Page 10 of Savage Daddies
“Fair enough.”
As they’re talking, I bend down slightly, feeling around for anything I might use as a weapon. There’s a pocket behind the seat in front of me, and I manage to angle forward and reach into it. I’m stunned when I find what appears to be a folded pocketknife. I feel like I struck the Happiness Raffle all over again. A knife is just what I need. Especially a small one. I’ll be able to hide it in my clothes and untie myself when the savages least suspect.
Tonight.
My heart races. Tonight when they’re sleeping I’ll quietly cut my ropes and make a run for it. Better yet, I’ll steal the truck and they won’t be able to follow.
Axel closes the hood with a thud and I hurry to place the knife in my pocket. Despite my recent dour musings, my spirits soar. I might not be happy in Emerald, but I can’t spend the rest of my life with Nash, Axel, and their other two brothers.
They want to keep me as their mateandtheir little girl. They’re savages and they were born, actually born, and if that’s the case it means savages have sex in the old-fashioned, dangerous way. Though I’ve enjoyed my fair share of VR sex, that’s completely different from the real thing. I’ve never been penetrated and I’ve never risked getting pregnant or catching a life-threatening disease. I recall all the dangerous things the Wise Leaders have told us about illegal sexual intercourse and a shudder runs through me.
Nash climbs in the driver’s seat and Axel jumps in the passenger seat beside him. I’m relieved neither of them decided to sit in the back. Nash starts the engine and we take off, driving through the forest for a while before coming to a dirt road. The road is almost as bumpy as the forest and it winds up the mountain. I peer out the window at the changing landscape. I recall one of the old books I read about early American explorers and I wonder if those men experienced the same soul-satisfying wonder that I’m feeling now. I’m tired from not having slept long last night, but I don’t want to close my eyes and accidentally nod off. The sea of green trees, towering mountains, white fluffy clouds, endless blue skies, colorful flowers, and wildlife are everything to me. It’s filling up some of the empty places in my chest.
* * *
Cicadas, katydids,locusts, and crickets. That’s what I’m hearing now. A whole chorus of them, so loud I can hardly hear myself thinking. Earlier in the night, after we’d stopped to make camp, Nash had caught me tilting my head to the side and listening to the sounds of the nighttime insects. He’d informed me of their names and I’d immediately committed them to memory, though if I actually saw any of the bugs I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. But somehow just knowing their names brings me a bit of secret joy.
I’m in the tent, snug inside my sleeping bag, nestled between Axel and Nash. The pocketknife feels cool in my hand as I flip the blade out. Heart racing, I decide it’s now or never. Though I’ve enjoyed many parts of my time outside the techno-city, I can’t possibly stay here and live among the savages and allow them to use my body in vile, illegal ways. And I certainly don’t need a daddy, let alone four of them. I’m a grown woman and a respected Manager in Emerald. I have responsibilities in my techno-city and need to return as soon as possible. Somehow, I will have to find a way to come to terms with my loneliness. Even though I’ve never been completely happy there, returning to Emerald is the least frightening option, not to mention the most sensible. I’ll be safe there.
I work the blade slowly through the ropes binding my wrists together. A sense of exhilaration fills me when I finally have my wrists freed. I fall still and hold my breath, listening to ensure the brothers are both still sleeping. Nash is snoring lightly on my right, while the sound of Axel’s steady breathing reaches me from the left. Still sleeping. Thank goodness. I sit up, as gently as possible, and draw my knees up under the sleeping bag. I freeze again and listen to make sure they’re yet sleeping. Once I’m certain I haven’t disturbed them, I get to work cutting the rope that’s tightened around my ankles.
I smile and satisfaction fills me when I cut the final rope and free myself. I push the cut pieces of rope into the sleeping bag and lift my legs atop it, careful not to accidentally brush up against the savages as I’m moving around. I fold the knife back up and shove it into my pocket, just in case I need it later.
Hesitation fills me for a long moment and I press my eyes shut, trying to banish my lingering anxieties. After a few deep breaths, I open my eyes and stare into the darkness.
