CHAPTER TWO
Ten years ago
Audrey opened her eyes on that first day of her nightmare, ten years in the past, to a throbbing—well, everything and a foggy memory of what had happened for her to get that way. She was heavier then, not fat but at the same time not thin, and a couple inches shorter. She was sixteen years old and her pale, jade-green eyes often flashed with gold flecks in merriment and good humor. Easy going and while she was not overly popular she still had plenty of friends, her life was filled with fun and her parents tended to shelter her a bit. She was naïve. That would change drastically over the course of the next several days as she got a look into what evil existed in the world. And little, innocent Audrey Grace Lambert would cease to exist.
Audrey’s throat felt incredibly dry. She realized with a start that she was gagged. The cry that escaped her was muffled. At the same time she noticed she was unable to move her arms or legs. Lifting her head and looking up Audrey saw her arms stretched above her - her wrists were bound together with thin wire wrapped around them very tightly several times and then around a wooden pole. She pulled her arms in a downward motion to try and free herself of the wire, but only made her wrists hurt even more than they already had. Giving up on that task, Audrey looked downwards and found her ankles bound in a similar fashion. A whimper escaped her lips and tears threatened to spill out of her eyes as she squeezed them shut, fear seeping into her pores. What is going on?
Question after question raced through her head, one of which being where am I? Focusing on that thought Audrey cracked open her eyes to try to find out its answer. The first thing she saw made her eyes widen in surprise and another muffled cry escaped past the gag in her mouth. There, bound to a pole similar to hers in front of the dirt wall directly across from her, was her mother and on a pole in front of the wall to Audrey’s left was her father and in front of the wall to her right was her brother. Audrey attempted to get their attention, tried calling out to them; but with the gag in her mouth, her calls came out muffled. They did not stir and their heads hung down.
She realized that they must be unconscious as she had been moments before. At least she hoped they were just unconscious. She felt sick with fear and dread at the thought that they be-. No. She wouldn’t think like that. They were just unconscious, but why? What could all this possibly mean? What would someone want with her whole family? What were they planning on doing to them? Who would do this?
Audrey’s thoughts drifted to the last moments she could remember before waking up from her unconscious state.
It had been morning and she had eaten breakfast with her brother, Jacob. Jake, to his close friends and family. He had taken a weekend trip away from his college and had come home to their small town of Conrad in Montana for her sixteenth birthday. Her birthday was still four days away, but that Saturday was the only time that both her brother and his best friend could get off together in order to celebrate it with her. Gabriel. Audrey’s heart had raced a little faster as she thought of him.
She had constantly tagged along with her brother and his best friend on as many of their adventures as they would allow her too for as long as she could remember, and she had been in love with Gabriel Reinhart since she was twelve years old. Not that it mattered. He would never feel the same. Gabe was five years older than she was, a year older than her brother even; but besides that he would probably always see her as his best friend’s younger sister, the tagalong little brat who refused to leave them alone.
She was sure that he at least cared a little bit about her. Audrey had rolled her eyes to herself. Of course he cared about her; they were practically family with as much time as their families spent together. He probably thought of her as his own sister since he didn’t have his own. Now that was a frustrating thought. She probably wasn’t pretty enough for him anyway.
Gabriel Reinhart was gorgeous. Chiseled face that looked like it was carved out of marble, deep, honey brown eyes, a head of chestnut brown hair that lightened with gold highlights in the summertime. Tall, broad shouldered, narrow hipped. Every inch of him was covered with sinewy muscle from hours of working out. A sigh escaped her lips at just the mental picture of him.
Her brother, sitting across from her at the small table in their kitchen, paused with a spoonful of honey nut cheerios halfway to his mouth. Looking at her, he had grinned. “What was that for?” he asked her.
Audrey had immediately burned red and she squirmed in her seat. “What was what for?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” he had said, chuckling.
“I’m not so sure that I do,” Audrey had shot back.
Jake’s grin had widened. “That,” he had heaved his shoulders and let out a deep breath, imitating her sigh, “What was it for?”
“Nothing.” She had answered quickly, wincing as she realized probably too quickly.
“Really?”
“Yep. Uh huh. Absolutely nothing.” Her face had probably been about the color of a ripe tomato by this point.
“That’s not what I think.” Jake had persisted.
“Well, maybe I don’t care what you think.”
Jake had huffed, looking at her incredulously. “Yeah right, like I’d believe that. I am your older brother. You absolutely adore me. You worship the very ground that I walk on. You…”
“Jake!” Audrey had warned, though she was having trouble keeping a straight face.
“Fine. Have it your way young lady, but I will have you know that I am on to you.”
