| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted July 6, 2019 | Chapters: |
...14 15 -16- 17... 
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Sarah is David's prisoner once again.
A chapter in the book A Light in the Darkness
Captive
by Roxanna Andrews
| Background Rookie detective Sarah Murray, investigates a serial case. Things are complicated by a stalker who has plagued her since college. |
A sharp curve was ahead, and she saw tire tracks swerving, and a large circle in the snow. A car must have spun-out. The snow on the top of the embankmen thad been knocked down. Taking a look, she saw what could be a fender sticking out of the snow. She hurried down to see if anyone was hurt.
The driver side window was down. "Anyone here!" she called.
A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. David, his face covered in blood, a slight smile on his lips, had a death grip on her wrist. She fought to pull free, beating on his hand, and trying to pry open his fingers. He pulled her partly through the window and began beating her in the face, finally knocking her unconscious.
**************
David let her slip to the ground and climbed out the window. Taking off Sarah's coat and one of the sweatshirts, he dragged her to a tree and used the sweatshirt to tie her up.
He took an inventory of any injuries he might have. He had a broken nose, various cuts and scrapes from the air bag, and pain from his seat belt. Other than that, he seemed fine. God bless Lexus, they knew how to build a car.
He grabbed the quilt Sarah had brought and wrapped himself in it. Jumping up and down, he tried to warm himself.
The greatest danger to him now was hypothermia. He needed to get warm.
Checking his pockets, he found his lighter. Gathering twigs, he tried to start a fire, but the snow made the wood wet and hard to light. He took off his knitted cap and set it ablaze. Feeding twigs into the flames, he got a small fire going.
David used Sarah's coat to sit on and warmed himself beside the fire. He didn't care if Sarah froze to death. He planned to kill her anyway.
Now that his car was wrecked, he'd have to flag down a motorist and hijack the car. His gun had been in the seat beside him, in case things didn't go well with the drug dealer. Now he had to find it.
Sarah pretended to be unconscious as she watched David through her eyelashes. Her one eye was almost swollen shut, and she could barely see out of it. Her whole face hurt and she had a throbbing headache.
She couldn't believe this had happened. Why did she have to be such a Good Samaritan? She should have kept walking, but her training had taught her to come to the aid of those in need.
Her heart pounded and she could feel panic setting in. She closed her eyes and put her head back against the tree, breathing slowly to calm herself. Panicking could get her killed. She still had her knife, but David had taken her coat and it was in the pocket.
David went through the bags Sarah had brought. He found a water bottle, and took a long gulp. Sarah noticed that despite the cold he was sweating, and shaky. He was so pale. Did he have an internal injury from the crash?
Then it dawned on her; he was strung out. He must have been on his way to get drugs. That's why it couldn't wait.
David looked over at Sarah. She was awake and staring at him. Her face was bloody and bruised from the beating, her eye swollen. He felt bad. Even though she didn't love him, he still loved her. He shouldn't have hit her like that. He couldn't believe she had escaped. It just proved she had never loved him. His irrational mind going in different directions.
"You're just an angel of mercy aren't you?" he asked. "I couldn't believe it when I saw you. I thought I was seeing things. The crash knocked me out and when I woke up, I had no idea where I was. It took me a good twenty minutes to clear my head and remember what I was doing. I just sat there for a long time. I couldn't believe I had crashed my brand new Lexus. I was just getting ready to pull myself out of the window, when you showed up."
"You were going to get drugs, weren't you? You seem a little strung out."
"Ah, Sarah. You're such a great detective. You figured out my secret. Yep, that's where I was going. I found a little in my glove compartment, though. So, I'm not as bad off as I could be."
He smiled. "Now, what should I do with you? Should I leave you here to freeze to death? It could take days for anyone to find you. It's not like you don't deserve it. You never loved me, did you?"
He sounded like a child wanting reassurance from his mother. Sarah tried to win back his trust.
"You're the one who decided I didn't love you. You thought the worst of me when you found me with the sleeping pills. I have always had trouble sleeping, even in my teens. I didn't want to be awake all night, that's all. But, to answer your question, I'm not very crazy about you right now. Beating a person doesn't endear them to you, that's for sure."
"I'll put some snow on your eye, it will help the swelling. I've got to find my gun. I'm going to hijack a car." He stood. "I see you found the clothes I bought you." He eyed the ski pants.
