Locke

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Crouching in a bush, I could see the sun hit the horizon and start to take shape. The charcoal black sky started to turn a misty orange, lifting the blindfold that had kept me still.

Lifting my hands to my face, I could actually pick out each individual finger. Tall trees and leafy brush became more clear, the sky had a shape of its own, no longer blending in as one giant mass with the rest of my surroundings. The world finally had an up and down.

I wasn't sure how much time had gone by or how long I had sat tucked away in the leaves; but I knew he was still out there, watching quietly, waiting patiently for me to make a move.

Shifting on my knees, I pushed some of the branches away from my face and tried to look around. Listening cautiously for the sound of feet or the heavy thrust of deep breathing, I scanned the trees around me.

Nothing; not a noise, not a shuffle from the chipmunks and squirrels as they jumped between branches and clung to the treetops. There were no crickets chirping or early morning birds singing their songs. The forest was still sleeping, dormant and slumbering like it had gone into hibernation.

Backing out of the bush, I did my best to tiptoe over the fallen leaves and debris without disturbing the silence.

A game trail emerged, opening up wide enough for me to follow. Walking heel to toe, I gingerly stepped down the path, keeping my eyes and ears open. The forest opened to a small clearing with a crystal clear pool sitting at its feet.

The cold mud sunk in between my toes, covering my feet in brown sludge. Dropping to my knees, I looked over my shoulders and at the trees in front of me before leaning down and stealing a handful of water to drink.

If I had been out there for any other reason, anything else at all, that place would have looked so beautiful in the most delicate way.

The water was still, mirroring the surrounding foliage and giant red trees. A glimmer of the sun was being cast across the top, causing the surface to twinkle like it was full of fallen stars.

Dipping my fingertips into the icy liquid, I brushed them back and forth, creating ripples and small waves over the glassy surface.

How the hell do I find my way out?

Which way do I go?

I knew I didn't want to go backwards, I knew that going in the direction I had come from was probably the worst choice I could make. It would only lead me back to him; to the man that decided I was the root of his problems, that I was the reason he had lost his fucking mind and decided to kill.

He wanted to blame me for everything, like I was the one who forced him to hurt and violate my sister in ways that were unspeakable. It was easier for him to force blame on me than to accept the reality of what he had done and the chain reaction he had caused.

I wasn't going to bow to him, I would never give in and let an apology slip out of my mouth.

I had done nothing wrong.

Taking the stand wasn't easy, having to see him again, having to stare down the eyes of pure evil was nothing less than terrifying. But I did it.

And I would do it again and again if I had to.

Sipping water out of my palm, I stayed squatted by the edge, trying to watch and listen, trying to drink and keep my barrings.

He could be anywhere. He could be watching me, stalking me like a wild animal. I felt like a deer, drawn to a vital source for survival, that could ultimately lead to my capture.

Prey was at its weakest when it was vulnerable, I was vulnerable right then. Out in the open, at the mercy of a wall-less cage, and in reality, still trapped.

Standing up quickly, my knotted hair whipped over my cheeks as I took one more look to see if I was alone. Everything was still quiet and peaceful, but it didn't last long. It didn't stay in a moment of rest.

“Hanna?!” a voice called out, echoing through the tree tops. “Hanna!?”

Slamming my feet into the dirt, I took off in the opposite direction of the yell, and back into the cover of the forest. I didn't plan on dying there, I didn't plan on giving up. I was going to run until I couldn't run anymore.

There was nothing that was going to stop me from fighting for myself. My legs would have to give out beneath me and force me to fall before I would give up on myself.

My breathing heaved in and out, chest aching for me to just slow down and take a rest. But I couldn't. Stopping meant giving him the chance to catch up, it would give him time to find me.

If he wanted to kill me, I was going to make him work for it.

Branches struck my face, breaking open my skin in thin slits and raw patches. My feet were filthy and covered in a mixture of dried blood and dirt. Finding another thick bush to hide in, I curled my knees into my chest and tried to slow down my heart.

It was beating so hard it hurt, causing my lungs to wheeze and pop with every breath.

Fuck! Dropping my head into my hands, I cupped my skull and rubbed my scalp. I hope Cole is okay. Please be alright.

I hated not knowing if he was alive or not. When Dane had knocked him out, everything that came after happened so fast, and I blacked out.

When I came to, I was in his car, trapped in a state of loss. I had lost everything all over again and it all felt the same.

That feeling of helplessness, that rush of emotions and wild thoughts that crashed through my brain and held me hostage; it all came back.

I had gone back in time, back to that young girl who had no way out, no escape; no chance to stop it.

