Chapter 18
Amy
I lay in bed, but it gave me no comfort. It never did any more.
No, my bed was a prison; like my room, like this mansion, like the beautiful gardens and the grounds beyond. But the beauty was lost on me now. Now, I just felt sick to look at the place.
It was late at night. How late I didn't know, or care. What did it matter anyway? Time made no difference to me any more.
It had been over 3 months since my dad had brought me back here, forced me to stay. At first I'd screamed and shouted and battled with him to let me leave, but he didn't care.
“It'll be good for you,” he'd told me, “to learn to live with me again. You'll be safe here, nothing can touch you, nothing can hurt you. I know it's hard now Amy, but it's for your own good. I can't have you out there, in the world, with all its dangers, alone. I suffered for three years not knowing if you were safe, who you were with, where you were. Now I know, now I'll always know.”
I couldn't reason with him when I told him he couldn't keep me captive forever. He'd flinched at the suggestion that he was keeping me prisoner, but that's exactly how it was. He wouldn't hear it, though, always telling me he was doing it for me, for my safety.
He'd totally f*cking lost it.
At the beginning he'd kept me in my room mostly. Every time he let me outside, I tried to escape, so he left me in there for days on end. Soon I realized, however, that no matter what, there was no way out.
There was always a guard on the gate, always at least one man at the front door. There were others in the house, guards and maids and cooks everywhere. Beyond were cameras watching every inch of the property, and a 12 foot wall surrounding the entire place. Even if I got to the edge, I wouldn't be able to scale it. No, I was well and truly trapped.
Whenever I was out of my room, a guard was nearby. He had eyes on me constantly, making sure I didn't talk to a maid or a gardener or anyone else about my plight. They'd be too scared to do anything about it anyway, even if they did know. The phones in the house were disabled, all except the one in my dad's office, and my cell was taken away from me.
I thought of Jude often, wondering if he was OK. I'd shrieked at my dad in the first days, not only to let me leave, but to tell me what happened to him. All he said was, “he's fine, Amy, just fine.”
The image of him being dragged into the car was still etched into my mind. He looked battered and bruised and exhausted, his face pale and full of worry. I'd watched as the car drove off up the street, heading for the hills, my dad following behind.
The only solace I got to help convince me he wasn't dead was the news. I had my television, that was all. If he'd have been killed, it would have been on the news....
But I knew, alive or dead, that he didn't know I was here. The last he'd seen I was standing in the parking lot next to my car, ready to drive out of town for good. He had no idea I was back, and probably didn't care any more anyway.
I'd promised I'd call him, that we'd meet and see each other again soon after I left. It was all I wanted, the only silver lining from this entire situation. But no, I was locked in here, and he was out there. He probably hated me for not getting in touch, and that thought hurt me more than anything else.
So here I lay, in my bed, in my prison, tucked up under the covers. I could hardly sleep any more, my nights and days just the same as each other. I lay on my side, staring out into space. I could see a thin slit of light out of the corner of my eye, shining across my bed. I thought I heard the quietest of movements, but it was nothing: a gust of wind or a swaying tree.
The light broke suddenly, the thin slit of moonlight on my bed momentarily cast into shadow. I glanced up, lifting my head to look at the window, so see what had blocked its path. A cloud? A tree?
Holy shit!
I almost fell out of bed as I looked to see the shadow of a figure outside the door. My calm pulse suddenly exploded into life as I sat up quickly in bed and retracted up against my headboard.
I sat, frozen in place, as the silhouette stared at me, unmoving. Then, slowly, a hand slid the bolt quietly across the door, turning his head backwards as he did.
I still sat like a statue as the door creaked open, the figure moving inside. As it stepped to the side, away from the moonlight, I saw the side of his face suddenly light up.
My breath was lost from me and my pulse raised further as a tear quickly accumulated in the corner of my eye.
Jude. It was Jude.
….
Jude
I peered in through the window at the red hair, my hope suddenly lit.
Oh my God, it was Amy! I was right. She was here.
In my excitement I stepped further to the right, leaning in as close as possible to see her more clearly. As I did the light of the moon on her bed was cut off, my body moving in front of it.
I stopped in place as the figure suddenly moved, the head arching up and looking directly at me. In the darkness her face was now obscured, but I knew it was her. I reached for the bolt and quietly slid it off the door, turning back as I did to make sure the guard below hadn't heard.
I opened the door with a slight creak, and stepped inside, unblocking the moon. I saw the light quickly rush back onto her and saw her face, clearly, sitting up against the headboard.
A smile hit my face as I saw her. She looked shocked, her eyes beginning to well up, her body frozen in place.
