“This is it,” Bree said to Melissa as a smiled teased her lips. “This is what we’ve been looking for.”
“It is?” Melissa raised an eyebrow. “How exactly is this what we’ve been looking for? I thought we were looking for a way out of this forest.”
“We are, and this is it. It’s a road, can’t you see that?”
“I don’t know if I would call this a road . . .”
“Whatever. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that someone has been on this road recently. You can see the tire tracks. If we follow this road, it might lead us to another road. A real road. Or it might even lead us to someone’s house. If we explain what happened, I’m sure they’ll let us use their phone to call the sheriff.”
Even though Bree could tell that Melissa wasn’t quite as optimistic about this discovery as she was—and maybe she was right to be reserved in her reaction—Bree had every intention of following the road and finding out where it would lead them.
But which way should they go?
There was really no way of knowing which direction would lead them to where they wanted to go, or if either direction would for that matter. But she had to make a choice. She worried that choosing incorrectly would lead them deeper into the woods, and by the time that they realized the mistake, it would likely be too late for them to turn back and go the other way.
“So which way are we supposed to go then?” Melissa asked the same question that Bree was already deliberating.
With her hands on her hips, Bree looked both ways over and over again as if that might somehow help her come to a decision.
“Well?” Melissa pressed. “Are you going to choose or should I just start walking?”
While it was tempting to allow Melissa to make the decision for her, Bree didn’t want that to happen. She wanted to be the one to choose. That way if it turned out to be the wrong decision, she would only have herself to blame.
“No, it’s fine. I’ve made my decision already.”
“Alright, so which way then?”
Picking at random, Bree pointed to the right. “That way.”
“Fine. Let’s go then.”
The two of them started walking down the road. As they did, Bree couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder. She truly hoped that she had made the right decision. It was likely that they couldn’t afford for her to have chosen poorly.
12
“THIS ROAD COULD GO ON forever for all we know,” Melissa whined as she came to a stop and doubled over with her hands on her knees. “Do you seriously expect us to just keep walking like this all night?”
“What choice do we have?” Bree stopped as well. She rested her hands on her hips. She was exhausted, but there was no time to rest. They had to keep moving. Those men could be anywhere, and the best way to avoid them was to keep heading down this muddy road in hopes that it led them to a way out of this forest.
Melissa didn’t answer right away. She stood upright again and folded her arms over her chest before looking over her shoulder. “What if we went the wrong way?”
“There’s no way of knowing, Melissa. We just have to keep going and find out where this road will lead us.”
“But what if we did go the wrong way? What if the highway was just around the corner in the other direction?”
“There’s no point thinking like that. It’s just as possible that this is the right way and that the other way would have led us to nothing but a dead end. We have to stay positive.”
“Stay positive?” Melissa looked at Bree again and scowled. “Yeah. That’s a great idea. Let’s just stay positive. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Do we really have to do this right now? Those guys are still looking for us in case you forgot. We might not hear their dogs anymore, but they’re still out there somewhere.”
“Of course I haven’t forgotten. I’m not stupid.”
“I never called you stupid.”
“You didn’t have to say it. I can tell what you think of me by the way you look at me. You think I’m nothing but a ditsy cheerleader who owes everything I have to the fact that I can squeeze myself into a miniskirt, but I’m a lot more than that. I worked hard to get where I am.”
“Why do you even care what I think of you? It’s not like there’s anything left for us to fight over. I don’t want anything to do with Travis after he cheated on me. As far as I’m concerned, he’s all yours if you want him.”
“All mine?” Melissa started towards her. “So I should just be satisfied with that? I should graciously accept him from you now that you’re done with him? Don’t make it sound like you’re doing me a favor, Bree. I would have stolen him from you. You probably don’t want to believe that, but I’m positive that I would have taken him from you if you never dumped him.”
Clenching her fists, Bree had to fight with herself to keep from stooping to Melissa’s level and firing back with one of many retorts that came to mind. She had to remind herself that—whether she liked it or not—they were on the same team here.
“I get that you have a problem with me,” Bree said after taking a deep breath to collect herself and keep from saying anything that she would regret, “but can’t we just put all of that aside until we find a way to get out of this mess? That’s all that I’m asking.”
“Fine by me.” Melissa walked right past Bree without even looking at her. “But don’t think for a second that things are going to be any different after this is all over. I’m still going to hate you, and let’s be honest, you’re still going to hate me. It’s that simple.”
Without responding, Bree just started walking again, hoping that they could carry on in silence. She didn’t have anything left to say to Melissa, and it was probably safe to assume that Melissa had nothing to say to her either.
They carried on for what had to be close to an hour. Every step that Bree took without proof that they were traveling in the right direction chipped away at her already shaky confidence a little more. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Melissa said. What if the other way had been right all along and they were only heading deeper into the woods? She knew that she should take her own advice and not think that way, but that wasn’t so easy to do.
