Where are you going?" he called to her over his shoulder, without moving from his spot on the stairs. Only after watching the ends of Cherry's chestnut locks disappear around the corner did he turn around and follow her with a calm gait.
Oh my God, oh my God! Cherry cried in her mind as she sprinted down the hallway. Or at least she tried to. Her leg, which wasn't fully healed yet, weighed down each hurried step she made, slowing it down to a plodding pace.
"Princess?" the indolent voice, followed by the relentless footsteps behind her, spurred her into running again, while ignoring the sharp pain traveling from her leg.
Just as she was about to reach the stairs, the crimson carpet under her feet rucked, causing a stumble that nearly sent her tumbling down the stairs had she not grabbed the railing in time.
"Careful princess. You don't want to suffer more injuries, do you?"
He's almost here. She didn't dare look back, terror locking her sight in place. That the pounding of her heart couldn't drown his ominous steps nor raspy voice informed her of how dangerously close he was.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself once more and, with a swift movement, slid down the railing before fleeing to the front door, only to curse under her breath when she saw the numerous locks on the door. Locks for which she didn't have the key.
"Crap!" She changed course and set for the living room, hoping that she could crawl through a window, but they too were firmly shut with a lock. Prying them open would literally cost her some nails, and then it still would not be open.
How did these things never strike her as odd before!? Once again, she changed direction and made a beeline for the kitchen. Frantically, she yanked open every drawer within reach, searching desperately for a weapon.
If she couldn't escape, then she needed to protect herself. Maybe she could knock him out somehow, search his body for any keys, and perhaps… escape?
"Cherry, is everything going okay down there?" Her attention cut to the voice tinged with worry coming from the stairs. Fear gripped her heart like a vice. Tightening with each groan the stairs made under his towering mass as he descended.
The tremors in her body increased as she picked up the pace.
Quick. I have to find something—there! She found a drawer with a bunch of knives and took one from it.
"Okay, now…" she muttered, distracted by the glass sliding door to the backyard; it had been open earlier, but now it was sealed shut, seizing her attention. When did he lock it? Her eyes narrowed when she noticed that even the sliding door had multiple locks.
Maybe I can break the window. She thought and in a flash, grabbed a chair by its backrest, dragging it over the floor, its back legs leaving long trails of markings in the wood-laminated floor, and flung it at the glass door only to watch agape how it bounced off.
"No…" she whispered in disbelieve, throwing the chair once again. Once more, the window was unharmed.
"No…!" dread dampened her skin with a sheen of sweat
"NO!" No matter how many times she threw the chair, the glass door would punish her with a taunt—mocking her with her own reflection. Ragged breaths made it past her lips as her chest heaved frantically. Her arms tingled with fatigue, and her hair strands were all over the place.
"Bullet-proof windows. Neat, isn't it?"
Cherry's breath hitched, her shoulders stiffening at the ardent air ghosting her ear. His haunting voice ringing in her mind. Clasping her hand to her heated ear, she twisted on her heels as she recoiled away.
When did he get behind me?
As if he could read her mind, he answered with a devilish smirk: "You learn a thing or two when you have to kill people."
The way Brandon stood in front of her crumbled away the last confidence in her that she could escape. His eyes sparkled with the expectation of what she would do next.
But she can't give up yet.
"Let me go, Brandon." She willed the anger out.
"I wouldn't be the sharpest tool in the shed if I were to listen to you, would I? Now, let's get you back to our room so that you can rest." He reached his hand out to her, beckoning her to take it.
She smacked it away, then pressed the knife to her throat.
"Touch me and I'll slit my throat." She warned.
Stillness gripped the air between them. The playful grin on Brandon's expression evaporated in smoke as he quietly studied her. If it weren't for the angry vein pulsing in his jaw, a vein resembling a thick rope choking him out, Cherry would have thought that he truly didn't care about her.
Keeping a watchful eye on his movements, she tried again. "Let me go, Brandon. Unless you want me to turn this floor burgundy red."
When he said nothing, she pushed the knife closer against her throat, drawing a droplet of blood from the angry red welt.
"Fine," Brandon spoke in haste, panic edging his voice. He walked to the sliding door, fishing a bunch of keys from his pocket before using one of them to open the door. "It seems you need a walk to calm down, so I will let you go."
She glared at him skeptically, not sure whether he was trying to catch her off guard. When he didn't make any move to catch her, she continued to walk away, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the silence.
"Ten minutes." He ushered as she passed him, causing her to pause in her steps.
"I will give you ten minutes of freedom. After that, you're going to have to choose between the easy way or the hard way, princess." Aloofness clung to him like a second skin, but one gaze into those brewing stormy eyes was enough for Cherry to know that she absolutely couldn't get caught.
Offering no response to him, she hoped to cover up her shaky limbs with a defiant glare before bolting into the thicket.
Her arms were pumping like crazy, knocking away any branches blocking her visor. Desperate eyes darted around, hoping to find a clue that would lead her out of here, but those gnarled trunks, matching the color of her eyes, all looked the same.
