Chapter 3
Jill crept noiselessly through the brush towards the wavering beams of light. For the past few minutes, the bright lights had stopped bouncing up and down through the trees and bushes and now seemed to be swinging idly, neither changing directions nor getting farther away.
They must have stopped.
Jill crouched to a stop just before the woods broke through into the small clearing where her and her companions had been enjoying a carefree evening less than an hour ago. Things had drastically altered so quickly for them, Jill felt like her head was spinning.
And it probably wasn't even the alcohol.
She swallowed and eased her long, slender body to a laying position on her stomach below the protective cover of some low hanging willow leaves and listened carefully. The men were talking, close enough to hear their voices but much too far away for her to have any hope of understanding what they were saying. Her sister and two friends were sitting huddled together next to the cold ashes of their campire beside the unconscious form of another woman who she could only guess was the mysterious screamer.
She watched them, only barely able to make out who was who in the moonlight. Their silhouettes looked cold and uncomfortable and Jill felt a tinge of resentment that their captors lacked the decency to even light the fire for them. A loud thud put her immediately on guard, every muscle in her body tensed and ready to run in case she was spotted. It didn't take complete sobriety to realize that she was their last hope.
"No talking!" the disembodied voice of one of the men came echoing towards her ears. Jill relaxed slightly. He had been yelling at her friends and judging by the way all three of them had flinched, had probably thrown something at them as well. Her jaw clenched in anger. He'd better not hurt them, she thought angrily.
Unsure of what to do, Jill lay quietly in her hiding spot, anxiously watching her friends. Several minutes later a bright beam of light illuminated her friends faces, startling her from her trance. Jill tried to calm her fluttering heart and focus on what was happening. Obviously, she hadn't been seen or the light would be brightening her hiding place, right in her eyes, she told herself reassuringly. Still, it was hard to relax.
Heart hammering in her chest, Jill stared at her friends. She quickly realized the occasion for the light. The mysterious girl was awakening, using Kelly to steady herself as she pulled her body to a sitting position. Jill quickly scanned her friend's faces, taking an opportunity in the light to look for signs of injury. From what she could see, they seemed unhurt save for Sabrina, who had blood glistening wetly on her mouth and chin. Jill felt her stomach lurch. The blood was a chilling and very real reminder of just how severe their situation had gotten. These men weren't playing around. Someone could get killed.
The blood on her best friend's face also put a desperate sense of urgency in her. She had to help them. She lay still, racking her brain for any way she could get her friends out of this mess. Both the phone and her gun were locked uselessly inside her car, completely out of reach. And even if they were, the key was in her tent. Jill sighed in frustration. The only other option was to run away and call for help, but the thought of abandoning her sister and friends here with these madmen was unbearable. If something happened, at least she was here to lend a last ditch helping hand and go down with them. She wouldn't be able to stand not knowing what had happened.
No, she'd stay with them. Figure something out.
Flickering lights and sudden movement caught her eye and she instantly flicked her gaze to the source. The auburn haired girl was rising to her feet, reluctantly pulled by one of the three men and lead towards Kelly and Sabrina's tent.
Jill shuddered, unsure what was going to happen to her. Her friends were captive and their hands were tied, but Jill was willing to wager that their helplessness didn't even begin to match her own.
She watched her friends for a few minutes longer, her head beginning to ache as she thought of a possible way to help them. If only she could let them know she was alright. The flashlight beams suddenly turned away, reducing her friends back to the vague outlines they had once been. Jill sighed, the lack of detail somehow troubling her. A wave of frustration and urgency seized her again and she restlessly pushed herself up to her knees.
What good was lying here in the dirt going to do them, she thought angrily. She began to grope around her hiding spot, looking for anything that would make a suitable weapon. Just as her fingers closed around a thick, heavy, tree root, the familiar sound of her car's engine made her jerk her head up in surprise. For the second time on this trip, bright headlights flooded her vision and she dropped down flat in panic. Jill lay absolutely still, save for her uncontrollable heavy breathing. They had gotten the keys to her car and turned it on. Would they leave with her friends and her sister, she thought with alarm. The sound of tires crunching over twigs and dirt snapped her back to attention. As her car turned, the bright lights turned with it, sweeping over the trees to her left. Jill blinked the bright spots from her eyes, temporarily blinded by the light and waited for her eyes to once again get adjusted to the darkness.