Audrey had made a face and stuck her tongue out at him. Jake had just smiled, shook his head and went back to his cereal. They had eaten in companionable silence for a few minutes. Audrey missed having her brother around; he didn’t come home very often. But she understood that he was busy with school and his job, plus it’s not like he didn’t have a social life. They had always been close and she could always talk to him about anything.
Well, almost anything. She never talked to him about Gabe. She missed him too. Gabe worked for the Sheriffs Department in Billings and didn’t come to visit unless Jake was going to be home. And why would he; he was Jake’s friend, not hers. Audrey glared at the clock on the wall above Jake’s head for probably the tenth time that day, willing it to move faster.
“What time is Gabe going to get here again?” She asked without thinking.
Jake’s gaze shot up to meet hers, a grin slowly sliding across his features. “Aha!” He said, shaking his empty spoon at her. “That’s what I thought.”
Audrey gulped, heat stealing up her cheeks again, “What are you talking about?”
“Come on Audrey,” Jake rolled his eyes at her, “I’m not stupid or blind, not to mention you have asked me that same question four times since I got home yesterday afternoon. I know you have a thing for Gabe.”
She was probably way past the color of a tomato at that point. Of course he knew. Everybody probably knew. Gabe probably even knew. Audrey had never been any good at hiding anything. She was an open book. “Jake I don’t really want to talk to you about this.”
Jake’s expression turned suddenly serious as he put his spoon down on the table, pushing it and his bowl to the side. “Fine. Don’t talk. Just listen. I just don’t want to see you hurt and you’re going to end up hurting yourself if you wait for something to happen that in all likelihood is not going to happen. You need to be looking at guys more your age. Like guys that you go to school with. Don’t get me wrong. I love Gabe; he’s like a brother to me. But Audrey, he’s five years older than you and more experienced…”
“Five years isn’t really all that much.” Audrey had interjected.
“It is when you are still in high school.”
“I won’t be in high school forever.” She had mumbled, squirming uncomfortably in her chair.
Jake held up his hand, “I know that, but that is still two years away. And as much as you would like him to feel differently, Gabe will always see you as the younger sister he never had.”
Audrey heaved a resigned sigh, “I know.”
Jake was probably right, but that didn’t make hearing what she already believed to be true from someone else any easier. She had a sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.
Audrey had glanced at the clock again; this time for a different reason. She had somewhere she needed to be. Getting up to put her dishes in the sink, she explained her plans to her brother, “I’ve got to get going, Jenny and I have a project to work on for class. I’ll only be gone a few hours and should be back by the time mom and dad get back. Can you live without me for that long?”
He had made a face at her. “I think I can manage brat, besides I still need to go buy your birthday present, I guess.”
She had thrown a kitchen towel at him that was lying next to the sink. “You mean you haven’t got it yet?” Audrey asked in mock anger.
“I’m just kidding, geez. Now run along and go work on that project.” Jake said, shooing her away with his hands.
“Okay, okay I can tell when I’m not wanted,” she teased, grabbing her keys off the table and walking across the kitchen to grab her denim jacket off the coat rack. She had been heading through the doorway when Jake’s voice made her pause.
“Hey Audrey, you’re a great girl. I’m sure you’ll find some guy your age who is better for you than Gabe is because he will feel the same way about you as you feel for him. It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will.” She had thrown him a smile and a wave over her shoulder, putting on a happy front that she didn’t really feel.
Audrey had spent the next three hours at her friend Jenny’s house working on their class project. Then she headed out to walk home so she could be there in time for a late lunch with her family - and Gabe since she remembered now that he was supposed to be there by then. Her heart started beating a little faster as she thought about seeing him again, even after the talk she had with Jake. She knew Jake had been telling the truth, but she couldn’t help it.
Just two blocks from home she had been passing by an alleyway when she heard a noise that sounded like a whimpering animal. Audrey had a soft spot for strays and often brought them home with her, which usually left her parents exasperated, but they still let her do it. Peering into the alleyway she hadn’t seen anything, but the sound had come again so she had cautiously gone to check it out; determined to rescue whatever it was that needed help. She had just passed a dumpster that was pushed up against the side of the local burger joint when she saw something out the corner of her eye. Before she could turn around someone had grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a big, calloused hand. She had felt a stinging sensation in her shoulder and then nothing.
So that was it. She must have been injected with something that knocked her out, but she hadn’t seen who had grabbed her. There must not have been an animal in that alleyway at all. Someone had lured her there. But why?
