He pulls something out of his pocket, and it takes me half a second too long to realize it’s a taser. I try to step back from him, but he’s too quick, and the scream that works up my throat is cut off as searing hot pain hits me in the chest like a baseball bat. Every one of my musclesconvulses like I’m having a full-body cramp, and my teeth clack together as my jaw tenses shut.
The agony goes on for what feels like an eternity, but what’s likely only seconds. I feel myself fall, and there’s a sharp pain at the back of my head before everything goes dark.
Chapter 44
Gray
I wake up in the pitch black with a hum in my ear as my body vibrates. My head pounds, and I try to reach back to feel for a lump where the pain is more concentrated, but two things become immediately clear.
The first is that my whole body is in pain from being tased. I’m shaky, and every muscle is sore. My jaw hurts from clenching it shut, and I wonder if I wet myself, but I can’t tell.
The second thing I realize is that I’m in a small, enclosed space. The humming and vibrating suddenly makes sense as it hits me I’m in the trunk of a car.
Instant panic grabs me. The first time I had an MRI, I started hyperventilating and the technician had to pull me out, then send me back in with my eyes closed so I didn’t see the walls close in around me. Knowing that I’m shoved in the trunk of the car of a psycho who broke into my house and left flowers on my bed kicks that claustrophobia into high gear.
I can’t breathe, and I take in big gasps. The air tastes stale and devoid of oxygen, and I let out a whimper as I push my limbs out to test the limits of my space. I don’t have much room at all. Or at least, that’s how it feels.
It’s also cold. I left my jacket in my car in the parking garage, and while we’ve hit a relatively mild spell as far as New England winters go, the cold is settling in my body. If we have far to go, I’ll freeze to death in this trunk.
I try to force myself to calm down. Having an anxiety attack isn’t going to help. I inhale deeply, and the faint smell of Ash wraps me in its embrace. I was pressed up against him at the arena, and I’ve never beenmore grateful to be anointed in sweat. It makes my shirt smell like him, and I feel my heartrate come down as the reminder of him calms me.
Alright, Gray. Get it together and think.
I feel around for my phone, but it’s not in my pockets. I can’t call for help, but at least my hands and feet aren’t bound. Maybe if I focus on the positives, I won’t have a complete mental breakdown.
Ha! Look at me staying positive. If Celena could only see me now, she’d be so proud.
Then I remember that all cars made after a certain year have a release inside the trunk that will open it. I don’t recall what kind of car Barry drives, but I’m banking it was new enough to have a trunk release.
I feel around but realize I’m facing toward the back and need to roll over. I’m not sure I have enough room to maneuver, so I swing my legs up and around carefully. The trunk is roomier than I expect, and soon I’m facing the right way.
I slide my hand forward, and it lands on something thin and metal. I pick it up and feel along the object. It’s maybe an inch wide and a couple feet long with a plastic handle on one end.
My brain struggles to translate what I feel into an image, but it comes to me a few seconds later. It’s a Slim Jim for unlocking cars. I’m at a loss for why Barry might need it until the answer hits me upside the head. My house has older windows, and the thin metal tool can be used to slip between the two parts of the window to pull the latch open from the inside. I even had to do it once a few years ago when I accidentally locked myself out. That’s how the son of a bitch got into my house.
I start feeling around to find the trunk release, but I have no idea what I’m looking for. I’ve seen pictures of a plastic pull, but based on the car, I could be looking for a latch, switch, or button of some kind. I continue to fumble around in the dark when I finally feel something right in front of me in the center of the trunk. If I squint, it looks like it might be glowing a faint florescent green, and I remember that these release latches are supposed to glow in the dark so they’re easier to find.
Thecar comes to a stop just as I put my fingers on the latch. It feels like a piece of plastic I need to pull to the side. The car shuts off, and the blood ramps up in my veins as fear grips me. Do I pull the latch now and run for it, or do I wait for Barry to open the trunk and try to fight him?
Instinct makes me pull the latch, and the trunk pops open. I squint now that there’s more light, but it’s night, so there’s not much. I fight the soreness and jitteriness in my limbs and launch myself out into the cold air. I stumble but manage to stay on my feet as I start to run.
“Hey!” I hear Barry yell behind me, but I don’t bother to look back. He didn’t seem like he was in great shape. Let’s see if he can catch me.
The ground near my feet explodes as a gunshot goes off, and I freeze.
“Move another inch, and the next one is in your back,” Barry says.
I don’t move. My entire body is shaking now, and I’m not sure how I’m managing to breathe. I’ve never been this scared in my life, but I have to calm down and get control of myself, or I’m a dead woman.
“Turn around and come back,” Barry says.
I raise my hands and do as he says. I see we’re pulled off on the side of the road with woods on both sides. Other than the occasional streetlight further down the road, there’s nothing.
Barry motions into the woods with the gun, some kind of revolver. “Start walking.”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Somewhere it will take them a while to find you,” he says.