Fortunately, her concerns were lessened significantly when they rounded a corner and made a discovery at the end of the road.
A small cabin.
It didn’t look like much. In fact, it was pretty rundown, but it was the first and only sign of civilization that they had come across, so Bree figured the find had to be a positive thing.
“What a piece of shit,” Melissa scoffed as she shook her head in obvious disgust. “We came all of this way just to find this? It looks abandoned.”
“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t,” Bree said with a shrug of her shoulders. “We should at least check it out. Even if there’s no one inside, we might find something inside that can help us get out of here.”
“Like what? A secret passage under the floorboards that leads us both right back home?
“I’m being serious.”
Melissa sighed. “Alright. Fine. Lead the way I guess.”
They approached the cabin. Bree tried to peer through a window, but there was so much dirt and grime caked on the glass that she couldn’t see through it. The darkness didn’t help either.
“I found a door,” Melissa announced.
Bree went around to the other side of the cabin and found Melissa standing in front of a door that looked like it was ready to fall off its rusty hinges at the first strong breeze. Bree pulled the door open with an obnoxious creak, as if it were protesting. Then she stepped inside.
Had a look around.
There was a wooden table against one wall, a metal chest against another, and a pile of old tarps and blankets in the far corner. Everything was infested with cobwebs and blanketed in dust. Not only did the cabin appear to be abandoned, but it looked like it had been abandoned for quite some time.
“Wow . . . what a great
place,” Melissa remarked as she stepped inside and had a look around. “I’m so glad that I listened to you about following that damn road. That really worked out great for us.”
“Just help me search this place. There still might be something in here that can help us.” Bree went straight to the metal chest and tried to pull it open, but it appeared to be locked, or perhaps the top was just rusted shut. Either way, it didn’t look like she was getting inside.
“What exactly do you expect to find in here?” Melissa asked while making half an effort to look around the cabin. “Because unless by some miracle we find a phone, I don’t think there’s going to be anything that can help us.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” Unable to get the chest open, Bree moved on to the tarps and blankets. She moved them aside one at a time just to see if there was anything underneath. All that she found, though, were creepy crawly things seeking shelter underneath.
“There’s nothing here, Bree. Let’s go back the way we came. I bet I was right all along. We definitely went the wrong way.”
“Right all along?” Bree stared daggers at Melissa. “If you felt like we should have gone the other way then why didn’t you speak up back then?”
“Don’t try to pin this on me. You’re the one that chose to come this way. It was your mistake. Not mine.”
Just as Bree was about respond to that extremely unfair comment, she suddenly heard barking again. It was getting louder in a hurry, which could only mean that the dogs were rapidly closing in on them.
Seeing the color drain from Melissa’s face, Bree knew that she heard the barking too.
“We have to get out of here.” Bree rushed out of the cabin, slowing only for a second to look back and make sure that Melissa was following her.
They started running back down the road as soon as they left the cabin. Even while running as fast as she could, Bree couldn’t shake the feeling that it would all be for nothing. If those dogs had their scent, then it was only a matter of time before they caught up to them.
Then it dawned on her.
Being on the road was the worst place for them to be. They could be spotted easily out in the open. If they went back into the woods, at least they would have a chance to avoid being seen by using the trees and the other foliage for cover.
“We have to get off the road,” Bree told Melissa, who was running a few yards ahead of her, and progressively increasing the gap between them a little more with each stride.
Melissa didn’t respond.
So Bree tried again. “Melissa, stop. We have to get off the road.”
This time, Melissa slowed to a stop and turned around. “Why?”
“Because we’ll be seen for sure out here in the open.” Bree grabbed the other girl by the arm when she caught up to her, and then dragged her off of the road and into the woods. “We need to find someplace to hide.”
“Fine, but I don’t need you to yank me around like a misbehaving child.” Melissa pulled away from her. “I can run on my own just fine.”
While Bree was concerned that going deeper into the woods might make it difficult—if not impossible—to find their way back to the road, making it back wouldn’t matter if they were found by their abductors.
With precious little time to find somewhere to hide, they couldn’t afford to be picky. The sooner that they were hunkered down the better.
When she spotted a fallen log riddled with moss, Bree decided that it would have to do. She peered inside to check if it was hollow or not. Discovering that it wasn’t, she opted to lie down behind it. She dug up the leaf litter and then lay down before covering herself with leafs, twigs, and other bits from the forest floor, hoping that—combined with the mud coating her body—would be sufficient camouflage.
She was about to tell Melissa to do the same when she noticed that Melissa had already found her own hiding place—in a hollowed out stump. There was an opening that was just large enough for her to squeeze inside.
Now all they could do was remain silent and still and hope that they weren’t discovered. Bree found the waiting unbearable.
Seconds continued to tick by.
Those seconds turned into minutes.
And the dogs carried on barking.
