Road To Nowhere

Chapter 4

I don't really remember falling asleep. In fact, I don't remember falling asleep in this position, in this room. I blinked my eyes to gain focus and quickly scanned the room. I started to panic. Where was I?

I was laying on top of a twin bed with a colorful quilt underneath me. There was a standing floor lamp in the opposite corner, which was off. The only source of light was a sliver of sun that was pushing itself through the boarded up window to my left. The room was pretty empty except for what looked like a rag doll slumped in one of the corners.  I felt the pocket of my jeans, no phone. What the fuck? I thought. And then little bits and pieces of the previous night came floating back to me. Dalton. Zeek. Meredith. That bitch must've put something in our water to knock us out.

Where the hell was Dalton? Where the hell was anyone?

As if on cue, I heard footsteps in the hall outside my door. I squished myself into the far back corner and huddled into a ball. The door opened. Meredith stood there, smiling at me. I didn't even notice the tray of food she was holding.

"I made you breakfast," she said, as though I'd somehow forgive her for kidnapping me because I now had bacon and eggs in front of me.

"Where's Dalton?" I asked, still curled up.

She looked at me, but didn't answer.

"I said, where's Dalton?" My voice was sterner this time, more forceful.

"Enjoy." She set the tray in front of me, and left.

I felt sick. I was fucking starving but there was no way I was going to eat whatever poison she had in front of me. I pushed the tray away, the orange juice sloshing over the sides of the mug. I looked for a way out. There was a closet behind the bed. I opened the door. Cardboard boxes were stacked high. I looked on the ceiling. No trap doors or attic doors. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I heard more footsteps in the hallway; heavier, manlier footsteps. I wanted to call out Dalton's name but I was too scared. Something tickled my arm. It was a spider. I screamed and swatted at it.

The door swung open again, casting a bright light onto my face.

"Rory!" It was Dalton. He ran over to me. "Come on, we have to go now!"

I didn't even have time to react. He was already pulling me off the floor, the rat escaping with us.

"Where are we going?" I asked, scared.

"Anywhere but here," he replied, tugging violently on my wrist.

I grabbed his arm so that he would loosen his grip. "But where's Meredith?"

He dragged me down the stairs and out the front door,  not answering my question.  "Come on, hurry!"

Back into the woods we went. The woods we had huddled in the previous night. We slumped behind a big oak tree, trying to catch our breath.

"What's going on?" I managed to ask.

He rubbed his hand over his face, crusted with blood. "I saw Zeek."

My eyes widened. "What? Where?" I began to panic.

"He was in the kitchen...with Meredith."

I couldn't move. My throat was so dry and I really needed some water. "You don't think they're..?"

"Yes. I do."

Meredith was Zeek's lover. It all made sense now. Why she asked our names the night before and then ushered us into her car. God, we were so stupid.

"Do you still have your phone?" Dalton asked.

"No."

"I don't have mine either. They must've taken them." Dalton's breathing was calming back down.

"I'm so scared, Dalton. What do we do?" I didn't want to cry, but at the same time, I couldn't quite help it.  A single tear slithered down my cheek.

He put his arm around me which helped settle my fear a little, until I got a whiff of his sweaty armpit. "We're gonna have to try and find our way out of here."

I rested my head back against the tree.  My mind still racing.  "Why didn't Zeek come attack us last night when we were in the house?" I asked. I began nervously picking at a scab on my arm.

"I wish I had an answer."

I swallowed. "Maybe he didn't know that we were in the house?  What if Meredith was trying to help us? Take care of us and keep us hidden from him? I mean, she made me breakfast and..."

"You're not falling for this shit, are you? It's all part of their act, Rory." He squeezed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, like one would do when trying to rid themselves of a headache.

I grabbed his arm and he looked at me. "No really.  Think about it. If she wanted to kill us she would've.  I think we made a mistake by leaving."

"If you want to go back there, be my fucking guest. I am surely getting the hell out of here."

And that's when we heard it. A loud shot gun blast. Coming right from Meredith and Zeek's home.

"Fuck, run!" screamed Dalton.  We scrambled to our feet and took off farther into the woods.

The next few minutes were all a blur. I remember both of us, running as fast as we could, weaving in and out of trees. Sticks and branches pricking and stabbing our ankles. A big one got me right in the shin and I cursed.

"Dalton wait up!" I wailed.

He slowed down his pace.  "Hurry, Rory! He's coming!"

I heard the engine of a car behind us and ducked behind another tree, scaring a squirrel who was just minding his own business. He scampered up the tree and I wanted so badly to say, 'Take me with you!'

Zeek's truck stormed through the desolate roads that surrounded us.

"I know you're out there!" I heard him scream. I could just make him out through all the tree trunks and as he drove around I could see his shot gun pointing outside of his window.  And every so often, I heard him send off a blast that sent the birds in the nearby trees frantically scrambling into the sky. 

I had no idea where Dalton went, and I hoped to god he wouldn't get shot. Zeek's car disappeared down one of the never-ending roads that surrounded us. Perhaps there was civilization down that road or perhaps, it was a road to nowhere. Perhaps we were stuck here, in this maze-like forest until we either gave up and surrendered, or were killed. I gulped at the thought.

"Rory!"

I looked to my left. Dalton was crouched behind a tree, motioning for me to come over to him. I slowly crept in his direction.

"Careful, careful!" he hissed, pointing to something on the ground. I looked about 5 feet to my left, and saw the cold hard clamps of a bear trap. My eyes widened.  I couldn't speak.  How had we missed those?

I made it over to him and instantly fell into his chest, letting out a gut wrenching sob. I couldn't hold it in anymore. But Dalton didn't even tell me to shut up or be quiet.  He just held me until there were no tears left.

"I feel like we're getting farther and farther away from civilization," I said, wiping my hand over my face.  He didn't answer and I looked at him and for the first time, I could see the fear in his eyes.