Darkness Follows

by J. L. Drake

  Emily

  I whispered quietly, “It’s okay, Seth…I won’t be alone. I get to be with my dad. I love you.”

  “No, don’t go.” Seth’s cries became faint and distant.

  I didn’t know how long I was out. My body felt terrible, but I was happy in my dream. I was finally at peace with dying. But no, I found I was still stuck in this fucked up hellhole, and I couldn’t handle it anymore. At least that goddamned music was turned off.

  Something seemed different. I shifted slightly. My cheek was frozen, and there was a strange smell. The spotlight now faced the wall. My brain finally caught up. I was on the floor but still attached to the chair. I moved my head to look around.

  “Ouch,” I cried out. Then I realized he hadn’t put the rag back over my mouth. My jaw was stiff. I could tell he had done a pretty good job on my cheek. The bruise didn’t allow my left eye to open fully.

  I listened to see if I could hear Lasko. All was quiet. “Seth?” I moaned and choked back tears. “Seth?” I didn’t know if he could hear or see me, but I needed him there with me.

  I moved my arm around and realized the wooden arm of the chair had snapped. It hadn’t broken free, but I had more flexibility. I frantically whipped it around to finish the job.

  I heard a tink noise and leaned forward to see what it was. My fingers searched all around. Then I felt it—the smooth, cold scalpel. I managed to grip it between my fingers. I fumbled with it to get it in position. It took me several minutes, but I got my hands free. I cut my wrists in a few spots, and they were black and blue from the zip ties, but I didn’t care. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I freed myself from the chair. I stumbled to my feet and rushed over to the camera on the computer.

  ***

  Seth

  I watched Agent Patrick form a small team to set out and search an area marked in red on the map. Johnnie, Riggs, and Avery had all volunteered to help out. “We’ll find her,” Riggs called over his shoulder as he left with the group.

  I tapped my coffee cup and listened to the quiet. I watched Sarge and Weathers as they dealt with the media over the phone. Michaels and Matthews flipped through charts and maps of the forest. I closed my eyes and remembered her smell, her smile, her laugh, and her eyes. Oh, how I loved getting lost in her sea-blue eyes.

  “Seth!” Garrett screamed. I snapped back to reality and almost knocked over my cup. I jumped to my feet and ran over.

  Oh god, please be okay!

  “Holy shit! She’s free!” I yelled out in disbelief. Emily looked all around. Suddenly she reached over and touched something. Her eyes narrowed and then popped wide open. Her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes flipped back and forth to the camera then to something else. “What do you see Emily?” I whispered. Her head tilted toward the ceiling…to watch someone? I didn’t know.

  ***

  Emily

  I was sure Lasko could hear how loud my heart was. I glanced up the stairs. I couldn’t hear anyone. Hopefully, he was passed out drunk again.

  I was pretty disoriented from the drugs, my cheek felt the size of a balloon, and my ribs were battered, but none of that mattered. I needed to get the hell out of there. I searched the room and spotted a black garbage bag fastened to the wall with duct tape. My fingers clawed painfully at the corner. It peeled back just enough so I could get a good grip. I tugged hard.

  Sunlight broke through, and a sudden rush of hope filled me. I couldn’t believe it. I pulled the rest of it back and tossed it to the floor. My palms pushed flat on the glass and shoved it open. My hands shook as I grabbed the chair to move it as quietly as possible.

  I ran back to the camera and mouthed, “Window,” doing the action with my hands.

  Seth nodded frantically.

  The window was pretty small, but I was able to squeeze myself through. I nearly cried out as my ribs scraped the frame, but managed to clamp my jaw shut and keep silent.

  The sun was bright and hurt my eyes as I took a moment to get some sense of my surroundings. Then I heard it. My skin nearly ran right off my bones. The pit bull’s savage bark. My heart leapt and kicked my body into overdrive. I started to run flat out toward the dull, roaring noise I could make out in the distance.

  I heard Lasko’s booming voice shout, “Stop! Emily!” Then there was a gunshot, and a bullet hit the tree to my left. I screamed and ran even faster. “You’ll never get away!” His voice followed me.