Until they suddenly came into view. All three of them straining against their leashes as they sniffed the earth and barked repeatedly. It wasn’t hard to see that they had the scent, and they surely knew that they were closing in on their quarry.
The man holding the leashes was looking around as well, adding his own eyes and other senses to the search. His face remained hidden behind a mask.
Only one of their abductors was here. Bree wondered where the other one was. Not that it really mattered. One was bad enough.
Bree didn’t move a muscle. If she moved, the dogs were sure to notice. Then they would pinpoint her exact location. And if that happened . . . it was all over for her.
She could see Melissa out of the corner of her eye. Curled up in the hollowed stump. Knees held close to her body as she trembled. There were tears streaming down her cheeks. It looked like she was on the verge of panicking.
Bree wished that she could somehow assure Melissa that it was going to be okay. That she just needed to stay put and hope that the dogs didn’t find them.
But Melissa obviously couldn’t hold it together any longer. She scrambled out of her hiding place and took off running.
But she didn’t run nearly fast enough.
The dogs were on her in an instant. She had only enough time to let out a terrified squeal before she was tackled off her feet. The dogs bit down on her limbs to keep her pinned to the ground.
Bree had to cover her own mouth with her hand to keep herself from crying out. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the dogs brutally maul Melissa.
Would they kill her?
The sound of the struggling soon died away, and after several seconds of relative silence, Bree found herself compelled to open her eyes. When she did, she saw the man walking away, leading the dogs by their leashes and carrying a limp Melissa over his shoulder.
Was she dead?
Probably not. If she was, it wouldn’t make sense for him to take her body with him.
And Bree wasn’t about to abandon Melissa to whatever cruel fate those two monsters had planned for her. One way or another, she was determined to rescue Melissa.
13
WHEN BREE MADE THE DECISION to follow the man who took Melissa, she did not expect the pursuit to lead her right back to the cabin. Shortly after Melissa was taken inside, the second masked kidnapper showed up, driving the pickup truck up the road. He parked the truck on the side of the cabin before joining his companion inside the rundown structure.
The dogs were tied to a tree near the cabin, and seemed to have relaxed somewhat now that they were no longer being tasked to hunt anyone down. One of them even appeared to be asleep.
Creeping alongside the cabin with her back against the wall, Bree made her way to the door. She could hear the men talking on the other side. She brought her ear close to the door and listened closely.
“Finding one of them isn’t good enough. If we don’t find the other, there’s no way in hell that we’re getting paid what we deserve.”
“I know that, Clyde. I’m not an idiot. Let’s just deal with this one first, and then we’ll go find the other one. She couldn’t have gotten far.”
“They must have split up at some point. I can’t say I’m surprised. Those bitches were fighting over the same guy. They obviously hate each other’s guts.”
“You know how jealous girls can be at their age.”
“I sure do.” Clyde chuckled. “By the way, you don’t need my help dealing with this one, do you?”
“No. Why? What are you planning to do?”
“I was thinking I’d take the dogs and go hunting for the one that really matters. If we let that one get away, we’re both screwed.”
“Fine. Take the dogs. But i
f you find her, make sure you bring her back here in one piece. Remember what we were told. That one still needs a pretty face and four working limbs when this is all over with.”
“I’ll find her, Mac. Don’t even worry about it.”
“Right. Sure. And keep your radio on in case I need to get ahold of you.”
“Jesus, quit nagging me. You sound like my bitchy ex-wife right now. Oh, and while we’re handing out reminders, let me remind you not to waste time with blondie here. I know this is your favorite part of the job and all that, but don’t forget that we have a lot of money riding on this job. Don’t get sloppy. Just dispose of her quickly so we can dump her body tonight and get the rest of our money by morning.”
“I know what I’m doing. In case you forgot, I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than you have. You’re just lucky that I got you in on this sweet gig after you got released.”
“Don’t act like you did me some huge favor. We both know that I would have done just fine on my own without any help from you.”
“Just find the other girl and bring her back here.”
“I’m on it.”
Hearing the man named Clyde heading for the door, Bree scrambled back around the side of the cabin. She peeked around the corner to watch Clyde pull the door open and step outside. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder. He was heading towards the dogs.
Bree was perfectly happy to let him take the dogs and go off into the woods in search of her. She would much rather only have to deal with one of these assholes in order to save Melissa.
She started to back up around the corner again, but as she did, she ended up stepping on a twig that snapped beneath her weight. The sound seemed impossibly loud for such a tiny twig.
The sound of the twig breaking was immediately followed by Clyde coming to an abrupt stop. Fearing that he would investigate, Bree gave up on being stealthy and scurried into the brush. She found some dense brambles and lay down on her belly among them. She was able to peer through the foliage and see Clyde come around the corner of the building. Right where she had been moments earlier.
Hide and Seek: A Suspense Thriller Page 8
