Chapter Thirteen
Janie walked with the stranger because she had too; he had removed the tape from her ankles to make it possible. The ride had been extremely short and she recognized where he had taken her. The abandoned cabin he was using had belonged to Old Man Mitchell, until he died six years ago. Mitchell didn't have any family that had come to claim his belongings, and after the County buried him, his estate was left as it was.
The couches were riddled with tears and holes, as if the animals had used the stuffing for nests. Everything had a thick coating of dust on it, disturbed in the places that this stranger had obviously gone prior to now. He moved as if he had been in the house before and she didn't doubt that he had been living up here.
She could hear the slight muffled groan of a generator hidden somewhere around the house. She felt a slight shiver run through her body, causing her injured shoulder to throb. She wanted to cry out but knew it would do no good; the duct tape over her mouth would just stifle any attempt. She glanced down at the wounded joint and winced at the odd angle it held, and with her hands still secured behind her back, she could not adjust it to ease the pain.
He pulled her forward and pushed her towards the couch, with a small gesture of his hand instructing her to sit. She did as she was told and watched him, as he re-taped her ankles. He then moved into the darkened kitchen and sat in the middle of the floor. She felt the hot tears spill from her eyes and soak her cheeks, before they caught on the tape over her mouth.
As she watched, the stranger seemed to close his eyes and go into a trance. She thought it might be yoga. After she was sure he was occupied with whatever he was doing, she frantically searched the room for any chance of escape. He had said nothing to her since he grabbed her at the house. Janie's mind was torn between the fear for her own safety, and the safety of her mother left alone in the house.
She hoped Grayson returned soon and was able to take care of his grandmother. She hoped her returned soon and found her, killing the stranger that grabbed her. She felt anger mix with the fear. She glanced at the man in the kitchen again and saw he hadn't moved. She bent slightly at the waist and looked at the tattered couch she was sitting on, looking for anything that would assist in cutting the tape that bound her.
There was a broken spring sticking half out of the bottom of the couch and she raked the tape restraining her ankles across it. She felt it snag and a jolt of hope coursed through her veins. She continued to run the tape back and forth over the spring and felt it slowly giving way. Janie continually threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't sneaking up on her, frantic for the tape to break.
Finally she felt it give way and her feet came apart. She eyed the door, only the screen was closed, before she glanced at him again. His back was too her and she couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. She had to take the chance. She rose to her feet quickly, and ran as fast as she could, with her hands still behind her back and the tape still over her mouth. She just needed to get free and hide.
She made it to the door and crashed through the screen. She lost her balance for a slight second stumbling across the porch and almost pitching down the stairs. She managed to get her feet underneath her again and leaped off the porch, completely missing the three steps. She bolted towards the woods, heading in the same direction the road went.
She heard him scramble to his feet and come after her. Janie knew she had to move and move fast. She was having increasing trouble keeping her balance without her arms to help and she found her self stumbling with every other step. The tears were blinding her sight, making the world a bleary haze of color and motion.
Janie felt more than heard him coming up behind her. She tried to run faster but it only succeeded in tipping her forward causing her to crash hard to the ground on her face and chest. The wind rushed from her lungs on impact and the pain in her shoulder intensified. She struggled desperately against the fear and pain to rise to her feet, but without the aide of her arms she just flopped helplessly on the ground.
Her sobs were choked and muffled by the tape still covering her mouth as she tried desperately to suck air in through her nose. When his hand touched her shoulder she pulled away in agony and terror. Janie then felt his fingers dig into the uninjured arm and yank her to a sitting position.
Her face came within an inch of his and she noticed the anger in his dark eyes. She felt fear tear through her stomach as it rolled with nausea. She could feel his breath beating on her face as he continued to stare at her. She whimpered involuntarily as he shook her slightly, the injured shoulder throwing a stabbing pain through her entire side.
"Don't do it again," he said with ice in his voice. Janie could only nod, her voice consumed in her fear. He roughly hauled her back to the cabin and tossed her like a rag doll onto the couch again. He inspected the broken spring she had used to free herself and smiled up at her.
She stared down at him with wide scared eyes as he watched her a moment with that sick smile of his. He then sighed and pulled her to her feet, forcing her towards the kitchen. He pointed to an old wooden chair sitting at the table and she slid into it sideways, so her arms weren't trapped behind her against the back of the chair. He seemed to contemplate her position before he moved towards her with the roll of duct tape. He taped each ankle to the leg of the chair, before looping her bound hands to the back of the chair.
