by S. K Munt
Turn into an enigma! Was the first thought that popped into her head. Now! If you don’t, you’re DEAD!
‘Calm down!’ someone hissed in her ear, and though Finn could already sense that they were much stronger than her, she writhed as violently as a fish that had been pulled into a boat but had yet to be gaffed, before forcing her mouth open so she could bite one of the fingers pressing against her lips. She immediately gagged, tasting sweat, dirt and tobacco, but her attacker had lost some of his grip on her face, so when she opened her mouth to scream, she copped a lungful of the scent of pot, smoke and campfire so potent that it almost made her gag again. ‘It’s just-’
‘Get off me Ag!’ Finn grunted, but her words were muffled again as her attacker slid his hand back over her mouth.
‘It’s Liam!’ the boy hissed. ‘And would you stop fighting me already? Every move you make is making your skirt jingle, jingles!’ Finn’s eyes widened, not just in recognition, but because she was astonished that anyone related to Amory Laidlaw would allow themselves to be that on the nose. She did relax a little though, because it was better to be accosted by a Laidlaw, than an Outlaw! ‘Thank you,’ Liam said, taking his hand off her mouth and giving her the chance to draw in a breath. He kept his arm wrapped around her waist though and then leaned back, so that he was resting against the tree, keeping them both tucked out of sight. ‘Thought you were gonna get us both-
‘Where’s my friend Jade?’ Finn hissed. ‘I heard screaming-’
‘The surfer chick? Yeah she ran straight into a spider’s web and freaked out,’ Liam whispered, then chuckled. ‘If it’s any consolation though, I’m pretty sure she made record time downhill after that!’
Finn sighed in exasperation. ‘What about Georgia?’
‘She went towards the city-’
‘You let her go alone?!’ Finn demanded. ‘She was wasted!’
‘Well she didn’t exactly wait for me either you know. Besides, she’s been bragging for weeks that she knows every trail in these parts, so I’m kind of pissed that she left me alone.’ He chuckled again, like it was some big game while Finn cringed, because even his silent laughter made her bells jingle. ‘I think the danger’s gone anyway. One of the other guys- Aaron is it? Said they were all making a beeline for your place, because they heard horses racing down the road in the opposite direction. I would’ve followed, but I don’t know where you live so… here I am- hiding.’
Finn bit her lip, not knowing what to make of that. The Van Der Merwe’s had horses, but so did the Tutelas. So were the Tutelas chasing Outlaws already? Or had Outlaws stolen horses?
Oh no! Did Outlaws try to steal horses from the Van Der Merwe place and get caught? Is that why they were there? Ugh! No wonder mum says we’re safer in the park than on those big properties!
‘Okay…’ Finn sniffed, then tried to push off Liam, suddenly aware that the hand he was using to hold her to him was spanning across her lower abdomen, just beneath her shirt, which made her skin creep a bit because she hadn’t been able to wear a bra with that top. ‘Okay well I still think it’s safer back up on the tower for-’
‘Naw come on…’ Liam’s hand flexed, fingertips digging into her stomach a little as he fought to hold her in place, pulling her back against him and the tree. ‘Can’t we just chill here for a minute?’
‘Chill?’ Finn scoffed, grabbing his wrist and attempting to pry his hand off of her. ‘Yeah right. It’s pitch black, there are criminals running around, people might be hurt-’
‘But I can make you feel good, little daffodil...’ Liam purred, and the next thing Finn knew, the hand that had been on her stomach had extended to cup her left breast under her shirt, and the hand that had been on her mouth was sliding down her abdomen and into her-
NO! Finn’s teeth gnashed together as every muscle in her body seized up in undiluted terror in response to the feel of this strange boy’s fingers searching around in her underwear. But before she could externalise her reaction, one of those unsolicited fingers twisted and began to try and work itself up inside her, making her feel like someone had skewered the most fragile part of her anatomy with a stick- and a dirty stick at that because she could actually feel grains of sand or maybe even rust from the ladder tearing at her tender flesh! Finn opened her mouth to scream, but he must’ve anticipated that because he released her breast so he could cover her mouth again. She kept screaming and even started thrashing then too, but his large, filthy palm pressed down so hard against her face that he smushed her nose flat again, suffocating her.