Now Audrey knew how she had come to be in her current situation, but she was still just as confused as before. She tried to keep herself focused on answering the questions racing through her head in order to stop from panicking. Her head was just throbbing too badly to remain focused on much of anything for very long. Not to mention the rest of her limbs were beginning to ache even more. She wished she had some water. She wished her hands and ankles were not bound so tightly. She wished that her family was conscious so she could at least draw some comfort from them. She wished…she wished that she wasn’t there, that this wasn’t happening to her, to her family. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the panic consumed her.
Audrey was struggling, but failing to calm herself down when she heard a muffled groan to her right. She swung her gaze in that direction. Jake! He stirred and his shoulders straightened as his head came up and he shook it as if to clear it.
Jake probably had been injected with the same drug she had been and his head most likely felt just as foggy as hers had when she had come to. His eyes fluttered and then opened wide as he, like she had, looked upwards and downwards to both his bound wrists and ankles. Unlike Audrey, the confusion in his eyes quickly turned to anger instead of fear and panic. His gaze turned towards the rest of the scene before him. Seeing their parents in the same situation he was in an angry cry came out past his gag. Probably a muffled curse if Audrey knew Jake at all. Not that she could blame him; Audrey herself really felt like cursing. Jake hadn’t seen Audrey yet so she tried to get his attention; calling out to him around the gag in her mouth.
Her muffled cries must have reached his ears because his head whipped around in her direction. Shock at seeing his younger sister also there was written all over his face as their gazes met. The shocked expression turned to concern as Jake visibly kicked into protective big brother mode. Are you okay? He seemed to ask with his eyes.
The brother and sister, despite the four year difference in their ages, had always been very close and could usually tell what the other was thinking. It was no different now. Tears still fresh on her cheeks; she shook her head, answering his silent question honestly. Anger mixed with his concern. Have you been hurt? His eyes asked. Audrey knew he was asking not specifically if she was in pain and hurting but if someone had been in and physically harmed her and she shook her head in response. Not yet anyway. He would already know that she was in some pain because he had to be too since he was bound the same way she was and had likely been that way for awhile. He would also only need one look at her to be able to tell that she was scared out of her mind.
And she was most definitely scared. She fought to control her body; to calm it and her racing thoughts down. Audrey’s hands trembled, she had broken out in a nervous sweat, her heart pounded so fast it threatened to burst out of her rib cage, she was just barely holding her tears in check. She was sick with fear. With Jake now conscious, she began to calm a bit. Her pulse slowed to a more manageable pace, her hands stilled and she no longer felt as though she was on the verge of bursting into tears. She was still scared witless of course, but his presence soothed her. Audrey felt slightly ashamed, guilty about that fact. She couldn’t help it. At that moment in time, she was glad for his presence. Relieved she was not alone.
It was probably wrong of her to feel that way, but with his steady gaze on her, she felt some measure of peace. Right now his eyes were telling her not to worry; that everything would be okay. Although she had no idea what he could possibly do to help them out of their current situation, Audrey had the utmost trust in Jake. She would be okay with him there to protect her; take care of her, just like he had done her entire life.
Jake had always taken his role as big brother very seriously and had continuously watched out for her. In fact, most of the time he was more than a tad over-protective. When she had been twelve a couple of her friends and her had tagged along with Jake, Gabe and some of their friends - after she had begged them to let the other girls go along too - on a trip to the ice skating rink. She was skating around the rink with her friends when a boy named Mark, who was two years older than her, went whizzing past her. Except that he didn’t exactly go past her, but had rammed into her instead, sending her crashing hard into the ice.
It had really been a mistake; the boy hadn’t meant to bowl her over. He had just been going way too fast and had been unable to stop or move out of the way before he had hit her. Unfortunately for Mark, her brother had not seen it that way and had skated over to him and started beating the living snot out of him, poor guy. Always the calmer, more rational of the two, Gabe had skated over to her first and lifted her to carry her off the ice in his powerful arms. After setting her down on a bench, telling her to stay put and sending one of her friends running for an ice pack when he had determined Audrey had just sprained her ankle and her wrist and gotten a few bruises, he went back out on the ice to pull Jake off Mark.
Before following Jake off the ice Gabe had leaned down to say something to Mark who turned frighteningly pale. Audrey never found out what Gabe had said to him, but whenever Mark had caught sight of her in school, he would practically run in the other direction. Apparently they were both a little over-protective of her.
Right now she was glad of her brother’s protectiveness towards her. He would take care of her. Gabe would too, she realized. Once he realized the entire family was missing and a report was filed, she was sure that he would insist on helping in the search for them even though he worked in Billings and not in Conrad. The little town would probably have to ask for help anyway; they were not really equipped to handle a kidnapping. Gabe would find them. Or Jake would somehow get them out. She was sure of it.