I quickly shut the door and tiptoed in towards her as she continued to look at me in wonder, as if she was dreaming.
“Amy,” I whispered, “it's me. It's Jude.”
She continued to stare at me, a tear beginning to roll down her cheek.
Her voice broke when she spoke: “Jude....”
I rushed in suddenly and hugged her. I could feel her body shaking in my grasp, her arms still stuck by her sides.
I pulled back and took her face in my hands. I stared at her intently, her eyes wet.
“We have to get you out of here Amy....now.”
Her voice was weak still, as though she hardly spoke any more. “How...did you know...I was here.”
I kissed her hard on the forehead before answering: “There's no time to explain now Amy. We need to leave right now.”
Her eyes began to change, turning from shock to resolve as she climbed out of bed. She slipped on a pair of jeans and put a sweater over her t shirt as quietly as possible. When she was clothed she turned to me and hugged me hard, her arms gripping me tighter than they ever did before.
“You came for me,” she said, her eyes starting to well again.
I smiled. “I couldn't wait for your call any longer.”
She laughed lightly and we kissed, briefly, in the moonlight.
“Now come on,” I said, “let's get you out of here.”
….
Amy
I was still trying to catch up with what was going on as Jude stepped back towards the door, telling me to be as quiet as possible as he did. How was he here? How did he get in? How did he know I'd be here, in this room?
There was no time to get any answers as he opened the door slowly, crouching as he crept out.
“Do what I do, and follow me closely,” he whispered, glancing back.
I ducked as he did and we sneaked onto the balcony, keeping low and out of sight. He shut the door again before turning to me.
“OK Amy, we're gonna climb round the side of the house and straight over the back wall.”
Before I had a chance to ask him anything he was off, checking the guard below and climbing quickly over the edge of the balcony and over to the next.
I climbed after him, looking down at the 3 feet gap between balconies and gulping down air. I'd never been one for heights, even short ones like this.
He turned back and ushered me forward, looking past me to keep an eye on the guard. When I got to him we ducked low again, out of sight.
“Are you OK,” he asked.
I nodded and we continued, moving round from balcony to balcony until we reached the back of the house. He quickly climbed over the edge, lowering himself and dropping to the ground. I followed, stepping gingerly over and sliding into his arms below. He caught me with his strong grip, before gently lowering me to the turf.
I turned, looking out onto the expanse at the back of the house, the manicured gardens and wilder patch beyond.
“There are cameras Amy. We need to avoid them, OK. Follow me closely and when I go low, drop to the ground.”
He then crouched low and shot forward towards the fountain between two flower beds, stopping at the front and dropping right to the ground. I followed closely in his wake, dropping right in behind him.
He then crawled, like a soldier, along the outside of the fountain, keeping his head below the base. I followed him, right round to the other side, before suddenly, from nowhere, he leapt up and darted off towards a bush beyond the flower beds.
He moved quick, and I followed as fast as I could, not knowing where he would stop. He rushed in behind the bush but I was caught behind, 20 feet back, unable to stick close enough to him.
I heard a noise, the loud noise of an alarm wailing behind me, as Jude looked around. I must have tripped a camera somewhere, set off the alarm system. He jumped up from his crouching position and dragged me forward, straight towards the wall.
“You need to boost me up,” he shouted quickly, the sound of the alarm shooting through us both. “Lock your hands together like this,” he said, intertwining his fingers, “and put them on your knee with your back against the wall.”
He quickly showed what I had to do.
“You need to lift as hard as you can Amy, so that I can reach the top.”
I nodded and got in position as he stepped back from the wall to give himself a run up. Then he came at me, rushing forward and stepping into my hands and pushing up off my knee. The force of his boots tore at my palms as his heavy weight came down on my hands, but I lifted with all my strength, helping to shoot him up the wall.
His weight left me and I looked up to see him clambering to the top. He lay across it and reached down as far as possible with his left hand.
“Jump and grab my hand, and don't let go.”
I leapt, and felt his strong grip wrap around my wrist. I held on with both hands as he pulled me up quickly, easily, to the top of the wall. He helped me up and over, dropping me down to the other side.
I could hear the sound of voices behind us, over at the house, as I dropped out of sight over the wall.
One was clear. “AMY,” it roared, “AMY, COME BACK.”
“It's my father,” I said to Jude as he dropped in beside me, “he won't let me leave.”
I looked up and down the street, hoping to see a car, to see some getaway vehicle, but there was none. “Where's your car?” I asked, frantically turning to Jude.