They were probably going to dump her car somewhere, she realized with increasing dread. That meant they were getting rid of evidence. Her friends were in terrible danger. Jill bit her lip as she watched two of the men drive away in her car. All three of their guns were in there and if she could only find it, she could arm herself and would be in a much better position to help.
The tires would surely leave a trail to follow. The men were in a hurry, they wouldn't go far, she reasoned to herself. And without realizing it, Jill had a plan. As soon as the car was out of sight, she pulled herself up and silently made her way through the trees and brush to where the car had disappeared. She followed the obvious trail of broken sticks and flattened grass. Jill swallowed the uncertainty as she tracked her own vehicle. She had no idea if this would work, there was so much that could go wrong. But whatever happened, there was at least one thing she knew for sure.
She could not get caught.
The auburn haired girl suddenly twitched and began to slowly move her cramped arms and legs. Her head was aching and she moaned as she opened her eyes and looked around her unfamiliar surroundings in confusion.
"Hey, don't move." Sabrina called softly to her.
The girl's head tossed around in confusion, trying to find the source of the voice. As she moved, she slowly began to realize that her hands her tied and began to thrash in panic.
"Hey, hey! It's ok! Calm down!" Sabrina tried again. "Stop making so much noise, you're drawing attention to yourself!"
The girl stopped struggling and rolled herself to face the voice.
"Just try to be calm. We'll figure something out." Kris said gently.
The girl looked at the three companions, sitting next to each other with their hands tied behind their backs. Understandably, she wasn't comforted by their reassurances. "Oh no." she muttered, closing her eyes in defeat. Tears began streaking a clean path through the film of dirt on her face.
"Hey come on, don't give up." Kris consoled her. "My sister is still out there somewhere, she can help."
"Have you seen her?" Kelly asked quickly. She tilted her head towards Kris. "She kinda looks like her, blonde hair, green shirt."
The girl shook her head and tried to compose herself. "No." she breathed. "I didn't see anybody."
Sabrina and Kelly shared a look.
"Well, she's still out there. Us two and her are private detectives." Sabrina explained, nodding towards Kelly and then the vague direction Jill had taken over an hour ago. "We can help you, just stay calm."
The girl nodded weakly, more tears streaking their way down her face.
"Are you hurt?" Kelly asked. "Can you sit up?"
The girl nodded again and squirmed over to her fellow prisoners. She winced in pain, but managed to pull herself into a sitting position, using Kelly as leverage.
"Sorry." she said quietly. Kelly smiled. "What's your name?" she asked gently.
The girl shook her head to get a few locks of auburn hair out of her face. "Laura." she answered.
"Nice to meet you, Laura." Sabrina said, putting on a reassuring smile.
Laura raised an eyebrow. "Is it? I find that hard to believe."
Sabrina laughed. "Well, not the way I would have picked, that's for sure." Her look turned serious. "Who are those men, Laura, and why are they after you?"
Laura bit her lip. "Gary. I-I don't know the other two. I mean I've seen them before, but I don't know them." she stammered, her voice cracking. She looked up at her three companions with fear and guilt clearly etched on her pretty features. "They're going to kill me." she whispered. "And probably you three too."
Sabrina shook her head. "No, they won't." she said confidently. "Why are they trying to kill you?"
Whatever answer Laura was about to give was interrupted by sudden blindingly bright light in their faces. The girls squinted their eyes and looked away uncomfortably. The beam of light swept over the four of them and stopped on Laura. The frightened young woman leaned away, trying unsuccessfully to hide behind Kelly. The beam stayed focused on her anyway and began to bob and sway as one of the men walked toward them. He flashed the light briefly over his face and grinned.
"Guess who?" he taunted her cruelly. He had been, up until that moment, merely a shadow and a voice to the girls. Had it not been for the sadistic glint in his eyes and the twisted smile, they might have found the tall, well built, shaggy haired man quite handsome.
