In the Night (Darkness Falls Book 1)

by Melissa Sinclair

  All right, Kara, he’s not after Father’s money, now what? Once inside the cabin, she scanned her surroundings noting that it was a simple, rundown, one-room cabin. There was a terrible smell in the air as if something had crawled into a hole in the cabin and died; she only hoped it was animal and not human. She was able to figure out two things on the way in: they were in the middle of the woods, and the cabin they were in appeared to have been abandoned.

  “The drugs I gave you should be fully worn off soon. I hope you aren’t upset that I had to use them. I knew you might be resistant to coming with me. But now that your father and mother aren’t here to watch your every move, you don’t have to play so hard to get.”

  “Hard to get? Devon, what are you talking about? I had no idea you were even interested.”

  “Oh please, give me a break. The little cock tease that you are surely knew the hard-on you gave me—you gave everyone—every time you came in the room. What with all the short shorts and almost-see-through tank tops, it’s a wonder any man can keep his dick in his pants around you.”

  “Maybe you’re right; maybe I did unfairly tease you. I didn’t mean to lead you on. Why don’t you take me home and we can go out on a proper date?” She swallowed hard, hoping her new tactic would work with him.

  Kara looked him in the eye and smiled the most innocent smile she could muster, but when his eyes narrowed, she knew he hadn’t bought it. Before she could blink, his hand had collided with her cheek again; this time it was so hard she had to blink back the tears that stung her eyes.

  “You little bitch, you manipulating little bitch!”

  He threw her on the bed in the middle of the cabin. It was the only nice thing in the whole building, and she knew he’d brought it there for her. It was a four-poster bed in a rich mahogany, and the sheets felt like butter. He’d obviously spared no expense on them. He quickly untied her hands and placed them in restraints that were attached to each corner of the bed, and then he repeated the process with her feet. She was spread eagle on the bed, but she was still clothed.

  No longer able to control her emotions, she began to sob uncontrollably. Why was this happening? Surely, she didn’t deserve this.

  “Please, Devon, please stop. There’s still time to let me go.” She sobbed.

  “Feel free to scream. The nearest house is miles away; no one will hear you.”

  2

  Oh, God, please help me, please. I won’t ask anything of You ever again. She strained at her bindings, but they were secured too well. Devon had clearly thought this out, planned for this moment, and that fact terrified Kara more than anything else. If he had planned things out, then he had taken precautions to keep her hidden. She bucked like a wild animal, desperate to get free, but all she managed to do was physically exhaust herself until she was panting from the exertion.

  “I love a spirited woman. Keep fighting or crying; it will only make it that much better.”

  The words sent ice through her veins, and she stopped immediately and looked at her captor. Maybe not moving would deter him. But, no, she knew that wasn’t going to help either, because Devon looked her up and down, his eyes lingering between her thighs. Bile rose and burned the back of her throat; she nearly threw up but forced herself to push it back down. She searched his face for any sign of humanity but was terrified at the empty eyes that met hers. He reached forward and started to unbutton her shorts; she reflexively flinched, and it was as if what little self-restraint he had snapped.

  He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut her shorts and shirt off; he glared down at her from where he stood. His tongue darted out of his mouth to lick his lips, and he slowly ran his hands up her legs. Then he savagely tore her panties and bra off and climbed on top of her. The stink of his breath against her cheek had the bile rising in her throat once again, and again, she had to fight to keep it down. Her mind was still trying to find a way out of the situation, but when she felt his erection pushing against her belly, she knew there was no way to stop the inevitable.

  “Please, please don’t. I’m a virgin.”

  “I know.”

  He penetrated her with such force that she had to bite her lip to stop from screaming out in pain—the taste of blood filled her mouth. Tears burned her eyes and slid down her bruised face; his tongue darted from his mouth, and he lapped up her tears. He thrust into her repeatedly, tearing her so badly she could feel blood run down her legs. Finally, he thrust one last time before collapsing on top of her, panting. After a couple of minutes, he climbed off her and stood while zipping his pants.

  When he looked down at her, he seemed to have regained his composure. She closed her eyes and tried to block the images of what had just happened from her mind. But all she could see behind her lids was the crazed look he had had on his face when he climbed on her. And all she could smell was his breath on her cheek. She wanted to vomit; she wanted to scream; she wanted to cry, but she did none of those things. Instead, she lay numb.

  Kara woke to whimpers coming from the floor. When she looked down, she thought she was hallucinating. Devon was sleeping on the floor, and apparently was having a very upsetting dream; but the point was, he was sleeping. It was the first time in four days that she had seen him sleep when she was awake, because for the last four days when he hadn’t drugged her, he had been raping and torturing her repeatedly. Over the course of those four days, she had noticed his personality change several times. Sometimes he was cold and calculated in his torture, and other times he behaved as if he really thought he loved her. He was almost tender when he violated her as if he truly believed it was consensual and that they were a couple. And he had appeared to have an endless supply of energy—sexually as well as physically.

