Page 4 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

Trez led me out onto the dark street, and my one chance for help was gone.

ChapterTwo

Trez stopped his van in a deserted parking lot. The pale glow from the few streetlights left the place largely in the dark. This would make a perfect setting for a horror movie. Yet I didn’t feel scared.

Deep inside, I realized I should be terrified, but fear never made it to the surface, smothered by the thick fog in my brain. The sweet cake-shop scent of the shimmering drink lingered in my nostrils. Idle, useless thoughts floated in my mind like clouds of cotton candy.

Trez turned off the engine.

“Get out of the van,” he commanded.

I immediately opened the passenger’s door and climbed out.

He had a white windowless van—the classic vehicle for a kidnapper or a serial killer—if it wasn’t for a bright, yellow-and-red decalMadame Tan’s Menagerieon the side.

Instead of dread, a giggle rose in my throat unexpectedly. I was in a dark, deserted parking lot on the outskirts of the city, with a man I’d just compared to a serial killer in my mind, and all I did was giggle about the situation.

“Come.” He gestured for me to follow as he headed into the trees of the park nearby.

The soles of my black pumps slipping in the gravel of the parking lot, I hurried after him as fast as I could.

The main purpose of my existence had become to please this man, to do exactly what he said and as quickly as possible. I’d literally jump off a cliff if he told me. If he took a knife to my throat, I’d just tip my head back to make it easier for him to slit it.

Deep, deep inside, I knew it wasn’t right. I had to fight for my life, to scream, to run away…

To dosomething.

But I just didn’t care. I trotted after Trez with bubbling lightness filling my chest, as if being murdered by a serial killer would be the best thing to ever happen to me.

Stepping off the path, he led me to a duck pond behind the trees. The night had cooled the air, and I wrapped my cardigan tighter over my chest. The water in the pond had warmed up through the day, and now a milky steam was slowly rising from its surface.

Trez stopped at the water’s edge and peered into the mist. Unsure what to do without his explicit instructions, I did the same.

To the left, the mist appeared pink. It shimmered slightly, bringing to mind the drink Trez had given me.

“There it is.” Trez pointed at the shimmer. “The River of Mists. Let’s go.”

He wrapped his large hand around my upper arm, steering me into the water with him. With the first step in that direction, my shoes filled with mud. This wasn’t a lake or a river, but a pond of dark, standing water and muddy banks. There must be frogs, bugs, and probably leeches too. My skin crawled with disgust, but it didn’t slow me down. I waded through the murky water, dutifully following Trez.

The mucky bottom sucked my feet in up to my ankles. I managed to free them at the expense of one shoe being left behind.

Trez dragged me behind him. “Hurry up, will you?”

He sounded impatient,displeased, and that concerned me more than the cold, the mud, or the fact that he was clearly intending to drown me. Plowing through the duckweed and lily pads, I moved faster to keep up and make him happy.

The water rose up to my waist. My breath hitched from the cold, but I kept going and stopped only when Trez did.

The pink mist was right in front of us. I smiled, admiring the pretty sparkles shimmering inside it.

Trez drew me closer, enclosing me in his arms, like into a cage.

“Hold on to me as tight as you can,” he instructed.

I obediently wrapped my arms around his middle and gripped the fabric of his t-shirt with both hands.

“Now hold your breath.” He stepped into the pink mist and dove under.

The dark water closed over our heads. Cold enclosed me from head to toe. I’d scream if Trez hadn’t ordered me to hold my breath.

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