As Kim's scream echoed through the night, Kayla dove forward. She ignored the knifing pain in her side and jumped on Cal. She grabbed at his arm, trying to knock the gun free.
A loud explosion nearly deafened her. The gun. It's gone off.
"Get off!" Cal yelled, shoving at her, but Kayla held on tight. Someone else was next to her. Kim. She was also fighting to knock the gun loose and still screaming for Andrew to run.
Something hard struck Kayla in the side of the head and she fell sideways, losing her grip. Her vision clouded over and she heard some more sounds of a struggle. When she managed to see again, she looked up just as Kim fell to the ground beside her.
"Where's that brat?" Cal growled as he spun back to the car. He was on his feet, looking into the distance. Kayla saw his lips curl into a cruel smile as he raised the gun again. "Fast kid," he said. "But not fast enough."
Kayla rushed forward again, this time grabbing at Cal's leg. She hit him just as he fired.
"Dammit!" he shouted. He kicked his foot, trying to pull it free of Kayla's grip. He jerked away and swung his head back around at the woods. After a minute, he angrily grabbed Kayla by the arm and pulled her to her feet.
She screamed in pain as the knife once again lanced through her side.
"You're going to pay for that, bitch," Cal said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pressed the gun barrel against her cheek. "I could kill you right now."
"Don't, Cal!" That was Kim talking. She had risen to her feet. "You hurt Kayla more, and you might as well kill us both."
"Call the kid back," Cal told her.
Kim shook her head. "He won't come. I told him not to come out under any circumstances."
"Call him!" Cal yelled.
In an even voice, Kim said, "Okay. But he won't come out." She turned toward the trees and called out for her son. "Andrew, it's Mommy. It's okay. You can come out now." Kayla could hear the way Kim's voice shuddered as she said those words. She also could hear Cal's rapid breathing in her ear and felt the cold metal still pressing against her cheek.
There was no response to Kim's call and Kayla saw no movement by the trees.
"See," Kim said. "I told you."
"Hey, Big Stuff!" Cal yelled, using his old nickname for Andrew. "It's Uncle Cal. Come on out now. Hide-and-seek's over."
That got no response either. Cal's grip on Kayla's shoulder tightened. She could feel him shaking with rage.
"Lower the gun, Cal," Kim said. "You have us and we'll do whatever . . . whatever you want."
From right next to her ear, Kayle heard Cal speak. Her breath caught in her throat as he said, "I'll kill her. I don't need her." The gun slid from her cheek to her temple.
"Don't do it," Kim replied. "I know what you want. You want me to come willingly. I'll never do that if you hurt my sister. Kayla's my best friend, and I could never be with a man who hurt her."
He's going to kill me, Kayla thought. She tried to take a deep breath, but her chest was too tight. Then she closed her eyes. Kayla did not want to see Kim's face when it happened. At least with the gun so close, it would be over in a fraction of a second. Kayla would feel no pain.
"Kim," she said. "Tell Steve . . . and Stephanie-"
"Stop it!" Kim shouted. "Cal's not going to do anything. I'm warning you, Cal. Lower the gun."
For a moment, everything was silent. Nobody moved.
Then Cal let go and shoved Kayla forward. She stumbled and fell to her knees. An instant later, she felt Kim's arms wrap around her.
"Are you okay?" Kim asked.
Kayla could only nod, though she was far from okay. Her entire body screamed in pain.
Behind her, Cal spoke. "Get up."
As Kim helped Kayla rise to her feet, she asked, between painful breaths, "What are you going to do with us?"
"You?" Cal asked, as Kayla turned around. "You're just lucky to be alive." He motioned in the direction of the road. "Come on. We've got to get out of here before anyone comes looking."
Kim started to lead Kayla back toward the road. They both jumped as they heard another shot, and they swung their heads back around. Both breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Cal standing next to the car. He had only shot out the remaining headlight.
With most of Kayla's weight on Kim, they slowly staggered to the road. Cal grabbed Kayla when they reached the storm ditch and dragged her to the other side. Kim walked beside them.
Once they were back on the road, Cal opened the back door of his car and pushed Kayla onto the seat. Then he reached into the front seat and pulled out a length of rope. He motioned to Kim. "Tie her hands."
Kim gave Kayla an apologetic look as she followed orders. She wrapped the rope around Kayla's wrists and was beginning to knot the rope when Cal stepped forward. He grabbed the rope and wrenched it tight.
"Just in case you were to have any ideas." He quickly tied the ends tight and shoved Kayla across the car, so roughly that the pain from her injuries caused the entire world to blur and spin. But she fought against it. She could not leave Kim alone. She needed to stay conscious and alert.
Looking back outside, she saw Cal tying Kim's hands just as tightly. When he finished, he pushed her into the back seat, though a lot more gently than he had Kayla. He closed the door and walked around to the driver's side.
"Kim . . . where's he taking us?" Kayla asked.
Kim shook her head and stared ahead, grimly. "I don't know, Kay."
"What about Andrew?" Kayla whispered. He was out in the woods, alone in the cold and the dark.
From the front seat, Cal laughed as he sat down. "I wouldn't worry about him anymore. The temperature's going to drop into the 30's tonight. A little kid all alone in the freezing cold. . . ." Cal started the car, put it in gear, and began driving back down Route 6. "The little brat's as good as dead."