Hunting You, Hunting Me (Watty Awards 2012)

Chapter 16

Not edited.

All rights reserved, © 2012

RECAP:

I reach down to remove the phone from his pocket and notice that he is still breathing. The phone is heavy and weird looking. Globalstar…I’ve not heard of that brand before. I refrain from making any sound and even hold my breath as I press the answer key and put the phone to my ear.

“Did you find her?” asks a voice from the other end. My eyes grow wide as recognition dawns over me. This is a voice I would recognize anywhere.

My bony fingers fumble with the keys as I disconnect the call. An ice cold wave of shock seeps into every cell of my body freezing everything that it touches. My brain seems to stop as her words repeat in my head, cutting into my skin, immersing itself like a knife into my soul.

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Chapter 16

I stare at the phone in my trembling hands and almost drop it when it rings again. Loud thunder follows the bolt of lightning, but I can barely hear it over my thumping heart. I try my best to ignore the phone even though a part of me wants to answer it and confront her. That would be reckless on my part. I sit next to my rifle rocking back and forth in the rain. I concentrate on my breath, focusing on the sensation of air flowing in and out of my nostrils until the phone ceases to ring. Before she can call back, I punch in the number to my parent’s house.

‘Connecting to satellite…’ flashes on the screen for a few seconds before the screen lights up and displays ‘connected.’ No wonder it works...it's a satellite phone. Pressing the phone to my ear so hard that it hurts, I wait impatiently to hear the voices of my parents.

Ring… I hold my breath as butterflies flutter in my stomach. And I don’t mean in the ‘girl meets cute boy’ kind of way.

Ring… I bite my lower lip in anticipation.

Ring… I shift my weight back and forth on my feet, getting restless. Why is there no answer? Where is everybody?

Ring…My heart beats so fast that I can feel it pulse against my neck and bang against my ears.  

Ring...Where are you mom and dad? A sour taste fills my mouth.

By the sixth ring, warm tears are streaming down my face, mixing with the cool raindrops that fall in earnest from the sky. A deep, guttural sob escapes from my lips. “Puh…puh..lease pick up! Pick uuuup!” I cry, panicking. I let it ring a few more times before I hang up.  An unrelenting wave of dread sweeps over me as I repeat the entire process several times, with the same result- no answer.  Would it kill them to get an answering machine? Or a cell phone? I have never understood why they are so against technology. They don’t even have email. Where are they? Are they looking for me?

I weigh my options. I could try 911 but am almost certain that I will be connected to the police operator in the Blond guy’s town. And if the mayor’s son is a part of this twisted game, I am unsure about who else may be involved. And just like that, my hopes are dashed. Nothing makes sense anymore and I am confused, conflicted and hurt. And the only thing that repeats in my mind is: Trust no one.

Massive amounts of despair rampage through my emotions, which is daunting seeing that I’m already in a fragile state of mind. It is as if a storm of my own is raging within me, while nature rages one of it’s own outside. I cry, I curse, I shout and I even kick the blond guy several times, injuring my toes in the process.