Kayla stared out the window of Cal's car and willed herself to pay attention to her surroundings. The dark night made it almost impossible to see anything, but she forced herself to try. At least, it kept her mind focused on something other than the fear that was threatening to overtake her.
Once they had been forced into Cal's car and tied up, Cal had driven off with a warning to them both to remain quiet. Kim and Kayla had shared a look and silently agreed that the best course of action was to comply for now.
After driving a few miles more down Route 6, Cal had turned off the highway onto a back country road. After that, he curled back around to Salem and they started to near the city limits. But just before they got there, Cal had slowed the car and turned again. Kayla let out a gasp in pain as the car jolted over a bumpy, probably dirt or gravel, road. She could feel each bump in her injured ribs and was sure the accident had cracked at least a couple of them.
Looking at Kim, she saw the concern at Kim's face. "Are you okay?" Kim mouthed silently.
Kayla nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying out again as the car continued down the bumpy road. The last thing Kim needs to worry about is me, she thought. She prayed that someone had found the car wreckage and Andrew, even as the bumps caused more pain to wrack her body. Finally, just as Kayla was sure she could not stand the pain any longer, the car came to a stop.
Any relief Kayla felt at being off the bumpy road was quickly replaced by a stark fear. She may not have know exactly where they were, but she was certain that they were out in the middle of nowhere. Why would Cal stop here? Only one reason came to mind. He's going to kill me.
Just as she acknowledged that reality, her door swung open and Cal grabbed her arm, pulling her roughly from the car. Again, Kayla could not hold back a cry of pain.
"Kayla!" Kim cried out. Out of the corner of her eye, Kayla could see Kim struggling in an attempt to get out of the car. "Cal, don't hurt her!"
Cal pulled Kayla in front of him and she could see that he had his gun in his other hand. Turning to Kim, he snapped, "If you want your precious sister to stay safe, then you'd better stay right there and don't move another inch." Before Kim could respond, Cal slammed the door shut again, leaving Kim locked inside.
"What . . . what are you going to do, Cal?" Kayla asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
"You'll find out soon enough." Cal chucked harshly. "Now just shut up if you know what's good for you."
Kayla tried to concentrate on keeping her balance as Cal pulled her roughly along a small dirt path. They had not gone far when Kayla saw a dark object suddenly appear in a front of them. As they walked closer, Kayla finally saw that it looked like another car covered in a tarp.
Despite the sharp pain in her side, she breathed a sigh of relief as Cal pulled the tarp away and opened the back door. Without a word, he roughly pushed her inside the vehicle, ignoring the gasp of pain she could not hold back. Pointing the gun at her, he said, "Don't even think about moving or I'll make sure you never see Kim or anyone again." Then he slammed the door shut and quickly disappeared in the darkness.
As soon as he was gone, Kayla tried the door latch, but, as with the other vehicle, it seemed that Cal had modified the car to make sure the back doors could only be opened from the outside. She contemplated trying to climb into the front seat, but she knew that with her injured ribs and tied hands, it would be almost impossible to get into the front seat and out the door before Cal returned with Kim. As much as she wanted to escape, she knew she had to keep her wits about her.
Suddenly, Cal and Kim appeared beside the car and the door opened again. Cal told Kim to get in. Kayla noticed that he made an effort to help Kim sit down, nothing like the rough shove Kayla had received. When Kim was seated inside, Cal closed the door and climbed into the driver's seat. Driving slowly, he pulled out of the clearing and back onto the dirt road.
Kayla again concentrated on holding herself as still as possible as the car bounced over the old dirt road and then finally reached a smoother surface. She tried to figure out where they were, but she had no way of knowing for sure. All she knew was that Cal was staying on the back roads and making frequent turns.
So we can't tell anyone where he's taken us.
Realizing that any attempt to figure out where they were now was fruitless, Kayla turned away from the window and looked at Kim. Her sister was staring out the window as well, but Kayla could see the tears trickling down her cheek. Kayla knew that Kim had to be scared to death for Andrew. She wished there were some way she could comfort her sister and again prayed that her nephew had been found.
As if feeling Kayla's look, Kim turned away from the window and looked at Kayla. "He's going to be okay," Kayla silently mouthed, reading Kim's thoughts. Kim nodded slightly and tried to smile, but the fear never left her eyes and fresh tears fell down her cheeks.
Turning back to the window, Kayla tried to keep her own tears in check. She kept thinking of Stephanie and the smile she had given when Kayla had arrived at the Brady house that afternoon. Will I ever see that smile again? Kayla tried to push that thought away, but somehow it kept returning.
They drove in silence for what felt like hours and, then, finally Kayla began to see signs of civilization - homes, other cars on the road, and bright lights in the distance.
Are we headed back into Salem? she asked herself silently. She could not tell. Maybe it was Brookville. Or one of the other towns in the area. Kayla had no real clue.
The lights grew closer, and she saw some lights and a few planes along the side of the road. For a moment, she wondered if they were at the airport and felt a brief sense of hopefulness. There was no way Cal could get her and Kim on a plane without being caught.
But that hope was quickly dashed as she realized, from the surroundings she could see, that they were not at Salem International.
"Put your heads down and don't look out the window," Cal ordered. He pointed his gun at them as the car turned. Kayla glanced at Kim, who nodded. She was probably right. They should follow Cal's orders for now.
From where she ducked her head, Kayla could not see out the window, but she could peak between the front seats at Cal. He brought the car to a stop and rolled down his window. He reached out and Kayla heard some beeping sounds and then a whirring noise.
He must be opening a gate, she thought. There were a lot of lights around the car now, but, with her head down, Kayla could not see where they were. She heard very few sounds, but that was not surprising. She had no idea what time it was, but it to be several hours since their ordeal had begun.