‘Just relax, jingles!’ Liam’s voice was slick and controlled, contrasting with the way he was jabbing at her- hard enough to make her eyes water. ‘You’ll hurt yourself if you don’t!’
She’d hurt herself? Finn was floored by his asinine explanation Didn’t he realise that his fingers felt like sandpaper? Or that her muscles were rigid with revulsion?
‘Stop!’ she screamed into his palm, panicking when she began to see spots before her eyes. She tried to tear his hand off her face with both of hers, but she was too weak to budge them, especially while his frenzied molestation was making her body jerk in agony. ‘You’re foul! It hurts! I HATE YOU! I can’t BREATHE!’ But not a syllable of it made it past his palm.
‘Geez, you’re new to this, huh?’ Liam’s voice rasped then. ‘That’s hot but also… frustrating,’ he grunted, withdrawing his fingers from her underwear, so Finn immediately twisted her shoulders sharply in an attempt to wrench herself backwards and out of his reach. But he still had her mouth, so he heaved her as she twisted, slamming her back into the tree to reverse their positions before he pressed his body against hers again, pinning her there with it. ‘Oh, stop playing hard to get, little one!’ Liam chuckled, swatting away her clawed hands. ‘You’ve got me, okay? You won!’
I WON?! Finn thought, startled. What? A nightmare?! Finn sobbed from pain, fear and frustration, but his manoeuvre had changed his grip on her face so when she did sob, she realised she was finally able to draw in oxygen again because only her mouth was covered now. Liam leaned in then and sucked on her clavicle as he simultaneously raked her skirts up her right leg, but that was okay with her because it was just gonna make it easier for her to knee him where it would hurt most- right in the line of succession! But before she could get her foot off the ground, she heard a sharp cry over her thundering heart that made both of their heads snap to the left.
‘Are you kidding me?’ Georgia demanded shrilly, and Finn’s knees weakened with relief when she felt Liam ripped off of her before he went stumbling backwards down the incline. ‘I’m gone for two minutes and you- argh! PIG!’
Oh god! Thank god! Finn’s face crumpled as she bowed forward, bracing her hands on her knees and sobbed. She knew she wasn’t completely out of danger yet, and that she and Georgia would have to get away from Liam as fast as they could, but Georgia whirled back to her then, and her face contorted in fury as she drew her hand back and cried:
‘SLUT!’ Then struck Finn so hard that for a moment, it looked like the stars had been shaken out of the sky again.
The inertia of the strike, which had been somewhere between a sloppy punch and a very hard slap made Finn’s head spin, and the next thing she knew, all she knew was that she was on the ground and that people were screaming and yelling and scuffling around her.
‘Calm down, you crazy BITCH!’ Finn heard Liam roar over the sound of blood surging through Finn’s ears.
‘What’s going on?’ another familiar but distant voice squeaked.
‘I just caught Finn and Liam going for it in the woods like animals!’ Georgia bellowed. ‘Like I’m worthless to both of them! As worthless as Reeve apparently is to her- just like his cousin was!’
This is a nightmare! Finn thought, reeling her arms and knees in when she felt someone trying to manhandle her up off the ground. It has to be, right?
‘...Always had to have what was mine!’ Georgia’s outrage was so shrill that even the bats were
fleeing. ‘Always had to upstage me-’
‘Yeah right!’ Mischa barked then, and a shudder of relief went through Finn when she realised it was her old friend trying to get her up to her feet, not her enemy. ‘You’re the one that’s always gotta win, Janks! And oh my god… Finn’s back is bleeding!’
This isn’t happening! Finn thought, cupping her hand to her ear, which was still throbbing because it had taken the full force of Georgia’s strike. I didn’t just get attacked and am now being slut shamed for it! I couldn’t have! I’m a virgin! And I’m in love with-
‘Bullshit!’ Georgia laughed harshly. ‘She just made it look like I was the competitive one while she tried to win on the sly! Like when we went for our bra-fitting together four years ago!’
‘What?!’ Mischa squeaked.
Huh?! Finn’s mind popped like an overheated bulb.