"Try running with that attached to you," he said softly and it made Janie even more scared. He nodded once then rose to his full height and walked away from her towards the refrigerator. He pulled the door of the freezer portion open and looked over the contents briefly. He then reached up on top and grabbed a ragged looking towel.
Janie watched in amazement as he filled the ragged towel with ice, before turning back to her. He eyed her deformed shoulder a moment before he felt it. She winced and a muffled whimper of pain escaped her. He looked at her face.
"That's pretty bad. Think the tumble you took out there made it worse. This is going to hurt, but in the long run you'll be better. I got to set that," he told her jutting his finger at the wounded wing. She could only nod at him. Without hesitation he slipped a knife behind her and sliced the duct tape that bound her arms. Her uninjured arm came easily in front of her but the dislocated one stuck at an odd angle. The pain intensified with the movement.
She looked at him with bleary eyes as he grabbed hold of her. He nodded once to let her know it was going to happen, and then he snapped the joint back into place. More than a whimper came out this time as pain ripped across her body. He held the arm in place until she quieted down and then grabbed the ice.
"Got to tape you back up but I'll tape the ice pack on there as well," he said gently and it made Janie's stomach flinch. She didn't want to think that he could be compassionate. She looked away from him as he once again secured the bindings on her wrists. The make shift ice bag was formed to her shoulder then taped down so it wouldn't shift. It did little to ease the pain, but she did her best to contain it.
She wanted to ask him why he was doing this; she wanted to ask him his name. The tape made that impossible and she had a feeling he wouldn't tell her anyway. Janie felt the panic gripping her mind as she tried desperately to maintain some semblance of control over the moment. He seemed to notice her struggle.
"Not much longer now. I'll call him out into the open and it will be done with. Then you can go home," he replied with a brilliantly soft smile. Janie looked away, unsure of what he meant.
Someone had called an ambulance. Grayson didn't know who, but the paramedics showed up and started to load his grandmother up. He sat quietly off to the side. He caught Levi's worried glances more than once but ignored them. He was inside his own head, fighting the panic and fear that Storm had bested him already.
Once his grandmother was safely away, Gibbs came up to Grayson. Grayson knew he could see the lost look on his face, but he was tired of hiding it, tired of fighting it. The concerned look that stared back at him was almost surprising. Grayson took a deep breath and seemed to draw strength from the blue eyes penetrating his own.
"What now?" Grayson asked not liking how weak he sounded. Gibbs put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"We find her and bring her home. Where's your brother?"
"With Dusty. They're deep in the woods on the other side of the river."
"You need to join them."
"I can help," Grayson said defiantly but he knew he was hindered with his leg.
"Best help is to stay out of the way. No offense, kid, but you're pretty dinged up."
"Yeah, that car got the better of me."
They shared a smile before Grayson rose with the aid of the crutches and they walked to the front of the house where everyone else was waiting. The team looked at Gibbs waiting for his lead.
"What'd you find?" Gibbs asked no one in particular. Tony took the floor.
"No sign of forced entry. He either had a key or the door was already unlocked…" he started.
"Unlocked," Grayson said absently. "We never lock the door when we're home."
"Looks like he took her by surprise, most likely after she came out of the back room."
"Found a bunch of fingerprints," McGee picked up. "But my guess is mostly Grayson's and his aunt's. After ruling those out I'll upload the rest to Abby for analysis."
"There are tracks leading out of the house in the soft dirt. Lots of comings and goings, possibly there before hand. It's hard to tell," Kate continued. "They head up the mountain through the trees."
"He headed to the high road," Grayson replied again. Gibbs looked at him, wishing he could take him into the wilderness with him.
"You know this territory?" Gibbs asked Levi.
"A bit. Not like Grady. But he's a bit indisposed with his leg so I guess it's up to me," Levi answered thoughtfully.
"Take us to his brother," Gibbs continued. "We'll leave him there then search the highland."
"Levi will meet you back here after," Grayson began.
"Oh no, I'm going with. Make sure I know where you are and how to find you," Gibbs said sternly. Grayson looked at his feet for a moment before he looked back up at Gibbs.
"You think I'm going to run?"
"Just a precaution."
"I'm not going to run. I want Storm dead," Grayson said flatly then he turned on his crutches and made his way to the car. He felt the hot burn of tears building and bit down on his lip and gulped air to try and stop it. He knew now that Gibbs would want the full story between him and Storm, it was just a matter of time.
TBC…