The car began to move again, slowly. After a few more minutes, the car stopped. Kayla watched as Cal pulled a object from his pocket and pushed a button. There was another loud noise, this time the sound of grinding gears, and then the car moved forward again.
"You can get up now," Cal said.
Kayla rose and looked around. They were in an airplane hangar, she realized, as Cal parked the car next to a small, private plane. He pushed the button again and, behind her, the large, overhead hangar door began to shut.
Once it was closed, Cal got out of the car. Holding his gun in his hand, he opened the back door and pulled out Kayla, then Kim. Grabbing Kayla's arm, he jabbed the barrel of the gun in her ribs, causing her to cry out in pain.
"Walk slowly towards the door back here," he told Kim harshly. "And remember I've got a gun in little sister's ribs."
Kim nodded and began walking to the door Cal had indicated. As she followed, Kayla used her peripheral vision to look around as much as possible. This part of the hanger was just one big room. It appeared that the only entrance was the huge overhead door they had just come through. The only objects inside were the plane and the car and something that looked like toolboxes up against the wall on the other side of the plane.
Reaching the door, Kim stopped while Cal pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Using his gun, Cal motioned Kim to take the lead and roughly shoved Kayla to follow.
They were in a hallway lit by fluorescent lights. At the end, there was some open room, but there were two doors opposite one another in the hallway. They came to a stop between them, and Kayla looked through the window of the door on the right. It looked like some kind of break room or small kitchenette.
Cal pulled out a key and unlocked the other door. When it opened, he shoved Kayla inside. The force of the shove caused Kayla to lose her balance and fall. With her hands tied behind her back, she was unable to break her fall and took the brunt of the impact on her arm and wounded side. The pain took Kayla's breath away and she could feel herself nearly lose consciousness.
"Kayla!"
Kayla could hear Kim calling her name, but it sounded far away. Taking a deep breath despite the pain in her ribs, she opened her eyes and forced herself to focus. Kim was kneeling beside her.
"Are you okay?" Kim asked softly.
"She's fine." Cal said sharply, staring at Kim.
"She's not fine," Kim snapped at Cal. "She's hurt." Turning back to Kayla, Kim repeated her question, "Are you okay, Kay?"
Kayla nodded and tried to shift to a sitting position, but it was impossible with her hands tied behind her back.
"We've done what you said," Kim said, turning to Cal. "Will you at least untie our hands now?"
Cal stared at Kim for a moment, the shrugged and pulled a knife from his pocket. Without a word, he cut the rope around Kayla's wrists and then Kim's. As soon as she was free, Kim helped Kayla up off the floor.
"Enjoy your new home . . . at least for now." Cal motioned around the room, still holding the knife. Glancing around, Kayla saw that the room was bare, except for a small desk and roll-away cot in the corner. She could also see a small bathroom adjoining the room. The door had been removed.
"I'm going to leave you two alone now, but don't bother trying to get out. The door's locked and I have the only key. And even if you managed to get out the door, you'll never make it out of this hanger before I find out. And then I will be very angry. You don't want to see what I might do if I get angry." Cal stared hard to Kim and then Kayla. "Is that understood?"
Kayla started to speak, wanting to ask what Cal was going to do with them. But, before she could, Kim grabbed her arm and nodded at Cal. "We understand. Don't we, Kayla?" Catching the warning in Kim's eyes, Kayla gave a sharp nod and remained silent.
"Good," Cal said evenly, turning to leave.
"Wait," Kim called quickly. "Kayla has a nasty cut on her head." Kim's voice was soft and compliant. "Can you at least give us some first aid supplies so I can take care of it?"
Cal stood quietly for a moment, seeming to contemplate Kim's question. Then he shook his head and said, "I don't think it's that bad. Besides, it doesn't really matter anyway." Without another word, Cal walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.
As soon as the door was closed, Kayla turned to Kim, no longer able to hold back her tears. Kim quickly gathered Kayla in her arms and led her to the small cot in the corner. Sitting down together, Kim softly stroked Kayla's hair as Kayla gathered herself again.
"Where else are you hurt?" Kim asked, looking Kayla over.
"Just my ribs. I think I cracked a couple during the crash." Kayla gingerly fingered her rib cage. She could not feel any breaks.
"What can I do to help you?" Kim's asked.
"There's nothing to do for them," Kayla replied. "They'll just have to heal." Pulling away a bit, Kayla looked Kim over. "How about you? Are you okay?"
"Just some bumps and bruises." Kim gave Kayla an encouraging grin. "Nothing I can't handle." She hesitated. "I'm just terrified for Andrew."
"I know," Kayla said softly, this time pulling Kim to her. "But he's a strong little boy and you know that Steve and Shane will find him."
Kim nodded. "They have to know we are missing by now, right? And Mama knew we were going to Brookville, so they would know where to look."
"Right," Kayla said. "Once we were a little late, I'm sure they started the search. I bet Andrew is safe and warm at home right now."
"I'm sure you're right," Kim replied, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself as much as Kayla. "And now Steve, Shane, and our brothers are pulling out all the stops to find us. It's just a matter of time."
Kayla nodded, but did not speak. She knew Kim was right and that Steve, Shane, Roman, Bo, and most of the Salem PD were probably looking for them by now. She and Kim just had to hang in there until they could figure out how to get out of there or they were found. And before Cal decides to fly Kim away from here. . . . Kayla had no illusions of what would happen to her when Cal decided it was time to leave.
As she tried to keep that thought from her mind, Kayla felt Kim's arm slip around her shoulders and Kayla leaned into her sister and put her arm around Kim's waist. Together, they sat in silence, each trying to give each other the strength to face whatever might come next.