“Right,” Haley yelled back, upset.
Skylar might not have the journal pages, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t win.
Back at the cabin, they stood on the outer edge of the clearing. The lopsided table had been removed from the cabin and placed outside with three chairs. They walked cautiously toward the table. There were three plates with knives and forks. On each plate was a raw piece of meat. Skylar’s eye lingered on three short wooden cups with red liquid inside.
Blood.
An envelope with each of their names written in red rested against each cup. On the seat of each chair, a word had been formed with pine needles. She looked at her seat.
DIE.
“The word OR is on my chair,” came Haley’s shaky voice.
“SIT,” Morgan said loudly. “Don’t mint if I do!” She yelled, and sat.
Sit or die.
Not wanting to tempt fate, Skylar sat, and Haley followed her lead. Her friend looked ready to pass out but began licking her lips at the sights and smells of deer meat and blood. At Skylar’s setting was chipmunk, and at Morgan’s, grouse. Morgan snatched her raw meat, and Skylar grabbed her hand.
“What giveses?”
“Before we do anything stupid, let’s read the letters.”
“Whatevers,” Morgan dropped the meat and ripped open the envelope.
“How did you know it was here? I thought it had no scent?” Skylar asked.
“I heard the sound of his breathing,” Haley answered. “His heartbeat made the same rhythm as the one in my bedroom.”
Opening her envelope, Skylar started drooling, the smell of meat overpowering. Haley and Morgan opened their letters at the same time.
Eat the meat and drink its lifeblood, or next time, the poison won’t stop with Momma.
Haley handed over her letter.
Eat the meat and drink its lifeblood or your new little friend will fertilize the trees your books are made from.
Morgan dropped her letter onto her plate and Skylar took it.
Eat the meat and drink its lifeblood or the next engraving you will see of your parents will be on their gravestones.
“Wait.” Skylar placed a hand over each of their meals. “Before we start playing this game, we need a plan.”
“Either my way, or yourses. It ends with me rippings out its heart.”
“Haley, I need you to be strong.” Skylar’s desire for the morsel in front of her was almost uncontainable. “It’s going to be frightening . . .” She stopped talking as Haley and Morgan lapped their tongues at the cups of blood.
“Okay,” Haley answered, no longer in control.
“Hurry, Skye, before I rips your hand apart like the girly.” Morgan licked Skylar’s hand.
“Tonight, we need to hide in the closets we were kidnapped from. We have to be holding the items we had with us.”
“Fine,” Morgan agreed. “Haley will be scaredy caty.”
“No,” Skylar said, thinking of a solution. “She’ll be sleeping.”
Knowing that The Father would make good on his threats if they didn’t obey, Skylar removed her hands from the meat. Though they might not show it, both Morgan and Haley felt strong emotions for the people listed in their letters.
. . . wait. Use them.” Skylar began losing control. “He wants us t-to choose our untamed ways.” Her warning came too late.
Morgan and Haley ripped the meat apart with their teeth and gorged on their delicacies with lustful gluttony. Skylar tried to hold back—she hated giving in—but her animal instinct took over. The scent took her to a place she dreaded ever going again. She became raw and savage, tearing into the chewy meat. Skylar wanted more. She wanted it to never end.
She took hold of the cup filled with chipmunk blood.
At the creek, Skylar plunged her head into the icy cold water, scrubbing the blood off. The cold water cooled her aching jaw. She brushed her with her fingers.
Skylar hated herself.
Turning her head, she allowed water to rush into her mouth. She wanted it to fill her body, to cleanse her of her impurities. Her face was numb, and when she poked her skin it felt like dough.
Sitting on a rock, she considered Trevor’s plea for her to run. But she had nowhere to run to except the wilderness, which was exactly where The Father wanted them.
