Demi enjoyed seeing Salt Lake City once again, the memories of her early career flooded back to her. Neither Demi nor Mike had a home since they left Salt Lake City. Demi moved out of Chris’ house and Mike moved out of the apartment that he shared with several former band members of his. Rather than put down roots somewhere, since they were gone at least three-quarters of the year, they enjoyed the lack of responsibility that came with having a home. For Demi and Mike, their tour bus was their home and they both lived in the suitcases. In between stretches of shows, Demi would stay with Lacey in Idaho, and Mike would go back to his parents’ house.
The Jordan River Parkway Trail spanned 45 miles from north of Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake through the Salt Lake Valley's communities. They would only be on the Jordan River Parkway Trail for a few miles before heading to the Legacy Parkway Trail. The Legacy Parkway Trail ran parallel to Legacy Parkway, State Route 67. By using the trail system of Utah, travelers were able to avoid the stalled cars that littered the roads on the highways and busier cities. Since getting out of Las Vegas, this obstacle was not a big factor for Demi and Mike since they outside of Las Vegas, Nevada there is not much in terms of population and vehicles. Most of Nevada is federal-owned land, leaving ghost towns speckled between Clark County and Ely.
Traveling by the trails in Utah was very scenic. The group rode down the Jordan River Pkwy., Trail in no time. Hardly anyone said a word as they focused on riding. Chris rode next to Demi, who was close to Mike. John, who was very knowledgeable regarding the trail systems led the way followed closely by Helene. Once the group made it to the end of the Jordan River Parkway Trail, they continued onto the Legacy Parkway Trail.
The stretch on the Legacy Parkway trail took the group around an hour to complete. When they reached the end of the Legacy Parkway Trail, they stopped so Sophie could nurse Lily. At this rate, getting to Idaho was going to take them several days. Demi had calculated that the journey would take her and Mike about a day and a half to do with just the two, but now that they have a whole group with them, and a nursing baby. The trek to Idaho would probably take them closer to a week.
While the group stopped so Sophie could nurse Lily, Demi found a fallen tree on the side of the paved trail. She went over to it and sat to give her backside a break from the bike seat. Demi couldn't help but wonder what would've been with Chris. This was the first time in five years that she was together with him for an extended period. When she visited Mike and his parents in Salt Lake City, she often avoided any place he would likely be, and she found herself successful with her efforts. Seeing him would be just too hard for Demi to bear, even though she had convinced herself she was over the entire situation. All of her efforts seemed to be undone as Chris joined their exodus of Salt Lake City and was with them on the journey to help Demi get her sister and bring her to safety.
Sophie continued to nurse Lily, while the rest of the family took a break. Tom and John took a moment to walk around, while Chris and Mike talked about talked touring stories while Chris took out Rufus from the bike trailer. Demi was figuring out where they should set up camp for the night, she knew a little bit of this trail system and knew that there were campgrounds just outside of Utah. She was hopeful that they could make it there before nightfall.
When John and Tom returned from their stroll, John walked up to Demi who was stretching her legs, still isolating herself away from everyone. “So where do you think we should camp for the night?” John asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t have any good suggestions. How about you?” Demi responded as she kicked a rock that rolled over to the fallen tree she had been sitting on.
“Well, Bear Lake State Park is three hours driving from Salt Lake and Two hours out of Pocatello. If we can get there tonight, that would put us in a good position tomorrow,” explained John, he looked over to the group who was gathering since Sophie had stopped nursing Lily and was getting back on her bike.
“You know, that is a good suggestion,” answered Demi, her eyes lighting up at the thought of seeing her sister early in the morning. “Let’s try and get there tonight.”
“It’s going to take us all day, but if we focus on really making headway, we can get there,” added John.
“Well, let’s go! We are wasting time,” responded Demi who already started to walk back to her bike. As she got back on her bike, thankful for Lonnie’s generosity of the beach cruiser, but wishing it was a mountain bike, she glanced back at Chris, who had Rufus back in the bike trailer and was ready to go. Has he changed? Had she changed? She wasn’t sure of either and didn’t find it necessary to explore it.