‘Are you seriously talking about bra fittings right now?’ Aaron demanded. ‘Georgia we’ve got actual problems-’
‘Everyone knows I have bigger boobs because she’s always been an anorexic little STICK!’ Georgia cried, oblivious to things like relevancy and survival. ‘But then she goes and tells people that she got the same size as ME, which is how I knew she was stuffing-’
‘What are you on about?’ Finn croaked, finally lifting her head. ‘We had the same fitter at the same TIME! And I got a smaller-’
‘Exactly- you got an eight AA and I got a ten AA, which means you were trying to make me think you were skinnier but as busty as-’
‘You’re out of your mind!’ Finn squawked spitting out blood as Mischa hoisted her up. ‘There was literally no smaller size for me to get! And I was embarrassed when I told Paige that, not bragging!’
‘LIAR!’ Georgia roared, and everyone shrank into themselves. ‘You lied about that and you lied about the French test, all in that same week! And THAT’S why I stopped being your friend, FYI!’
‘What French test?’ Finn demanded, incredulous, touching the corner of her lip, which was stinging.
‘The aptitude one we took that first week of grade eight, to gauge what level we were on!’ Georgia exclaimed. ‘You expected us all to believe you got an A double plus on it, but that was bullshit! It had to be! Not only do teachers not give out A plus-pluses, but I’d gotten every answer right too, so why would you get the extra-’
‘Because I corrected a mistake the teacher made on the damned test!’ Finn thundered back, wondering if this was how serial killers felt right before they snapped. She’d always known that Georgia had been the one who’d fabricated rumours about her- but she’d never imagined that Georgia herself had actually believed them, which made it even worse somehow! ‘It was so small I don’t even remember what it was! But I do know that I was the only kid that caught it, and she was so impressed that she even made a note of it on the test in HER handwriting under the grade: Que vous auriez pu lire par vousmême comme l’ont fait la moitié des autres élèves de la classe, si vous n’étiez pas si allergique au succès des autres!’
‘Whoa!’ Liam said, eyebrows lifting.
‘WHAT?’ Georgia’s eyes bugged. ‘What did you just call me?’
‘I said: Which you could have read for yourself like some of the other kids in class did, if you weren't so allergic to other people's success!’ Finn snapped, smirking when she heard Mischa snort-laugh. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure that she’d gotten her phrasing perfect just then, because she hadn’t taken a French class in two years, but she’d been studying it since the fourth grade and had practically been fluent in it by the end of ninth, so she would’ve been close enough to make her point, regardless!
‘Show-off!’ Georgia tried to come after Finn again, but the boys still had her, so all she could do was flail. ‘You are such a-’
‘I still have that test!’ Finn cried, practically shaking with vindication. ‘I kept it, because it’s the only A plus I’ve ever gotten! And I’d take you down to my van now to show you but-’ she slitted her eyes and turned on Liam. ‘I’m going to have to find a Tutela first! To report this son of a bitch for-’
‘Report me for what?’ Liam scoffed, releasing Georgia like he was releasing the Kraken, and Finn swallowed hard in fear when she realised that he seemed more like Amory now: cool, casual and in control. ‘Not finishing you off before we got caught? Nice try Frenchie, but Georgia caught us red-handed so if I’m going down-’
‘Oh!’ Finn sucked in a breath, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘Is that why I’m crying? Bleeding? Because I didn’t get to see your assault through to the end?!’ She turned to Mischa, feeling her lower lip tremble. ‘You have to believe me! I’d never cheat on Reeve! He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!’
Aaron snorted. ‘Like Bailey was the week before or…?’
‘You don’t get an opinion!’ Finn snapped at him, before turning back to Mischa. ‘Liam grabbed me when I came down looking for Jade, okay? And he held me really tight and told me to stand still because my skirt was making too much noise! But then all of a sudden, his hand was in my-’ she sniffled and wiped away more tears, glaring at Georgia, as Mischa eyed Liam with disgust. ‘You didn’t see us kissing, did you Georgia? Because he didn’t even try that! He couldn’t, because he had his other hand over my mouth so no one would hear me screaming-’
‘I don’t know what I saw!’ Georgia snarled. ‘But-’
‘Maybe I just wasn’t into kissing you, hmm?’ Liam drawled. ‘Ever think of that, tulip? That I was just trying to give you what you wanted so you’d stop making eyes at me all the time?’
