The trail on the snow tracked back to Kevin and his companion; a woman with brown skin and long dark hair who was helping him stand on his wobbly feet. The winter coats and boots were their only protection against this freezing night. The moon's glow made the clouds look white and gave them guidance in the dark.
Kevin tumbled down every few steps of the way. His hands turned red from repeatedly falling into the snow. This is a bad idea. His face paled. You're too slow. Panic in his short breaths. He's gonna catch us. Screams at the back of his head. He's gonna skin us alive and it's all because of you!
They were both afraid, horrified, terrified of one man. An unpredictable man who lost every bit of his humanity. A monster. They were running as fast as the snow-filled path would let them, as far away from the monster's den.
Kevin constantly looked back, a feeling in the pit of his stomach made him sick. Was this a good idea? Was it a good plan to escape when his body was still weak from the coma? Shouldn't he have waited a bit longer to recover? To at least be able to walk on his own?
No, Kevin cleared his thoughts. Duke will eventually figure out my amnesia bullshit. This is my chance. He looked at his exhausted companion, her dark curls covering her face. Our chance.
Every time Kevin looked behind him, he would make her look.
"Stop it." She demanded. "He is not following us. It is merely your imagination."
Her voice was strong, but with a hint of a shaky tone in it. Fear got to her too, though she tried her best to hide it. She wanted to be her confident old self again. Her eyebrows had drawn together in a permanent wrinkle. She was tired and frightened, thinking about everything Duke did to her.
"Sorry," said Kevin. "I'm slowing you down."
The woman looked in worse shape than Kevin. A lifeless shell of a once courageous woman. She wore nothing beneath her winter coat. Naked, just as Kevin found her under that house.
Still, something about her gave Kevin authoritative vibes. This was no random lady. She had to be part of something big.
A member of the P&S organization, Kevin speculated. God, I hope not.
"It's fine, kid," she replied with the same emotionless tone of hers. "Let us keep going."
The snow fell lightly above their heads, giving a sense of peace and quiet to the woods. Not the good kind. The kind that felt like something or someone would jump at them at any moment. Spending plenty of time trapped with a psychopath would do that to you, question every little peace you get.
Kevin groaned as he fell again. When the woman tried to help him he pushed her away.
"It's hopeless. Just go," he panted. "Go and get help."
Kevin felt like he had run a thousand miles. Breathless and barely able to function. They had been walking for twenty minutes, but it seemed like forever in his weak condition. He was exhausted ten minutes ago, but his survival instinct drove him past his limits. Now, he was running on fumes.
"I am not leaving you." Anger affected the woman's voice. "You saved me." She placed his arm around her shoulder and lifted him up again. "If it weren't for you, I would have been stuck there forever." They started walking again. "I owe you, Kevin."
Kevin swallowed a lump in his throat when she said that. He was glad that she wasn't planning on leaving him alone in the woods, hunted by a raging maniac. The tiny sense of security Kevin felt with his companion was more than he ever had during his captivity. He acted so bravely and tough, planning their escape and actually going through with it, but on the inside, he was drowning in a river of tears, waiting for a soul to rescue him.
"Ugh. Why aren't there any roads around here?" he grumbled. "We should've come across one already."
"Keep moving," she yanked him up a bit. "Eventually, a road will appear."
"Ah. I can't." Kevin whimpered. "Please, stop." He dragged her down with him this time. "Please, please, please, let's stop for a minute."
The woman didn't bother to argue. She helped him seated under a tree and sat next to him.
Kevin rubbed his hands together and blew into them for warmth. Then he bore a long look at the woman from the corners of his eyes. Her full lips were dry and turning blue. Her messy curls caught some snow.
"You kn-know my name," he said between his shivering breaths. "You never told me how?"
He asked her that question before. It was when she called his name after he came to save her from that torture chamber beneath the house. His thoughtful voice, crystal-blue eyes, and innocent face were all unmistakable. She instantly knew it was him.
"We have met before," she told him then sighed into the distance. "It was under rather unfortunate circumstances."
Unfortunate circumstances? His heart skipped a beat. Images of blood, guts, and torture tools flashed before him. Sounds of screams, gunshots, and a burst of manic laughter twisted his stomach in knots. Then Josh's face emerged, bruised and swollen, blood dripping down his chin. The basement!
"You were there that night in the basement, weren't you?"
She tilted her head and saw how confused Kevin was. She cleared his doubts with a nod.
Then her gaze passed his cute round baby face and focused on his thin wrists as he continued to blow into his palms. The large coat almost swallowed his slim trembling frame. His skinny legs were lost in the bottom piece of his pajama.
This kid had little to no muscles and fat on him. It was a miracle that he traveled this far.
"You have lost a few pounds since then. What did he do to you?"
"Nothing." He shivered. "I-I was in a coma since October."
"Oh."
"So." He puffed out a white cloud of air, then rubbed his hands on his shoulders. "You wanna tell me what happened that night?"
"You don't remember it?"
"Not really. I, umm..."
Kevin stared at the snow, concentrating on memories buried too deep, memories that his subconscious thought would be best forgotten. He was back in that basement, at that very last night, scared—hell, terrified!
Flaming stairs. Falling keys. Bruised Skin. Dark blood. Cuffed wrists.
His breathing quickened from the overwhelming flood of memories.
Shredded clothes. Ripped stitches. A forced kiss. Sickening touches on his thighs.
"I vaguely remember—" he shuddered "—some parts that I really don't want to remember."
Gunshots. Feathers. Broken glass.
The last scene Kevin remembered was thinking Josh was shot in the head, then he woke up wet at the hospital and saw Josh alive.
What happened there? Kevin wondered.
"My name is—"
"No—" he raised his index finger "—wait."
His eyes darted left and right, not quite looking for something, but lost in his thoughts.
Suddenly, his eyes stopped moving, looking straight at her, but not really. His stare lingered until something clicked in his mind. His arctic blues widened their gaze. Now he was looking at her, really looking.
"You're that cop lady Josh was talking about." His eyes wandered again as he recollected, then returned their focus on her hazel irises. "You're Gale."
"Agent Gale Robinson." She extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
Gale is real! Kevin thought. Josh didn't imagine her. She's real!
"Kevin Steelheart."
He shook her hand with a weak grip. His muscles lacked strength after staying motionless in a bed for two months. If it weren't for her help, he wouldn't be here right now. He would've had to crawl out of that house in the snow and freeze to death. He wouldn't have made it this far without her.
"I know who you are, Kevin." She flashed a knowing smile; that was the first expression her blank face ever made. "I know everything about his victims."
"I-I'm sorry." He lowered his head. "I didn't expect you to be real."
Shame washed over him. He didn't believe Josh about the cop woman who helped them. Josh told the truth and all Kevin ever did was doubt him and make him feel like he belonged in a psych ward.
What kind of a friend does that?
"So, you have heard of me, but you do not remember seeing me."
"I don't." Kevin shook his head. "I don't remember you. I don't remember getting soaked that night. I don't remember how the hell we got out of there."
"Well, that gives us something to talk about, but first." She put his arm over her shoulder and pulled him up. "We have to keep moving."
A chill ran down Kevin's spine, and it wasn't from the cold. He couldn't agree more.
Well, there you have it. Gale is actually a real person.
And the next chapter will reveal what happened the night Kevin escaped the basement.
What do you guys think happened? :3