A stick cracked somewhere behind me, making me jump. I did my best to not make a sound, holding my breath so nothing trickled out.

“You can't hide from me forever, Hanna, you never could.” His voice stabbed me in the chest and seeped into my veins, turning my blood thick as tar. “I've been keeping my eye on you for years. Even behind bars I knew where you were.” Another stick snapped, closer and louder.

Holding my hands over my mouth, I tried to peer out between the leaves to see where he was. There was nothing, only his voice to keep me stagnant. My muscles were frozen, seized up and tense as I tucked my knees deeper into my chest and made myself as small as possible.

“You did a great job changing your name, burying your numbers and addresses. But you forgot one important thing, one very important thing. . .” His voice trailed off as he tisked under his breath. “Your mother. You never changed her name, she stayed the same and I knew you weren't far behind her. One phone call to the hospital was all it took to get your number.”

It was him.

He had been on the other end of those calls.

My gut had been right, it had tried to tell me it was Dane, it tried to warn me that what I was thinking hadn't been just in my head.

The ground rumbled beneath me as his steps grew heavier, closing in on the bush. “I'll give you some credit, it did take me a little longer than I expected to really find you. The girls in between were just to hold me over until I got to you.”

Leaves and dirt kicked up like a dust ball, his voice threatening to expose where I was. My body was trembling the more he encroached on me, shaking the branches around me.

“When I saw you the first time, you were getting on the bus, I wasn't sure at first, because you changed that hair of yours—black is not your color by the way.” The edge of his boot slipped by the leaves, stopping right beside me.

I could hear his breathing as he took in long breaths, I could feel his pulse through the forest floor as it picked up, like he could sense I was close by.

“I hope Cole doesn't get too pissed at me for what I have to do. You need to be punished, Hanna, you ruined my life. I didn't do anything to your sister she didn't want.”

He knows Cole's name. . .

He's been watching for a while.

I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me, trying to make me react so he could catch me and destroy me. I wasn't going to let him get his way. Staying quiet, I let my breath trickle out with as much sound as the wings of a butterfly as they were propelled through the air.

“You have to come out sometime, you know you do.” His feet stayed put, heels digging into the dirt. “I can't promise I'll make this quick, but if you come out now, I'll let my brother think it was.”

His brother?

Who's his brother? What the hell is he talking about?

Clearing his throat, I watched his hip shift in place as he looked around. “Cole was such a fucking pussy, he couldn't even bring himself to talk to you back then. I tried to help him, I really did, he just wouldn't listen. I did my best to guide him, just like a good older brother should. I even took him to your house. We watched you and your sister for a bit, but I'm sure he already told you all about that.”

Wait. . . Brothers?

No. No it's not true, he's just trying to manipulate me.

He's lying, Cole isn't his brother. He can't be.

His words split my head open and shattered my heart. I couldn't imagine the man who had swooped in to save me, peeping in my window. Cole was everything I ever wanted, but this, the thought of him sitting shoulder to shoulder with this sick fuck, it spun my world upside down.

“Or did he leave that out? Did he forget to tell you about that, about me? He really was there with me you know, Hanna, lurking in the shadows. Do you even know the man you've been staying with?”

It can't be, I won't believe it.

Cole isn't like him, he wouldn't do that.

A freight train slammed into my head, drawing out forgotten memories. I remembered his face, I remembered Cole sitting in the front of the courtroom during Dane's trial.

He was much younger, but it was him, he was there. His eyes were on me, watching me with this look on his face. He looked torn between two worlds. A world of sadness for knowing his brother was about to be convicted of something horrible; a look of hatred for everything that happened.

Or was that something else, was he secretly wishing I had died beside my sister so his brother would go free?

Was the look in his eyes actually meant for me?

I had forgotten about him, I had blocked out as much of that memory as I could.

And now it was back, splashing against my face like battery acid. It burned, it stung, it made me hate myself all over again.

That was what he wanted me to remember. That was the secret that sat in the catacomb of who he really was.

Cole wasn't just the man who had come in and rescued me from a monster anymore.

Cole was a man who had been there from the beginning, he was a part of it.

He was a piece of the horror that wanted me dead.

Did Cole lead him to me? Was he the real reason Dane had found me?

My shoulders slumped as I let the realization sink in and take hold. Maybe this was his plan all along; to take me, to show me kindness and concern to earn my trust. And when the time was right, when his brother was ready, he gave me away like a tribe sacrifices for their god.

Cole was holding my heart out to the beast that needed to feed.

Was fighting even worth it now?

What point was there in trying to live when the one person who made me feel whole might have driven me to my death?

Maybe this is where I say goodbye. . .