Finn saw red again, and the next thing she knew, she was the one thrashing while Mischa held her back. ‘I’m gonna KILL you, you deluded, worthless piece of stoner shit!’ Finn seethed. ‘I’ll become an Enmity, so I can tear you apart, starting with your filthy fingers-’
‘Ha!’ George inserted. ‘Like you ever will, LOSER!’
‘You won’t have to!’ Mischa pulled Finn closer. ‘Because once the king finds out what he did, he’ll lose a finger anyway, won’t he?’
Ohmigod! Finn thought, gaping at Liam. She’s right!
‘Like my own brother is gonna believe a word she says!’ Liam retorted, but he didn’t look or sound sure of himself anymore. ‘Georgia reckons she’s a running joke round these parts anyway-’
‘Because she’s spent four years telling people I’m a bra-stuffing anorexic who cheats on aptitude tests, when I’m really just a flat-chested girl who loses her appetite when she’s stressed out!’ Finn cried. ‘But now that she’s finally admitted that she was behind every rumour that stressed me out-’
‘I admitted NOTHING!’ Georgia exploded. ‘You-’
‘Lower your voice, Janks!’ Aaron hissed then. ‘I don’t know what actually happened here, but now’s not the time to-’
‘Lower your own voice Bragg!’ Georgia snapped back. ‘Finn here called you the ugliest and nastiest person in Laidlaw not fifteen minutes ago, so you’re coming to the rescue of a-’
‘Say what?!’ Aaron whirled on Finn. ‘Is that true?’
‘No,’ Finn scowled at Georgia. ‘What I actually said was-’
But another gunshot cracked through the air then, and just like that, the other four screamed or bellowed and then scattered, like billiard balls that had been broken by a white ball, leaving Finn in the darkness alone, with only her pounding head and pounding heart for company.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Finn realised she was in shock after the others had run away, but there’d been something soothing about that shock that had allowed to think clearly, albeit slowly which was why she’d had the presence of mind to go back up to the top of the water tower to fetch Bonnie, whom she’d yet to see on the ground. She’d been right too, so Finn had found Bonnie exactly where she’d left her, only by then, Bonnie had been pacing wildly across the roof and back, with fogged glasses and trembling hands.
Bonnie had freaked out more after seeing the state Finn was in, but although
she’d demanded to know what was wrong, Finn had been unable to answer her beyond assuring her that Aaron and Mischa had been fine when she’d seen them last, because she’d gotten choked up every time she’d tried to explain anyway, and because it had been too risky to talk while they’d been creeping through the shadowy forests and moon-bleached paddocks on the way home after.
Maya, Jade and Gemma had all been waiting for them on Finn’s steps by the time she and Bonnie had made it back, just after midnight, but there’d been no sign of either Mischa or Aaron there either, which indicated to Finn that they’d headed for Laidlaw instead. Bonnie had started fretting about them anyway, but Maya had shifted the focus of everyone present by looking at Finn and saying:
‘I was right, wasn’t I? You just lived one of my nightmares, didn’t you?’ Which of course, had busted Finn’s floodgates open.
Telling the girls what had happened had been almost unbearable, and Maya had even gotten up at one point, asking the girls to back off while she made Finn a chamomile tea in order to soothe her nerves and her throat. But Finn had eventually hacked the entire story out, before curling up on her side and whimpering that she wanted Reeve and her mother, and she wanted them now. There was no way the girls had been able to help with that, of course, because her mother wouldn’t be home until Tuesday, which meant that Finn wouldn’t be able to afford to send a letter to Reeve until then either. And realising that had made Finn sob into her couch cushion, because not being able to share what had happened to her with either of them straight away made her feel sick inside.
Finn had hoped to feel better after confiding in her friends, but they’d reacted oddly, and all in different ways, which had only heightened her anxiety. Jade had winced and started muttering about what pigs boys were, Gemma had been stunned into silence and Bonnie had put her head in her hands before she’d started softly weeping, which had made Finn feel awkward- like she ought to comfort them. But it wasn’t until Maya had jumped to her feet and announced that they needed to get Finn to a Tutela right away, that the girls had made their true, and very grey feelings on the matter, clear.
