In the Woods Read online

  They were still moving, taxiing down the narrow airstrip, which appeared to be no more than a cleared area of land among all the trees.

  Cassandra’s stomach twisted. This was no airport. Where they’d landed wasn’t even covered in asphalt. Stacked piles of logs sat closer to the tree line. Was this an old logging site? It didn’t look to be in use anymore, but was there a chance people still came up here? She was grasping at straws, but she needed to have some hope. If she didn’t, she’d simply give up, and that would be the end of her. She didn’t want to die, especially not at the hands of some sick serial killer.

  The plane puttered to a halt, and the man switched off the engine.

  “Please, you don’t have to do this. Just take me home. I won’t tell anyone.” She couldn’t help the tears sliding down her face, even though he probably took pleasure in them.

  He regarded her with amusement, and she noticed his eyes were gray. She didn’t think she’d ever seen someone with actual gray eyes before. But his eyes reflected his soul, leached of color and life. This man was the devil incarnate, and he planned to murder and most likely rape her, too, but she had no idea which order it would be in.

  “I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”

  “No!” She lunged for the door, fumbling with her chained hands to get it open. “Help! Someone help!”

  She managed to pull the catch to unlock the door, and it swung open. All her weight had been pressed in that direction, and as the door opened, she was unable to right herself. The distance between her seat and the forest floor suddenly seemed huge, and the ground raced up to meet her as she fell. She hit solid, red earth, slamming her shoulder first, followed by her head, and then the rest of her body. The chains around her arms and legs cracked against her bones as she landed.

  Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up.

  A door slammed. He hadn’t bothered to slide over the seats to chase after her, but instead had taken the time to climb out of his side and walk around the plane. This told her two things—he was coming, and he didn’t think she was going anywhere fast.

  His footsteps approached, dry dirt and leaves crunching underfoot.

  Cass groaned again and pushed herself to her knees. Her ankles were bound, so she couldn’t run, but she wasn’t just going to lie there and wait for him to grab her again. Using her hands, she pushed herself to standing. A bout of dizziness took over, the trees surrounding her turning in a slow circle.

  Where was she? How long had she been in the plane? It might have been hours, for all she knew. Were they even still in America? Yes, she was sure they were. She recognized the trees around them—spruce and fir and pine, with hardwoods like maple and beech. As though she was in a sack race, she hopped forward, trying to put as much space as possible between herself and the plane, and the man who’d been flying it.

  She ignored the pain that shattered through her body with every movement. Filled with panic, she jumped, her breath wheezing in and out of her lungs. She didn’t dare to look back.

  Her feet caught in some roots, and she flew forward, hitting the ground once more. She barked out a sob of pain and fear and frustration. Rolling in the dirt, the futility of her attempt to escape hit her. Where was she going to go? When they’d been landing, there had only been a canopy of trees stretching ahead as far as she could see. A blanket of green. There hadn’t been any clearings, apart from the one they’d landed in, and certainly no sign of any small towns, or even solitary buildings, for that matter. Even if her feet weren’t chained, where would she run to? To die in the woods of starvation and exposure. Would that be a better death than the one this man was clearly offering her? It would be a longer death, she assumed, but would it be any less painful and undignified?

  Not that it even mattered. It wasn’t her choice to make. She was going to die at the hands of a man she only knew as the Magician.

  His shadow fell over her, and she tried to scrabble away again and lash out, but she wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Help!” she screamed. “Someone help me!”

  The screams hurt her throat, but she had to try. There might be someone unexpected around, some hikers her kidnapper hadn’t predicted. Hikers might even be prepared for the possibility of bears and be armed with a gun for protection.

  But the man known as the Magician only laughed. “You can scream as much as you like. There’s no one else out here. Why do you think I brought you to this place? I like hearing your screams.”

  She cowered away in fright. He was sick in the head.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her under the arm and hauled her back to her feet. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, and she wondered what it contained. “We’re not quite at our destination.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “The same place I take all you girls. So, don’t worry. You won’t be alone.”

  Her stomach lurched. Did that mean the others he’d taken were still alive? She imagined some rickety cabin out here in the woods, with cages containing all the women he’d already abducted. If that was true, it meant he didn’t kill them right away, and they still might stand a chance of being found and saved.

  Unable to walk, he was forced to drag her. Her sneakers caught and bumped across the rough terrain. Her shoulder muscle screamed in pain from where he was holding her. Though he was strong, his breathing quickly grew labored, and they hadn’t even reached the line of trees yet.

  He gave a grunt of frustration. “Ugh. You’re heavier than you look.”

  A meme about saving yourself from kidnapping by eating more cake popped into her head, and she gave a hysterical snort of laughter. She did like cake. Chocolate cake, in particular. She might never get to eat it again, and she suddenly found herself regretting all those times she’d passed up something delicious because she was watching her figure. If only she’d let herself eat it, she might not be in this position right now.

  He gave her a narrow-eyed glare. “Stop laughing. This isn’t funny.”

  But his comment only made her laugh harder. She must be losing her mind.