After the meal, they had discussed their plan. Skylar made Haley understand it was the only way they could all be together and the only way Morgan would be able to join them. Skylar and Haley would have their cell phones with them, and Skylar was going to secretly carry a weapon. Morgan said she had weapons hidden throughout the forest, but they had no idea where The Father would be taking them.
Morgan’s plan was to simply go to Skylar’s old house, enter, and attack—a plausible plan, but if it didn’t work, their family and friends would pay the price. Being kidnapped by their original abductor was risky and they might never come back. There was no other solution. The three of them could overpower him and turn him over to the authorities, and this nightmare would finally end.
Already late in the afternoon, Skylar headed back to the cabin. She’d found a way for Haley to be abducted without being scared and could only hope Morgan would allow herself to be taken without a fight.
“Girls,” Skylar said standing at the path’s end. “It’s time.”
While making the vehicle switch back at home, she told her parents she would home late from Haley’s. None of them had said much up until then. She’d tried to convince Morgan to wash the blood from her lips, but Morgan had refused, instead, spreading it across her cheeks like a warrior.
With Morgan in the backseat, Skylar scanned the roads for any sign of Debra and Jake, but never saw them.
“One last hunt togethers as a pack,” Morgan said.
“What do you mean, Morgan? We’re still going to be a pack.”
Skylar looked in the rearview mirror, and Morgan gave her a look of understanding.
“Yes, Haley,” Morgan stroked Haley’s head. “Not in the mountains, I meant to talk.”
Haley giggled. “ Meant to say, not talk.”
“Morgan, have you given any thought to where he might take us?”
“Guess we’ll see and rips it apart!”
“I’m scared,” Haley said, as Morgan crossed her arms. “Hey, that was helping.”
“It was enoughs. Are we there later?”
Skylar nodded. “Yes.” Turning a corner, she pulled the car up to Morgan’s old home.
Before the car came to a stop, Morgan opened the back door and jumped out, landing stealthily on her feet.
“This will only take a moment, Haley.” Skylar pushed a button and the trunk popped open.
“Morgan, you’re crazy. You know that, right?”
“Rawr! Give me my thing that noises like a snake.”
Depositing most of the flowers onto the ground, Skylar located the rattles, handing one to Morgan. “A rattlesnake. Kind of fitting for you, I think.”
“Why’s that, my Skylar?”
“Protective, unpredictable, uncontrollable—it’s what made you our pack leader.”
Morgan looked in the trunk, taking Skylar’s pony. She faced it and her rattle together and then placed her rattle below the pony. She then moved Skylar’s pony back and forth across her rattle.
“And this is much like you, my young colt.” She handed back the pony.
“Why’s that, my Morgan?” Skylar asked, interested in her analogy.
“Colts don’t like snakes. They are threats. They try to stomp them and be the dominant.” Morgan stepped forward, grabbing the back of Skylar’s neck.
“It’s not like that,” she tried to explain.
Morgan rested her forehead against her, and their noses touched.
“If we were still in the wilds who would be the one?” Morgan paused and spoke, for once, in a near-complete sentence. “Would the colt have stomped the snake, or would the snake have bittens the colt?”
&nb
sp; Morgan blew softly onto Skylar’s lips. She blew back. The softness became more intense. Another memory opened in Skylar’s mind.
She and Morgan were doing the same ritual. Skylar was trying to win but ran out of breath. Morgan continued blowing hard into her face and Skylar fell to her knees in obedience.
Skylar no longer felt Morgan’s breath on her face. Skylar was the only one and she was blowing hard into Morgan’s face. She quit blowing and Morgan backed away.
“We gots this.” Morgan ran and entered the dingy old dwelling.
Closing the trunk, Skylar took the stuffed colt and sat in the car.
“Is something wrong?” Haley asked.
“No,” she said shifting into gear and speeding toward Haley’s home.
Even though Morgan hadn’t fallen to her knees in total submission, she passed what Skylar believed to be of equal leadership to her. Morgan could never fully relinquish leadership, thus being split apart was the only way they could ever coexist.