"Gary, please." she whimpered. Gary, the man the girls had earlier decided was in charge, ignored her pleas and stopped in front of her.
"We need to talk, honey." he growled menacingly.
"Be brave. Help is coming." Kelly whispered discreetly in her ear, last second words of comfort. If Laura heard, she made no effort to show it. Gary roughly yanked her to her feet and led her away. They both disappeared inside Sabrina and Kelly's tent and the three girls held their breath, waiting for a scream or a gunshot. When Gary stepped out of the tent a few moments later, it did nothing to ease their fear. Had he killed her already? The uncertainty was almost suffocating.
Sabrina shifted slightly in a vain attempt to get more comfortable and suddenly realized something.
"Hey." she whispered excitedly. "I still have my knife in my pocket!"
Kelly and Kris lifted their heads and stared at her.
"Can you get to it?" Kris asked hopefully. At the same time, Kelly voiced her concern.
"Will it even cut anything?"
Sabrina scowled at her traitorous best friend. "Yes, it will cut." she said in indignation. She leaned against Kris for support as she squirmed around to pull the knife from her back pocket. A few frustrating moments later, she was rewarded with a soft thud as the little blade wiggled free from her pocket and fell to the dirt behind her. Kris and Kelly watched her face light up triumphantly and then sudden turn to a grimace of pain.
"What?" Kris asked in concern.
Sabrina winced. "I cut my finger trying to open it."
Kelly shook her head. "I'm surprised." she said drolly. She scooted backwards and turned her body in preparation for taking Sabrina's knife and cutting her free.
"That looks really suspicious." Kris whispered nervously. Sabrina and Kelly paused and then grudgingly realized that their friend was right. They moved back to their previous positions.
"I can do it, Kell." Sabrina whispered. She squirmed for a few moments trying to get the knife at the proper angle and then smiled. "Ok, here we go." she said. Her face screwed up in concentration as she fidgeted with the cheap knife.
Kris and Kelly could only wait.
All three girls froze as the sound of a car door opening. They felt their blood turn to ice. So busy had they been watching Sabrina struggle with the ropes, that they hadn't noticed the men loading their things into Jill's trunk. The trio shared a look. The men were getting rid of evidence and there was only one logical reason as to why.
Sabrina quickly returned to cutting her bonds.
A few moments later, Jill's car started and rumbled off through the path that the girls had taken the night before. For a moment, there was a brief ray of hope that the men had just abandoned them for dead. But the ray of hope was quickly dimmed by the bright ray of light once again invading their eyes.
Someone had been left behind to guard them.
The girls sighed inwardly. At least there was only one of them now. They watched in tense silence as he came toward them.
The man revealed himself to be the mean, stocky Emmitt. He sneered at them as he approached and sat down heavily across from them on a big log that the girls had dragged over to serve as a bench earlier that day. Sabrina was forced to stop her fidgeting and hold her knife still to avoid being caught. Still glaring at his prisoners, Emmitt angrily set a CB radio by his side, wedged his flashlight in a knothole, and rested his gun in his lap. In the soft white light, the girls were able to see his face. He wasn't nearly as good looking as Gary. Middle aged, stocky and powerful looking, he reminded them of a retired athlete. His beady eyes seemed to be to be set too far apart in his head and his muscular shoulders gave the illusion of him having no neck. He sighed loudly in irritation, puffing out his cheeks as he did.
It made him look like a bullfrog.
"Gary says I should stay here and watch you." he grumbled. Clearly, this had not been his idea and he was not happy with it. The girls shared a look, all thinking the same thing. Their escape meant that Sabrina had to cut through her ropes without being detected. And that was impossible with one of the captors sitting four feet away. Sabrina clenched her teeth in frustration, feeling the weight of her knife in her hands. Her palms began to sweat. This dull knife was their only lifeline and now it was rendered useless.
Kelly nudged Sabrina gently with her foot and shot her a grin that Sabrina didn't immediately understand.
"So you're our babysitter then?" she asked sweetly. Emmitt picked up his head and glared at her. For obvious reasons, Kelly was by far his least favorite of the three campers.