  Adrenaline pumped through my legs, but I could hardly feel them. My arms protected my face as branches swiped at me. The woods were dense in places, and every direction looked the same. My only hope was to make sure the sun stayed in front of me.

  Birds flew into the sky as my feet pounded the forest floor. I cursed and hoped they wouldn’t give me away. My wild hair blocked my vision every time I looked over my shoulder. I fell twice and smashed my knee into a boulder. My brain screamed at me to keep moving.

  I ran for what seemed like thirty minutes before finally I had to stop and gasp for air. I hunched low and leaned against a tree; I desperately needed a breather.

  I quickly took inventory. My dress was dirty, and there was blood coming from my stomach, which dampened the material. My feet were bleeding too, but thankfully nothing seemed to hurt badly.

  My fingers dug into the ground as my head went a little fuzzy. I gripped some small rocks, which gave me an idea. I madly ripped the bottom of my dress into small pieces and tied rocks into the fabric. I took off in a sprint again, and threw them as far as I could off to the sides.

  I hoped that if the dog was tracking me, it would throw him off. A noise off to my left made me duck behind a tree. I took a peek, and shit! I saw the pit bull sniff around where I had thrown a piece of my dress. I knew it was only a matter of time before he found me. Not only that, but the color of my dress stood out against the browns and greens.

  “Komm!” Lasko’s voice echoed through the forest. The dog retreated, as well as some of my bravery.

  I knew that meant ‘come’ in German. I fought to keep my mind sharp as I jumped to my feet and bolted.

  The roaring sound was louder than before. My heart beat through my chest, and my lungs were about to burst. A noise behind me got louder. I was sure it was the pit bull. I was sure I could feel his breath inches from my heels.

  The brush got thick all around me, and I had no idea which direction I was supposed to run, but I still focused on the sound and headed for it. Branches grabbed at my arms and legs. My legs burned, and warmth traveled down my left leg. It doesn’t hurt, Em, just run!

  Suddenly I came to the edge of a cliff. My body kept going before my brain caught up. I closed my eyes and let myself go. I fell and turned in the air. I could hear the dog’s frustrated howls. Just before I hit the cold water, I opened my eyes and saw his stare fixed on mine.

  The impact felt like I hit concrete. The water swallowed me up, and I lay motionless and let the current do what it wanted with me.

  Anything was better than the basement. White bubbles shot past me, and the bottom seemed a million miles away. It was almost as if time stayed still as I whirled around in the dark water.

  Finally my brain told me to swim. The water around me was white and frothy. I kicked hard and came to the surface and gasped for air.

  I looked around and realized I was well away from where I had fallen in. I tried to swim toward the shore as water poured into my mouth and nose. I kept coughing to clear my airway, but my body was so exhausted and mangled it wasn’t cooperating.

  The rocks were sharp, and the current tossed me about like a child’s toy. I heard a shout and saw a girl point at me as I was carried past her.

  “Help!” I screamed, astonished to see someone. A man rushed to the shoreline and looked at me in horror. He started to run to get ahead of me. I swam as hard as I could toward the bank. He reached a narrow part in the river, knelt down, and reached out his hand. I felt his fingers wrap around my wrist as he pulled hard and dragged me onto the rough rocks.


  “Oh my, oh my, um…okay, don’t move.” His voice was shaky. He whistled at the little girl. “Get my phone!”

  I was so cold and tired. The trees framed the sky as birds flew above me. I wondered if they were from before, and had followed me to this point. It was a stupid thought, but it still gave me hope someone watched over me.

  The man shrugged out of his fleece jacket and covered my mid-section. My vision started to fade in and out. I shook, not only from the cold water, but from the shock.

  “Stay with me, honey, I’m getting you help.” He gently touched my wrist and checked my pulse. “Stay awake, you hear me?” The little girl ran over with the phone.

  “Please,” I whispered, then coughed up some water, “D-Detective M-M-Michaels with the OPD.”

