She takes a deep breath and then nods. “Okay, let’s do this.”
We reach for Aaron, taking one arm each. He isn’t light—the man is bulky and he’s a dead weight. We drag him inch by inch, panting and puffing, until we reach the tree. It takes even more effort to sit him up, but we manage. We lean him against the tree, and I unzip the backpack he was carrying on his back, praying there is something in there we can use to secure him. I can’t say I’ve shot a gun before, so that’s probably not going to come in handy if we need.
I dig around the contents of his pack. There are a few interesting things, including a passport, a fake I.D, and a whole lot of cash. There is also his phone, rope, some food, his empty bottle of water, a flashlight, masking tape, a jacket, some matches, and a few knives. I don’t know what the man was planning on doing to us out here, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
I pull out the rope and Fallon goes around behind the tree, pulling his wrists tight so I can tie them together. I do the best I can, tying so many knots there is no way he’ll undo it on his own. I don’t claim to know what I’m doing when it comes to tying things, but I think I’ve done an okay job. Then we secure his ankles, just in case, and put some masking tape over his mouth.
That’s just for dramatic effect.
And because ... well ... fuck him.
I hope it hurts when it’s ripped off.
I then use my shirt and a knife, tearing the cotton into long strips to secure his head and stop the bleeding. His breathing is even, and I’m hoping we didn’t hit him hard enough to kill him, though I’m certain if he doesn’t get medical attention soon, that’ll most certainly be the case. I am not going back to prison for murder, so this motherfucker is going to have to live.
We finish securing him, and then I rummage around trying to find a cell phone. He has one, but this far out, we’re without service. I’m not going to dial 911 because that could end even worse for us. I’m certain the ranchers don’t want the police involved. For now, we’ll just have to camp out here and pray that with the morning light comes some help.
“I’m starting to feel thankful Rhett made us do that three-day adventure out into the middle of nowhere with nothing,” Fallon says, glancing around. “I’d be freaking out right now otherwise.”
I nod. “Yeah, I agree. Don’t worry, if any wild animals come, we’ll toss him out and run. We’re good.”
Fallon laughs, then glances at Aaron. “Do you think he’ll die?”
“I’m certain he will eventually, I’m hoping not while we’re out here. But we had no choice. He was going to hurt us out here, what were we meant to do?”
Fallon nods. “You’re right. Is there another flashlight? I’ll see if I can find something for us to drink, we’ve been walking for hours, and if we don’t have at least water, we’ll never make it back tomorrow. His water bottle is empty. He didn’t bring enough for us.”
I hand her the flashlight and use the light on Aaron’s phone to get me through while she’s gone.
“Don’t go far,” I tell her. “I can’t have you getting lost, either.”
“I won’t, but I’m certain I could hear a stream up ahead. I could be wrong, but I’ll have a quick look.”
“Hey,” I say, handing her the gun. “Take this.”
She stares at it for a moment, and then looks back up at me and nods.
Then she’s gone.
I exhale and sit down on the ground, staring at the unconscious man.
Well, this isn’t how I saw today going.
14
A groan has me whipping my head in Aaron’s direction.
Fallon has only just left and Aaron is waking up. I suppose that must be a good thing—the longer he is out the worse it will be for him, and us. So him coming to is a blessing in disguise. Still, I pick up the knife off the ground and bring it close to me. It’s then I realize I didn’t search him for anymore weapons other than the one he had in his hand.
I quickly get to my feet and rush over, shoving the phone between my knees and the knife on the ground as I quickly pat Aaron down. He’s got nothing on him that I can feel, so I quickly step back and pick up the knife again. Just as I do, his eyes open and he stares at me. For a moment, it’s clear he’s quite dazed, but eventually he realizes what has happened.
He can’t speak, but starts muttering something beneath the tape, jerking on his restraints and growling.