"Did you expect we'd go skiing while we were here?"
"Why not? There's a great slope behind the house. We'd have it all to ourselves." He smiled at her and acted like he was skiing.
He pushed his head and torso through the car window and searched for the gun. It was in the back seat. He had just his feet sticking out of the window by the time he could reach over and get a hold of it.
It struck Sarah as funny to see his feet kicking out the window. She wanted to laugh. The exhaustion and stress were getting to her. She turned her face away and bit her lip.
"Let's hit the road." He put the gun in his waistband and untied her.
"Do you think I could have the coat back? I'm starting to get really cold." She shivered.
He helped her on with the coat. She was so relieved he hadn't found the knife.
He took out the gun, then grabbed her arm and yanked her towards the road. Her head throbbed, and she wanted to punch him in the face.
"There was almost no traffic when I was on the road. It could be a long wait for a car to come by." Sarah fingered the knife, then grasped it by the handle. She had to think this through. If she stabbed him, she had to aim to kill. He had the gun and could shoot her faster than she could run. She would have to pick just the right moment.
They climbed the embankment, him yanking her up in front of him. For someone strung out, he was still strong and in control. They slid down the other side and got on the road heading towards the house.
She worried that he might hurt the driver if they were able to get a car to stop. "You know, it might be better if we just ask the driver to take us to the house. We could say we were in an accident, look at us. If we steal the car, they'll call the police."
"Not if I kill them."
"Then police will be everywhere, looking for the car and a killer. We wouldn't get far. Asking for a ride is the best call." Sarah hoped she'd talked sense into him.
"Good thinking, Sarah." He squeezed her arm.
Yeah, I'm a regular genius.
They'd been walking for twenty minutes and Sarah was limping. A blister was raising on the heel of one foot.
Car lights reflected off the snow ahead, and Sarah prayed it was the park ranger. David put the gun away and walked to the middle of the road, waving his arms.
I could run now, thought Sarah. But she was afraid he might hurt the driver, so she stayed.
The car stopped and behind the wheel was a woman and her daughter. They looked at both Sarah and David, bloodied and limping, and showed immediate concern. "What happened? Were you in an accident?" the woman asked.
The driver side window was down. "Anyone here!" she called.
A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. David, his face covered in blood, a slight smile on his lips, had a death grip on her wrist. She fought to pull free, beating on his hand, and trying to pry open his fingers. He pulled her partly through the window and began beating her in the face, finally knocking her unconscious.
**************
David let her slip to the ground and climbed out the window. Taking off Sarah's coat and one of the sweatshirts, he dragged her to a tree and used the sweatshirt to tie her up.
He took an inventory of any injuries he might have. He had a broken nose, various cuts and scrapes from the air bag, and pain from his seat belt. Other than that, he seemed fine. God bless Lexus, they knew how to build a car.
He grabbed the quilt Sarah had brought and wrapped himself in it. Jumping up and down, he tried to warm himself.
The greatest danger to him now was hypothermia. He needed to get warm.
Checking his pockets, he found his lighter. Gathering twigs, he tried to start a fire, but the snow made the wood wet and hard to light. He took off his knitted cap and set it ablaze. Feeding twigs into the flames, he got a small fire going.
David used Sarah's coat to sit on and warmed himself beside the fire. He didn't care if Sarah froze to death. He planned to kill her anyway.
Now that his car was wrecked, he'd have to flag down a motorist and hijack the car. His gun had been in the seat beside him, in case things didn't go well with the drug dealer. Now he had to find it.
Sarah pretended to be unconscious as she watched David through her eyelashes. Her one eye was almost swollen shut, and she could barely see out of it. Her whole face hurt and she had a throbbing headache.
She couldn't believe this had happened. Why did she have to be such a Good Samaritan? She should have kept walking, but her training had taught her to come to the aid of those in need.
Her heart pounded and she could feel panic setting in. She closed her eyes and put her head back against the tree, breathing slowly to calm herself. Panicking could get her killed. She still had her knife, but David had taken her coat and it was in the pocket.
David went through the bags Sarah had brought. He found a water bottle, and took a long gulp. Sarah noticed that despite the cold he was sweating, and shaky. He was so pale. Did he have an internal injury from the crash?