He shook his head. “There's no time, Amy, it's round the street. We have to find another way.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, over the road and off into the woods beyond. The sound of the alarm shut off suddenly and I could clearly hear voices now, and the roar of cars starting up inside the compound.
We rushed onwards, further into the thickening woods, climbing higher as we went. There were hills beyond, hills that morphed into mountains stretching for miles and miles away from the city.
I heard the cars rush around the streets below, pulling up sharply outside the woods. Doors opened and shut quickly and I saw flashlights cutting through the trees, inching forward in the distance as Jude kept leading me forward.
“AMY, YOU CAN'T LEAVE,” I heard the roar again, the voice more distance now as we moved through the dark trees. “I'LL FIND YOU.”
“It's OK Amy,” I heard Jude say, “I'll protect you.”
I turned, breathing heavily, and looked down at the pursuing flashlights. They were splitting up now, moving off in different directions. I counted four, four men chasing us down.
Jude looked on as well, his eyes scanning their movements. “They can't see us, but we can see them. That gives us the advantage.”
He turned and began leading me left, cutting across, rather than up, the hill. My eyes were fully adjusted now, our way clear ahead of us as the moonlight shone down between the trees. The sounds behind were growing more faint now, my dad no longer shouting after me.
I turned again and this time saw nothing, no lights shining after us.
“Jude,” I said, grabbing his arm and causing him to turn, “the lights....”
I saw his eyes sharpen. Advantage lost.
….
Jude
“F*ck, they must have realized they were giving themselves away,” I said – whispered - quietly as we continued through the undergrowth.
I listened intently as we went, but could hear nothing. They were making no sounds now, creeping as we were, blind and in silence.
I knew exactly what would happen if they caught us. They'd take Amy back to the mansion and execute me here in these wooded hills. Those will have been the orders from O'Brien: “retrieve my daughter, kill the other one.”
I wonder if he knew it was me. I guess, who else could it be?
We pressed on, moving left as quickly as possible. I was trying to lead us back round and away from the pursuing men, then down through the woods and away to my car. We had a head start, and they had no idea where we were, so still carried the advantage.
The night was darkening now, clouds rolling in from the mountains in the distance. They blocked out the moon, obscuring her light and plunging us regularly into darkness. They began to flow in quicker and thicker, the pockets of light between clouds now growing more rare.
The lack of light began to slow us as we stumbled over fallen branches and low lying bushes. Amy fell behind me, tripped up by a root, and grunted as she hit the floor, the air pushed out of her. I turned and quickly dragged her to her feet, pulling her back along behind me as she breathed heavily for air.
In the darkness I'd lost my bearings, not knowing exactly where I was, or how far we'd gone. Ahead, however, the thick blanket of trees seemed to thin. As I got closer, I could see the woods ending, the ground flattening out into an open plain.
We continued forward and burst out from the trees and I immediately knew where we were. We'd arrived at the lookout point, a place where people would gather and look down on the city from above. There was a wide track just ahead of us, where cars and bikes could ride up and down into the hills and beyond.
The edge of the cliff was not far ahead, dropping down hundreds of feet to the foot of the mountain. Beyond the boundary of the treeline we were suddenly exposed, our silhouettes more clear against the night sky.
“OK Amy, we're going to run down the track,” I whispered. “We're going to run as fast as we can and straight down to my car at the bottom. Can you do that?”
I looked in her eyes. They were smothered in fear now, a grimace still etched across her face from the fall. But she nodded and spoke quietly: “Let's go.”
With that we turned and began running, straight across the plain and down the track along the line of the trees.
But then, from nowhere, a figure appeared, rushing out of the woods in front of us. He was only 20 feet away, crashing through the undergrowth and looking frantically around. I couldn't see his face in the light, only the shape of his body, moving quickly towards us up the track.
I felt a gust of wind and the clouds suddenly parted, uncovering the light of the moon. It spilled down onto us as we were lit, standing helpless as this man came towards us.
Then I saw his face, his eyes wide with fury, his teeth bared like an animal. His hand pulled up from his side and with it came a pistol, pointing straight at us.
I thought of running but there was no chance of escape, not in the open, not under this sudden light.
Conor O'Brien kept coming as we both backed off, our hands rushing to the heavens as his gun bore down on us.
“Give me back my daughter,” he growled, his face coming truly into the light.
“I'm not going back,” I heard Amy cry beside me.
His eyes turned on her, but the gun stayed on me.
“You'll do as you're told,” he said coldly, his eyes manic.
“And you,” he said, staring again at me, “you never give up, do you? I told you never to see her again, and you disobeyed me.”
His eyes scanned the landscape, quickly hovering over the edge of the cliff that was only a few dozen feet away. A smile ran over his face.
