Chapter 10
The rain lashed down almost horizontally as Abby grit her teeth against the howling wind. Her bike helmet was still on, but the visor was broken. A massive crack ran across it, allowing the water to seep in as the rain pelted the darkened plastic. She pulled it off and flung it aside as she climbed the hill, bracing herself harder. The lighthouse was in sight. She was almost there. She'd almost made it.
Eventually, she trudged up the incline and stood atop the cliff, the figures turning to face her as she did. One was clearly Lynn, who turned to face her with a wild look of desperation in her eyes. The other was still blacked out, silhouetted at the angle he stood at. She didn't know whether it was intentional or just an effect of the dream, but he'd positioned himself perfectly. Suddenly, a fork of lightning struck in just the right place. For a split second, his face was illuminated. As she saw it, a dagger of ice sliced through Abby's gut as her blood boiled with an inexplicable rage.
'Impossible!'
Abby jolted awake in bed, jumping up as the cold wetness of the bedsheets assaulted her skin. The duvet had been turfed onto the floor at some point and the bottom cover was once again saturated. She jumped up, swearing a blue streak as she looked it over to assess the damage. Something was different this time. Just as before, the place she was lying was the only dry spot. It was as though it had been raining and her body had blocked the water from hitting the area where she'd been. But unlike the last time, the water flow didn't stop. It seemed to be materialising from nowhere, hitting the bottom sheet and soaking it to the point that it was standing proud of the fabric before running into the spot where she'd been to drench that too now that she wasn't there anymore. As she watched, it started running from the edges of the sheet like a torrential waterfall, drenching the carpet underneath.
Suddenly, in the midst of the chaos, something dawned on her that freaked her out even more: she was alone. She'd gone to bed early that night after a hard day of classes and sent Lynn a text to let her know so that she could try and let herself in quietly. But Lynn wasn't there. Panic rising in her gut, she grabbed her phone and checked the time. It was 1:00am. Way too late. There was no way Lynn shouldn't have been back by now. And not even a response to her message. There was no way around it: something had happened and she knew of only one thing that was possible. The image of her at the lighthouse in the midst of that rainstorm was still fresh in her mind, Mark Jefferson's face lit up by the lightning as he turned to face her.
By this point, the water had soaked into the carpet and was spreading across it, soaking the ground under her feet. She didn't care. She didn't know what was causing the rainstorm in her own room, but Lynn was missing. That took priority over everything. The room could flood for all she cared. They'd figure it out when they got back. Together.
Wasting no time, she ran to the wardrobe they shared and started rifling through her half of it. She grabbed some jeans and a shirt before picking up her riding gear from where it was lying and shrugging it on. She grabbed her bike key and stormed out of her room before racing out into the corridor and heading for the stairs. She practically jumped each flight, not caring who she woke up. Whoever lived in the room underneath her was about to have a rude awakening anyway if that water went through the floor so it was only a matter of time before the whole dorm was on their feet.
The night air was warm yet heavy. There was a charge to it that told her they were in for a storm soon and it was going to be bad. With that in mind, Abby decided she couldn't waste any time. She raced over to her bike, unlocked the chain immobilising it and tossed it aside before climbing on, firing up the ignition and gunning the engine before pulling away and heading for the exit. She sped out onto the road and headed for the town, knowing where she was going. She'd seen the schedule Jefferson had sent Lynn, but for now, there was only one location she was interested in. The lighthouse had been in all of her dreams. It was also on the schedule. She had no doubt in her mind that if she was going to find her anywhere, it was there. Fortunately, she knew the way pretty well since they'd been on quite a few dates there before the prospect of adult life started to interfere. Speed limit be damned, she kicked into high gear and aimed in the direction of the cliffs.
She made good time to the lighthouse, cutting around the edge of the town and avoiding any late-night congestion. It was only once she'd cleared the edge of the town and reached the edge of the beach that she was free to really put her foot down for the last several miles and clear it easily. It was only once she reached the final parking lot that sat directly under the incline to the lighthouse that she relaxed even slightly, cutting the engine and slamming down the stabiliser before pulling the key out and taking off at a run.
The incline was barely a challenge for her at all. Being in great shape had its merits that were evidently apparent as she was easily able to run up the slope with minimal fatigue. She knew what she would find even before she saw it. She reached the top, instantly spotting who she was looking for. Sure enough, Lynn was there on her knees with a terrified look in her eyes, bound and gagged with duct tape while Jefferson aimed a gun at her. There was a camera in a shockproof case tucked under his other arm and in that moment she began working how she was going to smash him in the face with it. Unfortunately, she never got the chance.
"Hands up!" A click from behind her told her that the voice wasn't joking. Knowing she couldn't afford to show fear, she restrained herself from complying too quickly in an attempt to show calmness under pressure. It was totally ruined by the shaking in her hands as whoever was holding the gun quickly patted her down as Jefferson noticed her and turned to face her. The moment their eyes met, the trust they'd built up was instantly gone. An emptiness replaced it that could only be filled with pure unrivalled hatred. But when the gun-wielder shoved her forward and she found herself face-to-face with the man her father had called a friend for decades, all she could feel was disappointment.
"I didn't want it to be you." Her voice sounded hollow. "I literally had nightmares about it being you. But now I see that the true nightmare is right here. Evil always wants you to run towards it, so it often has a way of looking quite shiny and attractive on the outside."
"Abby..." Jefferson's voice carried a heavy note of regret. It dawned on her that there seemed to be a lot of that going around lately. "I didn't want it to be you who found us. I wanted to drop her off when we were done, totally unaware anything had happened. But I like my models to be seen and not heard. Together, you have the potential to make a lot of noise, so I have to make sure you're both shut up. Permanently." That was when it dawned on Abby: in her desperation, she hadn't had time to plan anything. She had no idea how to get out of this situation she now found herself in. She'd just been trying to find Lynn, not knowing or caring what she'd do when she actually did so and only going based on what she'd seen in a recurring dream. She was the epitome of unprepared and it was about to cost her everything. But in that moment, she resolved that it wouldn't cost her Lynn. She didn't care what happened to her, but Lynn was going to get out of this alive. From the look on her face, she'd spent a day going through things that could make her worst nightmares seem like a playdate. The least she deserved was to live a full life after this.
"Okay..." Abby muttered as she gathered her courage. "I don't care what happens to me. Just let Lynn go. She's suffered enough." Jefferson only smirked in response.
"Nice try, Abby. As soon as she goes free, she'll go to the police. With you going missing, that's only going to draw suspicion to the whole thing. No deal." Abby realised he had a point. But she had to persist. She had to find a way to make this work. But she only had one possible idea. It was a bad one. It was an awful, depraved and inhuman thought. But it was so terrible it might just work. It was literally a case of becoming a monster to defeat a monster, but it was all she had.
"What if I gave you someone else?"
Author's Note: And with that, we're into the final stretch of this story. If you have any theories as to what might happen next, feel free to share them. Also to MaxandChloe4Ever: Yes, Jefferson is totally the sort of person who would thrive with something like The Purge. I have to say, I haven't seen those movies myself. I plan to, though. I just haven't had the time.
