I punched with both fists. My knuckles crunched on the metal, shock waves rippled through my hands and arms, but no pain. I screamed. The sound was swallowed the same as I was. Kicking and hitting, I attacked every inch of my trap. I screamed at that mother-fucker who shut me in there.

I was a human, not some animal, not an insect in a jar, not a plaything, not a bargaining chip. I was not his to use.

I'm a human being!

I screamed the words to convince myself as I thrashed blindly in the dark. I hit my head on the lid above me. Ears ringing, I laid back. Around me, the car jostled and shook. He was driving fast. We were still on the gravel road and would be for a while, unless the looping had kept us close to the town.

Idiot. I had let rage steal precious minutes.

Analyze. Act. Save yourself.

We hit a bump, and I smacked my head again. For a second, I felt the panic squeezing my chest and neck again. Maybe we weren't going back to town. Maybe he was going off road. Maybe that sink hole he raved about was a hole in the ground the size of a body.

Analyze. Act. Save yourself, Brooklyn. I gritted my teeth and got to work.

The trunk was lined with carpet that seemed fixed in place. I tore at the edges in the corners and along the trunk lid to find any weaknesses. There might be a release handle or wire, but I wasn't hopeful. This bucket was too old for safety features.

My other option was trying to tear out the brake light. That would be my beacon for help if we actually did go back to town.

The zip-tie cut sharply into my wrists, he had pulled it too tightly for me to work my thumb out. I would have to break it, which wouldn't be easy in the confines of the trunk. I twisted until I was lying flat with as much room for my arms as possible. I lifted my arms, testing the amount of space above me, then brought them down hard to my stomach.

The tie held.

Shit that hurt. I curled in a tight ball, sucking in air and blowing it out slowly, keeping as calm as possible.

"You all right back there, Brooklyn?" Todd called, voice muffled and thin from the front seat.

"Fuck you, you ugly, friend-murdering asshole!" I shouted. I was past pretending with him. Trunks and zip-ties obviously did that to you.

I caught the end of the tie with my teeth to position the clasp between my wrists and to tighten it more.

Arms up. I breathed. I had to make this work.

"We all do what we have to do in life, not what we want to," Todd said. The trunk made him sound far away and right there with me at the same time. Whispering words straight to my brain.

Ignore him and do this.

"Animals don't think about killing, they don't have fears or regrets. If I was an animal, or if you were, this would be easy. I could do what needed to be done and good riddance. It's because we are humans that this is so hard for both of us. This is humanity in its purest form. Accepting the choices we don't want to make. I don't want to hurt you, Brooklyn, and I will regret it if I have to do so, far more than a girl like you could ever imagine. It's hard being a man."

The BS was so thick I would be drowning soon. Using my anger, I jerked my hands to my stomach and flared my elbows. The tie snapped.

A sweeter sound, I've never heard. And Todd finally shut the fuck up as we hit pavement. We went straight and fast.

"Just so we're clear," I muttered to myself, "I really won't have any regrets when my humanity—with a little help from my boot—smashes your face to a pulp."

Keep going. You might be running out of time.

Next was the carpet. There had to be tools with the spare tire underneath me, or access to the brake light, or even a magical escape lever, so I could pop the lid and jump.

He must have nailed the carpet down in anticipation of putting me in here, though. We slowed and took a turn. Gravel and potholes. We slowed more.

I cursed, and my gut was sucker punched from fear.

We stopped. Todd got out of the front. I flipped to lay on my back in order to kick him.

There were no sounds of traffic, only some bird-song. Shit. The lid popped and went up slowly on its own. There were forest trees and an electric wire above, and I sat up to peer out.

Todd was a few feet away, leaning against a stump. He had an axe in his hand, but I didn't see the gun.

"If you give me trouble, I swear I will chop off parts, starting with toes. You are my ticket out of this down, so don't fuck it up for me." He stared at me, cheeks hollow and eyes dead, a vein pulsing at his temple.

I shook too hard to nod or speak. His sincerity was obvious—if he wanted to, he wouldn't hesitate to chop me to pieces. Humanity obviously did that to you.

He motioned behind me. "We're gonna wait in my new cabin, while I figure some things out."

"Figure things out?" What did that mean?

Those dead eyes didn't flicker and I had my answer: how he would deliver me in exchange for his freedom. He was a believer. A worshipper. Sacrifices were nothing new in the history of man.

"Let's move now," he said, standing. My legs were loose and weak, but I forced myself out of the car. He motioned again and I started walking. We were next to a small row of run-down hunting cabins. The stench of rot and shit choked me.

The filth that was piled up behind the place only promised there would be more filth and bugs inside. I shuddered, knees nearly giving out.

"Slow and easy. Don't do anything stupid."

We rounded the ramshackle buildings to the fronts where a dozen paint crackled doors looked more like bad choices in a nightmare than the cozy vacation cabins they used to be. Window screens were torn out, boards barely covered holes in the walls and several cabins had roofs that sagged or had collapsed.

"This one is mine," Todd said, and nudged me towards number fourteen, the closest to us. Except there was no number thirteen, of course. As if my luck could get any worse, I was going to held captive in the thirteenth shack.

Todd got the key with his free hand from his pocket. I noticed the hilt of his gun in his belt.

I was close enough to grab it. Fear stopped me, though, and seconds later, Todd shoved me inside and to the floor of the one room cabin. What was left of a kitchenette, bed and dining area was his home. He had rope this time—though it wasn't much more than heavy string. He tied my hands behind my back this time, to the leg and metal frame of the bed.

I was sitting on nasty carpet, gagging at the smell. The whole place was an ashtray, since apparently he had run out of room in the two ashtrays on the tables. It reeked of smoke and mold and decay and perhaps worst of all, the onion stink of unwashed man.

Bugs were certainly already bugs crawling on me.

"Todd?" I asked.

He ignored me and collapsed on the bed, rubbing his face. He lit a cigarette and leaned back.

"Todd?" I asked louder.

"Let me think."

I had to pee. I hadn't realized it until I was sitting down, staring at thirty-year-old TV, and hands tied at the base of my spine. I had to pee. I hadn't gone for hours. And I didn't know what he was going to do to me.

Go crazy and start chopping me with his axe? Put the gun to my head and count to three? I didn't think he'd rape me, but I really didn't know. Maybe he just wanted a toy to keep himself occupied and since it was sort of my fault he was on the run, he chose me as his victim.

I bit my tongue hard to try and distract myself from the gnawing fear growing in my chest and silent tears slid down my cheeks.

A few minutes passed. It felt like hours. It felt like bricks on my bladder.

"Todd?" I whispered.

"What?"

"I have to go to the restroom."

"Hold it."

"I can't." Silence answered my words. "Please."

He threw his legs off the bed and knelt next to me. He untied the rope from the bed, leaving me on a sort of leash. "Make it fast."

I went ahead to the tiny, brown-streaked bathroom at the back while he stayed just outside, out of view, but with the door open. I scanned quickly for any razors or nail clippers to use, but besides a squishy soap on the counter, one towel on the floor, and layers of grime, the place was completely bare. There was a bucket instead of a toilet. I pushed my jeans down, thankful they were loose enough, and squatted over it carefully.

The wall in front of me was scratched up with writing.

I sucked in mybreath, fear clenching my heart. They were here. They were in the cabin,scratching in the walls. They were coming for me already.

*** End of part one... Please hit the star if you enjoyed reading! ***