"Shut up." he snapped.
Kelly shrugged. "I'm just trying to make conversation." she said innocently, scooting away from her friends. "I get bored."
Sabrina suddenly realized what her friend was doing and smiled inside. Kelly was distracting him, giving her a chance to work the ropes without detection, and so far, it seemed to be working. Emmitt was warily watching Kelly's every move. She slowly began working her knife again, being careful to move as little as possible.
"I don't want to make conversation with you." Emmitt sneered. "Shut up."
Kelly put a hurt look on her face. "You tie us up, you steal our car, you ruin our camping trip. Can't you at least tell us why?" As she talked, she scooted farther and farther away from her friends in the pretense of moving closer to Emmitt. "Come on." she pressed. "Your buddies aren't here to judge."
Emmitt jumped to his feet and feigned a lunge at her. "I said to shut up!"
Kelly flinched but kept her composure. "Ok, fine. I was just trying to help pass the time until your friends get back from dumping our stuff." she said casually.
Emmitt glared at her. These girls appeared to know what was going to happen to them and he was still mildly surprised that they were as calm as they were. Most young women their age would be begging, pleading, and crying uncontrollably. The fact that they weren't made him very uncomfortable; it wasn't what he was used to. They also appeared to be able to hold their own in a fight. It was good they would soon be rid of them because he couldn't help but to think of these three girls as a serious threat. He let his gaze drift to the other two and wondered what the nagging voice in the back of his head was trying to tell him.
Like a flash, it came to him.
He had helped load four backpacks and sleeping bags into the car and there were three girls. His head immediately snapped back up, his eyes blazing with anger.
"There's another one of you!" he spat. "Where is she?"
His sudden and true accusation surprised the girls, but they had the presence of mind to not give any outward signs of their shock or his accuracy.
Sabrina scoffed at him. "No there's not. It's just us three."
He leaned forward until he was inches from Sabrina's face and raised his clenched fist threateningly in front of her. "Where is your friend?" he asked menacingly.
He was standing much too close to her, Kelly thought in panic. Desperate to get attention away from Sabrina and the knife in her hand, she suddenly shot her foot out and kicked the stocky man in the shin. "It's just us three, you little toad!" she yelled angrily. He whirled around, grabbed a handful of Kelly's shirt, and roughly flung her sideways to the ground. Kris and Sabrina watched with a pained look on their face, but didn't try to interfere.
They knew exactly what she was doing.
"You better watch yourself, you little bitch!" he warned heatedly. Kelly sat up on her elbows and glared defiantly back at him.
"I'm the little bitch?" she challenged. "I think you're wearing that hat right now, toad."
The shorter man ignored her taunting and pointed in the direction the car had taken. "There's four backpacks and three of you." he pointed out in a quiet, seething voice.
Kelly made a mocking face at him. "Oh, you must be the brains of the group."
The man's face turned bright red and he kicked a stick into her feet. "I know there's one more of you! You can't fool me, I know there is!" he shouted, fighting to reign in his temper.
Kelly let out a contemptuous little laugh. "Woman's intuition?" she asked innocently. Emmitt's face darkened in rage and he yanked Kelly up by the front of her shirt, swung his hand in a wide arc, and slapped her brutally across the face. Kelly's head rocked to the side and she landed hard in the dirt, her head narrowly missing Kris's knee. The sickening feeling of helplessness rolled its way through Kris and Sabrina as they watched, hoping that their friend wouldn't get hurt.
"Kelly, stop it!" Kris whispered in a panicky, shaky voice. Kelly eased herself back up into a sitting position and coughed, spitting the dirt out of her mouth. Before she could reassure her friend, Emmitt grabbed her again.
"Now you shut the hell up or there'll be plenty more where that came from." he threatened, pushing his fist into Kelly's face. Kelly angrily pulled away from him and to disguise her attempt to check on Sabrina's progress, spit out some more dirt over her shoulder and then smirked at him.
"Yes, ma'am." she panted sarcastically.
The stocky man raised his fist to strike her again and then lowered it, taking a deep calming breath. She wasn't going to rattle him.