Watching Haley read, Skylar noticed a bookmark she’d seen before. She smiled at the words written in blue, swirly, capital letters. It was easy to know Haley wasn’t the one who wrote it.
Abbey & Haley: Besties Forever
Eventually, Haley would get over the loss of Morgan and move on with her life. No matter what, it was worth every moment trying to reform their pack.
And Skylar, after they triumphed over their abductor, was ready to be rehabilitated one
final time.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Are you sure this is going to work? I don’t even feel tired.” Haley yawned. “Yet.”
“There’s your answer.” Skylar looked at her watch—it was already eleven.
The eighteenth was only an hour away. Her only question was what part of the day The Father had kidnapped them. Had it been it in the morning, or late in the evening? Skylar opened the closet door to place Haley inside.
“No! I can’t! I won’t.” Haley huddled in the corner, kneading the blue blanket with her fingers. She looked horror-stricken.
“Mom!” Haley screamed.
Skylar enveloped Haley in a tight hug. Haley tried to yell, but her words were muffled.
“Shh, quiet now. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” Skylar couldn’t help thinking of her own broken promises.
Haley tried to push away, but she finally calmed, when Skylar stroked her hair as she listened for footsteps from Haley’s parents. Haley sobbed and shook as Skylar rocked her until she fell asleep.
The sleeping pill she’d slipped into Haley’s tea finally kicked in.
Carrying Haley into the closet, Skylar laid her on the floor and placed a pillow under her head. For a moment, Skylar questioned if she had made the right decision. Closing the door, she turned off the bedroom light and snuck out of the house, hoping this wasn’t the end. Skylar drove home to prepare for her own abduction—and tweak the plan in their favor.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The house was eerily quiet. Trevor was still asleep in the basement but had clearly been awake at some point—the crackers were gone and the electric blanket had been tossed aside. Waking him would be a mistake. He would only argue and mess up the plan. Instead, she wrote a short note and left it on the floor next to him.
Dear Trevor,
We aren’t running. We’re fighting. The Father is kidnapping us from our closets like he did when we were four. We don’t know if we’ll be able to escape or defeat him, but we have a plan. We need your help just in case. When you read this come find us. You know where he’ll be holding us and trying to strip us of our humanity.
I think I’m falling for you
~Skye
She closed the door but left it unlocked. Carrying her stuffed animal and nightlight, Skylar stopped at her parent’s bedroom door. Pressing an ear to it, she listened. She heard her mom’s deep breathing and her dad’s light snoring.
Closing her bedroom door, Skylar sat on the edge of the bed. The digital clock turned to twelve o’clock. It was now the eighteenth of September.
Mustering her courage, she plugged the night-light into the back of the closet and shut the bedroom light off, checking that the knife taped to the inside of her pants was secure and her phone on silent and slid it into her boot. It was a tight fit and a bit uncomfortable, but it worked.
Closing the closet door, she sat on the floor holding the stuffed colt and waited for her abduction.
Time passed, and legs began to lose circulation. She kept moving around, lying on her side, stomach, and back. Three o’clock came, and then it was four. Where was he? Had she picked the wrong time?
A buzz in her shoe tickled her foot. She removed the boot and retrieved the phone. It was a text from Haley’s number—but Haley hadn’t written it.
Look out your window, my child.
Shaking, Skylar crept from the closet, surveying the room and gazed at the words written in red on her old bedroom window, but she couldn’t read them. With the camera, she zoomed in. Skylar had failed with epic proportions. Everyone she loved was now in danger.
BROKEN PROMISES, SKYE! YOU ARE IN THE WRONG CLOSET!
How could she have been so stupid! Of course, he hadn’t taken her from this room. She’d assumed he wanted her in this one because it was where he’d left his twisted gifts. The bastard had wanted this to happen. He wanted Haley and Morgan to think that she’d betrayed them again and had broken her promise.