Am I really going to do this?
I peer out the partially open door of the tent and cold fear clutches me. A cloud cover rolled in just after we set up camp. Tonight, there are no stars. No moon. Only darkness. Pure, frightening darkness. I stare out into the black night and I’m relieved when I see the outline of the solar truck. At least I can see a little, my eyes somehow adjusting to the blackest night I’ve ever known.
As I move closer to the tent door, crawling on my hands and knees, the sound of the nocturnal insects seems to swell louder, as if the night is asking me if I really want to do what I’m about to do. I pause, my fear deepening, but no matter how scared I am, I can’t simply give up.
It’s not as though I can tie my hands and ankles back together and lie back down between the savages. They’ll see the shredded rope in the morning and punish me for untying myself—and probably for hiding a knife as well. A shudder runs through me and my bottom cheeks clench, as if expecting a sudden swat. But the savages are still sleeping, and they can’t spank me if they never catch me.
You can do this. Be brave.
I think about the old books I’ve read about early explorers and try to imagine myself as brave as them. After a deep breath, I slip outside the tent and into the darkness. I creep toward the truck, though I doubt Axel and Nash will hear my footsteps over the noise of the nighttime insects.
To quell my fear, I try to convince myself this isn’t real. I’m not really here in the wildlands in the middle of the night. I’m in a VR story. Nothing real. Nothing actually dangerous.
But I shudder when I hear something rustling in the nearby bushes. Oh, no. What is it? A bear? A mountain cat? Three more steps and I finally reach the truck. I open the door and gasp when the interior lights come on. I climb inside quickly and shut the door, but the lights remain on and my heart races faster. I glance in the direction of the tent, though with the glare of the lights, all I can see through the window is my own reflection.
I’ve never driven a car or a truck before, or any kind of transportation vessel. I’ve seen them in VR stories but never drove one myself in the stories. I try to remember what Axel did to make the truck start after he got into the driver’s seat yesterday and curse myself for not having paid better attention.
To my utter relief, the interior lights fade. The controls on the dashboard light up blue and green, and I stare at the symbols and try to figure out what button to press first. Shit. Maybe I would have better luck traveling on foot.
I glance out the window and my stomach flips at the sight of total darkness. Total uncertainty. There’s no telling what kind of wild animals I’ll run into during the middle of the night. Suddenly, I’m five years old again and there’s a monster under my bed in the group home. I’ve never seen a monster, but I feel its presence. It’s there. I just know it. It’s going to drag me under the bed and devour me. But when I call out for help, a stern-faced Minder strolls into the room and tells me it’s only my imagination.Go back to sleep. Don’t make a noise again or you’ll lose recreation time tomorrow.
I wrap my arms around my center, hugging myself as the memory falls over me, so strange and distant yet it’s almost like I’m back there now, back in my bed in the group home—so scared and so alone. In the tent with Axel and Nash, I didn’t feel alone. Despite the fact that they’d kidnapped me and wanted me as their mate, I’d felt somewhat safe nestled between them. At least in the tent I didn’t worry about bears or mountain cats or monsters getting me.
My pulse quickens and a frantic feeling comes over me. I start randomly pressing buttons and nothing happens. The truck doesn’t start. Even if I get it started, getting it to drive will be a challenge. My foot touches a pedal on the floor and I’m able to press it down, but nothing happens. There’s a second, smaller pedal beside it, both of them glowing blue like the buttons on the dashboard.
It’s no use. I can’t use the truck as my getaway method.
I gulp hard and peer into the darkness. My only chance at escape is to go on foot. Though my panic rises higher with each shaky breath, I open the car door and shut it, my stomach once again flipping at the sight of the interior lights turning on. I really hope the savages don’t wake up and see what I’m doing out here. A sense of naughtiness rolls through me and a quiver races across my bottom cheeks.
Moving away from the truck, I turn in the direction of the dirt road. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness enough that I can make out the pale line of the road that curves down the mountain.
I start walking.
