virago|c.g.|

xix

Clary groaned as she finally awoke, her head pounding. She tried to remember what had happened until she felt her hands bound behind her. As her head shot up, she was surprised to see Carl sitting in front of her, his eyes widening before he let out a sigh of relief. "Woah, hey it's okay. I'm here. Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" Clary scanned over him, seeing no signs that he was hurt before she looked down to see she was pretty much intact. With a nod, she looked back to him. "I— I'm fine, are you?" Carl nodded his head, Clary looking away as she looked around. The room they were in seemed to have been a bedroom, but the bed had been thrown against the wall, where she assumed it had been being where her and Carl were held.

Looking back to where the two sat, Clary realized the two of them were tied up the same, hands behind their backs and feet tied to the legs of the chairs they were forced into. "What the hell happened? Last I remember, you had gone out to check out that noise—" Carl let out a frustrated puff of air that cut her off. "Yeah, that's when he got me. It was some buff guy, I didn't get a good look. He hit me over the head but not enough to knock me out and forced me into our car. He tied me up before he went to go find you." Clary let out a groan as she remembered the hit to the back of her head, feeling the ghost of the pain. "Yeah, he knocked me over the head, too, except he actually got me. What happened when after?" Clary questioned, looking to the boy as she tugged at the ropes. "He came out a few minutes later with you thrown over his shoulder. I don't know what happened after he put you in the car, he ripped up a shirt and used it to blindfold us." Clary groaned, clenching her jaw in anger. "Shit, I wonder how far he took—" Carl cut her off. "From the parking lot, he pulled out and took a right for about nine minutes, then he took a left and traveled four minutes before doing another right for two minutes and then we ended up here. When we get out of here, I should be able to direct us back to the strip mall." Clary looked at Carl, raising her eyebrow to which he looked questioningly at her. "What?" Carl questioned, causing Clary to let out a surprising laugh. "You're a damn good survivor." Looking proud of himself, Carl smiled as Clary tugged at the ropes bonding her wrists.

The man that had captured them had either been in a rush or was just plain sloppy, the cuff Glenn had given her still on her wrist. After having practiced many times in many positions, she was able to easily slip out the tiny blade from the leather pocket and began to saw at the ropes. As she cut, she questioned Carl to see what else he knew. "Where is he?" Carl could only shrug in response. "I— I have no idea. He left about a half hour ago but I don't know when he'll be back." Clary took in the information, wondering who the man was. Her stomach fell as she realized it could be one of them, one of the bastards that had torn her home apart. With anger fueling her, she was able to cut herself from the restraints, placing the blade back in the cuff before untying her feet. As her eyes met Carl's, his eyes were wide. "How did you—" Clary raised her wrist. "Hidden knife." Before she could say anything else, she fell silent as she heard what she assumed to be the front door open and shut. Looking around, she saw a window, the rust holding it open making her realize there was her way out.

Looking away from the window, her eyes then met Carl's as he followed her gaze from the window and back to her. "Clary—" the girl raised a finger to her lip, silencing him. "Do you trust me?" Clary asked him softly, to which she was surprised at how he didn't hesitate to nod his head. "Just stall him." Carl nodded as she made her way to the window before his voice sounded softly. "Wait, what are you gonna do?" Clary turned back, a smile on her face. "Save your ass, of course."

Without another word, she slipped through the window onto the floor of the forest. With the leaves being dampened by dew, they kept her footsteps quiet as she made her way out with her body pressed against the rotting wood of the cabin. Peering around the corner of the building, she saw that the man had to be alone as there were no other modes of transportation save for that of the car both teenagers had used for the run. Carefully and quietly, she made her way to the car, peering inside to see he placed their weapons in the backseat, most likely taking them off before tying them up. As she opened the door, she grabbed her sword and Carl's gun in case he would need the familiar weapon. Slipping the gun into the band of her jeans, she left the door slightly open so as not to cause too much noise.  Gripping the sword a little tighter, she clenched her jaw as she made her way to the home. She was careful as she approached the door, peering in to make sure it was clear before she stepped in.  She noticed that it was a dining room of some sort, barely distinguishable by the rotting wood of the large table. Upon it were what seemed to be the man's supplies on top of the wood, the contents of it spilling out slightly.