Page 10

Fight or flight, it wasn't just a saying, it was a real thing. At first I wanted to flee, I wanted to hide and vanish, pretending that I had never been there.

Now all I wanted to do was fight to get away from him. Even if he was protecting himself and me, he had killed that man, and he didn't even seem phased by it. That was the scariest part of it all, there was no remorse.

He wasn't pulling his hair out, upset that some crazed person had just held a gun to his face. He wasn't spewing statements of regret and sorrow for the man that had just lost his life. He pulled the trigger and stepped around his body without blinking.

He's done this before.

I could feel it, I could sense the danger surrounding this man. Everything around me seemed so small and insignificant. I was in the presence of a monster, a man who could kill without thought or feeling.

“That's not happening, not now.”

“No!” Dropping to my knees, the man stumbled forward, causing his hand to shift up my neck and tangle in my hair.

Huffing under his breath, he grunted in frustration. “Fine, you don't want to walk on your own, then I'll do it for you.” Before I could react, he wrapped his arm around my waist and threw me over his shoulder. “We can do this my way.”

“Help! Help!” Screaming at the top of my lungs, I slammed my fists against his back and kicked my legs. “Someone help me!”

A devious chuckle escaped his lips as he tightened his grip around my waist. “No one can hear you, Princess, not back here.”

“You can't do this! Let me go!” My legs flailed, arms slapping and scratching. I just wanted to hurt him so he would drop me. I knew if he dropped me, if I could just get my feet on the ground, I'd fucking run.

“Icando this, because I don't have a fucking choice.”

Growling, I let out a screech that sounded more animal than human. Rocking and jerking my body, I refused to give up and let him just take me.

“Fuck you! I won't go with you!”

“You can try to hurt me all you want, it won't work.” Shuffling me up higher on his shoulder, he strolled through the darkness with me hanging over his back like dead weight.

Lifting my head to look behind me, I could see we were getting closer to the street. A few cars drove by, the streetlights creating a lighthouse effect with the parked cars.

When we get to the road I'll scream again. Someone will hear me, there are too many people around for no one to notice what he's doing.

Keeping my muscles braced, I waited for my moment. I had it all planned out in my head. Once we were at the street I'd scream for help, I'd kick and yell and I'd force someone to notice us.

Peering from the corner of my eye, I anxiously waited for the road as his feet pressed on without pause. The streetlights grew brighter and brighter, slowly engulfing the darkness around us. Without warning, the man took a hard left, pulling a solid metal door open and slipping inside.

No! No, no, no!

Freedom was right there, it was right there and now it was gone.

“What are you doing? Why are you taking me in here?!” Pushing my hands against the top of his shoulder, I attempted to wriggle myself free. “Go back to the road! Take me back to the road!”

“Sorry, that's not how this is going to work.”

“I just want to go home.” Tears filled my eyes as I felt the safety I longed for slip between my fingers and disappear. “That's all I want to do, I just want to go home.”

“Yeah well, I'm sorry, I can't grant your wish.” Laughing again, his voice raked my spine and turned my insides into a bubbling inferno. “Home isn't an option, and it might never be.”

What the hell does that mean?

Why wouldn't I ever be able to go home?

Oh my God. . .

Is he going to kill me too!?

The thought crushed my heart, stomping it into a million tiny pieces. I didn't want to die, I wasn't ready for that.