Awoken

Chapter Fourteen (Finale)

      There was barely enough air to breathe in the trunk of the car. When she came to, Zoe noticed the car had stopped and she wasn't sure how much time had passed. She did know one thing...her vision was coming true. An attempt to escape from the car was unlikely. The plastic tag to pull in the event of an emergency was missing. It was likely that the car was old and selected for that very reason. Still, she had to try. Even if it killed her, she had to escape so she could warn Hunter that one of his closest friends was the enemy. Before she could form a plan, the trunk of the car opened and two pairs of eyes were looking down at her. One of them belonged to Trent - malicious and determined - while the other mocking pair belonged to none other than Malcolm Lawson. 

     "Good thing you didn't kill her in the apartment", Malcolm said in mild disinterest, "that would've made things messy. By the time they find her body, she'll be rotted away to nothing. Our DNA won't be on her."

    Trent slipped on a pair of gloves, "You think of everything, Mr. Lawson."

     He smiled, "This bitch ruined what chances I had with my son, long before that idiot Sean tried to kill him. I'm sick of all these bumps in the road. After tonight, Zoe St. Clair, you'll just be a sad memory."

     Zoe pushed herself out of the trunk, "You have one last chance to do the right thing, Malcolm! Don't let your anger about Bethany, about what happened with your son, cause you to be responsible for another murder!"

     He didn't hesitate to backhand her, chuckling a bit, "Well...she's fiesty. You brought the knife, Trent?"

    "Right here, Mr. Lawson", he smiled brightly and flashed it.

    Malcolm slid on his own gloves, "Let's get her out of here and find a good burial spot."

    Zoe felt the world around her shift from the chemicals still inside of her, "Don't do this...please!"

    Malcolm took hold of her neck and whispered, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy it. A shame I can't kill you twice."

      Zoe tried to squirm away but felt herself choking. She knew she wouldn't die like this, strangled while still sitting in the trunk of Trent's car. The knife is the way she would go as they toyed with her the entire time. She prayed for a vision to help her escape, to see a solution she was missing, but nothing came. Not even as Malcolm roughly pulled her out of the trunk and dragged her along the forest floor. Not even as she weakly fought back every step of the way. Her mind was screaming out for Hunter, hoping he would be safe, wanting justice to be served. He deserved a good life, one with closure, not marred by more tragedy. As she called out his name in her mind, she knew it was her last hope. If only things were different. If only he could be the one that heard HER this time.

      Hunter noticed darkness was coming and had already talked to the police. Zoe wasn't on campus, no one was at the closed up fraternity house, and she hadn't returned to the apartment. The police already treated this as a kidnapping, the evidence of threats made and the fact that Malcolm Lawson was free happened to be enough to move them into action. She wouldn't be a missing person that had to wait a period of time before an investigation started. Hunter also called his mother and uncle, frantic on what to do. He was afraid more than anything else. If Zoe died, the most important piece of him would go with her. He would never be able to recover from that regardless of how many therapy appointments he attended. Life without Zoe was one he wouldn't cope with. 

      He was retracing his steps on campus when the scream came. Looking around, he narrowed his eyes to pinpoint it. Students and faculty still walked by as if they didn't hear her. As if only the breeze of an early autumn could be heard. Then the scream again, a bit louder, and he knew it was from inside of his mind. How was it possible he was the only one to hear her? He knew it had to be Zoe, screaming out with her unique powers that made her so damn enigmatic to him, still very much alive. Then flashes of a forest came that was all too familiar. He could see her hands, almost feel them, clawing at someone in front of her. She was fighting back with every chance she got! In any other time and in any other place, he would never believe in the validity of these things. Hunter knew he was in no way a psychic, couldn't see the visions that haunted his girlfriend. But when they were assaulting your mind full throttle...you had no choice but to trust them. So he sent a quick text to Sam and ran towards his car.