Jake was looking around the room now; probably trying to find some way to get out. If they could get out of the metal wire binding them to the poles anyway. Audrey looked around the room again herself, since she had been mainly focused on the sight of her family before. There wasn’t really a whole lot to look at. The room was bare except for the poles against each wall that she and her family were bound to and a lantern hanging by a hook in the middle of the ceiling. She was surrounded by dirt. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made of dirt. Her forehead wrinkled as she frowned. They must be underground. A shiver of fear made its way up and down her spine. Maybe an old cellar that hadn’t been finished off or a storm shelter.
That didn’t really narrow where they were or who had brought them there down at all since there were lots of those all over the state of Montana. She could see only one door, which was on the wall her pole was up against so she didn’t have a good look at it. From the frustrated scowl on Jake’s face though, she figured the situation was not looking good.
Who knew if they could get free of the metal binds anyway. Both the binds around her wrists and the ones around her ankles seemed extremely tight and secure to Audrey. She could barely move her wrists or ankles so she doubted she’d be able to wiggle them free of their constraints.
As Jake swung his gaze back to her, he schooled his worried expression into a more relaxed one for Audrey. Of course it was a little late for that since she had already seen the look of frustration that had passed over his features moments before, but she appreciated his efforts to keep her from panicking. She could still see the questions in his eyes.
They were the same questions she asked herself upon regaining consciousness; the same questions that lingered, remaining unanswered. Where were they? Why were they there? Who had done this to them? Why their whole family? And the question that caused an icy fist of fear - brother or no brother to keep her calm - to clench around her heart every time she thought it: What was the person or people who had taken them planning on doing to them?
A thought struck her; her eyes widening, heart thumping into overtime. Whoever was doing this wouldn’t kill them would they? Why would they do that? But then again, why wouldn’t they? Why else would they have kidnapped and tied them up? A strangled sound rushed out past Audrey’s gag. A thumping sound from Jake’s direction sent her eyes back to him. He was hitting the back of his head against his pole to get her attention.
His gaze stern, he shook his head at her. Keep calm. Whatever you do, do not panic his eyes told her. Nodding in response, Audrey struggled to calm her breathing and racing pulse yet again. No, they wouldn’t kill her family. There had to be some other logical explanation, didn’t there?
Just as the thought entered her mind, there was the sound of a dull thud in the distance. Audrey and Jake shot each other looks, her gaze panicky and his reassuring, before they craned their necks in the direction of the door. The seconds seemed to tick by and Audrey chanted over and over to herself, matching the rhythm of her beating heart. It’s going to be okay. Do not panic. Maybe if she told herself it enough times, she’d actually start to believe it. Maybe if she told herself enough times, it would actually come true.
The thud was followed by a blaring silence and Audrey tore her gaze away from the door to throw a questioning look at Jake, but he was still staring intently at the door. Then suddenly she heard it. Footsteps. Her eyes going back to the door, her heart beat and mantra chanting sped up.
The seconds waiting for that door to open seemed to pass on into eternity; each footfall echoed through her head as they drew closer, seeming to seal the lid on her fate. Closer and closer they came. Then, suddenly they stopped. Audrey struggled to breathe as she realized that whoever they had heard was right outside the door. The sound of a key in a lock, then a chain being moved. Another key in another lock and a bolt being moved. A brief moment of silence stretched out - too brief in Audrey’s opinion - before the door creaked slowly open.
Audrey barely had time to take a calming breath and repeat her mantra to herself again before a man swept through the door and into the room. The man stopped to set something on the ground and turned back to shove the door closed with a click. Turning back into the room, the man placed his hands on his hips, seemingly surveying the room’s occupants.
He stood at around six foot and was of average build; not muscular but not overly wiry either. He wore blue jeans and a blue button-up denim shirt. Nothing that made him stand out in anyway. Audrey’s gaze traveled to his face, but all she could make out was a faceless, fuzzy blob on the top of his neck.
What was wrong with her? Squinting, she tried again but all she still couldn’t make out his face. She could see everything else in the room just fine, but try as she might, she could not make out a single feature on his face. She drew her eyes to Jake to see if he was just as confused as she was, but the expression on his face was one of burning rage directed towards the man. It was just her then. Why couldn’t she see him? Her confused thoughts were interrupted when the man spoke.
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” his tone was even, expressionless, as if this were a normal everyday occurrence, “We’ll just have to wake up you’re parents and then we can get this show on the road.”
Picking up the object he set down, Audrey realized now it was a big bucket like what would be used for mudding in construction, he strode over first to her father and then to her mother, tossing the contents of the bucket at them. As they both sputtered from the water he said, “All right, let’s get started.”
