Chapter 30: Jocelyn
My head smacks into something metal and my eyes shoot open. I see a few moments of light, a blurry face, and then the trunk slams shut. My screams are muffled by the metal and the roar of an engine as it comes to life. The car seems to take off down the road as I bounce around the trunk. My hands struggle to find a latch of some sort, but they are bound by some rope and I am face down against the carpet. I am trapped.
Wait, I am trapped. They’ve captured me. I remember now; I was hit on the head when I was at the creek. I start to scream louder and louder. My feet pound into the steel, the backseat, anything. It takes a few moments but I calm down. The abrasive carpet hurts my face and the kicking isn't helping. The Sanctuary's boys weren’t hard to identify with their navy blue coats. I hope they didn't get anyone else.
Walking away from Jon was a mistake. Sara wasn't far. I hope she hid. My wrists rub back and forth, trying to undo the rope. I soon give up and try to lower my pulse. They have me and there is nothing I can do about it right now.
I think several hours pass as I bounce around, keeping claustrophobia at bay.
Suddenly, daylight pours into the trunk. As my eyes focus I see a few of the boys who once greeted us into the Sanctuary. Their expressions are now much different. They grab me by my shoulders. We are at the outpost where we first met them. They drag me past the turned over cars and into the house. Boys with rifles follow the ones dragging me. I would struggle, but even if I could break free it would still be worthless. My feet drag across the threshold of the front door and they slam me into a chair. I soon find my bonds attached to the back of it. Surprisingly, they leave me alone.
The ropes hold my hands together and the bandanna in my mouth restricts the scream that is trying to escape my throat. I cough. I try to shake lose. Worthless. Accepting defeat is not always that easy. I look down at my clothes. They are covered in dirt, probably like my face and the rest of me. We were so close to the relocation center.
If Jon wouldn't have flipped out on Carter this wouldn't have…
The door to the room swings open and Saul is standing there. A pistol is holstered to his hip and he seems dressed in new, clean clothes. He gives me a smile. There's a hole where one of his front teeth had been. He probably has Jon or Carter to thank for that. Probably Carter. Jon doesn't have the strength to really hurt anyone.
“Surprised we managed to find you so quickly?” He says. I grunt through the gag in my mouth. I don't care. I need to get out of here. “My boys had been tracking you since the second you left our little home. Jon was pretty naive to think he could get away so cleanly from us. Within an hour of you all leaving me I was packed up in a car and blazing down the road to get a little payback.”
He pulls another chair away from the wall, flips it around, and sits down on it, leaning forward against its back.
“I was a little worried we would never catch up to you. But then there you were, sitting along the side of the road. You made it easy when you decided to wander down a little further. Too bad that little one didn't come with you. We would have liked to have her, too.”
With all my strength I try to pull my hands loose from the back of the chair. I yell through the gag. The rope does not give way. I collapse back into the chair. Saul moves closer. He licks his upper lip and looks me over.
“Man was I pissed when I thought I lost you, but now that I have you back, I can take what is mine.” His hands go down my body. My feet struggle to free themselves, but they are also lashed together. Struggling against the rope seems pointless, but I keep trying. This can't happen. He steps back.
“I imagine that coward of a brother and your boyfriend will be here soon. Guessing their type they will be here within the hour without a plan or preparation. When we are finished here I will pull you up against a window and maybe you will be lucky enough to watch them die.” He puts his hands on his hips confidently. I shut my eyes for a second. He is right. Jon will come in here raising hell the best he can. He'll be determined, but he won't get far. And Carter. Carter is probably already enjoying it at the UN station, sitting back and waiting for us to roll up and hoping Jon will have calmed down.
Saul leans in close. He presses his lips against mine. I bite as hard as I can into the bandana and try to turn away. He grabs the sides of my head and forces me toward his. I struggle. He punches the side of my head. The force knocks me and the chair to the ground. My head slams into the hardwood floor. I taste blood.
With my head against the floor, I look up. I try to struggle, but the rope is still tight. His hand moves along his gun holster. I imagine the girl Carter tried to save at the compound. That would be me soon. I feel a tear stream down my eye.
BANG.
A gun shot. Then, another one.
Saul stands upright alarmed. “Boys, what the hell is going on?” He looks down at me. “Well that was sooner than I expected.”
He grabs me and with alarming strength, pulls both me and the chair upright.
“You hold tight for one second.”
Please Jon. Don't kill yourself.