Chapter Twelve

Travis finally gets Alex into the cabin.

Travis grabs a running Alex in the dark and tackles her to the cool, wet grass beside the driveway.  Alex groans as they make contact and fall together.  She actually falls on Travis and isn’t happy to get dirty and a bit wet.    

Travis is angry. He is not going to allow some spoiled little college brat make a fool of him.  He only took her for the ransom money and nothing else.  Alex holds the key to his immediate future and since everything else has turned to s**t lately this plan needs to work. Travis intends on taking the money he will get for Alex and leaving the state in order to start over with a whole new identity.  Travis knows of someone who can get him that.  An acquaintance he met a while back told him he could start someone over in a different state with a different name for a price.

“Get off of me you prick!”  Alex yells at him.   But Travis only holds of her and starts to carry her without speaking.  He is taking her to the cabin and wants to calm her so they can get situated and begin the next phase of his plan.  Travis is carrying Alex like she is a bratty, incorrigible four year-old on her way to bed early.

“What the f**k is the matter with you?!  Are you crazy?  You can’t do this!”  Travis doesn’t respond.  He only wants to calm her so that he can get her to the quiet, familiar surroundings of the cozy cabin.

 Upon opening the door of the cabin with Alex still in his grasp, Travis is nearly out of breath and is sweating.  “You aren’t very heavy little lady. But you sure see to have some fight in you!"

“F**k you!” Yells Alex, with a force that causes ringing in Travis’ ears. Thank God we are out in the middle of no where!

“How could you even stop me from taking off again?   You don’t even have a gun.”

But Alex’s face goes pale when Travis answers with, “You don’t know what I have.  Some things are worse than guns.”

After putting Alex down inside the cabin Travis manages to shut and lock the only door in the entire structure.   He then warns Alex about the need to calm down or bad things will happen to her.  He says calmly with conviction, “Knock it off or I might get rid of you and you won’t ever be found. I am NOT going to go chasing after you in the dark again.  You stand no chance out here.  We are over 30 miles from anything, the temps tonight will fall to the low 40’s, and it’s expected to rain all night.  You dont even have a coat! There are also wolves and bear in these woods.  I know that since I have hunted here for years. So you need to relax and nothing bad will happen to you.  Do you understand?”

Alex can’t respond.  She is trying too hard to look strong, and doesn’t want to break down with the tears that want so badly to flow from her eyes.  She wants to look tough as always, but she is for the first time fearful.  Her breathing is still hard and she only wants to go home.  She is scared now.

Could this loser really be capable of hurting me, or even killing me?

Travis finishes by instructing Alex to sit down and wait for some food.  Alex must admit to herself that food sounds kind of nice since she hasn’t eaten anything all day and is hungry and weak. 

Alex thinks it’s creepy that Travis apparently isn’t going to bother to tie her hands or her feet before eating dinner.  He can’t actually trust me!  So he doesn’t even fear me taking off again? Maybe I am stuck here with him after all!  Oh my God.

Maybe he’s right.   Maybe I stand no chance out here.