"Do you realize how much people love you, Lily?” he says, his tone terrifying me.
I grit my teeth, huffing with the desperation of knowing that, whatever I say, it is going to piss him off.
"Well, they don't go around kidnapping me at gun point, Castor!" I shout.
He tsks, shaking his head in disapproval of me. His free hand takes hold of my wrist, pressing around it to the point of hurting me. I try to pull it back, but his grip is too strong for me.
I let out a low, guttural sound, meant to repel, but he leans in closer and tries to force a kiss against my mouth.
I battle him fiercely, but he's much stronger than I am and, as a last resort, I bite down on his lower lip, enough to tear off a piece, which I spit out with a growl. I then try to stand and run away, but he grabs my ankle and makes me fall face first on the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?" he laughs, sounding nervous.
Still holding me by the ankle, he drags me back to him.
“You said you weren’t going to do anything I didn’t want!” I scream, thrashing against my captor.
But suddenly feeding my hopes, I hear police sirens in the distance. Praying that they’re for me, I devise a plan: bring my knee with all my might to his groin and wish for the best.
The plan works out. He screeches in pain, bent over. And I get up and make a run towards the road where we came, chasing after the sound of the police cars.
“Get back here!” Castor yells, coming after me.
In the dark, and in uneven soil, I break a heel, but manage to not fall again and keep on running on the tips of my toes. But even so, I’m slower, and my pursuer is getting closer and closer.
“Lily, wait!” he shouts, “I love you!”
But I see the sirens now, still far away. He realizes it’s the police and lets out a resounding “Shit!”
He finally gets to me, and I start to scream my lungs out so the police officers can hear where I am.
“Shut up, shut up!” he says, covering my mouth. His other hand is around my ribs, holding onto the gun, but he doesn’t point it directly at me.
He drags me back closer to the cliff as the police cars stop and start their search. I bite on his fingers now, then scream “Help!” and see flashlights turning on our direction.
“Look at what you’ve done!” He’s crying and shaking with such intensity I’m afraid we’ll fall into the cliff.
“Freeze!” an officer gives the command. “Drop your weapon and let the girl go!”
“Never!” he barks. “I’ll jump off this cliff with her if you don’t leave us alone!”
I resume my shaking. I have to do something, anything.
“Castor, be nice to me and they’ll be nice to you,” I say. “I promise I’ll visit you.”
“Never!” he jostles me around like a ragdoll.
“Son, we’ll shoot you before you do it,” the officer speaks again. “What if you keep the gun and let the girl go, huh?”
Behind the police cruisers, a civilian car parks. It’s a big black car, like the ones Brody has been driving, but he can’t possibly be here.
“How about the opposite?” Castor asks, nervous tears in his voice. “I give you the gun if you let us go?”
“Come on, boy… None of us want to hurt anyone,” the police officer says.
Another figure approaches, holding a bullhorn. Half blind by fear and the strong lights, I can’t tell who it is, until the unique sound of his voice lights a fire in my heart.
“Brody, help!” I shout.