Then it dawned on her; he was strung out. He must have been on his way to get drugs. That's why it couldn't wait.
David looked over at Sarah. She was awake and staring at him. Her face was bloody and bruised from the beating, her eye swollen. He felt bad. Even though she didn't love him, he still loved her. He shouldn't have hit her like that. He couldn't believe she had escaped. It just proved she had never loved him. His irrational mind going in different directions.
"You're just an angel of mercy aren't you?" he asked. "I couldn't believe it when I saw you. I thought I was seeing things. The crash knocked me out and when I woke up, I had no idea where I was. It took me a good twenty minutes to clear my head and remember what I was doing. I just sat there for a long time. I couldn't believe I had crashed my brand new Lexus. I was just getting ready to pull myself out of the window, when you showed up."
"You were going to get drugs, weren't you? You seem a little strung out."
"Ah, Sarah. You're such a great detective. You figured out my secret. Yep, that's where I was going. I found a little in my glove compartment, though. So, I'm not as bad off as I could be."
He smiled. "Now, what should I do with you? Should I leave you here to freeze to death? It could take days for anyone to find you. It's not like you don't deserve it. You never loved me, did you?"
He sounded like a child wanting reassurance from his mother. Sarah tried to win back his trust.
"You're the one who decided I didn't love you. You thought the worst of me when you found me with the sleeping pills. I have always had trouble sleeping, even in my teens. I didn't want to be awake all night, that's all. But, to answer your question, I'm not very crazy about you right now. Beating a person doesn't endear them to you, that's for sure."
"I'll put some snow on your eye, it will help the swelling. I've got to find my gun. I'm going to hijack a car." He stood. "I see you found the clothes I bought you." He eyed the ski pants.
"Did you expect we'd go skiing while we were here?"
"Why not? There's a great slope behind the house. We'd have it all to ourselves." He smiled at her and acted like he was skiing.
He pushed his head and torso through the car window and searched for the gun. It was in the back seat. He had just his feet sticking out of the window by the time he could reach over and get a hold of it.
It struck Sarah as funny to see his feet kicking out the window. She wanted to laugh. The exhaustion and stress were getting to her. She turned her face away and bit her lip.
"Let's hit the road." He put the gun in his waistband and untied her.
"Do you think I could have the coat back? I'm starting to get really cold." She shivered.
He helped her on with the coat. She was so relieved he hadn't found the knife.
He took out the gun, then grabbed her arm and yanked her towards the road. Her head throbbed, and she wanted to punch him in the face.
"There was almost no traffic when I was on the road. It could be a long wait for a car to come by." Sarah fingered the knife, then grasped it by the handle. She had to think this through. If she stabbed him, she had to aim to kill. He had the gun and could shoot her faster than she could run. She would have to pick just the right moment.
They climbed the embankment, him yanking her up in front of him. For someone strung out, he was still strong and in control. They slid down the other side and got on the road heading towards the house.
She worried that he might hurt the driver if they were able to get a car to stop. "You know, it might be better if we just ask the driver to take us to the house. We could say we were in an accident, look at us. If we steal the car, they'll call the police."
"Not if I kill them."
"Then police will be everywhere, looking for the car and a killer. We wouldn't get far. Asking for a ride is the best call." Sarah hoped she'd talked sense into him.
"Good thinking, Sarah." He squeezed her arm.
Yeah, I'm a regular genius.
They'd been walking for twenty minutes and Sarah was limping. A blister was raising on the heel of one foot.
Car lights reflected off the snow ahead, and Sarah prayed it was the park ranger. David put the gun away and walked to the middle of the road, waving his arms.
I could run now, thought Sarah. But she was afraid he might hurt the driver, so she stayed.
The car stopped and behind the wheel was a woman and her daughter. They looked at both Sarah and David, bloodied and limping, and showed immediate concern. "What happened? Were you in an accident?" the woman asked.
Sarah Murray- Rookie Detective
Donald Russell-Sarah's ex detective partner
David Lawson - Sarah's stalker. It started in college.
The Chief- George Brenner, Chief of Detectives
Sgt. Rob Mitchell - 2nd in command behind the Chief
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Donald Russell-Sarah's ex detective partner
David Lawson - Sarah's stalker. It started in college.
The Chief- George Brenner, Chief of Detectives
Sgt. Rob Mitchell - 2nd in command behind the Chief
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