Chapter 11

“Find them. Find them now. I know she's here, some of her things are in one of the rooms. She's here. FIND her!” his voice was followed by the sound of heavy boots. Then suddenly, I actually felt instead of hear the closet door open. A few seconds of silence then it closed and the footsteps moved off. We waited, a second, a minute, an eternity maybe. Then he nudged me to move but I couldn't. I just couldn't.

“I know Kay, I know. But we have to. You have to move.” I shook my head.

“I don't understand,” I dare not go louder than a whisper, “he's supposed to be in the hospital. He had severe injuries, he-” I tried to steady my breathing. “I-can we stay here for a bit?”

“Until the entire place is surrounded? No. we have yo go now. Plus we'd suffocate, the space is too tight.”

“But-”

“Listen to me. I know this must be killing you but if we stay here we'll never make it out together. This is the part where we flee. It ends here. What happens after is purely on what you decide but right now we just have to go.”

I didn't argue then, I just allowed him to lead me. I had no idea where I was going so he told me the directions. There was so much going through my mind as we crawled through the tunnel. I couldn't even think straight. I tried hard to just let it all go and follow him. And I did, holding on to his voice as if my life depended on it, and it did.

“Ok here we go,” he said and I stopped. He let go of my hand and my mind kicked into overdrive again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. He held my waist and I relaxed as he eased himself past me. He pushed at something before us and some light spilled in. I blinked. 'C'mon,” he took my hand, got out and pulled me out with him. There were flashing lights somewhere in the distance, but all I could see around us was trees. I think we were in the middle of some forest.

“Now, we run.”

It's like we were two teenage kids in a horror movie, running for our lives from the creature scripted to kill us. We dodged around some trees, over a log and through some bushes, all the while never letting go of each others hand. We ran so hard and fast my feet began to burn and I legitimately could not catch my breath. I stopped and gasped for air, my chest hurting like hell.

“Kay-lee!”

“I'm sorry I cant, i-”

Suddenly a figure came out of the bushes and grabbed Fred, hauling him into the darkness. And before I could scream or run for him, the same thing happened o me. The thick iron-like arms gripped me firmly and I was lifted into the air and over a shoulder, his hard collar bone impaling my abdomen. I kicked and shoved at him but he didn't budge. I couldn't even fight him of, I was so out of it. I groaned and just allowed him to carry me, all the fight going out of me.

***

The man carrying me flung me to the floor, knocking the air out of me. I chocked and looked up. Lloyd and a few other men were before me. More like a dozen. We were at the back of a huge house and when I noticed that there were no windows I knew that it was the house. I saw Fred caged in the guy that was beside Lloyd arms.

“Do you have any idea what I had to go through to find you?” Lloyd said hoarsely. “How much money I had to cough up to pay these guys. When they told me they tracked and interrogated everybody and had to beat almost all the movers to get something. And we did, out of one. And I immediately acted. It was real hard to find this place but when he told us you were being kept here I rushed out of the hospital and over here.” He inclined his bandaged head towards Fred, “If I'd known you were with a boy, a gardener to be exact, I'd have send someone a lot sooner. I never thought you'd do something like this. We grew you better and as a father, I-”

“You're not my father,” I challenged. He narrowed his eyes at me.

“And that low-life truck driver is? Where was he in all your life huh? It was me from the beginning, I taught you to ride a bike, videoed your first steps, wiped your cheeks on your first day of school, kissed your knee when you had a boo-boo. I was your father. Me!”

“Don't you dare ask where was he in my life ok, don't you do it. If he had the chance he would have. But mom took it form him. And I know damn well she wouldn't have had to pay him to do all those things, and he'd have done it way better. You lied to me, the biggest lie of all. You betrayed me. I don't care about all that you did for me, it was all fake so you can drop that sob story.”

“Kay-lee I cared for you-”

“No you didn't. You cared about the money.”

“It wasn't all about the money”

“Oh yeah? Then why did you keep taking it? If you really cared for me and loved me as your own as you claimed then why still take the money?” He hung his head. Nothing to say to that huh. “That's what I thought.”

“We can talk_”

“What is wrong with you people? First mom now you? What more is there to talk about? You had 16 years Lloyd, 16 years!”

“You will stop this this instant Kay-lee. What do you want, to stay here with him? You're 16, you're not at the age for that yet.”

“We've been managing well for the past month OK. I'm sure you'll continue along just fine.”

“So this is where you were when you went missing? And here I and everyone else thought you were in danger. You skip out on you party that I took so long to organize and pay for, then went missing for an entire 3 weeks and to be with another guy, that isn't your boyfriend. How sick is that.” As much as none of that was true I couldn't believe he would actually say something like that to me, or that it stung so much.

“You allowed a woman to batter the father of her child, punish him the way she did while you took her money to pretend to father that child, while you had a child, and a wife, of your own. Now that is sick and twisted.”

“That's it. I'm finished talking to you. You're coming home.”

