The song: "Always on My Mind" – Pet Shop Boys
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And she clung to him as if her life depended on it, felt her partner's strong arms around her, and as the cry began to erupt from deep within her, all strength fled her body at once.
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"Liv?" Elliot's voice seemed to come from somewhere far away and mix with the rumble of thunder as he tried to make contact with her. "Where the hell have you been? And what happened to you, where is your shirt?"
But Olivia just wrapped her arms tighter around him and pressed her face against his soaking wet chest. A storm of emotion, panic, and an overflowing relief made her focus all of her remaining energy on him, the one thing she had been able to trust unconditionally since the day they had first met.
And he knew what to do. Of course he knew. He held her close and buried his face in her hair, and just held her. And slowly, as if he had given her energy through his body, Olivia lifted her face from his chest, but without removing her arms from around him, she began to look around.
They were not out of the woods yet.
"Olivia?" She heard her partner's voice again, but this time his voice reached her consciousness, and she turned to look at him. His blue eyes were so full of worry and fear that she didn't think she'd ever seen them like that before.
"A serial killer…"
Her voice was nothing more than a mutter, and Elliot frowned.
"What?"
"He had dead bodies in the basement!"
And then she jerked herself out of her partner's grip and started running towards the ax lying on the ground.
"Liv, wait!"
But Olivia wasn't going to wait for the unknown man to find them. She picked up the ax, and out of the corner of her eye he saw Elliot stop in his tracks.
"Olivia…"
"Come on, we have to go!"
"Where?" A glow of utter confusion and immense concern had ignited in Elliot's eyes, but Olivia didn't have time to stay to explain.
"He's coming!"
"Who's coming?"
"The serial killer! We can't stay here!"
"Olivia, I have no idea what you're talking about!" He cried out in desperation. "Please, tell me what happened to you!"
The thunder covered some of Elliot's voice, panic started to build within Olivia, but despite her will, she couldn't get her legs to move. She knew her partner would follow her, but some deeper, more primal instinct kept her from leaving him.
And when she finally turned properly to look at him, she understood why he was so reluctant. Because he didn't understand.
He's not sure if you're serious or crazy.
And the dried blood on your face certainly don't make it any better.
"Please, Elliot," tears clouded her eyes as she begged in a stifled voice. "I'll tell you more when we get to safety. But you have to believe me. Please!"
Elliot bit his lip as his gaze wandered from the blood on her face to her eyes, and his blue eyes seemed to bore into her soul. And she tried, tried with all her might to tell him with her eyes that she hadn't just imagined everything. And then, after what seemed like an eternity, he nodded silently.
"Okay. But you need a shirt first."
He turned and started jogging towards his backpack he'd left a little further away, and Olivia had no intention of standing there alone. She reached her partner just as he managed to dig a half-rain-soaked hoodie out of his backpack, and he handed it to her, grimacing.
"I'm sorry, but this is probably the driest piece of clothing I have," he stood up and wiped the raindrops from his face. Olivia gratefully accepted the hoodie, put it on, and then grabbed her partner's arm.
"Is your phone working?"
Elliot shook his head. "No, it died a while ago."
"Okay, um…" Panic was still pulsing in Olivia's veins, but when she held onto her partner's arm, it was more under control and didn't cloud her mind like it had before. "Do you know where the nearest parking lot is? Or other people?"
"The parking lot is in that direction," he pointed with his finger between the trees. "I don't know about other people. We tried to call for help, but because of this damn thunder…" He wiped the raindrops from his eyes again. "They said they would only come when the weather improves."
"They... Left?" Confusion flashed in her eyes, and Elliot grimaced.
"Yeah, they said it's life-threatening in the forest because of the supercell thunder. They were going to continue looking for you as soon as the thunder passed. That's why I don't know if there are other people…"
"But you... Stayed?" Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes as she looked at her partner, who had an indecipherable expression on his face for a couple of seconds, but then he closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
"Of course I did," he answered quietly before opening his eyes, tears making his blue eyes glimmer. "You are my partner, for better or worse, remember?"
And they stared wordlessly at each other until lightning split the sky, and the ax fell from Olivia's hand as she stepped forward, put her hands behind her partner's head and kissed him. Her half-second fear that she had ruined everything was dispelled when Elliot responded to her kiss just as tenderly, just as intensely. Thunder was rumbling around them, and raindrops were running down their faces as she felt her partner's hand slide down her cheek to the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him, and for a moment the whole world blurred around them.