  “Fuck.” He dropped his hold on her arm. “I’m going to loosen your feet so you can walk. Don’t try to run. You’re keeping the chains on, so even if you can run, know that I’ll catch you, and I’ll make you regret even trying.”

  The laughter faded from her lips. She figured he was probably going to make her regret all her life choices by the time he was done.

  “Sit down.”

  He didn’t give her the chance to plop her backside down on the ground, but instead shoved her shoulder, sending her crashing heavily down again. Her legs stuck out in front of her, and he lowered to a crouch at her feet. He dropped the backpack on the ground beside him. He fished into the pocket of his brown suede jacket and pulled out a small silver key.

  Her breath caught. That key might be the means to her escape. If she could just get hold of it...

  As he focused on fitting the key to the small padlock holding the chain around her ankles together, she pulled back her legs and kicked. She struck him in the hand, and the key flew into the air. It hit the ground, and she lunged for it. But he was too fast for her, plus his hands weren’t chained. Even as he went for the key as well, he drew back his elbow and let it fly. Hard bone connected with her jaw, and she dropped to one side, a mewl of pain escaping her throat.

  “That was stupid,” he growled, snatching up the key and turning back to her. His gray eyes were like chunks of granite. “If you try something like that again and refuse to cooperate, I’m just going to have to kill you here and now. Is that what you want?”

  Desperate, she shook her head.

  “Don’t think for a minute that I’m not capable of it. Killing is what I love. It’s in my blood. It’s the reason I get out of bed in the morning. If I have to put both my hands around your throat right here in the dirt and squeeze until the light goes out of those pretty blue eyes, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Do you hear me?
”

  She nodded, staring at the ground.

  “Good. Now, no more of this silly business. I’m going to loosen the chains so you can walk, but this is your last chance. Try to hit me or run again, and I’ll kill you.”

  He’s going to kill you anyway. You might as well go down fighting.

  But if he killed her now, she might miss out on some other opportunity. Those hikers might come along, and if she’d only behaved herself, there was the chance they’d have rescued her instead of her ending up dead. And what about the other girls? He said he was taking her to them. She wouldn’t be alone then.

  The chain around her ankles was fastened in such a way that one loop went around one ankle, and one loop went around the other, and then the remainder of the chain held them together. He unlocked the small, silver padlock holding her ankles together, and loosened the chain between them. The metal bit into her skin, and she sucked in air over her teeth. He snapped the lock shut again and pocketed the key.

  “There,” he said. “Now we keep moving.”

  He picked up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder then pulled her to her feet again. Everything hurt. Her stomach cramped, her cheek and jaw throbbed, her muscles ached from being thrown around. Her body was covered in bumps and scratches. But the pain was okay. She could handle the pain. If everything hurt, it meant she was still alive.

  Now she was able to move her feet, she walked at a shuffle behind him. He kept hold of the top of her arm, his fingers wrapped around her biceps, digging hard into her skin. She only wore the black, short-sleeved t-shirt with the coffee shop emblem on the breast and the black pants for work. Her sneakers were the ones she wore every day, though, and not the smarter shoes she wore for work, which she carried in her bag to change into once the coffee shop was open to customers. This was a clue as to when he’d taken her, she realized. He must have snatched her before she’d either arrived or had started serving. Had it been on her way inside? When she’d been focused on unlocking the door to get inside the building? It probably didn’t matter, but she hated not knowing what had happened. Maybe she should ask him, but she didn’t want to engage him in conversation.

  He dragged her into the woods, dappled shadows falling over her skin. The temperature immediately dropped now she was out of the direct sun, and goose bumps broke out across her skin. The sweet scent of pine resin drifted over her, and she knew she’d never smell pine again without being propelled back to this time, should she live that long. Somewhere in the distance, a woodpecker hammered at a tree, searching for insects. Moss covered the trees, and she thought she remembered something about the side of the tree could indicate directions. Not that it mattered. She had no idea where she was, so knowing which direction they were heading would make no difference.

  A wave of self-pity flooded over her, and she blinked back tears. Nothing she could do was going to make any difference to her situation. She was going to die out here, in the middle of nowhere, with only a murdering psychopath for company.

  No, there were other women out here, too. He’d said there were. Unless he was lying, but why would he do that?

  They kept going, following what appeared to be an animal-made trail. Tangles of brambles caught at her clothes and pulled her back, as though trying to hold her in place. Mosquitos buzzed and whined around her head, landing on any exposed areas of skin—her face, her forearms, the back of her neck and hands—to taste her blood. Her legs were heavy and hard to lift, weighed down by the chains. She caught her feet on exposed roots and low-lying branches, stumbling and staggering, but his hold on her arm kept her upright. Having her hands chained in front of her made her feel like a prisoner. Shit, she was a prisoner.

  At least it was cooler with the tree coverage, but she had the feeling her thirst was more due to whatever drugs he’d given her and all the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins.

  Her mouth had never been so dry.

  “Please, do you have any water? I’m so thirsty.”

  He frowned over his shoulder at her, and she was sure he was going to refuse her plea.

  “I might pass out soon,” she continued, “if I don’t get something to drink.”

