Caspian! They blinked out and I swallowed, scanning the woods for any further sign of him. Another part of me hoped I didn’t see him again, that he was running through the woods to find the ranger station. To find phone service. To get any help he could get.
“Let’s go,” the leader grunted out and I realized Brandon and Grady were here too, being shoved around the same as me. Their arms were bound and Brandon had a blank look that reminded me too much of Matthias’ lifeless face.
“Loren,” one of the men called to the big guy before passing him a glass jug. The big man, their leader Loren, reached out and took it from him. I could smell the scent of alcohol from here. He took a thick swig then eyed me with a smile.
“Open up, precious,” he said with a smirk. He snatched my jaw hard, forcing my mouth open so he could shove the jug in and turn it upside down. Liquid fire ran down my throat and still felt hot and burning by the time it made its way to my belly.
He tugged the jug back and I spewed out what was left in my mouth before hacking. He took another swig then gave a bemused laugh. He was celebrating, in high spirits, stomping past the men he’d murdered without giving them a second thought. My throat felt ragged from screaming and from the burning sensation of something closer to gasoline than liquor.
“Let’s get out of here before that other guy shows up. The long-haired one,” Loren said, eyes swiveling around to the woods.
20
We were slicing through the forest on the very same trail from yesterday. I realized these men probably killed the cameraman. That they might have been waiting around for the rest of us. I realized Mothman might have saved me last night.
At this point, I had to hope Caspian had managed to get the rangers and that they were about to fumble through the woods, foiling whatever plan these people had.
Saved by monsters. I never expected my life to lead here. I couldn’t wait to tell my family. I could already imagine the smug look on my mom’s face. Although I hoped she’d look surprised at least, to find out monsters were in the world. I let those thoughts keep me hopeful as if it was so simple. Deal with this and later go home to my family. Tell my mom she was right, there was no running. I didn’t care about being wrong right now. I just wanted to be okay.
Loren had tied a long rope to my wrists and held it like a leash. He walked behind me with a swagger and sharp eyes scanning the woods. There was something keener about him than the others. He was smart. Smart, big, strong, and didn’t blink at murder. A man that seemed motivated by greed and pride if I had to guess. So motivated, in fact, that he had peeled the morals from his body like dead, sunburnt skin.
I decided to test out the restraints again. I faked left but then jerked right, flinging myself forward with force. The rope tightened but held, Loren gripping it into a fist as he spat out his chew and tugged me backwards. My feet slipped from under me and my body slammed to the ground.
“Get up,” he said with a sneer. I did, scrambling with my hands tied because the alternative was someone touching me to help me up and I didn’t want one sweaty hand on me.
I rolled onto my knees and pressed up. My breasts were practically spilling out of my gaping tanktop and I looked up to see one of the men eyeing my chest. His eyes snaked up to mine and his lips broke open, his teeth winking at me menacingly.
I got up and we kept walking. The sound of water grew louder. Through the trees on our left, I could see the New River. My eyes trailed down the stream but I couldn’t see anything ahead. Even with the moon out, the mountains hugged the river, casting darkness everywhere.
A loud crack sounded on the opposite side of us, like something hard smacking a tree. The group jerked to a halt, eyes narrowing.
All of a sudden the sound of footsteps, fast and hard on the dirt came from behind us—from the water’s edge. There was a blur of motion as things started happening. Caspian was jumping through the air, fist pulled back. He crashed into a stout guy, his fist slamming into the man’s eye socket. The guy was pushed to the ground with the force of Caspian crashing into him and the punch laid him out cold. His eyes rolled back in his head as his body went slack.
Caspian crouched, kicking out at another guy. His shoes hit the man’s knee. I heard a crack, then a wail of pain. Brandon and Grady were quickly thrown to the ground, shoes pressing into their backs to keep them from joining in their friend’s fight.
Finally, I snapped out of my surprise and turned around, facing Loren, pulling my head back and aiming to crash our skulls together. His eyes swiveled to me and his lip curled up in distaste. He jerked out of my way and my momentum took me forward. He stepped to the side and gave me a shove, sending me sprawling into the dirt.
“Get him!” Loren barked out. Dirt was in my eyes and I couldn’t see what was going on with Caspian but I heard a struggle. I writhed around, trying to get up as fast as I could because I needed to help Caspian.
My vision started to clear and I saw a man had Caspian by the water’s edge. Caspian’s face looked mottled as if he’d taken a few punches to the face. He was on his back, the man over top of him, holding him down. Caspian spat blood in the man’s face, a gleam of pure rage in his eyes.
“You motherfucker,” the man hissed, then he shoved Caspian by the shoulders, submerging his head in the river.
“No!” I cried, finally up and moving towards them. Thick arms came around my middle and then I was flung to the ground again. The air puffed out from my mouth and Loren pressed his boot on my upper back. Half my face smashed in the dirt and I could barely see what was happening. I could see Caspian’s legs kicking, his hips bucking. I could see the man’s hand in the water, holding Caspian’s head down.
The sounds were the worst. The bubbles from under the water of him struggling to breathe. I was screaming, dirt mixing with tears as I felt desperate to stop this. This couldn’t happen. It couldn’t.
The bubbles ended and his feet stopped kicking. I saw Caspian’s arms go from hitting and clawing at the man to flopping on the river’s tiny shore.
A ragged sound clawed up my throat, scratching it. Squirming hopelessness, a cleaving of emotions that was already threatening to rip me in half. This couldn’t happen. I’d thought… I wasn’t sure what I thought but I’d thought Caspian could survivethat.
I hadn’t told him I loved him. That’s what he had wanted to hear before, wasn’t it? I was just too surprised at the moment to say it back but it was the truth.
The man kept holding him under, making sure the job was done. He didn’t see what I saw. Caspian’s fingers were curling into the dirt in anger. It left deep gashes because there were claws on the ends of each appendage. I pulled in a breath, hope returning to me.
The man gave a bark of shock as the arms snapped back up from the ground, grabbing on to his shoulders. Caspian's feet shoved at the shore, sending them deeper into the river. The man struggled, trying to throw punches in the water.
They kept moving deeper in, Caspian’s body disappearing entirely. The rest of the group were shouting in confusion, yelling for their guy to keep holding Caspian under. The man suddenly cried out in pain, his eyes flashing with panic.