But then the sound of a branch breaking in the distance made them flinch and pull apart. And there, in the direction of the sound, was walking a dark figure, who was carrying a rifle.
"Shit!"
The terrain was quite bumpy, and there was a small hill between them and the man, so Olivia reacted first, pulling her partner down to the ground with her. There was whistling from somewhere in the distance, which made her unconsciously tighten her grip on her partner.
And then he started singing, causing Olivia's blood freeze in her veins:
"Maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should
Maybe I didn't love you quite as often as I could
Little things I should have said and done
Never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind."
The man was singing the song slower than it really was, and as she lay on the ground in the rain, her heart pounding furiously in her chest, it didn't sound like the same song at all. Instead, it was hollow, menacing, and it made her shudder.
She was sure they would die. She was sure he would find them, shoot Elliot, take her back to his cabin, and she would end up in his body collection in the cabin's basement.
And as if the man had heard her thoughts, the singing began to approach them.
"Maybe I didn't hold you
All those lonely lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I'm so happy that you're mine
If I made you feel second best
I'm so sorry I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind."
The branches were crunching under his feet, and tears began to flow down Olivia's cheeks without her realizing it, even though she had squeezed her eyes shut. She felt Elliot's head move, and her grip on him tightened even more.
"Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Give me one chance to keep you satisfied, satisfied."
That's when Elliot's body tensed in her grip, and he whispered quietly:
"Stay here. Keep the ax."
And before she had time to react, he raised his head, apparently to check the man's location, and then he started crawling forward. Fear exploded inside Olivia as she felt her grip loosen on her partner, and she wanted to scream, but some instinctive, smarter force prevented her from forming a single sound or word. She could only watch as he crawled with supernatural speed along the edge of the hill away from her, heard footsteps approaching beside her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting to hear the voice of her kidnapper…
But instead, she heard Elliot exclaim farther, and she thought her heart would stop.
"Hey!"
The footsteps near her stopped, and for one horrible moment she expected to hear a rifle shot, but it did not come. Instead, the footsteps began to slowly walk away from her, and she dared to take a slight breath.
"Have you seen my girlfriend?" She heard Elliot ask, not understanding how he had managed to choose just the right term. "I woke up in the morning, and I didn't find her anymore."
"I'm not sure," the man answered. "What does she look like?"
"Brown hair, brown eyes, this tall…" She heard her partner describe, and even though she couldn't see him, she could see in her mind him demonstrating with his hands.
The man was silent for a while, but then answered: "No, I'm sorry, but I haven't seen her. Some hiker reported an injured deer, and that's why I have this with me," apparently he meant his rifle. "Did you come from that direction?"
She didn't hear her partner's answer, but assumed he was nodding.
"Yeah, I've been looking everywhere," Elliot's voice trembled, and Olivia was impressed with his acting skills. "I'm really worried."
"I can only imagine. I'll keep my eyes open, and I'll call 911 if I see anything," the man's voice began to grow distant, and she couldn't believe her luck.
"Thank you!"
And then Elliot's steps also took a different direction as he misled the other man. It was quiet for a while, the thunder seemed to be receding, and Olivia waited with her heart pounding.
"Liv!"
A whisper near her startled her so violently that a scream nearly escaped her lips. But then she saw her partner, and relief washed over her like a tidal wave.
"El, thank God…"
"Come on," he waved his hand. "He went there, so this should be the safest route," he pointed behind him, and Olivia fumbled to her feet. And then they set off again, observing the surroundings, the wet ground squelching under their shoes.
They walked without saying a word, and involuntarily Olivia's thoughts wandered to the kiss. However, she forced her thoughts elsewhere as she couldn't let her attention wander. But then, out of the blue, she realized something that almost made her stop.
"How did you know that man only kills women? I don't think I had time to tell you that."
Elliot shrugged but didn't look at her.
"I didn't."
For a moment, Olivia lost her ability to speak, and just stared at her partner, who was observing their surroundings as they walked.
"But…" She stammered as she tried to find her words. "You..."
But Elliot knew her question, even if she couldn't say it.
"He would have found us anyway, so I had to try. And… He's after you, so it was worth a shot, right?"
He didn't look at her, but Olivia swallowed.
"Thanks."
"So," Elliot continued, as thunder rumbled in the distance. "Now might be a good time to explain. The last time I saw you, you were sleeping in the tent, so how the hell you have a murderer after you now?"