I walked as quickly and as quietly as I could over to Beth.
"That's not Grant and Will," I whispered. "I don't know who they are. We need to hide, okay?"
"What?" She sat up. "Hide? Where? What about Cal?"
"Hopefully she'll stay hidden out there until they leave. I'm going to help you up, okay?" I whispered, already taking her hand. I looked around the room. Maybe those guys didn't know about this hidden room or even if they did, maybe they wouldn't go down there. But I couldn't risk it. I ran over to the cabinets and opened the doors.
"Can you fit in one of these?" I asked her. I tried to help her bend down but she couldn't get her leg to cooperate. It hurt too much.
She looked like she was about to cry.
"Okay," I told her. "Lie down behind the couch."
I helped her onto the floor. She fit in between the couch and the wall.
"Just stay still and don't make a sound, okay?" I instructed, and covered her up with the old blue tarp.
She shook her head and pulled the tarp from her face. "I'm scared. I can't do this!"
I grabbed the knife out of my pocket and handed it to her.
"Yes, you can." I looked her in the eyes.
I rushed back over to the cabinet, climbed in and shut the doors. I sat in total darkness, my knees up to my chin.
From inside the cabinet, I could hear the voices above me much clearer. They were opening the hidden shelves we had found.
"Where are they?" the first voice yelled. "The knives were in here!"
"I don't know, man. Maybe Wayne grabbed 'em." the second voice replied.
They were stomping around the cabin. Then their footsteps stopped just above my head.
"Did you hear that?" the first voice said. "Outside. You hear it?"
The second voice whispered. "I didn't hear anything, but go check it out. I'll check downstairs. Maybe we left the knives down there."
Oh, please don't come down here!
I heard the cabin door open and footsteps walked outside. I waited as I heard the other pair of footsteps stop, the sound of the hatch lifting open, and then continuing as they walked down the stairs. I held my breath.
My hands were sweating profusely. I could hear him walking around the room.
"What the hell?" he muttered to himself.
I couldn't hear anything then. I pushed the cabinet door about a half inch, just enough for me to peek out with one eye. This guy was short and stocky, with wide shoulders. He was wearing a loose gray tank top and basketball shorts. His hair was a dark, dirty blonde color and cut really short. I could see his scalp had gotten a slight sunburn. The tops of his shoulders were red, too.
He was bending over, lifting up the couch cushions. I knew he wouldn't find anything - knives or otherwise - since we had already swept the room clean. I only hoped that once he finished with the couch, he'd give up and go back upstairs. He sighed loudly with his hands on his hips. Cursing under his breath, he seemed to give up and walked over to the stairs.
Go, go, go! I willed him away.
But then he stopped. Turning around slowly, he crept back over to the couch. I could tell my his movements that he was intentionally trying to be quiet and not make a sound. He peered over the couch and then smiled wickedly. The blue tarp was in his hand and he tossed it over his shoulder onto the floor.
"Well," he grinned. "And who are you, darlin'?"
In one fast swoop, he shoved the couch to reveal Beth. She was already crying, clutching the knife I had given her with both hands. She was shaking.
"Awww, hey. Don't be scared. I won't bite." He crouched down and I couldn't see him anymore. The couch was blocking my view.
I pushed the cabinet door a bit more, but it was no use. The position of the couch was diagonally in front of the cabinet, entirely blocking my view. I was tempted to crawl out, but there was no place else to hide.
Beth was sobbing now.
"And would you look at this! There's my knife! See, I knew I left it here. That's not very nice of you to steal it," he spat.
"I didn't-" Beth tried to speak, but her words were jumbled between her sobs.
"What else are you hiding, huh?" he asked her.
"Nothing!" she cried. "I swear!"
"Yeah?" he asked. "Well, I'm gonna have to check for myself."
I heard the rustling of clothes and Beth crying out. She was yelling 'no' over and over again. The guy kept telling her to stop fighting him and then I heard him slap her across the face.
I was shaking. I couldn't sit in there and let this creep attack Beth.
"This is my knife. See?" he seethed. "And I love this knife, I gotta say. You want me to use it on you?"
"No," Beth choked. "No, please. No. Stop! Please stop!"
She was screaming. I heard him tearing at her clothes. I didn't have time to think. I opened the cabinet doors and crawled out. Staying close to the floor, I moved around the couch and then stood up. As I looked down, this guy was in top of Beth. She was trying to get free but he had both of her wrists above her head holding them with one hand. With his other hand, he was pulling his shorts down.
Beth looked up and saw me, her eyes wide and red. My hands were shaking. I knew I wouldn't be able to pull him off of her. He was much stronger than I was. I glanced around the room and grabbed the letter opener. It was the only thing there that remotely resembled a weapon.
I got behind him and took one more look at Beth. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. I gripped the letter opener tightly in my hand and then slammed it into the side of his neck. I pulled it out and blood squirted everywhere. Beth screamed and I plunged it into his neck again. I dug it as deep as it would go and then pulled it to the side. It tore his flesh open and he reached up with his left hand.
He stood up and turned around, shocked to see me and at his bleeding neck. Beth rolled to her side, crying hysterically, and struggled to get up. She lost her grip on the couch and fell back to the floor. The guy was walking towards me making awkward mechanical moves. I kept stepping back, my eyes glued on him. He made a deep gurgling sound and blood poured from his mouth. As he fell to his knees, his neck was covered in red, blood flowing down his chest, soaking his shirt. I backed away until I was against the wall.
I leapt onto the couch, my feet sinking into the cushions. I reached over and grabbed for Beth. I led her up the stairs and shut the hatch behind us. Cautiously I stopped. The second guy had to be there somewhere.
"There's another guy," I whispered to Beth and pointed outside.
She nodded and then with shaky hands, handed me back the knife. My eyes widened and I stared at her.
"I took it after he dropped it," she told me, her voice shaking.
"Good! Good job!" I praised her. We were both in shock. I didn't even know what I was saying. I held onto the knife and went in front of Beth. Pointing to the door, she followed me as I opened the door and ran outside. Beth hobbled after me. I looked to my left and then to the right and heard the crinkling sound of leaves.
"There's someone over there!" Beth whispered. I held up my hand, telling her to wait there. I took a deep breath and then slowly walked around to the side of the cabin. I held my knife out and took a few more steps. The leaves rustled louder now and I knew he was coming in my direction. I steadied myself.
As soon as he turned the corner, I would strike. I wasn't even sure where to aim. My heart was going a thousand miles a minute. I could see a shadow and I lunged towards it, screaming.
"No! Ryleigh! No! It's me. It's just me!"
My arm stopped in mid-air as I saw Cal's face. She had her hands up in defense.
"Cal! Oh thank God, it's you!" I shrieked.
I was trembling and staring at her. Her eyes were wide.
"You're hurt!" she yelled.
"What? No. No, I'm fine. Beth's fine," I told her.
She was staring at my shirt. I glanced down and realized I had blood spatter all over me.
"Not my blood," I said weakly. "It's...not..."
I started crying, shaking as I stood there. Cal reached over and hugged me, letting me cry in her arms.