“The campsite is just around the corner,” shouted John back toward the group who trailed him. Demi’s legs were burning from riding all day, and she was well aware of her physical and mental discipline. She could only imagine how everyone else was faring.
The turned the corner, and sure enough, they reached the entrance to the state park. The entrance building and the ticket booths were vacant. The group rode right in and pedaled down one of the streets where campers had tents set up. As they passed by, families had set up tents, they had gas lanterns, some were cooking on camp stoves others over the fire pit. If Demi did not know any better, this campground looked like any other normal campground that she would have stayed at in her youth. However, she was aware of the circumstances centering around why everyone was here, they had nowhere else to go, just as they didn’t either.
John led the group until he found an empty site, “Hey guys, we can set up here,” he shouted to the group who were much farther behind him. Demi kept up with him, she was the only one. John rolled into the campsite and parked his bike, Demi following him.
Demi took out her tent that she had packed on the bike as did John with his tent. The other members of the group came to the campsite, Chris and Mike were the next to arrive, followed by Helene. Finally, Sophie and Tom made it. Tom had stayed with Sophie as she pedaled as she was the slowest of the group.
Helene announced as she got her items together, “I will get dinner started.” She turned to John and said, “If you will start a fire.”
“I’ll help with gathering tinder and wood,” said Chris as he went to the brush at the back of the campsite.
“I’ll help with that,” Mike said to Chris as he followed behind him.
The sun was near setting and Demi was relieved that they had made it as planned. She was concerned traveling with a large group would slow her down, but with John’s ability to lead, that was no longer a concern of hers and she was anxious to find her sister the next day.
The group ate around the campfire after Chris and Mike returned with armfuls of sticks and dried straw for tinder, and John started the fire. That took him several tries, and Demi felt she could have done a better job, but since it was no longer her and Mike, it was nice to rely on someone else for a change.
Sophie nursed Lily after she was done eating. She sat away from everyone to give her some time to bond with her infant. She finished after a half-hour and handed Lily to Tom before approaching Demi. “Hey Demi, would you like to go for a walk?” Sophie asked Demi who was sitting next to Mike on the ground next to the campfire.
“Sure,” answered Demi. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Mike. Demi was not surprised that Sophie reached out to her. They were roughly the same age, just at different points in their lives.
The pair strolled off, looking at the various campers who took advantage of this disaster to enjoy the Idaho wilderness. Fish cooked on spits over the fire pits and children laughed and played while their parents watched. The atmosphere brought back a simpler time for Demi. No longer worried about reviews of their latest single, band fights, or where the paparazzi were hiding to take her photo. At that moment, Demi was certain everything was going to be all right. They would get to her sister in the morning and in a few days after that, reach David’s compound.
“So, what’s going on between you and Chris?” So
phie asked Demi as the pair walked down another row of campsites.
“Um, nothing. Why do you ask?” Demi responded, not certain where the line of questioning was going.
“Oh! I mean, all of a sudden, he’s coming with us. Though there might have been something leading up to that decision. Like, were you guys back in contact?” Sophie inquired further.
“Oh no,” answered Demi. “The first time I saw him in five years was down at the driveway. Nothing since I moved out.”
“Interesting,” responded Sophie in a knowing tone. The pair had looped around the camp area and were almost back at their site.
Almost back at the site, rustling in the bushes off to the side bothered Demi. She whispered to Sophie, “Hey, did you hear that?” Demi asked as she touched Sophie’s arm.
“No-“ answered Sophie, but she was cut off as hands came around their mouths, smothering their voices. Demi attempted to scream and fight, kicking her heels in her assailant’s shins, but to no avail.
Sophie fought the best she could, her blonde hair flying around in a fury. She wiggled and moved, trying to get out of her assailant’s grasp, but he overpowered her.
