“Hello? You’re blocking the road,” he says out loud. “What the hell are you doing?”
I shake off the jitters and reply, “Sorry, I-I need some help. I got lost. I’ve been walking for days.” I shiver and grab my arms, so I look a little more disheveled and in need of help. “Can you please give me a ride to the nearest stop?”
He frowns and then tucks his head back into the car, only to pop back out a few seconds later. “Sure.” A door to the back seat pops open. “Hop in.”
My heart is practically jumping up and down right now, but I have to remain calm. I can’t break down or explode with happiness until I actually get to safety. Until I’m actually free again.
So I smile and gleefully step into the car, closing the door behind me, but that excitement quickly turns to suspicion when I realize I’m not alone in here.
Two other guys are seated in the car—one in the front, one in the back—wearing hoodies to hide their red faces, as they definitely look like they drank too much. It also smells like liquor and weed in here. Maybe they were returning from a party, and I was busting in on their fun. Yikes.
I shudder when the one next to me turns his head to me and smirks awkwardly. “Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
“I, uh …” Quick, think of something. “Emmy.”
Of course, that was the only name I could come up with.
One of the girls from the cult.
Jesus.
“So, what are you doing all the way out here, Emmy?” the other one in the front asks, leaning over the edge of his seat as if I’m so interesting to listen to.
I’m creeped out already.
“Uh, just … hiking. But I got lost,” I say.
The other one next to me cocks his head. “With that kind of gear?”
He pokes at my bag, which I clutch close to my body.
“I overestimated my own abilities,” I reply.
“C’mon, what were you really doing out there?” the guy in the front seat presses.
But I’m not going to tell them the truth. It would only put me in danger.
Although, I’m not even sure I’m not in danger here, regardless.
Something about this whole conversation just feels icky, and I don’t like it at all. But what am I supposed to do? I need them to bring me to a safe spot. There isn’t anyone else out here, and there probably won’t be another car for miles. So there’s nothing else I can do but accept their relentless questions.
“You weren’t having fun at some party we should know about, were you?” the one next to me asks, and he peels away my bag to try to have a look, but I instinctively tuck it closer to my body.
“No,” I say.
He frowns. “Well, you don’t have to be all bitchy about it.”
“I’m not being a—”
“Yeah, be a little grateful, girl, we’re supposed to drive you around for free,” the blond guy behind the wheel says.
This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel right at all.
My hands search for the door handle as I contemplate running the hell away from them. Maybe this wasn’t such a smart idea after all.
CLICK!
My eyes snap to the button that just locked as fast as it closed.
Did they just … lock me in?
The guy next to him says, “C’mon, have a little fun.”
“Yeah, show us what you’ve got hiding underneath,” the guy next to me says, a creepy smirk appearing on his face.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no.
“Let me out,” I say.
He looks insulted. “Oh no, you change your mind?”
“Just let me out, and I’ll walk,” I quip, jerking the door handle, but it won’t open.
“Oh no, you wanted a ride. You stopped us. Now you’re getting one,” the guy in the front seat says.
Panic swathes through my body as fast as the guy next to me lunges at me, ripping the bag away. But he wasn’t interested in the supplies. He immediately fingers my shirt and almost rips it open.
I shriek as bile rises to my throat. “No! Get away!”
I eye the guy in the mirror, but he does nothing to stop the guy from attacking me. Instead, he revs the engine and hits the gas.
“C’mere, show me what you’ve got. I promise I won’t bite,” the guy next to me says, his tongue dipping out to lick his lip piercing.
Tears well up in my eyes, and I fight him off with everything I have—punching, kicking, screaming.
“Whoa, this one’s feisty,” the front seat guy says, and he immediately grabs my legs to pin me down, helping his buddy to take over.
That almost sounds like … they’ve done this before.
Oh, God.
“Calm the fuck down,” the guy next to me says as he flips me around on my back with ease. I’m smashed against the window as the car begins to move. Tears roll down my cheeks as I watch the world around me disappear slowly while this man tears down my pants, whispering, “Just enjoy the ride.”