  ***

  Seth

  Garrett and I sat and stared at the screen. It showed an empty, tipped-over chair with blood splatter on the floor. Crew and Patrick were ordered into another room to try and track down any possible leads. Seconds, minutes, and then an hour ticked by. Not one person moved or said a word.

  My chest grew tighter, and my brain was frozen on the last image I had of her. I wasn’t religious, but I whispered a short prayer my mother used to recite. “Amen.”

  “Amen,” Garrett whispered as he reached over and squeezed my arm.

  A door flung open, and Michaels burst into the room. “Connors and O’Brian, come with me.” We looked at each other quickly and stood. We followed Michaels into the elevator and out to the SUV. Michaels drove out of the driveway. Finally he looked over at me and took a deep breath. “They found her.”

  Okay, umm…I tried to process this information.

  I stared at him. “Is she…?” So many possibilities ran through my head that I couldn’t finish the thought.

  “She’s alive, but we don’t know how bad she is yet. They’re flying her to Memorial Hospital.”

  I let out a breath. Garrett leaned forward and squeezed my shoulder. We didn’t want to celebrate just yet.

  “Wait! Memorial Hospital?” I was confused. “But that’s almost back home.”

  “Yeah, crazy to think she was just on the outer limits of San Bernardino.” Michaels shook his head.

  The drive was painfully long. I rubbed my anxious hands over my legs. Michaels filled us in on where Emily had been found and the man who had called it in.

  “Did they say how she looked?” I asked quietly.

  Michaels stared out the windshield. “She was talking. Let’s just focus on that.” I closed my eyes as my stomach turned. All I wanted was to see her again, feel her soft skin, and kiss her perfect lips. But then that little voice in the back of my head spoke up. This is your fault. If you had just listened to your sergeant, she would never have slipped through your fingers. You left her alone at your cabin. She’s hanging on by a thread because of you.

  I swallowed down the bile that was waiting in the back of my throat.

  Michaels answered his phone about twenty times to get updates from the team out in the field. Their mission now was to find Lasko’s cabin. They had a better idea where it might be now, since Emily had been found about forty yards away from the start of the waterfall.

  The media was already at the hospital. Michaels flashed his badge, and the parking attendant waved us through to the underground staff parking lot.

  ***

  Lasko

  I stomped up the stairs. “Fucking bitch!” I shouted as I kicked in the front door to my cabin. Wood scattered everywhere. I searched wildly for my little tray. I needed to calm down. I needed to think. My fingers clawed through the dusty porno magazines and old newspaper clippings. How could she have escaped? How could she have left me? How could she not have seen that she was mine? I pounded my fists into the wall. I whirled around when my record player needle bounced off the record and made a horrible scratching noise.

  I froze when I felt my leg vibrate. Sweat broke out across my neck, and my fingers went cold. Fuck! I reached in my pocket, pulled out my phone, and swiped my finger across it.

  “What?” I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to do this right now.

  “Jimmmmy.” The voice was calm. “What the fuck happened?”

  “I-I…” Sweat rolled into my eye. I madly rubbed it away. “I don’t know, I—”

  “You don’t know?” the voice asked, almost appalled. “She was bound to the fucking chair, Jimmy! In the basement! In the middle of the woods!” Silence. “Where was Adler?” I glanced at my companion, who sniffed around the basement door.

  “He was with me. We were preparing breakfast.”

  “Oh, how sweet,” the voice said sarcastically. “Well, that’s nice. While the two of you played house, you let her escape!”

  “I didn’t let her!” I shouted into the phone as I clenched my fist tighter. I suddenly stopped and realized my dilemma. A cold chill coiled around my spine. “How much time do I have?”

  “Forty minutes, give or take. Remove everything—did you have any visitors?” I despised this question. I hated to feel small. “You’re slipping, Jimmy. You promised you’d ease off that shit.” The voice paused. “Wipe down everything with bleach. No fingerprints. We can’t have them tracing the dealer back to us. Fuck! You really screwed up this time!”

  “I’ll burn it.”

  “What? No! Do you want to send a smoke signal to help them find the cabin faster? Use. Your. Head.”

