Page 97 of The Tangle of Awful

My breaths are coming out and back in, sharp and laborious. I am becoming dizzier with each passing second. I gag and gag again.

“I can’t breathe!” I bellow. “Please help me!”

It’s not like my captor can hear me as he’s too busy driving like a bat out of hell.

Hugo will catch up. He has to. He’s not going to let this monster get away with taking me. And when Spencer finds out what happened, he’ll turn the entire town upside down to find me.

They’re coming for me.

They won’t leave me.

But your mother went missing, too, and they don’t seem to care…

I shove away those toxic thoughts. Thinking they’ll abandon me will only make my situation worse. I have to believe they’ll be here to save me soon.

I can’t breathe.

I’m going to pass out.

Oh God.

After what feels like an eternity of reckless driving, I slam again against the back of the trunk as we turn. The car bounces and groans as we travel over a long gravel drive. It finally rolls to a stop and the engine shuts off.

Fear weighs my body down and a wave of dizziness washes over me again. I get my hands ready, bared like claws, and bring my knees to my chest so I can kick out the second I can.

Gravel crunches beneath his feet as he steps out of the vehicle and then the car door slams. The footsteps make it closer. A fob beep resounds and then the trunk unlatches. Sunlight pours in as he lifts the trunk. I don’t waste a second, kicking forward and landing a loud crack on his jaw. It sends him stumbling away and just as he’s turned away from me, I scramble out.

On wobbly legs, shaking with terror and adrenaline, I take off running down the gravel driveway. Rocks stab at my bare feet and I cry out in pain. Veering off the road, I step onto the overgrown grass, picking up speed once my feet are no longer being battered.

Where am I?

There aren’t any houses around. Only trees.

“Get back here,” the man bellows, charging after me.

I screech because he feels too close, running faster than I’ve ever run in my entire life. My tears blur my vision. I blink them back, needing to focus on my surroundings so I don’t—

Slam!

I fall face first on the grass, my ankle screaming in protest, as my foot gets tangled up in an exposed tree root. My teeth bite into my tongue and the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.

Get up!

I scrabble back to my feet, wincing when I put weight on my sore ankle. I’m about to take off again when my head smarts in pain, making me black out.

“Let go!” I bellow, clawing at the man’s hand that’s gripping my hair and yanking. “Ow! Stop!”

He drags me by my hair toward him and then easily hefts me over his shoulder, just as he did when he took me from my own backyard. Through my sobs, I beat my fist against his kidneys and claw at whatever skin I can get ahold of. He grunts and smacks the back of my thigh hard.

“Feisty like your mother.”

My blood runs cold. He knows Mom?

He walks past his vehicle and onto a wooden porch that’s flaking with paint. When he opens a door and steps through the threshold, I grab onto the frame, trying to keep him from taking me into his serial killer lair.

Since he’s bigger and stronger, he muscles his way ahead and my arms burn when I’m forced to let go.

“Please,” I choke out. “Let me go. I won’t tell a soul about this.”

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