CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Glenn made his way back up to the cabin with his arms loaded down. He had picked up enough supplies to last him for months, and he had only done it because he wanted to stay here with Becky. He smiled as he thought about her, and lengthened his strides, unable to wait to see her again.

The first thing he became aware of when he walked into the cabin was the unpleasant stench of burning, and he dropped the sacks on the table and went straight into the kitchen, turning off the burner under the big blackened pot. A frown lowered his eyebrows as he saw the mess in the pan, and he started for the bedroom, an uneasy knot of fear settling in his stomach. It took only a few seconds to search the entire cabin and then he went outside, looking around the snowy woods to see if he could spot Becky anywhere, but there was no sign of her. He called her name, waiting a few seconds before he did it again, his frown deepening when no sound came back to him except the echo of his own voice. She wouldn't have just left him, he told himself, she had been happy. A little sliver of doubt threaded it's way through his brain, but he resolutely ignored it, stepping slowly away from the cabin and looking for tracks. They weren't hard to find. Her small footprints were well defined in the snow leading towards the clearing, along with another set, slightly larger, but still obviously female. He followed them, wondering who else had been here and why Becky had walked off with them. Who knew about this place except for Mark?

When he reached the clearing he stopped dead and stared at the mass of footprints here, some of them looked as if the foot had been sliding, like a struggle had taken place. He felt fear claw at his chest now, and his eyes darted about, trying to find some other clue as to where Becky had gotten to. Tyre marks were also clear to see, leading back towards the road, but Glenn knew he wouldn't be able to track them further than that. His eyes searched around frantically and he eventually found more footprints, the same as before, and then bigger ones, a man's prints. His heart was beating fast and hard as he followed them, seeing a large indentation in the snow and then another - someone had fallen here. Then the tracks became more faint, more confused and he cursed the fact that he wasn't an expert tracker, because he would surely be able to follow where they lead, and find out what had happened to Becky. His lips tightened and he squared his shoulders. He may not be a good tracker, but he knew someone who was.

***

Becky was shaking like a leaf as Isobel pushed her along in front of her. They were deep in the woods now, and Becky knew she was totally lost. If Isobel and that man left her here, as they had threatened, she would never find her way out again. But she would give it a damn good try - if they left her in any condition to do so.

"Stop here," Isobel said harshly, grasping Becky's arm in a tight unyielding grip. She looked around her and then back at the young girl, smiling. "This is perfect, deep enough in the forest that no-one will find you...unless I want them to of course. I'll wait a month or so, and then suddenly, Richard here will be hunting and find your corpse. Such a shame, they'll say, she must have been shot accidentally by hunters, and then she couldn't get out of the woods."

"Y-you said you weren't going to shoot me," Becky stammered, staring at the gun again, her whole body shaking and numb from the temperature outside.

"Well, I'm not going to shoot you dead," Isobel said, with a laugh. "But I am going to...how shall I put it?...cripple you. We can't have you running off on us before we're ready, can we?"

Becky stood staring at her dumbly, not knowing what to say. There was no way she could persuade her to leave her alone, she knew this woman would never do that. "Then why don't you just get it over with," she said grimly, all the hate and despair she felt audible in her voice.

"Hmm, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Isobel said, arching one eyebrow. "But you forget that Richard would like to pay you back for kicking him."

The man stepped forward and smiled, touching Becky's hair lightly and then drawing his hand back, letting loose with a slap that knocked her to the ground. She foolishly hadn't expected it and she went down like a ton of bricks, laying on the ground dazed for a few seconds, until he threw himself on top of her and started pulling at her top. She would rather die than let this man rape her, she thought hysterically, and she started fighting again, earning herself another slap that made her ears ring. Still, she couldn't just give in, and she fought even harder, hitting and kicking him, landing several blows that eventually made him back off slightly.

"For God's sake, shoot her like you planned, make this a little easier!" he said to Isobel, and Becky had no time to prepare herself for the jolt of agony that scorched her nerves as the woman did as she was bid, raising the gun and shooting her in the thigh.

Her body curled up automatically in a built in defence mechanism, and she was momentarily blinded by the pain, her breath caught in her lungs as her mind tried to assimilate so much feedback. Eventually she came back to herself and tried breathing properly, working around the pain and looking to see what they were doing. Isobel was laughing as she watched her hated stepdaughter lay there in agony, and Richard joined her, rubbing his hands together. "That's much better," he said, his eyes narrowing as he licked his lips. "Now she can't fight me quite so hard."

As he went to get down on her again, Becky pulled up reserves of strength she didn't know she possessed, rolling away and throwing herself backwards, so she could try and stand. She gritted her teeth against the sharp pains paralysing her leg and managed to use a tree to pull herself up, putting all her weight on her good leg. They were still laughing at her and she felt herself start to fade out, the whole situation taking on an unreal quality, as if she was watching a film. She still had enough sense to move when the man lunged for her, and she finally got her wish in getting away from them. She hadn't noticed the slope behind her, hadn't taken much notice of where they were going, but now she fell down it, her breath leaving her as she hit the ground and then rolled over and over until she reached the bottom.

She could just make out Isobel and the man staring down at her from somewhere above, but her mind started shutting down and she closed her eyes, the shock and blood loss causing her to pass out.

Isobel swore as she stared down the steep embankment. "We can't get down there!"