"Oh God, please, I hope I'm not running in circles." She pulled out the burner phone, attempting to call April, but no matter how long it rung it would move her to voicemail. "April! Please pick up the phone!" a sob tore through her throat, feeling everything crashing down. "It's Brandon! He… he… I was so wrong about him. Please help me- augh!"
A thick, knobby root protruding above the ground snagged her braced leg, causing her face to meet the damp, earthy ground. She coughed the dirt out of her mouth with a grimace.
Snap.
Her breath hitched at the sound of a branch snapping under a weight not caused by her. Immediately she rolled into a bush, ignoring how the twigs scratched her skin or snagged her hair.
The small foliage cloaking her body allowed through its gaps glimpses of the forest floor. She lay there for a while. Thinking she'd misheard, she was about to leave her hiding spot when a foot stomped heavily on the ground right before her.
She clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle the scream. The ferocious pounding of her heart brought forth a wave of dizziness as she raised her gaze up; and there he was. Brandon twisted his head from side to side, searching for her.
She tried not to breathe, but that proved to be futile, and let out a shuddering breath through her nose. Screwing her eyes shut, she begged gravely; please leave, please leave, please!
As if the heavens heard her, she heard his footsteps retreat, and once she pried her eyes open; caught sight of his broad back fading away into the dense forest.
Cherry didn't dare to move, her chest heaving, still trying to regulate her ragged breathing. Only when the orange glow of the sun filtered into the forest did she dare to crawl out.
"I was wondering when you were planning to get out."
Hearing the goosebumps inducing voice, Cherry instantaneously moved the knife to her throat, but seconds before it could touch her skin, a boisterous noise split the air and the knife ricocheted from her grasp, skittering across the road.
"And look how dirty you are. Come, let's have that washed off."
Her wrist pained from the impact, and she hissed as she held it. Squinting through tear-coated eyes, she saw Brandon walking up to her with a gun in his hand.
"Don't. I know what you're thinking, and let me tell you, it's not smart. Now," he put out his hand, earning an incredulous glare from her, which quickly changed to fear once her eyes laid on the needle syringe in his other hand. "Give me your hand so that I can put you to sleep."
"Are you crazy?" she blurted, mystified. "You think that I'm going to offer myself to you on a silver platter?"
He chuckled as he took a step toward her; however; she responded by rapidly taking ten jerky strides away from him.
"Keep your fucking paws away from me." She snarled as she scanned her surroundings whilst holding her fists up in a defensive stance, trying to figure a way out.
"The hard way it is, I see." He sighed despondently before pulling out his phone, deftly unlocking it and turning the screen toward her.
Whatever he showed her had disarmed her. The color drained from her face. Her fists unclenched slowly, the tension leaving her body as they fell limp to her sides. Her pale lips parted as they stuttered out a feeble voice.
"Mom? Dad?"
There they sat on a cold, cemented graphite floor. Her parents blindfolded with a black rag as they sat against each other, back-to-back, their waists bound by a rough rope. And so were their wrists and ankles.
"Cherry, is that you? Where are you, darling?" Panic broke the couple's composure at the sound of their daughter's voice.
"Honey, don't come here! They are dangerous!"
Robbed of their eyesight, they craned their heads, trying to fish out their daughter's voice in the sea of darkness.
Cherry's eyes wavered from the phone to Brandon's eerie smile. Her lips trembled as she spoke in soft whispers, "They are my parents, Brandon."
He nodded. "I know. It's not like I could take April when she got a feral guard dog next to her. And you don't really have other friends that you care enough about."
"They are your in-laws." This time, tears trickled aimlessly out of her unblinking eyes. The soulless eyes of the man she thought she loved shattered her heart. Is this who he truly was all this time?
"Yeah, it's a pity. It was great to experience what normal parents were like. So what's it going to be, love?" he cocked his head, the grin almost splitting his face, sending an embalm of cold waves down her spine.
"Cherry!" her father roared.
"Honey!" her mother cried.
Their wails nailed her to the ground.
"Don't worry. I'll not harm them as long as you listen to me. I promise." Once again he put out his hand, beckoning her to jump willingly into his trap.
There was no guarantee that he wouldn't hurt her parents, let alone free them. She just had to take his word for it.
But-
Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth in profound thought, she hesitantly extended her hand to him. The moment her clammy, quivering hand made contact with his, she swallowed a lump down her throat.
He will kill them now if I don't listen.
"Thank you for listening, my love." His callous hand squeezed her hand as if to subdue the tremor rocking her body- but one look in those fierce, foreboding eyes and she knew.
I'm never going to be free again.
"Brandon, please…please-" she whimpered as the needle pierced through her delicate skin. The effect was immediate; her half-hooded eyes clouded over, and a leaden weight settled in her limbs. Then, with one step backwards, she crumpled like a puppet released from its control.
"Shhtt. I've got you, princess."
The last thing she remembered before being shrouded in darkness were muscular arms cradling her and a soothing voice pushing her further into the darkness.