Chapter 6

I sat there in silence, waiting for the man to make a move, but he didn’t even make a sound. I was starting to get really spooked out by the whole thing.

The darkness wasn’t helping.

“Can… can I have a flashlight or something? It’s really dark.” I begged, hoping he would be sympathetic to my plight.

“Why should I?” His voice emerged from the darkness.

“It’s not like it’s going to foil your plans or something…” I said, trying to sound courageous. “I mean, we’re still deep in the woods… right? It’s not like anyone can find me.”

“I still don’t trust you. You’ll just try to escape.”

“How am I supposed to escape with you watching me the whole time?” I asked, still hugging my knees. “Please… what harm will it do? It’s not like I can find my way back based on the inside of a cave, right?”

Silence filled the cave, making the air thick and unbreathable. My lungs burned for fresh air, but I knew I just had to play this out if I wanted to survive. It wasn’t like I could just run out of the cave with this guy watching me the whole time.

“Fine.” I heard him get up and walk toward me. I flinched, pulling myself into an even tighter ball. He grabbed something above my head before taking a step back.

Through the darkness, I saw a spark of light followed by the subtle tsk, tsk of someone trying to light a match. Suddenly, the light exploded, filling the cave with a bright luminance. I was forced to look away, shielding my eyes.

As my eyes adjusted, I looked back to see a shadowy figure holding out a torch in my direction. It took me a moment to realize that he wanted me to take it. I grabbed it, my fingers still shaking, but it felt good to have something solid in my hand.

For a second, I thought about thrusting the torch into his body and making a run for it, but that would probably just piss him off and get me into even more trouble. As long as he wasn’t hurting me, I could play it cool and weigh out my options. I tightened my grip on the torch, just in case.

I stared at the flame for a moment before I looked up, getting my first glimpse at the man. He was strange and wild looking. His dirty blonde hair was like a bird’s nest on his head. He had a few crude braids running through it, adorned with small beads. His face was dark with dirt and other grime. His clothes were tattered as if he had been living in the woods for a long time. My fear only heightened at the look at him.

He reminded me of a savage. Like something out of an apocalypse movie where civilization collapses and people are forced to survive by primitive methods. I looked away quickly, his bright blue eyes finding mine, piercing through my soul with their lack of compassion and warmth.

I scooted closer to the headboard. “Why hadn’t I just listened to Abby?” I wondered aloud. “I never should’ve gone hiking by myself…” I mumbled under my breath, laying my cheek on one of my knees. The taste of copper intensified in my mouth and I did everything I could to keep back the urge to vomit.

As I closed my eyes, I remembered sitting on my couch late at night, listening to the news. I had heard about the missing female hikers who had yet to be found. I knew I should have been more careful and yet, I had allowed myself to end up in the same situation.

I wanted to get up, but my body refused to cooperate. I couldn’t get off the bed. “Am I the first...?” I asked, moving the torch in the man’s direction so I could see him.

“No.”

I waited for him to say something else, but he never did. “Does this leader… kidnap girls often?” I asked, hoping for more clues. Maybe if I found out why I was kidnapped, I could figure out a way out of this situation.

“Why do you want to know?” He asked, resting his hands on his knees. His blue eyes were beady, looking around the cave like he was waiting for something to creep out of the shadows. He tapped his foot against the ground as if he was nervous. He leaned back into the darkness, obscuring his face from view.

“I… I just want to know,” I responded. Maybe if I got out of this alive… I could tell the authorities. I gulped, praying that I wouldn’t end up a corpse by the end of this ordeal. If they dumped my body in the middle of the woods, would the police find me before the wild animals did? I shuddered at the thought, hugging myself tighter so I could force away such dark thoughts from my mind. I was going to get through this. I had to.

“No. You’re not the first to be taken. I have followed many and brought them back to this very cave for the Leader.” He explained, his voice husky like he had not spoken a full sentence in many years.

“Why?”

“You ask a lot of questions, you know that?” He exclaimed as he leaned forward once more, his sharp nose coming into view. In a way, it looked like a beak. I shivered with fear, wondering what this man was capable of and why he worked for the leader in the first place.

“I…” My lips were so dry they were sticking together. I tried to wet them, but my tongue felt like cotton.

“There’s no point trying to figure out what’s going on. It’s not going to help you.” The man said. “You must wait for the leader like all the others.”

Silence followed his statement, leaving me to wonder who exactly this leader was.