All four turned as the radio crackled and buzzed. "Emmitt!" Gary's staticky voice called from the radio. Emmitt glared back at the four girls, grabbed it up and took a few steps away to answer back. "Yeah!" he grumbled into the the reciever.
"Tear down that campsite completely!" the demanding voice barked. "Save one of the tents."
"Why?" Emmitt asked, mildly annoyed at being ordered about. There was no response.
"Hey, I think there's another girl somewhere out here." he said. He waited about fifteen seconds for any kind of answer to his news and then tossed the radio down in disgust.
"Doesn't matter. Not like she can help you anyway." he sneered at the four girls as he pushed himself up to his feet. Muttering to himself, he wandered over to the fallen tent and began to hastily crumple it into a portable wad. The girls watched him go. He was still in view and keeping an eye on them, but probably couldn't hear them talk.
"How you doing on the rope, Bri." Kelly asked quickly.
"Almost got it." Sabrina muttered through her clenched teeth. She shook her head as she took in the visible red mark on her friend's cheek. "I don't much care for your distraction techniques though."
"Yeah, Kell. Is it possible to get his attention without getting any bruises to go with it?" Kris whispered.
Kelly shrugged. "It's not so bad. It's rattling him. He'll make a mistake."
"He'll make you black and blue." Kris shot back.
Kelly opened her mouth to answer and then shut it and turned away. He was coming back. Though Sabrina had quickly shifted to a less conspicuous position the second she noticed their warden returning, she hadn't been quick enough. Emmitt narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"What the hell are you doing?" he muttered, stalking towards Sabrina. Kelly and Kris shared a quick panicked look. They had to do something.
"Hey, nothing." Sabrina laughed. "Just trying to get comfortable."
"She's wondering if you stole the makeup out of her backpack, toad." Kelly blurted out. Emmitt immediately froze, his shoulders stiffening in anger. Kelly was quickly getting on his last nerve.
"I said for you to shut the hell up!" he spat, kicking up a spray of dirt at her. "You're going to get hurt."
Kelly flinched and turned away from the gritty assault. Afterwards, she turned back to him with a smile. "I was just kidding." she laughed. "I heard what your boss said." She grinned pleasantly. "You're very obedient."
Emmitt pursed his lips, his face darkening and his eyes blazing murderously. Kris shot Sabrina a pleading look. "Hurry!" she mouthed. Emmitt was about to lose his temper. Sabrina closed her eyes and worked the dull knife as quickly as she could. Almost there.
"Shut up." he warned viciously, pointing a finger in her face.
Kelly shrugged her shoulders, looking confused. "What? It was a compliment. You're obedient." she explained innocently. A sly grin crossed her face.
"I bet your boyfriend loves that about you."
Emmitt let out a loud stream of curses and lunged forward, murder in his eyes. He yanked Kelly off of the ground and forced her backwards against a nearby tree.
"I said shut the fuck up!" he screamed at her. Kelly braced herself as he slammed her back against the tree trunk as hard as he could. He began to wail away at her, the stream of profanities still steadily coming from his mouth and accented each blow. Kelly turned and curled herself into a ball, letting her back and shoulders take the brunt of the assault without a sound.
"Hurry, Bri!" Kris whispered harshly, turning to watch the attack with helpless eyes.
Sabrina moaned in frustration, twisting her upper body to get a better angle. "I'm trying! I'm trying!"
A few moments later, Emmitt finally decided that Kelly had had enough and the dull thudding of his fists against his victim's body stopped. Still cursing, he roughly dragged Kelly back to her friends and flung her to the ground. He pinned her to the floor with his foot and reaching over, snatched up a shirt that had fallen from one of the girls' backpacks. Emmitt rolled it up, yanked Kelly's head off of the floor and roughly forced it in her mouth, securing it behind her head as tightly and viciously as he could. He gave her an angry smack to the side of the head and threw her to the floor beside Kris.
"Now maybe you'll shut your goddamned mouth!" he hissed at her, sending another spray of dirt and gravel in her and Kris's direction. Kelly shut her eyes and lay quietly, too dazed to respond.
