Oh. My. God.
Thomas moves away and I quickly undo my jeans to take care of business. I can see Thomas haul Ethan off the ground and lead him in the opposite direction. I want to believe he won’t hurt us, but everything Thomas has ever told me has been a lie. Why should I trust what he says now? I race back to the van, trip on a tree root, and go flying, landing head first in the dirt. My face will not survive this.
“Are you okay?” Vader calls out to me. It’s the first time I’ve heard his voice and it’s not what I expect. Deep, but not too deep—and somewhat familiar.
Yes, asshole, I’m just great. I brace my hands on the ground, ready to heave myself up, when my palm scrapes over something hard. I pull it back and a small trickle of blood runs down the inside of my hand. On the ground is a thick wedge of green glass with a little piece of label on it. Maybe it’s a broken beer bottle. The edges are pretty dull, but it’s better than nothing. I quickly scan the ground around me to see if there is anything else I can maybe use as a weapon.
“Do you need help getting up?” Vader asks as he moves toward me. His tone is nice, not like the mechanical sounds that come from Thomas. Then he seems to check himself before continuing in a harsh voice, “Get up and get back to the van.”
“I’m trying.”
There’s nothing else, so I grab the green piece of glass and shove it in my pocket as I rise from the ground. I try not to cry out as it digs into the tender part of my hip.
Ethan and Thomas are back by the time I make it to the van.
I step toward Ethan. I’m scared and all I can think of is being near him, but Vader stops me by grabbing my arm.
“Let her go!” Ethan yells, trying to shake free from Thomas’s grasp.
Thomas hits him on the back of his head and Ethan falls to his knees. “Remove the agent.”
Again, Vader hesitates a moment before finally doing what he’s told. Agent Parker kicks his hands away, knocking him back. He climbs in and struggles to get her to the edge, but she fights him. Thomas, who looks frustrated, knocks Vader out of the way, then pulls her out himself. Agent Parker, either from fear or pain, screams the entire way out.
She’s like a wild animal, fighting with him, even with her hands tied.
Thomas knocks her to the ground and she crumples in a heap. I try to crawl to her but Vader steps in front of me, blocking my way.
Thomas heaves her over his shoulder, calling back to Vader, “Get them back in the van.” Then walks toward the wooded area.
“Put your hands back behind your back,” says Vader.
“No!” I hold my hands out in front. “Please don’t tie us back up that way. My arms hurt so bad.”
He’s silent a few seconds then pushes Ethan back into the van, climbing in behind him. He binds his hands together in front of him, then secures his wrists to a strap anchored high on the inside wall of the vehicle.
I’m not sure this will be better.
I crawl in and go to Teeny. I run my hands through her hair and down the side of her cheek. She looks so peaceful, sleeping curled up in a little ball. At least her hands are tied in front of her.
I nudge her softly. “Teeny.” Nothing. Then I shake her a little more. “Teeny. Wake up.”
She mumbles and rolls around a little but doesn’t open her eyes.
“What if she doesn’t wake up? How much tranquilizer did you use on her? She’s just a little girl!”
Vader grabs my hands together, securing them the same way he did Ethan’s, and doesn’t answer any of my questions.
Just as Vader turns to crawl out, Thomas appears outside the back of the van, the long blade in his hand. He runs it across the leg of his pants, leaving behind a dark red trail of blood. My thoughts fly back to the man in Arizona who got his neck slit open from one side to the other, and I wonder if this is the same knife.
“Where is Agent Parker?” Ethan says, just as I yell: “What’d you do to Agent Parker?”
He ignores us, instead speaking to Vader, “Notify Hammond it’s done. We’re far enough away that no one should stumble on that island.”
Hammond. One of the agents Agent Williams mentioned.
Vader nods then slams the back doors.
Tears racing down my face, I crumble to the floor as much as my pinned arms will allow. Ethan’s body does the same. Agent Parker is gone, along with any hope that we will get out of this alive.