Skylar paced, unsure what to do, when the phone buzzed again.
Come to the cabin. Here, you will be judged, my wild one. Hurry!
Skylar’s plan was now drastically changed. She needed Trevor’s help—she rushed to the basement.
But Trevor was no longer there, and the note she’d left was gone.
Sneaking out of the house, she raced to her car, shifted into neutral and rolled the car quietly down the driveway.
She drove slowly, passing a couple of houses before gunning it, heading for her truck, realizing too late that her boot was still back in the closet.
Switching to the truck, she texted Trevor, asking where he was and explaining what had happened. Heading into the wilderness, she waited for a response as the bars dropped one by one until the phone lost coverage. Unsure where Trevor was headed, she was going to the cabin totally blind.
The night sky was partially blocked by scattered clouds. Walking along the trail, wet brush and pine needles soaked her clothes, chilling her skin. Crossing the creek, she slipped into the water, and her bootless foot hit a rock. It stung as if she’d stepped into a wasp nest.
The cabin came into view and Skylar remained at the edge of the path. The door was closed. There were no sounds, not even from the surrounding wildlife.
Light suddenly shone through Morgan’s escape route, and a deep, menacing howl came from within. According to Haley and Morgan, this Father had no scent—not that Skyler could smell anyone but Trevor. But The Father could obviously smell her because he knew she was there.
Skylar was on her own.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Creaking the cabin door open, Skylar prepared to be assaulted, one hand hovering over the knife. She would defend her friends at any price.
Dancing candlelight illuminated a figure adorned with the head of a Grizzly bear, the body of the bear draped like a trench coat, paws worn as gloves. Skylar shivered as a cold wave swept over her.
She couldn’t see if Morgan or Haley were inside—she hoped they were safe.
“You disappoint me, Skylar Colt.” His voice was deep and gravely.
“You tricked me.”
“Skylar Colt, you tricked yourself. I expected better of you, my child.”
“Where are they? If you hurt them . . .” She kept her weapon at the ready.
“Now, why would I do such a thing? I only want my children returned to me.”
“We are not your children, you sick freak! Now, where are my friends?” Even though she was terrified, Skylar wanted
to appear strong.
“You will be my wild one again, very soon. They’re safe, I promise you that.”
“Who are you? Why are doing this? Why did you turn us into animals?”
He stepped forward. “I am The Father—your Father. The three of you were my masterpieces, but I became complacent. You ruined everything for me, for all of us. But, you will set things right again.”
Skylar backed away from the advancing Father. “I will never live like that again and neither will they. We’re done here.”
He wagged his finger and shook his head. “It’s judgment time, Skylar Colt.”
Walking to the makeshift bathroom. He yanked it open, took hold of something, and dragged it out. The Father hauled the body through the door, dropping it roughly beside the candle.
Trevor.
Bound and gagged, Trevor groaned, his eyes wide. A long white wick had been tied to his black hair, the other end attached to a needle. The Father inserted the needle into the candle, picked up a hammer, and nailed Trevor’s pants to the wooden floor. He looped a rope around Trevor’s neck, pulled his head down, and tied the two ends around his legs.
“Let him go, please!” Skylar begged, stepping forward. “Trevor has nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, but he has everything to do with this, my wild one.”
“Quit calling me that!”
“Trevor is my failure. He should have been part of your pack, but he was difficult. I kept him, hoping one day he would follow my path.”
“He chose me over you,” Skylar said, knowing the truth. “He chose to save us from that feral, putrid way of life you think is normal.”
“He was punished, severely. I thought I had tamed him, but I was wrong.”
“Look, just let us all go, and we’ll never say a thing. Please. I can’t lose my family again, and neither can Haley. And Morgan—”
“Ah, Morgan, my feisty, ornery little one. “Make your choice, Skylar Colt. Who’s most important to you? Who’s judgment can you live with for the rest of your life?
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Please, just let us go.”
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