  Of course, it was possible he had slept, and she hadn’t noticed. There were parts of the last four days she didn’t remember, times when the drugs had taken her to a blessed oblivion. Many times, she blacked out from the drugs he would inject in her, other times from the intense pain. But she was awake and alert now and conscious that this would be her only chance. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for. He had to be exhausted, she knew she was. She might be killed trying to escape. But if she didn’t try now, she would certainly die for sure.

  If the monster was asleep, then she had to find a way out of there. She looked around the room, and slowly her mouth turned into a grim smile. He had left one of the scalpels he’d used to intimidate her on the mattress close enough that she might be able to reach it. Huge oversight on his part, especially given how flexible she was from years of ballet training. She strained to reach it and sucked in her breath when she bumped it.

  It had nearly slid out of her reach, but she could just barely touch it with her fingers. She stretched as much as she could and finally was able to get the handle between her thumb and index finger. Now she just had to figure out how to twist her hands to cut the ropes. After a couple minutes, she realized that wasn’t an option. But the ropes were looser than normal, and if she put the scalpel in her mouth, she could reach the ropes—but just barely.

  The first attempt to slice at the ropes caused her to nick her wrist and blood started to drip down her arm. She didn’t stop to see how bad the cut was, because, quite frankly, she would rather bleed to death than stay one more second in that cabin with the monster sleeping on the floor beside her.

  Finally, after long minutes in an agonizing position, she was able to cut through the ropes on her wrists. Kara slid to the edge of the bed, silently placing her feet on the ground. She had to climb over Devon’s inert body to get to the door, which was going to be a challenge because every bone in her body hurt and every muscle screamed in pain. This caused her to be extremely clumsy, almost falling on him twice as she finally maneuvered around him and tiptoed to the door.

  Beads of sweat had formed on her brow from the exertion of freeing herself. She wasn’t sure how she’d get away if he woke, but she had to try. Quickly, she opened the door, and as soon as the f
resh air hit her face, she broke into the fastest sprint her body would allow. Running around the side of the cabin, she saw the car she had been transported in. Kara had two seconds to decide if she should stop and try the car handles and hope the door is unlocked and the keys were in the ignition or to keep going. Logic dictated that even with her being tied up, Devon wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave the keys in the car. However, she had to take the chance. Breaking stride only for the second it took to stop to try the handle and find the car locked, she took off as fast as she could down the dirt road.

  Which, unfortunately, wasn’t that fast at all. She was used to muscle aches, but this was different. While her muscles burned and she pushed herself harder than she ever had, she knew she couldn’t move faster than she was. But, in the end, it didn’t matter; she was going to run until she couldn’t run any farther. Never once did she turn to see if he had woken up and was following. Instead, she ran until she thought her lungs would explode, and then she ran some more.

  Along with the ballet training—because her parents insisted she be diversified—Kara had run on the long-distance track team all four years of high school and had competed at state level, but she had never run in the pain she was in at that moment. While endurance was something she had built over those years, what her body had been put through, the lack of food, water, and sleep, made it difficult to continue. But she forced herself to go to the place she had gone the last four days every time he had touched her, forced herself to ignore the pain and pretend she was numb to it. For the most part, it worked, and even though every inch of her was on fire, she was able to continue in her escape from the cabin.

  It had been a hasty decision to run down the road versus through the woods. Her mind had dictated to go that route because there would be less chance she would get lost and less debris to run on with her bare feet. Even though it made her easier to find, she didn’t care. But while the road was dirt, it was still painful to her feet to run on. It was just one more thing she had to ignore, one more thing she had to block out.

  Finally, she came to an intersection. She remembered turning from a gravel road to the dirt road, but which way had they come from? The right! Should she go the way they came from or go the opposite way in case he woke and came to look for her? She knew the way they came would bring her to a main road, so even though it might be the way he would look, she decided to go that way. As she turned, she heard a vehicle approaching from behind her, and an all too familiar feeling of panic rose inside her. Had he awoken and found her missing? There was no way on a good day she could outrun a vehicle, and today was not a good day.

  Running with every ounce of her soul, she tripped on a large rock on the ground and tumbled to the gravel below her. Struggling to get up, she heard the vehicle stop behind her. Maybe if she waited until he approached, she could throw sand in his eyes to buy herself some time, and then she could make a run for it again. Knowing it was a ludicrous plan, she clawed her way across the road, trying to get up, but her body wouldn’t allow her to get to her feet. It was as if the tumble had sapped out every last bit of energy.

  So, this is how it’s going to end, she thought. Please, God, just let me get away. I will do whatever you want. And if you won’t grant me that, please make it quick. I am done, I can’t fight, and I can’t go through anymore. Please.

  “Young lady, are you all right?” Once again, Kara thought she was hallucinating because the voice behind her was not Devon’s, but rather a deeper and older sounding voice. When she looked at the shadow looming over her, she breathed a sigh of relief and finally let her body completely relax before everything faded into black.

  When he woke, he was startled to see that Kara was missing. How had she gotten loose? He tore through the cabin and ran outside; she was nowhere to be seen. Running back inside, he knew he had to go. He didn’t know how long she’d been missing, but he knew he had to flee and regroup.