“Now isn't this ironic,” his voice slithered, “that I should find you here. I told you, Mr Logan, what I'd do to you if you saw my daughter again.”
His gun raised right to my head. “Walk to the edge,” he said.
I glanced at Amy, who stood at my side, her hand gripped tight to mine. I stood slightly ahead of her, protecting her, pulling her behind me.
“Don't do it,” she said, her voice growing desperate. “Dad, don't do this.”
O'Brien kept staring at me. “Walk to the edge,” he said again, his voice casual, “or I'll kill you both.”
I felt Amy shudder slightly at my back as his words ran through me.
“Please daddy, no. Don't, it's not his fault.”
O'Brien's expression didn't change. He just stared on at us, the gun unmoving.
I had no choice. It was either me, or both of us. I had no doubt now of what he was capable of. Whether he'd kill his own daughter or not, I was going to die all the same.
I started moving forward, towards the edge of the cliff. I felt Amy grab at me, trying to hold me back, but I pulled myself away.
“No, Jude, no....”
I moved slowly forward as O'Brien's eyes danced after me, lighting up. I saw them flashing under the moonlight, a deep pleasure in them.
“You've caused me no end of trouble Mr Logan. It's time you were put down.”
I glanced above to see the clouds rushing by fast in the growing wind. They flickered again, intermittently blocking the moon and casting shadows down on all of us. I stood now, near the precipice, gazing out over the city of Branton that I loved, seeing lights moving in the distance, early morning starters already rising for the day.
I held my back to O'Brien, not wanting to look at him, but could hear him creeping forward. I was waiting for the gunshot to hit me, to burst through my head and send me flying forward over the edge and into the thicket of woodland below.
I could hear Amy crying behind me, sobbing and begging her father to stop. “I love him,” I could hear her cry, “I love him daddy.”
The words brought a smile to my face as I awaited my doom. They were nice words to die by.
….
Amy
My father was bearing down on Jude now, forcing him over to the cliff. I didn't know what he was going to do – force him to jump or shoot him. I could feel my heart pumping madly as he neared the edge, my eyes beginning to water.
“Please dad, don't do this...you can't do this.” I repeated.
He turned to me briefly, his eyes showing no concern or remorse. He'd given up hiding that part of himself from me.
“I love him, I love him daddy.” The words shocked even myself, but my father didn't change, didn't stop. He kept his gun on Jude, who looked out over the cliff now, gazing at the city below.
My father turned back to Jude, his arm outstretched and unshaking. He'd done this before, it was nothing to him to kill a man.
A dark cloud came rushing over us, blotting the moon's light. It was heavy, leaving the entire plain shrouded in darkness. I had to act.
In the blackness I rushed forward towards my father, towards his outstretched arm, knocking his hand just as the gun went off. I felt my heart exploding inside me as I looked up at Jude. He turned, his eyes bright in the low light, and came rushing in towards us. I let out a breath. He was OK. He hadn't been hit.
My father shrugged me off and steadied his gun on Jude again as I tumbled to the floor, but Jude was on him fast, dancing through the shadows and launching his strong frame forward upon my dad.
He tackled him to the ground, knocking the gun to the floor, as they grappled, rolling around in the dirt. I saw them throwing punches, their fingers tangled over each others' throats, gasping for air and grunting as they fought.
They rolled closer to the cliff as I watched on, half paralysed in fear. I looked down and saw the gun, lying on the ground, and stepped forward, reaching to the earth and feeling the metal in my hands. It was heavy, the handle warm from my father's touch.
I lifted it up slowly towards the two dark figures struggling by the cliff edge. My hand shook in the slight wind; from cold, from fear.
My father began to overcome Jude, his strength too great, as he wrapped his arms around him on the ground, trying to strangle him. Jude managed to struggle from his grip, but my father's fists came down quickly again, hard into Jude's face.
“Stop it dad, stop it,” I shouted, the gun now pointing at him.
He looked up as Jude's head slumped to the dirt, blood dripping from his mouth.
“And what are you going to do with that,” he growled, panting, and stepping up from Jude's body.
He walked heavily towards me as my hands shook further, edging away from the cliff.
“Are you going to shoot me Amy?” he asked. “Are you going to shoot your own father.”
My finger was on the trigger, pressing down. I wanted to do it. For everything he'd done, he deserved to die. But I couldn't, I couldn't kill, I couldn't take a life.
“STOP!” I shouted at him, my words shaking like my hands, “DON'T COME CLOSER.”
“Or what,” he spat, his pace slowing. “Or you'll kill me? You won't kill me, you don't have what it takes.”