“No. I. Am. Not”

“Ok, that's it,” he walked over to Fred and punched him right in the stomach. He crouched over and groaned in pain. I flew up to my feet. “Now listen you little s**t, I'm not about to loose my coil or reputation over you okay. Have you lost your f*****g mind? You want to stay here with him? How will you cope after 2 months? How can he support you, feed you, send you to school- I don't even know why I'm explaining myself to you. So help me God Kay-lee if you don't come with me-”

“You'll what? Kill him? Go ahead, your blood will be on your hands, You'll go to prison for sure, then you're so called reputation would defiantly be ruined. You arrogant b*****d, as if my mom would be stupid enough to continue to give you money to 'father' me after all went down. And even if she was, I would report everything. Anyway you take it, you will loose.”

“Oh I'm not gonna kill him, but I can do this,” he punched him across the face. I flinched. “and this,” another to his stomach, “and this,” right in the nose, “and this,” a kick in his chest that sent him backward to the ground. The sound that came from his body connecting to the floor made my heart skip. Blood gushed from his lips. Lloyd went over him and raised a foot over his face.

“Stop!” I fought back tears. “Stop it!”

“Kay-lee don't,” It was Fred, voice cracking, “Don't back down. Hold you're ground. Don't worry about me.”

“Shut up,” Lloyd barked at him and stepped in his chest. I made to rush over to him but the man beside me grabbed me back.

“What kind of person are you?,” I screamed through sobs, “He's just a kid, like me. You cant do this to him. To us!”

“Make your decision!” he roared at me. I blinked away the tears but didn't answer. He stood staring at me, waiting. And when I still didn't answer, he kicked him in his side, flipping him over on his face.

“NO! I'll come I'll come. Just stop it please!” I wasn't holding my ground but he'd just kill him anyway and forcefully take me home with him. Better I go now and have Fred live. He'll come abduct me again, I'll find a way to escape, anything, I just couldn't stand see Lloyd doing him like that anymore. He walked away from Fred and started over towards me. And in the middle of his way, an ear-splitting boom filled the air and it took me a split second to realize it was a gunshot, and that it had flew right through his chest.

I chocked as blood seeped through his shirt, he staggered a bit more towards me before falling to his knees and then to his face. I looked around and realized that the driver �" Jack I presumed �" was the one who fired it. He was walking from the house, bloody, beaten, black and blue. He looked over at me with an apologetic expression before another shot sounded and he fell as well. I acted quickly then. Knowing the man who held me would be distracted by the whole scenario, I forced free an arm and elbowed him as hard as I could in the stomach. He groaned and let go and I ran towards Jack's dead body on the ground, I grabbed the gun from his lifeless fingers and aimed it before me, to no one in particular but really to shield myself.

“Drop it,” the one that was previously standing beside Lloyd before his ill-fated stroll towards me say. He pointed his gun to me and I knew then that it was him that killed Jack. Man I was scared out my freaking mind but I couldn't let go of the gun I had. I held on to it the way I held to Fred's voice back in the tunnel. Fred. I looked over to where he was supposed to be laying, but he wasn't there. He was beside a stack of crates to the far back of the yard, trying to haul himself up. He looked up and our eyes met, for the briefest of moments, until I heard a sound and turned my attention back around to see one of the men lurching himself towards me. My mind acted in a nanosecond then and everything seemed to go in slow motion. I took a deep breath. Ok, just like the way you see it in the movies. I put my finger around the trigger and put my face to the side in fear it would ricochet back into my face and kill me instead of him. I pulled it right in time as he was just less than half a foot away from me. It hit his side. He fell.

“Last warning you little b***h,” I looked over at Fred again, one was heading toward him and he was fighting to get away, I aimed and fired, I missed, but the man did fall back in shock. Another shot fire, but it wasn't from me, I closed my eyes tight shut and just started firing. If I was going to die then one of them would go down with me as well. From left to right, up and down, I pulled and pulled, fire and fire until the gun stocked. But I felt nothing, no pain. I opened my eyes and looked down at myself, nothing, he must have missed. I looked around. Only about 5 out of the dozen stood now. The one who was aiming at me down as well. I had a rush or horror and victor at the same time. But instantly it was gone as the rest lurched for me and I realized I was out of bullets to defend myself. I got into a high speed run then, straight for Fred. I didn't know what they would do to us. Would they really kill two teenagers? Although one did just shot at me. But did he miss on purpose just to scare me or was it actual. I didn't have time to think through the rest because within less than 5 seconds I was at his side, helping him up. They were coming. I put one of his hand around my neck and placed both my hands around his waist, holding him upright. And then I dashed for the near-by trees. I looked back, they're getting closer.

“C'mon Fred please,” he was so injured he could barely stand straight but he kept his feet moving. We ran and ran and ran. But he was falling back again, suddenly a couple shots sounded through the air again and Fred staggered against me. I felt the liquid seeping through my fingers. I gritted my teeth to hold the scream, I cant cry I cant panic not now. But his feet gave way and I couldn't manage his weight and we both fell to the ground. Something stuck my neck and I gave a small shriek but I still didn't stop. I wont give up. I gave the place a quick scan and noticed a tree with its roots up in the air, I made to drag him and myself under it when I saw two of them quietly surveying the place. One with a gun. I moved stiffly, and quietly, laying back down on the ground hoping that they couldn't see us through the bushes and darkness. But it wasn't the fact that there was an excruciating pain in my neck or that there were two men looking for us to kill us or do whatever with us, that made me put my hands over my mouth to stop my horror-filled sobs. But that when I laid my head against Fred's chest, I wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. Oh god, he isn't breathing...