His [The Cellar sequel]

You'll Always Be Mine - Chapter Eleven

“Really? Does it look good?”

“It does.” She grinned, looking at me with the same admiration as before, causing my heart rate to increase.

After that conversation had ended we'd arrived at the edge of the forest, where it met a muddy dirt track. The light drizzling rain had turned the mud soft but down the middle was a strip of grass that we could happily walk along without getting dirty.

“Stick to the middle,” I told Chantelle, as I stepped over the mud. She followed, doing as I said and missed the dirt. It was getting dark now so walking along this track out in the open wasn’t quite as risky as it would have been an hour ago.

Very quickly, the forest was left behind us and we had absolutely no cover at all. The bushes that lined the main road up ahead were short and would barely come up to our knees. At least though, we could lie down if needed. Until then we were too exposed and that made me feel very uneasy. Our only cover was still a five minute walk.

“Are we safe out here?” Chantelle whispered, even though we were alone.

“We should be. Just listen out for any traffic noise; we’ll need to hide if we hear a car.” Hide where; I didn’t know. The floor was uneven but the shallow dips and small hills were still not enough, especially with our bulky rucksacks.

With every step closer to my house, my excitement and nerves increased. I couldn’t wait to be reunited with the girls but it had been a while since we’d seen each other and I still wasn’t sure if they would blame me for leaving them. The thought of anything bad happening to them because I’d allowed myself to be caught was awful. They knew I loved them though so hopefully they’ll understand.

Chantelle suddenly gasped and grabbed my arm, digging her nails into my skin. I spun around to see what was wrong. She was staring back into the forest that we’d just left. Following the direction she was facing, I saw them.

Stood in front of us, a fair way in front but still too close, was two police officers. One was a tall, broad male and the other a petite, short haired woman. They both smiled, looking pleased with themselves and why shouldn’t they be? After all, they were the ones to find me first.

I grabbed Chantelle’s hand and pulled her along as I sprinted towards them. “What are you doing?” Chantelle asked breathlessly, as she stumbled along behind me. Yes, it may have seemed insane to run to them rather than away but in this circumstance it was the only intelligent thing to do. They hadn’t moved since we saw them looking at us so it was likely that they hadn’t called for backup yet.

Stopping abruptly in front of them, Chantelle bumped into my back. I pulled her around to my chest roughly, grabbing a knife out of my pocket at the same time. Both officers and Chantelle gasped as I pressed the cold metal blade to her throat.

“Play along,” I whispered into her ear. She understood what I was saying to her and released her grip of my forearms slightly. “Get back!”

The female officer held her hands. “Okay, okay. We’ll step back just please let her go.”

Against their orders, I pulled Chantelle tighter against my chest and gripped the knife until my knuckles turned white. I could feel a light pressure against the end of the blade as it pressed against her neck, but I was careful not to press too hard and pierce the skin.

“Sir, please just lower the knife.” I laughed humourlessly. Now I was a Sir? That wasn't what I was being called in the newspapers.

“Now,” I started, taking a small step forwards. “This is how it’s going to work. You’re both going to drop to your knees and place your hands on the floor.” When they didn’t move I growled, “Do it!”