Emmitt smiled cruelly at her. "Nothin' smart to say, honey?" he sneered. He kicked up a clod of dirt at her. "No? Nothing?"
Kelly winced and lifted her head, glaring at him defiantly as he approached. Desperate to help, Kris suddenly kicked her legs and scooted herself in front of her friend.
"Hey, c'mon, she's had enough!" she begged helplessly.
Emmitt laughed. "Shut up." he said dismissively. He looked over Kris's shoulder to where Kelly was now propped up on her elbows. He stalked directly in front of Kris and leaned over, completely ignoring her, though she did her best to block her friend from his reach, wincing in anticipation of being struck for her defiance.
"Go on." he taunted Kelly in a mock sympathetic voice, cupping his hand to his ear. "Got nothing to say now? Huh?"
A metallic click of a bullet being chambered made him whirl around in surprise. The blood drained from his face when he realized he was staring down the barrel of his own gun.
"I got something to say." Sabrina said coldly.
Emmitt's eyes bugged out of his head in shock. He had been so busy with the smart mouthed girl, that he had stupidly left his gun sitting within reach of one of his prisoners. It had never occurred to him that any of them could untie themselves. Now it was too late.
Gary was going to kill him.
"Get away from them." Sabrina ordered. She was aiming Emmitt's gun directly at his head, her stance that of a professional. It was more than obvious to him that this girl knew how to use his weapon and her furious expression told him that she wouldn't hesitate to do so. Emmitt wisely raised his hands in surrender.
"Hey, I was joking." he said nervously. "I wasn't gonna hurt her."
Sabrina gave him the same look of absolute disgust that she would give a smashed bug under her shoe. "Shut up." she spat at him. Her eyes darted to where Kris was leaning over Kelly in concern. "Kell, you alright?" she called.
Kelly nodded and called out a muffled affirmation, giving a reassuring grin through her gag. Sabrina smiled at her and turned her eyes back to the still shocked Emmitt.
"Let's go. Move it." she ordered tersely, gesturing for him to move away. She circled around, forcing him back, until she was standing beside her two friends.
"Lie facedown in the dirt, toad." she ordered angrily. Emmitt grudgingly complied, his pride not worth an extra hole in his face. Still keeping the gun trained on him, Sabrina knelt down and gently pulled the gag from Kelly's mouth. Kelly coughed and worked her jaw in relief.
"You sure you're ok?" Sabrina asked, her eyes flicking back to Emmitt.
"Fine, Bri." Kelly breathed.
"Good." Sabrina answered. She scowled and then gave Kelly a smart swat to the back of the head. Kelly flinched in surprise.
"What was that for?!" she asked in bewilderment.
Sabrina pointed a stern finger in her face. "For your big mouth!" she snapped. Kelly sighed and laid her head back in the dirt, too tired to argue. With one eye on Emmitt, Sabrina reached over and began working the knots tying Kris's hands. Her bonds soon came loose and she sat up and gratefully rubbed her sore wrists. Sabrina gave her an affectionate pat on the back. "Alright, kiddo?"
"Will be as soon as we get out of here." Kris answered, nodding her head. She quickly crawled over to Kelly and began to untie her friend's hands. As she did, Sabrina took the rope that had been restraining Kris and knelt down next to Emmitt.
"Not much now are you?" she said with a grin, echoing his previous words. Emmitt glared furiously at her, but knew better than to resist as she tied his hands behind his back. To add insult to injury, she made sure to treat him as gently as he had treated Kelly.
"Ow!" Emmitt yelped as Sabrina tightened his bonds with a final tug.
"Shut up." Sabrina repeated wearily. She finished her knot and then stood and wiped her hands on her jeans. "Alright, let's get Laura, find Jill, and get the hell out of here."
Sabrina and Kris helped Kelly to her feet and the three girls walked to the forboding looking tent where Laura had been taken, instinctively slowing down as they got closer. They hadn't heard a sound from her yet and that fact unnerved them. The girls shared a quick look and Sabrina took a deep breath and reached out to pull open the tent flap, hoping against hope that poor Laura was alright.