Ten years ago
Audrey opened her eyes on that first day of her nightmare, ten years in the past, to a throbbing—well, everything and a foggy memory of what had happened for her to get that way. She was heavier then, not fat but at the same time not thin, and a couple inches shorter. She was sixteen years old and her pale, jade-green eyes often flashed with gold flecks in merriment and good humor. Easy going and while she was not overly popular she still had plenty of friends, her life was filled with fun and her parents tended to shelter her a bit. She was naïve. That would change drastically over the course of the next several days as she got a look into what evil existed in the world. And little, innocent Audrey Grace Lambert would cease to exist.
Audrey’s throat felt incredibly dry. She realized with a start that she was gagged. The cry that escaped her was muffled. At the same time she noticed she was unable to move her arms or legs. Lifting her head and looking up Audrey saw her arms stretched above her - her wrists were bound together with thin wire wrapped around them very tightly several times and then around a wooden pole. She pulled her arms in a downward motion to try and free herself of the wire, but only made her wrists hurt even more than they already had. Giving up on that task, Audrey looked downwards and found her ankles bound in a similar fashion. A whimper escaped her lips and tears threatened to spill out of her eyes as she squeezed them shut, fear seeping into her pores. What is going on?
Question after question raced through her head, one of which being where am I? Focusing on that thought Audrey cracked open her eyes to try to find out its answer. The first thing she saw made her eyes widen in surprise and another muffled cry escaped past the gag in her mouth. There, bound to a pole similar to hers in front of the dirt wall directly across from her, was her mother and on a pole in front of the wall to Audrey’s left was her father and in front of the wall to her right was her brother. Audrey attempted to get their attention, tried calling out to them; but with the gag in her mouth, her calls came out muffled. They did not stir and their heads hung down.
She realized that they must be unconscious as she had been moments before. At least she hoped they were just unconscious. She felt sick with fear and dread at the thought that they be-. No. She wouldn’t think like that. They were just unconscious, but why? What could all this possibly mean? What would someone want with her whole family? What were they planning on doing to them? Who would do this?
Audrey’s thoughts drifted to the last moments she could remember before waking up from her unconscious state.
It had been morning and she had eaten breakfast with her brother, Jacob. Jake, to his close friends and family. He had taken a weekend trip away from his college and had come home to their small town of Conrad in Montana for her sixteenth birthday. Her birthday was still four days away, but that Saturday was the only time that both her brother and his best friend could get off together in order to celebrate it with her. Gabriel. Audrey’s heart had raced a little faster as she thought of him.
She had constantly tagged along with her brother and his best friend on as many of their adventures as they would allow her too for as long as she could remember, and she had been in love with Gabriel Reinhart since she was twelve years old. Not that it mattered. He would never feel the same. Gabe was five years older than she was, a year older than her brother even; but besides that he would probably always see her as his best friend’s younger sister, the tagalong little brat who refused to leave them alone.
She was sure that he at least cared a little bit about her. Audrey had rolled her eyes to herself. Of course he cared about her; they were practically family with as much time as their families spent together. He probably thought of her as his own sister since he didn’t have his own. Now that was a frustrating thought. She probably wasn’t pretty enough for him anyway.
Gabriel Reinhart was gorgeous. Chiseled face that looked like it was carved out of marble, deep, honey brown eyes, a head of chestnut brown hair that lightened with gold highlights in the summertime. Tall, broad shouldered, narrow hipped. Every inch of him was covered with sinewy muscle from hours of working out. A sigh escaped her lips at just the mental picture of him.
Her brother, sitting across from her at the small table in their kitchen, paused with a spoonful of honey nut cheerios halfway to his mouth. Looking at her, he had grinned. “What was that for?” he asked her.
Audrey had immediately burned red and she squirmed in her seat. “What was what for?”
“You know what I’m talking about,” he had said, chuckling.
“I’m not so sure that I do,” Audrey had shot back.
Jake’s grin had widened. “That,” he had heaved his shoulders and let out a deep breath, imitating her sigh, “What was it for?”
“Nothing.” She had answered quickly, wincing as she realized probably too quickly.
“Really?”
“Yep. Uh huh. Absolutely nothing.” Her face had probably been about the color of a ripe tomato by this point.
“That’s not what I think.” Jake had persisted.
“Well, maybe I don’t care what you think.”
Jake had huffed, looking at her incredulously. “Yeah right, like I’d believe that. I am your older brother. You absolutely adore me. You worship the very ground that I walk on. You…”
“Jake!” Audrey had warned, though she was having trouble keeping a straight face.
“Fine. Have it your way young lady, but I will have you know that I am on to you.”