He moved slightly forward again and I raised the gun high, pulling the trigger and shutting my eyes as the gun burst to life in my hands. The bullet shot over his head, causing him to duck and cower slightly.
“Just give me the gun, darling, and we can go home....where it's safe.”
The words sent shivers through me. “Home! I hate that home...and I hate you. You've ruined my life. My mother died because of you...I had to run away because of you...and now, now you're keeping me prisoner. I hate you. I want you to die.”
His face exploded in anger at my words, his teeth clenching as he came forward at me. I stepped back, keeping the gun on him, and pulled the trigger hard. There was a flash of light as the gun went off, the sound echoing once again around the hills.
I opened my eyes to see my dad still coming, his face still full of rage but with a heavy grimace. He roared loudly as he came forward, blood rushing from his shoulder. I closed my eyes again and cowered, but he never got to me.
I heard a heavy grunt and looked up to see Jude on his feet, his arms grabbing around my father's chest and dragging him backwards. He squeezed at his wound, causing my father to howl in pain as his feet kicked at the dirt.
Then, Jude threw him, with all his strength, towards the edge of the cliff, sending him tumbling over. My father reached forward and up with his hands, grabbing for something, anything, to hold onto, but there was nothing.
I watched on in horror through tear stained eyes as his hands disappeared from sight, sliding over the edge. Then, all I could hear was the sound of his screaming as he plunged down to his death.
….
Jude
I lay on the ground, the world blurring and fading around me. I could sense O'Brien standing and moving off towards Amy, and could hear them speaking, but couldn't make out the words. My mind was tumbling, my brain rocking around in my head.
I lay for a moment, my vision slowly clearing, my senses coming back to me. I heard a loud gunshot, and it rocked me from my stupor.
I arched my head and saw O'Brien rocked back by the force of the bullet. He reached for a moment at his shoulder before moving forward again, towards Amy, who was cowering only feet away.
I jumped to my feet and rushed forward, the world still slightly blurry. I felt wobbly as I came at O'Brien from behind, grabbing him and stopping him from getting to Amy. I gripped at him hard and pulled him back, feeling for his wound and digging my finger in to weaken him.
I felt a shudder rush through his body as he roared, the pain weakening his struggle to get free from my arms. I could feel the empty edge of the cliff behind me and glanced back to see I was only feet from it.
In a single move I threw him, with all my force, towards the cliff edge. He stumbled and fell, his weight carrying him over the precipice. I could see his eyes growing wide with terror as he reached for something to stop his fall, something to pull him back up. All he grabbed, however, was dirt, as his body slid ungraciously over the side.
I saw the final look on his face as his eyes caught mine, deep fear on them at his imminent death. But I felt no remorse, I felt no pity for him. Everything he'd done, he'd brought upon himself. He was about to die, and he deserved it.
The sound of his scream ended abruptly as he hit the ground below, and I turned to see Amy sitting in the mud, staring out ahead of her at the cliff edge. I could see the tears wetting her eyes in the moonlight, her hands shaking as she held them to her mouth.
I moved quickly forward and hugged her, feeling her body convulsing in my arms.
“It's over now baby, it's OK,” I said, trying to comfort her. “But we have to go....now.”
I looked up to see lights once more coming through the trees in the distance. The men must have heard the gunshots and were coming our way, quickly bearing down on us.
I lifted her to her feet and put my palms to her cheeks, looking her directly in the eye. “Down the track, into my car, and away, OK.”
She nodded tamely and I started running, quickly moving off down the track, running quickly with her hand in mine. She ran behind me as we picked up speed, moving off away from the lights.
I could see them in the distance as I glanced around, still moving through the woods in the direction of the sound, still searching for the source. By the time they got there, we'd be long gone.
We ran and ran, not talking, not looking at each other, just running. The light of the moon was beginning to give way as the first rays of the rising dawn began to creep over the horizon. The adrenaline pumped through me, keeping me warm against the night air, keeping us both pouring down the track as fast as we could manage.
By the time we emerged to the bottom and came onto the first major street, I searched for signs of life. It was still too early for most, no cars moving down the road, no people seen walking their dogs or out for early morning jogs.
I saw my car in the distance, our haven, and we moved towards it. We jumped inside and I gunned the engine, moving off quickly and away from the scene. I looked to my side, where Amy sat, still staring, still in shock, and reached out to grab her hand. She looked at me, at my touch, and her eyes softened.
But there was no space for smiles, no space for words. She just looked at me, and her eyes told me everything I needed to know. She loved me, she'd said it before. She loved me.