Page 30 of Trapped: Until The Darkest Of Night

Tomorrow, Lou will understand what I did. From tomorrow on, she will hate me.

Chapter

Nine

The next morning, Lou is doing better, but I still stick to my plan. I put her in the box and place a few drops of chloroform on a gauze bandage. It’s thin enough to allow Lou to still breathe. I stop several times to check on her and I am relieved when I reach Dease Lake around two in the afternoon. I buy the current issue of the Vancouver Sun in a mom-and-pop store, glad to be able to even get my hands on a daily newspaper. Apparently, Lou is also the number one topic in Canada:

MISSING LANTERN GIRL: ARE THE BROTHERS TO BLAME?

“A shame,” says the aged man behind the cash register in a troubled tone. I look up from the front page, which I’ve already skimmed.

“Excuse me?” I raise my eyebrows questioningly.

The corners of his mouth are drawn down like someone who experiences stomach pains, his eyes looking sadly at me.

“Now they say the girl fled from her brothers. But family is everything, isn’t it?”

Maybe in Dease Lake, I think cynically. “You’re probably right about that,” I reply loudly. “I read the girl got lost.”

The furrows in the old man’s face deepen like ditches. “Did you see the picture of the girl?”

I nod mechanically. He may be old, but he’s also a man. His eyes say it all. I know what he’s thinking. Girls like that don’t get lost, they are stolen from the world. By men like me.

I murmur a brief salutation and get back on the road.

As I turn off the Cassiar Highway onto one of the nameless roads, I hear pounding from somewhere on the underside of the camper. At first I think it’s the engine, but after a few seconds, I realize it can only be Lou. A moment later, I hear her scream.

She woke up too early! She’s in the box! Alone in the dark.

I brake so hard, the tires squeal and the motorhome lurches a few yards uncontrollably over the bumpy road. My stomach clenches. Lou needs to get out of there before she loses her mind from fear.

I run to the back, take off the panel, and unlock the box. I’m struck at how quiet it suddenly is. The lid snaps down, I lean forward and see Lou. My heart wants to stop beating.

She lies on her side, eyes narrowed. Her body shakes violently like I have never seen before.

“Shh, quiet. I didn’t have a choice.” My words have no effect. She trembles even more, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

It’s imperative I explain everything to her, then I’m sure she’ll calm down again.

“I’m going to get you out now,” I say clearly so she can understand.

Her eyes widen as if I had announced her death sentence. For a moment, she looks me in the face. Confusion crosses her features. Confusion, realization, and bewilderment. For a split second, I wonder if she recognizes me and what exactly she remembers. Does she remember that I grabbed her from behind and drugged her?

I raise my hand carefully. “I’m not going to do anything to you, Louisa.” I lean forward and grab her upper arms to pull her out. In the next moment, she starts screaming again. No words, just high shrill noises like an excited marten.

I pull back. “Lou, it’s Brendan. We’ve been traveling together for the past five days. You probably don’t remember, but you trusted me.”

She slaps my arms, unable to stop screaming, growing worse and more hysterical.

“Calm down, Lou!” I almost have to yell to drown her out. She catches my thumb and bends it backward. The pain kindles my impatience. “Everything’s fine. Dammit, calm down!” I grab her upper arm and clamp my fingers around it like a vise. Suddenly, she becomes rigid as if resigning herself to her fate.

Sometimes, pain is the only thing that helps. A disgusting thought out of nowhere! Her whimpers don’t make it any better.

Being harsh will only scare her more, Brendan!

I ignore my concerns; she has to get out of the box and obviously that is only possible by force.

“I don’t want to hurt you. Stop fighting me!”

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