Torn

17.

     Slowly, I removed my hands from my face.  Surely I had misunderstood him.  He couldn't have said what I just thought he did.  I cautiously looked up at him.  He appeared completely calm, cool and collected.  Not exactly the look of a homicidal maniac.  Was it?  But then again, how could I be sure what an insane person really looked like anyway?  But, even as the thought entered my mind, I knew that it wasn't completely true.  I had indeed spent two years staring into the eyes of a cold blooded killer.  I just hadn't know it.  Part of me now wondered if Darry had always harbored dark and sinister tendencies, or if I was to blame?  Was this all really my fault?

     As scared as I was, I tried not to show it.  I knew that if I was going to get out of this alive, I was going to have to keep my wits about me.  I took a tentative step backwards, calmly, as if nothing he just said had gotten to me.

     "We have to get out of here."  I said, my mind racing.  I had to make Darry believe that I was on his side.  Lead him to believe that I thought that this had just been some horrible mistake.  I wanted him to think that I changed my mind, saw the error of my ways.

     Darry took a bold step towards me.  I had to force my body not to move.  I held fast, and never flinched a muscle.

     "What do you mean, we?" His eyes held a questioning and suspicious look.  

     "I mean that the police will be coming soon.  Someone will have either seen the accident or heard it.  We aren't exactly in the middle of nowhere.  If you want to avoid a lifetime jail sentence, then I suggest that we haul our asses out of here right now."

     Darry took another step towards me.  He was so close that I could feel his breath on my skin.  I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat, and suppressed the urge that I felt to shudder.  Just looking at him made my skin crawl.  

     Darry scoffed at me.  "What exactly are you playing at here Mila?  There is no way in hell that you would want to help me.  I just killed one of your best friends!"  He said the last part with a smile.  "Nice try though, "A" for effort."

     My blood began to boil.  I knew that he was testing me, but it was becoming increasingly hard to stay focused.  All I wanted to do was reach out and smack that self satisfied smirk right off his face.  Darry's arm reached out and struck like a snake, grabbing me roughly by the arm.

     "I am not stupid you know.  I know exactly what you are trying to pull.  I suggest that you keep your pretty little mouth shut, if you know what's good for you."  He leaned in close and whispered in my ear.  "I wouldn't want there to be another "accident", would you?"

     I sighed and hung my head.  I should have known that my plan wouldn't work.  You can't spend so long hating someone and then turn on a dime.  I should have just ran while I had the chance.  Darry wasn't stupid.  Now I was forced to go along with Darry and hope to god that another opportunity to escape presented itself.