie had driven off in.
The sun began to rise and Shalimar continued walking along the edge of the road. Cars passed her but none would stop, mostly due to the fact that she was handcuffed and people thought she was a prison escapee.
She saw a small gas station up ahead and figured she'd look for something to get the cuffs off.
No one was at the station, for it was too early. She kicked the door open and made her way into the garage, in search of some tools.
After a few minutes she found a pair of bolt cutters. She laid on the ground, bringing her knees in tightly to her chest so she could bring her arms up and get them in front of her. After doing so, she managed to cut the chain between the cuffs. Then she got a thin screwdriver and picked the locks on the cuffs. They fell to the ground and she rubbed her sore, red wrists.
As she was on her way out she saw a pocketknife lying on a table. She grabbed the it and thought for a moment. Then she went into the other room and took a book of matches and a first aid kit that was sitting by the cash register before making her way to the bathroom.
She turned on the light and cringed at the dirty sight before her. But she blocked it from her mind and put her right knee up on the edge of the sink. She ripped her pants away where the monitoring device had been implanted. Feeling around with the tips of her fingers she located the device.
She lit a match and put the blade into the flame, sterilizing it. She blew the match out and tossed it into the sink. Taking a deep breath she dug the blade into her skin, cutting a one and a half inch slice. Blood immediately flowed down her leg. She moved the skin back and saw the black device. Quickly, she reached in and pulled it out, crying out in pain. She threw the device into the toilet and flushed it.
Opening up the first aid kit, she took out some gauze and tape. She cleaned up the wound as best as she could and then secured a bandage to it.
She limped out into the other room and grabbed some chips and a soda before heading back out onto the road.
Brennan's legs were burning from all the walking he'd been doing for the past few hours. He'd gotten off to a slow start because he had been looking for his handcuff key, which he managed to find.
He could hear a car coming up behind him and begin to slow. He swallowed hard, thinking it was Aaron or George. But he turned and saw a little old lady behind the wheel. She stopped the car by his side. "You shouldn't be out here walking alone. It's too dangerous. Come on. Get in."
Normally, Brennan wouldn't have gotten into the car with someone he didn't know but he was desperate at this point. He got in and she drove away.
"Thanks," he said.
"Your car break down?" she asked.
"Um, yeah. A few miles back."
"Where you heading?"
"Into town is fine. You can just drop me off there. Then I can call a tow truck or something."
"In that case it should only be another few miles. At least you were heading in the right direction. Are you from here?"
"No, actually I'm not. I'm on a business trip. Where is 'here'?"
"Kenmore," she said, as if he'd just asked a stupid question.
Even though the town was very small, Brennan knew where it was. It was a good four hours away from the pier and he felt a little disappointed by how far away he really was.
They finally reached the center of town and the woman pulled up in front of a small market. "Is here okay?" she asked.
Brennan smiled at her, "This is fine. Thanks for the ride."
He got out and stood in front of the market as he watched the woman drive away. He looked around at the various stores that lined the street and couldn't help but be reminded of an old western movie the way they were set up.
As he walked from store to store he couldn't find anything that was open.
He noticed a payphone mounted on the side of one of the buildings and debated about using it. But after thinking for a few minutes he ran over to it and put in some change. He quickly dialed Adam's number and held his breath waiting for him to answer. Finally he did.
"Hello?" Adam said sleepily.
"Adam, it's Brennan. Listen, I don't have long to talk. Shalimar and I are in trouble and we need your help. I'm in Kenmore and..."
"I thought you were driving to Illinois?" Adam asked, cutting him off.
"I made it up. These guys kidnapped us and are using us as prey for this hunting game."
"Okay, try and sit tight. I'm on my way."
Just as Brennan was about to answer, shots rang out, one of the bullets struck the side of the payphone. Brennan dropped to the ground and scanned the area, trying to see where the shots were coming from.
"That's a no no!" George's voice boomed through the still, quiet air.
Brennan scooted over against the building, trying to keep himself out of the George's view.
"Go ahead, run!" George yelled.
Brennan heard the his voice getting louder and knew he was drawing closer to him. With a deep breath, Brennan bolted.
George saw Brennan begin to run so he started shooting at him, laughing with each shot.