Demi grew into a panic as she tried to scream, but her voice muffled into a muscular and strong hand that gripped her around the jaw. Finally, with enough kicking and flailing, Demi loosened the hand that suffocated her mouth enough to bite down on one of the fingers.
“Ouch! Witch!” the man yelled.
Right away Demi screamed, “Mike! Mike!” Before the hand was put back over her mouth, this time tighter, blocking any air from getting into her mouth or nose. Demi was not certain if that was enough to get the attention of their camp, but she hoped.
Before she knew what was going on, both her and Sophie were flung into the bushes that backed up to the trail that they were walking on. Both girls were dragged through the brush and to the other side where a camp was set up.
Still fighting, Demi tried everything she could to get away, but she was growing tired from resisting. “Billy, I found some prime meat for us,” said the man that held Sophie.
“Oh wow! They’re hot!” answered one of the men who sat around the campfire in a lawn chair. “We can get a pretty penny for these two, but we’ll have to have some fun with them first.” the same man said getting up from his seat. He went over to Demi and looked at her face while the man still held his hand around her mouth and nose. “This one looks wild, I’d like to break her,” he said.
The man who held Demi answered, “Careful, she’s feisty. She bites. Hard.”
“Kinda like that,” responded the other man. Sophie continued to try and fight but did not get any further than Demi on that front. “Let’s get them tied, these two look like flight risks if I’d ever seen one.”
The two men who held Demi and Sophie moved them over to the edge of their camp, away from the fire where it was much colder. Both fought the entire way, but their struggle was futile and before Demi realized what was going on, she was gagged and tied lying on her side next to Sophie with a blindfold on. More men from the camp helped hold and subdue the girls.
The only sound she could make was a muffled hum from under the rope that was tied tight into her mouth. “Soph—“ she mumbled the best she could. Sophie replied with the same muffled hum.
Demi was not certain what they would do or how they would get out of there. She tried to get her arms free, but her wrists were tied tightly behind her back. They lied on the cold ground with only the sounds of the crackling fire and the voices of the men discussing the names of men who would provide big bids for them.
For the first time since this event, Demi was frightened. She saw herself being sold, a sex slave. Then her mind wandered to Sophie and how she would never see her little girl, Lily again. She needed to do something, but what?
In between the howling of the men’s voices, the crackling of the embers, and the beer bottles being tossed, the rustling of bushes filled Demi’s ear. “Dem,” a whisper came from the bush. Demi’s first instinct was to call out the name of the voice she recognized, but that would only tip off the men. Instead, she kept quiet lying as still as possible. That went against every fiber in her being, because she was inherently a fighter, but this was the situation for her to fight. This was the situation for her to be saved, a foreign concept to her.
She laid as still as possible. Demi found her self relieved when she heard gunshots coming from the bushes toward the men. One of the men yelled, “Jared, get your shotgun, we got company.”
From that point, men scurried to their tents and ruffled in their bags. Shots came from the opposite direction, hitting the bushes. Shots were returned from the bushes toward the camp. Still blindfolded, two men came and picked up Demi and Sophie, tossing each of them over their shoulders. She hoped it was the familiar voice she heard from the bushes and not the men from the camp moving their newly acquired merchandise to safety.
Gunfire erupted, first from the campfire and returned from where Demi and Sophie laid, both still blindfolded and tied. Chris said, “Dem, let me untie you. Your shot is better than mine.” Chris struggled with untying the knot that bound Demi’s wrists behind her back, but within a few moments, he had her freed.
Demi removed the blindfold and gag, while Chris handed her the pistol she had with her since Lonnie’s house, the one he gave her. Feeling the cold steel in her hands once again made her remember that she was a survivor.
Demi ducked behind a fallen tree trunk, peering out to get a good read on their opposition. She left Sophie tied up and blindfolded, it was easier that way, plus she did not have time to untie her.