Audrey had made a face and stuck her tongue out at him. Jake had just smiled, shook his head and went back to his cereal. They had eaten in companionable silence for a few minutes. Audrey missed having her brother around; he didn’t come home very often. But she understood that he was busy with school and his job, plus it’s not like he didn’t have a social life. They had always been close and she could always talk to him about anything.
Well, almost anything. She never talked to him about Gabe. She missed him too. Gabe worked for the Sheriffs Department in Billings and didn’t come to visit unless Jake was going to be home. And why would he; he was Jake’s friend, not hers. Audrey glared at the clock on the wall above Jake’s head for probably the tenth time that day, willing it to move faster.
“What time is Gabe going to get here again?” She asked without thinking.
Jake’s gaze shot up to meet hers, a grin slowly sliding across his features. “Aha!” He said, shaking his empty spoon at her. “That’s what I thought.”
Audrey gulped, heat stealing up her cheeks again, “What are you talking about?”
“Come on Audrey,” Jake rolled his eyes at her, “I’m not stupid or blind, not to mention you have asked me that same question four times since I got home yesterday afternoon. I know you have a thing for Gabe.”
She was probably way past the color of a tomato at that point. Of course he knew. Everybody probably knew. Gabe probably even knew. Audrey had never been any good at hiding anything. She was an open book. “Jake I don’t really want to talk to you about this.”
Jake’s expression turned suddenly serious as he put his spoon down on the table, pushing it and his bowl to the side. “Fine. Don’t talk. Just listen. I just don’t want to see you hurt and you’re going to end up hurting yourself if you wait for something to happen that in all likelihood is not going to happen. You need to be looking at guys more your age. Like guys that you go to school with. Don’t get me wrong. I love Gabe; he’s like a brother to me. But Audrey, he’s five years older than you and more experienced…”
“Five years isn’t really all that much.” Audrey had interjected.
“It is when you are still in high school.”
“I won’t be in high school forever.” She had mumbled, squirming uncomfortably in her chair.
Jake held up his hand, “I know that, but that is still two years away. And as much as you would like him to feel differently, Gabe will always see you as the younger sister he never had.”
Audrey heaved a resigned sigh, “I know.”
Jake was probably right, but that didn’t make hearing what she already believed to be true from someone else any easier. She had a sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.
Audrey had glanced at the clock again; this time for a different reason. She had somewhere she needed to be. Getting up to put her dishes in the sink, she explained her plans to her brother, “I’ve got to get going, Jenny and I have a project to work on for class. I’ll only be gone a few hours and should be back by the time mom and dad get back. Can you live without me for that long?”
He had made a face at her. “I think I can manage brat, besides I still need to go buy your birthday present, I guess.”
She had thrown a kitchen towel at him that was lying next to the sink. “You mean you haven’t got it yet?” Audrey asked in mock anger.
“I’m just kidding, geez. Now run along and go work on that project.” Jake said, shooing her away with his hands.
“Okay, okay I can tell when I’m not wanted,” she teased, grabbing her keys off the table and walking across the kitchen to grab her denim jacket off the coat rack. She had been heading through the doorway when Jake’s voice made her pause.
“Hey Audrey, you’re a great girl. I’m sure you’ll find some guy your age who is better for you than Gabe is because he will feel the same way about you as you feel for him. It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will.” She had thrown him a smile and a wave over her shoulder, putting on a happy front that she didn’t really feel.
Audrey had spent the next three hours at her friend Jenny’s house working on their class project. Then she headed out to walk home so she could be there in time for a late lunch with her family - and Gabe since she remembered now that he was supposed to be there by then. Her heart started beating a little faster as she thought about seeing him again, even after the talk she had with Jake. She knew Jake had been telling the truth, but she couldn’t help it.
Just two blocks from home she had been passing by an alleyway when she heard a noise that sounded like a whimpering animal. Audrey had a soft spot for strays and often brought them home with her, which usually left her parents exasperated, but they still let her do it. Peering into the alleyway she hadn’t seen anything, but the sound had come again so she had cautiously gone to check it out; determined to rescue whatever it was that needed help. She had just passed a dumpster that was pushed up against the side of the local burger joint when she saw something out the corner of her eye. Before she could turn around someone had grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with a big, calloused hand. She had felt a stinging sensation in her shoulder and then nothing.
So that was it. She must have been injected with something that knocked her out, but she hadn’t seen who had grabbed her. There must not have been an animal in that alleyway at all. Someone had lured her there. But why?