  “Seriously, screw off!” I hissed. This was not what I wanted to hear. I snatched up my baseball bat and swung it at the lamp. The shade burst in two and sent one half in Adler’s direction. He yelped and ran downstairs. “I’ll only put up with you for so long.”

  The voice let out a long sigh. “Listen, just relax. You’ve got thirty minutes. I’ll contact you when I can.”

  “I need her back, you know—”

  “I know.” The line went dead.

  Something shiny caught my eye, and I lunged forward and freed it from the lamp’s debris. As I dropped myself into the chair, I balanced the tray on my knees and fumbled with the little bag. I spread out the powder and used my pinky to make the thick line. I licked my finger clean, then spread a little over my gums. Carefully, I bent down, stuck the tube in my nose, and inhaled the heavenly powder that flashed colors in front of me.

  “Now,” I muttered and rose to my feet. The needle rested just above the vinyl, and I nudged the box until it fell into place and sent the smooth cello through the room. I staggered back to my seat and fell with a heavy thud.

  My eyes rolled back, which made my head tilt and rest on the back of the pillow.

  Then she appeared between my legs.

  I gave in to my fantasy, but instead it went to Emily right before I took her.

  “Do you see her?” The voice sounded strained. This was the moment we had been waiting for.

  I scanned the trees but saw nothing. “No.”

  “She’s heading your way, it’s only a matter of minutes.”

  “Yeah.” I wiped the trail of sweat that blurred my vision.

  “Stay focused, Jimmy, don’t move from that spot until you know she’s there, alone.”

  “I know,” I hissed back, annoyed.

  The rustle of branches caught my attention, then her body came into view. I sent Adler to circle back behind her the way she came. He did so perfectly; he blended in, and only moved when he needed to.

  I moved a little closer and pulled the damp rag from my pocket. I ignored my cock. I could feel it strain against my zipper.

  Three loud horn honks made me freeze in place. I couldn’t believe it, the asshole was only moments behind her.

  Her voice shot up, loud and hopeful. “Yes! Yes, I can hear it!” Her head tilted up to the sky, and she muttered something that I ignored. I needed to get her out of there fast! I nodded at Adler, who took a few steps forward, into her view. She suddenly stiffened when her eyes took in the dog. “I s-s-see a pit bull. He’s staring right at me!”

&nb
sp; It was now or never. I nodded at Adler to charge, and her mouth opened to scream. I moved fast and grabbed her around the head and sealed off both her nose and mouth. I used the tree trunk to hold her in place. She was a fighter, I would give her that. Her heels dug into the dirt and her hands clawed at my sleeve. The terror that flashed across her eyes made her pupils contract, and that made me grow thicker.

  Seconds later she was out cold. I lifted her limp body into my arms and moved into the dense brush. I knew these woods well. I’d spent many days in this forest and knew how to navigate my way out. Adler stayed close, and within ten minutes I found my way back to where I’d left the old pickup truck.

  The handle always stuck on the passenger door, so I hurried around to the driver’s side and placed her on the bench seat next to me. I flipped down the visor and let my keys drop on my lap. Adler jumped in the back, and we hit the road.

  Emily bounced around, and at one point she fell on the floor and smacked her head on the door. She stirred a little and opened her eyes. I couldn’t stop; we were close to the main road. Her eyes zoned in on my keychain that read, “I see you.” I smirked for a moment, then glanced out the rearview. I wiped my lip free of sweat.

  My phone danced in my pocket, so I pulled it free.

  “You on the road?” the voice asked.

  “En route; now you’re up.”

  The line went dead.

  Adler watched Emily like she was a slice of meat, and he’d whine and look over at me every so often. I could feel his worry, and I knew this was a risky move. One I couldn’t have pulled off alone.

  I hated the clothes she was in. They were too big for her slim frame. She needed to be in silk, something that would make her eyes pop.

  I shifted in my seat. Yes, silk would feel nice under me. I glanced down at her drugged body. Her head rested on her arm, and her shirt was soaked from the wet bathing suit she wore underneath.