Noting where the other members of her team stood, from the corner of her eye she saw, Chris behind the fallen tree trunk along with Mike. John and Tom stood several yards away, hiding behind trees, using them as cover. Both had handguns on them. They peaked from behind their respective trees and returned fire. John reloaded his pistol, before shooting again. Thankfully, John packed enough ammunition for an incident such as this.
Sprays of shotgun shells pelted the decaying wood. Demi used every ounce of her being to stay calm and to keep her cool. This was what she was trained to do. Lifting her eyes above the log, Demi noted that the men had put the fire out so they would not be detectable.
Adjusting her eyes, Demi saw where a man stood behind the tent. She pulled the trigger, feeling the recoil of the gun on her arm. In the distance, the voice of a man screamed. In the moonlight, she saw the outline of a man step out from behind the tent and fall over as he clutched his abdomen. Dead.
“One down,” muttered Demi.
“Nice shot,” yelled Chris. “Knew I untied you for a reason,” Demi smirked. That was a good shot. Now to get the next one.
Demi squinted her eyes, trying to find where another one hid. She saw in the moonlight two of the men making a run toward them. She heard gunfire coming from behind the trees. Tom had gotten the two who attempted to storm their makeshift fort. Thank goodness, Demi was not certain how they would survive if the men could ambush them. She hoped that none of them came around to the other side. However, her vision was not clear since darkness shrouded her ability to see and shadows loomed everywhere.
Her biggest fear materialized, as gunshots came from the other side, pelting the tree trunk. They were surrounded. “We have to keep moving,” announced Mike. “I’ll take bullets to shotgun shells any day, so let us make a retreat back to our camp and blow this joint.”
Demi, not having a better idea, nodded. Her eyes were wide open. Demi doubted their ability to get out of this one unscathed. She saw a man come out from the surrounding trees and aim his gun at them. She could make him out, and fired, but missed.
The man shot in the direction of the fallen tree trunk. Mike picked up his sister, pulling her up over his shoulder, yet trying to shield her as much as he could. She attempted to yell from beneath her gag, but the rope muffled her breath.
“We got to meet up with my dad and Tom,”
announced Mike, leading the charge toward the trees where they stood dodging bullets from each direction just as they were.
“Let’s get there, move now!” Demi screamed as Chris and Mike who carried Sophie followed. Within seconds they were to where John and Tom stood, shielding themselves as they sat on the ground. As they met them, Demi tried to fire her pistol and hit another assailant, but missed.
Appearing defeated, John and Tom sat, their backs against a tree, ducking from the fire that came from both directions. Mike asked, “What do you think we should do?” He turned to John and waited for an answer.
“We try to get the Hell out of here,” exclaimed John. “What do you think we do?”
Tom announced, “I have an idea!”
“Alright,” pried Mike, sounding glad that someone had a plan.
“You guys make your way back to camp and grab Helene and Lily and get us ready to leave. I’ll hold these guys as long as I can and I’ll make my way to where you will be and we’ll make a break for it and rest in the next town,” explained Tom.
“Sounds good,” said Mike as he untied Sophie under the cover of the shadows and the tree trunk. Tom helped with pulling her blindfold and gag off of her face before kissing her.
“Go on guys, get out of here. I’ll cover for you will you get to camp and meet you,” reiterated Tom. “Bye hon, I’ll be all right,” he said as he gave Sophie another kiss. She was so startled that she did not kiss him back.
“Let’s go!” Chris shouted, leading the charge. Sophie and John followed behind Chris while Demi and Mike brought up the rear.
The group had made it around fifty feet before a yell came from where Tom stood. Demi reached for Mike’s arm, “Let’s see if he’s all right.” Mike nodded and the pair turned around to check on Tom.
As they approached, the outline of a man appeared on the dark and shadowy ground. “Goodness, he’s been shot,” yelled Mike.
“Check to see if he’s alive. But make it fast, we don’t have much time,” whispered Demi in a panic, her heart racing as adrenaline surged.
Lights Out (Book 2): Power Trip Page 6