Now Audrey knew how she had come to be in her current situation, but she was still just as confused as before. She tried to keep herself focused on answering the questions racing through her head in order to stop from panicking. Her head was just throbbing too badly to remain focused on much of anything for very long. Not to mention the rest of her limbs were beginning to ache even more. She wished she had some water. She wished her hands and ankles were not bound so tightly. She wished that her family was conscious so she could at least draw some comfort from them. She wished…she wished that she wasn’t there, that this wasn’t happening to her, to her family. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the panic consumed her.
Audrey was struggling, but failing to calm herself down when she heard a muffled groan to her right. She swung her gaze in that direction. Jake! He stirred and his shoulders straightened as his head came up and he shook it as if to clear it.
Jake probably had been injected with the same drug she had been and his head most likely felt just as foggy as hers had when she had come to. His eyes fluttered and then opened wide as he, like she had, looked upwards and downwards to both his bound wrists and ankles. Unlike Audrey, the confusion in his eyes quickly turned to anger instead of fear and panic. His gaze turned towards the rest of the scene before him. Seeing their parents in the same situation he was in an angry cry came out past his gag. Probably a muffled curse if Audrey knew Jake at all. Not that she could blame him; Audrey herself really felt like cursing. Jake hadn’t seen Audrey yet so she tried to get his attention; calling out to him around the gag in her mouth.
Her muffled cries must have reached his ears because his head whipped around in her direction. Shock at seeing his younger sister also there was written all over his face as their gazes met. The shocked expression turned to concern as Jake visibly kicked into protective big brother mode. Are you okay? He seemed to ask with his eyes.
The brother and sister, despite the four year difference in their ages, had always been very close and could usually tell what the other was thinking. It was no different now. Tears still fresh on her cheeks; she shook her head, answering his silent question honestly. Anger mixed with his concern. Have you been hurt? His eyes asked. Audrey knew he was asking not specifically if she was in pain and hurting but if someone had been in and physically harmed her and she shook her head in response. Not yet anyway. He would already know that she was in some pain because he had to be too since he was bound the same way she was and had likely been that way for awhile. He would also only need one look at her to be able to tell that she was scared out of her mind.
And she was most definitely scared. She fought to control her body; to calm it and her racing thoughts down. Audrey’s hands trembled, she had broken out in a nervous sweat, her heart pounded so fast it threatened to burst out of her rib cage, she was just barely holding her tears in check. She was sick with fear. With Jake now conscious, she began to calm a bit. Her pulse slowed to a more manageable pace, her hands stilled and she no longer felt as though she was on the verge of bursting into tears. She was still scared witless of course, but his presence soothed her. Audrey felt slightly ashamed, guilty about that fact. She couldn’t help it. At that moment in time, she was glad for his presence. Relieved she was not alone.
It was probably wrong of her to feel that way, but with his steady gaze on her, she felt some measure of peace. Right now his eyes were telling her not to worry; that everything would be okay. Although she had no idea what he could possibly do to help them out of their current situation, Audrey had the utmost trust in Jake. She would be okay with him there to protect her; take care of her, just like he had done her entire life.
Jake had always taken his role as big brother very seriously and had continuously watched out for her. In fact, most of the time he was more than a tad over-protective. When she had been twelve a couple of her friends and her had tagged along with Jake, Gabe and some of their friends - after she had begged them to let the other girls go along too - on a trip to the ice skating rink. She was skating around the rink with her friends when a boy named Mark, who was two years older than her, went whizzing past her. Except that he didn’t exactly go past her, but had rammed into her instead, sending her crashing hard into the ice.
It had really been a mistake; the boy hadn’t meant to bowl her over. He had just been going way too fast and had been unable to stop or move out of the way before he had hit her. Unfortunately for Mark, her brother had not seen it that way and had skated over to him and started beating the living snot out of him, poor guy. Always the calmer, more rational of the two, Gabe had skated over to her first and lifted her to carry her off the ice in his powerful arms. After setting her down on a bench, telling her to stay put and sending one of her friends running for an ice pack when he had determined Audrey had just sprained her ankle and her wrist and gotten a few bruises, he went back out on the ice to pull Jake off Mark.
Before following Jake off the ice Gabe had leaned down to say something to Mark who turned frighteningly pale. Audrey never found out what Gabe had said to him, but whenever Mark had caught sight of her in school, he would practically run in the other direction. Apparently they were both a little over-protective of her.
Right now she was glad of her brother’s protectiveness towards her. He would take care of her. Gabe would too, she realized. Once he realized the entire family was missing and a report was filed, she was sure that he would insist on helping in the search for them even though he worked in Billings and not in Conrad. The little town would probably have to ask for help anyway; they were not really equipped to handle a kidnapping. Gabe would find them. Or Jake would somehow get them out. She was sure of it.
