Chapter 33
Crash
I rolled gently up the dirt track in my rental car. I needed a vehicle to get out here and didn't want to take a cab. No, I didn't want anyone knowing where I was going.
I drove as slowly as possible, not wanting to make a sound, and parked some way up the drive. About a hundred yards ahead of me I could see an old farmhouse, a large barn off to the left, and wide open fields to the back.
It was truly isolated, not a building in sight in any direction. The track towards the farm was long, roughly half a mile from the nearest country road. It was a perfect place to bring a kidnap victim.
I crept forward, my eyes firmly on the house. It looked old and run down, like it hadn't been lived in in years. A warm breeze swept across me, the sunshine beating down on my face.
At any other time this place would look quaint, almost idyllic. But not now. Now it felt sinister, like the site of a horror movie, dark secrets lurking within.
I continued pressing forward, turning my eyes towards the barn as I passed it. The large double doors at the front were open, revealing disused machinery and equipment inside, long sat gestating and gathering cobwebs.
I turned back to the house, continuing towards it. It stood alone, built from stone and wood, with a heavy wooden front door looking out up the track. There were a couple of broken windows, curtains flowing lightly inside them as the breeze passed them by. It all told of a place long abandoned.
I walked to the main door and steadied my breath. Please be here. Please.
I sent my closed fist flying at it, hitting it loudly three times. I waited, listening closely for movement inside. I could hear nothing but the buzzing of bees and chirping of birds in the trees around me.
I knocked again, once more waiting in silence. There didn't seem to be anyone in. I crept to the side of the house, peering in through a window. Inside was a large space, bereft of furniture. It looked to be deserted.
As I walked further round the house I heard something. I stopped in my tracks, my ears pricking up. A scream. The sound of a girl screaming. It gathered force and then, suddenly, was cut short.
“ELLE!”
My pulse began racing as I quickly ran back to the front of the house, steadying my aim on the door. I kicked at it hard, smashing my heavy boot at the lock. The door was strong, but old. It cracked and splintered as I brought my boot down upon it over and over.
Then, suddenly, the lock gave way, the door swinging open with a heavy thud. I walked in quickly, looking left and right. The scream had seemed to come from upstairs.
I walked forward, further into the old farmhouse, spiders and cobwebs everywhere, bits of debris littering the floor. The stairs creaked as I stepped up them, the banister wobbly and unstable.
I marched on, seeing several open rooms come into view on the landing at the top. But there was one that was shut, one that had something to hide.
I grabbed the handle with a hand shaking with fury and twisted, letting the door fall open. What I saw made my heart drop and my fury rise.
I changed straight in to see Elle lying tied to a bed, her arms and legs fastened to the corner posts with bits of old ripped sheet. Her head lay to one side, a gash staining her blonde hair red with blood.
I inspected the cut. It was shallow and didn't look serious. A sense of relief ran quickly through my body as I looked down on her, her wrists and ankles red and bleeding, her face lost of it's color and light.
Her eyes began to flicker as I cradled her head in my hands, a terror inside them. She struggled immediately, pushing her hands at me and twisting and turning with all her strength.
“Elle, Elle it's me. It's OK, it's me, it's Crash,” I shouted.
Her movements began to relent as my voice filtered into her head. She turned her eyes on me quickly and blinked again, her face exploding with tears as she recognized me.
She began crying uncontrollably as I quickly untied her hands, her arms wrapping tight around me as soon as they were free. I could feel her entire body shaking, her eyes wetting my shoulder as she sobbed.
I leaned back, looking directly in her eyes. “It's OK Elle, you're safe now.”
Her eyes were wet and blinking, her breathing short. Then, suddenly, I saw them dart to the right over my shoulder as her face once again grew in fear.
“Look out,” she croaked as I felt a heavy weight come cracking down against my back.
I slumped forward onto her as she scrambled back, her legs still fastened to the bed. I saw her hands reach quickly for her bounds as I turned back towards the door.
Brad stood there, his eyes wild, a crowbar in his hand. He wasn't the cowering worm he was the last time I'd seen him. This time he stood tall, his breathing heavy, his hand shaking in fury.
“I remember what you said before,” he said, his face completely manic. “I remember what you said you'd do if I went near her again.”
He lifted the crowbar up.
“Well, maybe it's you who shouldn't go near Elle. Maybe it's YOU who should be threatened.”
He lifted the crowbar up again and swung it down towards me. I rolled quickly to the side, my back aching badly, as it came cracking down on the bed.
I darted my eyes to Elle, who'd managed to release one leg and was working on the other. Her hands were working furiously as she looked on in fear at the scene playing out in front of her.
Brad swung the crowbar again, swiping across at me. I managed to lift my arms to defend my face and it clattered into the bone. I felt a crack, my forearm blazing in pain, and roared.
I launched myself at him before he could swing again, adrenaline now coursing through my body. I grabbed him by the neck, squeezing tight as he wriggled like a fish, his spare hand ripping at my face and trying to gouge my eyes.
I pulled my face back and threw him to the ground, sending my entire weight crashing on top of him. He swung wildly with the bar but got no momentum, tapping too lightly at me to have an impact.
He dropped the bar and sent both his hands flying at my face, twisting his body again and launching me off him. He managed to rush to his feet at the top of the landing outside the room, no weapon now protecting his miserable f*cking self from my wrath.
He ducked down like an animal, his eyes searching for a weak-point, a time to strike. He'd probably never been in a fight before but was driven by instinct, launching himself at me aggressively.
He managed to catch me with a knee in the gut, exploding the breath out of my body, as he drove me up against the wall. His fists came flying, one clattering into the side of my face and sending my brain rolling in my head.
Then his hands came at my neck, his fingers digging into the skin and squeezing as tight as they could. He was strong, as if possessed, his eyes bulging out of their sockets as he squeezed and pushed me to the ground.
I ripped and battled with my left arm but my right was weak, the bone broken. I couldn't get a grip. I wasn't able to even close my fist and strike at him. I was gasping for breath now, feeling my face growing red, my need for oxygen getting to the point of desperation.
The world began going black as my eyes popped, his iron hands around my neck, starving me of life.
This was it. I was going to die.