  Maybe he thought it wouldn’t be much fun to drag her the rest of the way to wherever his destination was.

  “Fine.” He relented. “But don’t try anything.”

  He released her arm to fish in his backpack and produce a small plastic bottle of water. It was already open, the first couple of inches of water missing. He removed the lid and then, clearly not trusting her to hold the bottle herself, held it to her lips.

  The water was warm and spilled down her chin, but she gulped it gratefully. It helped her sore throat, and for the moment, at least, her tongue no longer felt as though it was going to meld to the roof of her mouth.

  He pulled the bottle away. “Enough.” He put the lid back on and shoved it back into his bag and took hold of her arm again.

  Cass closed her eyes briefly, sucking in a shaky breath, and then forced herself to move. Her legs felt like they were encased in concrete, and every step was an effort.

  How long had they been walking now? Thirty minutes? More? Less? It was hard to tell. Everything looked the same this deep in the woods. They passed clumps of lush green ferns, and areas of white-gray rock protruding from the ground. Brambles were everywhere, snatching at her skin, clothing, and hair, leaving her with prickles of blood. Above her head, crows cawed and burst from the trees in sudden flutters.

  She waved her bound hands in front of her face, batting away a cloud of midges. Already, her skin itched from mosquito bites. She wondered if her abductor happened to have some bug spray in that bag of his, but she figured he wouldn’t appreciate her asking, and if she was going to end up dead anyway, a few bites were the least of her worries.

  They reached a fallen tree, the trunk dead and rotten. She placed her chained hands on the top to keep her balance then plonked her backside down to haul her legs over. The wood crumbled beneath her weight. Small beetles and ants scattered in every direction, and she squeaked and yanked her hands back, half tumbling over the other side.

  The Magician gave a growl of irritation. “Get up and stop messing around.”

  Cass clamped her lips shut, holding back a comment about the bugs. Where she’d fallen, she’d scraped away a clear spot in the carpet of dried pine leaves, revealing damp red earth. A worm wriggled around in the dirt, as though panicked at the sudden exposure. She tried not to grimace. She was a city girl for a reason, and just now she’d seen about twenty of those reasons.

  “Is it much farther?” she dared to ask.

  “No.”

  Her gut roiled at the word. Whatever her fate was, they’d soon be there.

  Chapter Three

  Within ten minutes, they broke through the clusters of trees and clumps of thick bushes, and he dragged her into a small clearing.

  “Here we are,” he announced, still not releasing his hold on her arm.

  His fingers had dug in so hard, she was sure she’d feel them for hours to come, even when he’d let go of her, if she managed to live that long.

  Cassandra had expected to see a cabin—something to mark the place—but there was nothing here. Nothing except the forest floor, blanketed with a carpet of fallen pine leaves, some exposed patches of dirt, and yet more trees. The branches reached out over her head, as though trying to create a shelter for her. A bright blue sky peeped through the foliage. It was actually a beautiful day—too beautiful for something as awful as this to be happening. Surely rain and thunder and an angry sky filled with bulbous gray clouds would be more fitting?

  “The... The other girls,” she blurted. “Where are they? You said they were here.”

  He didn’t answer her, but instead dragged her over to one of the trees. The trunk was broad, the surface rough. To her horror, she saw there was already a chain looped around the circumference of the trunk.

  “No, no, please.”
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  A fresh spurt of panic shot through her. She pulled away, but he yanked her back in. He fished the key out of his jacket pocket again and this time applied the key to the lock on her wrists. He unhooked the chain for only a fraction of a second—long enough to loop the chain joining her wrists to the chain around the tree trunk—before snapping the lock into place.

  Cass yanked on the chain.

  “Help!” she screamed, suddenly certain this would be the place she’d die. “Someone help me! Please!”

  “Shut up. There’s no one around here. Not for fifty miles or more. No one is going to hear your pathetic screams and come to help you. All you’re doing right now is giving me a headache, and I get really pissed when I have a headache.”

  It was crazy that he’d think she’d give a damn about how he was feeling when he’d already hit her twice in the face, had drugged her, and now had chained her to a tree. But she guessed that was who he was—the type of man who thought the world only existed to please him. That everyone owed him something, and probably thought he should automatically be respected, even though he’d done nothing to earn that respect.

  But he was right when he said no one was going to hear her screams, so she fell quiet and tried to think. If there was no one else around, she only had herself to rely on to get her out of this situation. Though her instinct was to scream and cry, it wasn’t helping her.

  She sucked in a breath.

  She tried again. “Where are the other women?”

  He’d said he was taking her to them. She’d expected to see them chained up, like she was, or locked in a room somewhere or even in a cage.

  He gestured around. “What are you talking about? They’re right here.”

  His words jolted a shock to her heart. “What?”

  Oh, God, he was completely insane. Did he really think they were here?

  He flapped a hand. “I mean, they’re not alive or anything, but they’re all still here. At least, their bodies are. He took several steps to her left and gestured to a spot. Now she was focusing on it, she could see the ground was slightly different than the rest of the area. It had been recently disturbed, and the earth was raised in a hump, with new shoots of plants growing from it.