Jake was looking around the room now; probably trying to find some way to get out. If they could get out of the metal wire binding them to the poles anyway. Audrey looked around the room again herself, since she had been mainly focused on the sight of her family before. There wasn’t really a whole lot to look at. The room was bare except for the poles against each wall that she and her family were bound to and a lantern hanging by a hook in the middle of the ceiling. She was surrounded by dirt. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made of dirt. Her forehead wrinkled as she frowned. They must be underground. A shiver of fear made its way up and down her spine. Maybe an old cellar that hadn’t been finished off or a storm shelter.
That didn’t really narrow where they were or who had brought them there down at all since there were lots of those all over the state of Montana. She could see only one door, which was on the wall her pole was up against so she didn’t have a good look at it. From the frustrated scowl on Jake’s face though, she figured the situation was not looking good.
Who knew if they could get free of the metal binds anyway. Both the binds around her wrists and the ones around her ankles seemed extremely tight and secure to Audrey. She could barely move her wrists or ankles so she doubted she’d be able to wiggle them free of their constraints.
As Jake swung his gaze back to her, he schooled his worried expression into a more relaxed one for Audrey. Of course it was a little late for that since she had already seen the look of frustration that had passed over his features moments before, but she appreciated his efforts to keep her from panicking. She could still see the questions in his eyes.
They were the same questions she asked herself upon regaining consciousness; the same questions that lingered, remaining unanswered. Where were they? Why were they there? Who had done this to them? Why their whole family? And the question that caused an icy fist of fear - brother or no brother to keep her calm - to clench around her heart every time she thought it: What was the person or people who had taken them planning on doing to them?
A thought struck her; her eyes widening, heart thumping into overtime. Whoever was doing this wouldn’t kill them would they? Why would they do that? But then again, why wouldn’t they? Why else would they have kidnapped and tied them up? A strangled sound rushed out past Audrey’s gag. A thumping sound from Jake’s direction sent her eyes back to him. He was hitting the back of his head against his pole to get her attention.
His gaze stern, he shook his head at her. Keep calm. Whatever you do, do not panic his eyes told her. Nodding in response, Audrey struggled to calm her breathing and racing pulse yet again. No, they wouldn’t kill her family. There had to be some other logical explanation, didn’t there?
Just as the thought entered her mind, there was the sound of a dull thud in the distance. Audrey and Jake shot each other looks, her gaze panicky and his reassuring, before they craned their necks in the direction of the door. The seconds seemed to tick by and Audrey chanted over and over to herself, matching the rhythm of her beating heart. It’s going to be okay. Do not panic. Maybe if she told herself it enough times, she’d actually start to believe it. Maybe if she told herself enough times, it would actually come true.
The thud was followed by a blaring silence and Audrey tore her gaze away from the door to throw a questioning look at Jake, but he was still staring intently at the door. Then suddenly she heard it. Footsteps. Her eyes going back to the door, her heart beat and mantra chanting sped up.
The seconds waiting for that door to open seemed to pass on into eternity; each footfall echoed through her head as they drew closer, seeming to seal the lid on her fate. Closer and closer they came. Then, suddenly they stopped. Audrey struggled to breathe as she realized that whoever they had heard was right outside the door. The sound of a key in a lock, then a chain being moved. Another key in another lock and a bolt being moved. A brief moment of silence stretched out - too brief in Audrey’s opinion - before the door creaked slowly open.
Audrey barely had time to take a calming breath and repeat her mantra to herself again before a man swept through the door and into the room. The man stopped to set something on the ground and turned back to shove the door closed with a click. Turning back into the room, the man placed his hands on his hips, seemingly surveying the room’s occupants.
He stood at around six foot and was of average build; not muscular but not overly wiry either. He wore blue jeans and a blue button-up denim shirt. Nothing that made him stand out in anyway. Audrey’s gaze traveled to his face, but all she could make out was a faceless, fuzzy blob on the top of his neck.
What was wrong with her? Squinting, she tried again but all she still couldn’t make out his face. She could see everything else in the room just fine, but try as she might, she could not make out a single feature on his face. She drew her eyes to Jake to see if he was just as confused as she was, but the expression on his face was one of burning rage directed towards the man. It was just her then. Why couldn’t she see him? Her confused thoughts were interrupted when the man spoke.
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” his tone was even, expressionless, as if this were a normal everyday occurrence, “We’ll just have to wake up you’re parents and then we can get this show on the road.”
Picking up the object he set down, Audrey realized now it was a big bucket like what would be used for mudding in construction, he strode over first to her father and then to her mother, tossing the contents of the bucket at them. As they both sputtered from the water he said, “All right, let’s get started.”