"Well, nor can anyone else," Richard said, shrugging. "I guess I missed out, but you got what you wanted. She won't live for long with that wound, and the cold will likely get to her even if that doesn't. She'll be gone soon."

Isobel smiled and put the gun in her pocket, turning away and making her way back through the trees. "You're right. My problems are now officially over."

Neither of them had even the slightest feeling of guilt at having ended a human life, and they laughed as they left the scene, planning what they would do next.

***

Mark hid behind the big old oak tree in his garden and waited for Ellie to wander around the side of the house. She had gone for a walk in the grounds a short while ago and he had kept himself busy in his study, but now he had finished his work and had spied her out of the window, unable to resist going out into the deep snow to surprise her. They had been getting along well for the last couple of days and he was delighted to discover she had quite a big sexual appetite now he had woken her up to the pleasures of her body, and she was beginning to take the initiative a little more. Only that morning he had woken to find her exploring his big body and he had only had the patience to let her continue for a minute or so before he had pulled her over him and made her enclose his willing flesh. A smile curved his lips at the memory.

He knew he was feeling very strong emotions for the young girl, and he was pretty sure she was starting to care for him too, and he had taken a lot of teasing from Lizzy because of how soft he had become so quickly. But Ellie made him want to be gentle, her smallness against his own huge body made him want to protect her. If he could have taken back the way he had acted when he first brought her here, then he would have. She was bringing light to his life and he wanted her to know that he appreciated it.

The soft sound of her feet in the snow reached his ears and he peeked out from his hiding place, grinning when he saw her strolling along, a small smile on her mouth. Her eyes went wide and she gave a huge gasp of surprise when he leapt out in front of her, holding a handful of snow and looking positively wicked. "Mark!" she gasped out, laughing at his evil expression. "Don't you dare!" she warned him, backing up and giggling as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"A dare, huh? I can't pass that up," he said, pulling his arm back and throwing the snowball at her, his aim straight and true as it hit her on the shoulder.

"I suppose you think I won't throw one back?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow and bending to scoop some snow up, shaping it into a ball in her cold hands. He laughed and held his hands up, ducking as she threw it at him and she missed entirely. But she was quicker than he had expected and when he straightened up he got one right in the face, making him splutter as he spat snow out.

She laughed hysterically when he glared at her and then started chasing her, keeping his steps slow to prolong the adventure. He would normally have caught her in a few steps, but he let her run out through the garden before he finally got hold of her, tackling her gently and falling back onto the ground with her on top of him. He couldn't help joining in her laughter when he saw the tears running from her eyes with her mirth, and she shivered at the sound of it, stopping and looking at him, her hand touching his face gently.

"You look so handsome when you laugh," she said, stroking his cheek.

Mark felt heat creep into his face, but he grinned at her, pulling her face down to his for a kiss. "Why thank you, my baby," he murmured, seeing her blush this time at his choice of words. He had noticed that about her, he thought, that she blushed every time he dropped an endearment, and he made sure to use them as often as possible.

She shrieked when he put a handful of snow down her neck and glared at him. "That wasn't fair!"

"Well, I had to get you when you were least expecting it didn't I?" he said, making it sound like the most reasonable thing in the world.

Ellie narrowed her eyes and suddenly pushed his head back into the snow, making him jump as it stuck all over the back of his head. "Serves you right!" she giggled when he looked shocked at her actions.

"You're going to pay for that, little girl," he growled, rolling them so she was laying underneath him, trapped by his body in the cold fall. She struggled, still laughing and started pinching him, trying to make him get up. Neither of them noticed the man approaching them until he spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I could really use your help, Mark."

Mark turned his head and looked up to see Glenn, frowning at how worried his friend looked. He pulled himself up and reached down to help Ellie, standing her next to him. "What's the matter?"

Glenn grimaced. "It's a long story, but I need you to help me track someone. She could be hurt....or worse."

"She?" Mark asked raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, Becky...Rebecca. I think something's happened to her, there were footprints and what looked like there had been a struggle....I can't track her Mark, but you can."

"Who's Rebecca? " Mark asked, frowning.

"She's a girl...she ran away from home, and I found her. Now she's staying with me," he said and his eyes fell to the young woman next to his friend. "Ellie I presume? Becky's told me about you."

It was Ellie's turn to frown now. "Becky White? She ran away? Is she....is she okay?"

Glenn shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. Someone's been to the cabin and I think they've taken her. She might be out in the woods somewhere."

"It might be Isobel," Ellie said quietly, trying to think of who would do something like that and only coming up with one answer.

"Her stepmother?" Glenn asked, his eyes narrowing.

"She's the only person I know who hates Becky," Ellie said, starting to look really worried. She lifted her eyes to Mark's and clutched his arm. "Mark, will you be able to find her do you think?"

His hand automatically came up and covered hers, his face softening as he looked at her. "I'll do my best, don't worry. If we find her, if she's okay, we'll bring her back here." He bent and placed a small kiss on her lips, shocking the man who stood watching them as he had rarely seen his friend so at ease. "You go on indoors and get yourself warm. Me and Glenn will find her, don't worry."

Ellie nodded and walked off, biting her lip as she thought of her best friend in trouble. She hadn't seen her since she came here, but she knew what Isobel had treated her like, and she wondered if Becky would survive out in the woods in this cold.