  And when he found that little bitch, she was going to pay for running off on him, after all he had done to bring them together. He was still trying to gather his wits when he heard a helicopter overhead. He didn’t have time to clean the cabin properly, so he decided it would be best to leave and hope that he could go back to destroy evidence. He had taken precautions—rubber gloves, condoms. But sometimes the smallest things could be enough to bring you down. Still, it was too late to worry about it; he didn’t even have anything to burn the cabin. Never looking back, he ran to his car and tore down the road. Grabbing his cell phone, he made an important call. He waited impatiently until finally, someone answered. No time to be subtle, he blurted out the latest development.

  “She escaped.”

  “What do you mean ‘she escaped’?”

  “What part is hard for you to understand? The word she or the word escape? I woke up, and she was gone.”

  “You fell asleep?”

  “Yes, damn it. She must have cut her ropes with one of the scalpels; there’s blood everywhere. You don’t have anything to say about that, do you?” When there was no response, he continued, “I didn’t think so.”

  “Let’s not dwell on the circumstances of the escape, let’s just figure out damage control. Meet me at the rendezvous point. We’ll figure out what to do from there, and figure out how to get the bitch.” The phone disconnected.

  Yes, he knew one thing for sure. When he found that bitch, she was going to wish she had died. He would make sure it felt like she’d died a thousand deaths by the time he was finished with her. If she thought she had felt pain in the last four days, she was sadly mistaken. What he had in store for her would make that look like a walk in the park.

  Once again, Kara woke up in a strange place, but this time, she was in a very white and very sterile room. It didn’t take long for her to realize she was in a hospital; she closed her eyes as tears slid down her face. Thank you, God, for answering my prayers. Kara struggled to get up and nearly screamed in pain.

  “Dr. Brenner, Dr. Chiglo! She’s awake. Can we do something for her pain?” she heard a familiar voice ask. Ethan! Her brother was there. She really was safe, and Kara began to sob uncontrollably.

  “Heather, will you give her another dose of morphine?”

  Once the pain subsided a bit, she tried to sit up again.

  “Don’t try to sit up yet. Your body has been through a lot. We’ll need to take baby steps,” a woman’s soft and soothing voice said.

  After another moment of silence, she opened her eyes and glanced around the room. There were two doctors in the room and Ethan.

  “Now that her pain is under control, can we have a moment alone?” Ethan asked.

  “Only a moment, she needs her rest.”

  Still very much out of it, she looked at him, searching his eyes, searching the room again to see if she was wrong and that her parents were also there. However, scanning the room once more, it was easy to see that they weren’t there waiting for her to wake up, and she was not surprised at all by that revelation. Once they were alone, Ethan pulled a chair next to her bed and sat down, holding her hand. She flinched at the contact and hated herself for that. Hated herself for the look she saw in his eyes, the look that said he knew what had happened to her—at least the obvious things that had happened to her.

  “I can’t tell you how good it is to see those beautiful green eyes.”

  “Ethan, am I really safe?”

  “Yes. You really are safe.”

  “How long have I been out?”

  “A few days.”

  “A few days!”

  “Your body needed a considerable amount of recuperation after what you went through. You almost didn’t make it. They induced a coma to help you heal. Then they tried to wake you up. And, it...it wasn’t happening. You were in and out all day. This is the first time that you’ve really woken up.” Kara could see he tried but couldn’t fight the tears as they flowed down his face. “You lost so much blood by the time the helicopter got there to bring you here. And the
n you coded in the helicopter. They had to bring you back in the air—more than once—and they started giving you a transfusion on the way. If Mr. Stanford hadn’t found you when he did, you’d have died on that road.”

  “Where am I?”

  “Mercy Hospital.”

  “Is...is the man who saved me here? I would like to thank him.”

  “He was here earlier, and he was hoping you were awake, but you were still sleeping. He told me to tell you when you woke up that he would stop back to see you when you were up for visitors.”

  She nodded her head slightly, and even that small movement hurt. Her injuries were so numerous that she was scared to ask anything more about them. Not today, but someday, she would insist on every gory detail. Today she would simply be grateful for Mr. Stanford, the doctors, and Ethan. Before she dozed off, she had to know if they had caught Devon, if he was in jail where he belonged.

  “Did they find him? Did they catch that monster?”

  “You mean Devon?”

  “No, that wasn’t Devon. That person was pure evil. A monster. Did they catch him?” She realized she sounded crazy, she also realized she was about to slip under into blissful oblivion again.

  “Yes and no.”

  “What do you mean?” she mumbled, almost incoherently.

  “He’s dead.”

  “Dead? How, when?”

  “He died about two hours after you were found. The police had a lead on where he was going, and when they got there, they found his car. He appeared to have missed a corner and crashed; it was already on fire when they got there. They weren’t able to get him out in time; he burned to death, Kara. He got what he deserved.”

  She struggled to process the information. It was all she could manage to keep her eyes open while she searched his face. Dead? Devon was dead. She was equal parts happy and angry. Happy he was gone, never able to touch her or anyone else again. Angry that he was gone without a chance for her to see him rot in prison.