When All Hope Is Lost

-chαρтєr єιghт: thє cαbιn-

Chapter eight- The cabin

"Here," Toby said to me, as he handed me a small black hand gun once we got into his car. It might have been early noon, but Toby was more than ready to start our search. "It's a Beretta, pretty much all American police forces are issued them," he said once more, before taking out the map I drew from the back seat and handing it to me. "You're the map keeper," he ended, before pushing his car key into the ignition and driving out of my driveway to start our plan.

I didn't say anything more after that then, just stared down at the gun and map in my lap, wondering if this was the best thing after all. I knew that if I told my parents about it they would be furious, deeming it wasn't safe one bit and ban me from seeing Toby. But, what if this was my calling all along? What if God wanted me to escape so I could do something like this? To help Toby find his sister along with all of those other girls?

Knocking me from my thoughts, Toby pulled over onto the side of the highway and turned off his car, immediately stepping out of it and going to the back to open up the trunk. Wow, we got here fast. He must have been speeding. I thought to myself, as I hopped out of the car as well and went to the back with him. 

Handing me a backpack, he told me to put my gun and map in there, which was exactly what I did before both of us headed out into the forest. Holding tightly onto my backpack straps adjusted onto my shoulders, I stayed a far ways back from Toby, hesitant in going in too fast.

The same tall trees that flung past my body before, now taunted me as I came walking back with Toby, laughing it seemed in the wind.

"Toby, maybe we should go back," I said, barely above a whisper. Surprisingly he did hear, and looked back at me who stood a far distance behind him. I could tell he didn't like what I had said, from his facial expression was a mix of anger and sadness. "I'm sorry..." I lingered, as I kept trudging my way through the damp leaves that drenched the forest floor.

"We can't go back so soon now, we at least need to try," he told me, before looking back forward and pointing as Lake Emily soon approached us. "See! The lake, we are close!" he shouted, as he began running a bit towards it. Taking a deep breath, I tried to remember what he told me down in the basement. I would always be safe with him, always. I had nothing to worry about, right?

"Go right, around the lake. I don't want to get all wet today," I said, thinking about how I had dived straight through it the day of my escape. Shaking my head and looking anywhere but at the lake, I focused on Toby in front of me who had took my directions and now started walking around it to get to the right side. 

Something seemed different about him today, something I couldn't put my finger on. Maybe it was just him being nervous about finding his sister, but something still didn't hit right in the back of my head. "The police tape, I can see it starting over there," he told me, disrupting me from my thoughts as I stepped over a large, molded log.

"We must be close," I replied, though I didn't really want to admit it. I didn't want to get anywhere near where I was kidnapped. Yet, I kept going, following Toby as he ducked under the bright yellow and black police tape that spread around the right side of the forest. They must have taped all this area off just to be careful. I thought to myself, as I ducked under the tape myself and quickly caught up with Toby.

"There it is, the cabin," he noted, making me look away from the rest of the spooky, dark forest I was examining and notice he was right. Immediately then my heart stammered and my chest became a knot, as I knew I was getting closer with every step I took. My breathing became rapid, as my body became incredibly warmer, making me toss my light brown hair up into a pony tail and roll up my long, black shirted sleeves.

The small cabin looked even worse than I remembered, as the sides rotted with mold and decayed from the wet. The one small window in the front was boarded up with wooden planks, making it look effortlessly abandoned. Sadly, that was not the case, for it had held many secrets right inside, one being myself.

"Toby, I can't," I said, as I fell into a nearby, plump tree and leaned up against it. My head was going blank, as blackness overwhelmed me.

"Woah, Hope, you can't give up on this now! We are so close," he whined, before turning around to me and coming over to my side. "You can do it, I know you can," he told me once more, before brushing a strand of hair out of my face and behind my ears. Looking over to him as he did that, I noticed it was the first act of kindness he had done all day to me.

"After this you can call your mom and you can come stay over at my house," he whispered, smiling a bit. "I'm sorry I have been kind of stressed out today, but remember, you are safe with me," he told, making me nod and relax a bit with the reassurance. "Here, take this out," he said, before reaching into my backpack, grabbing out the handgun, and placing it into my hands. "It's not on safety, so be careful,"

"Thanks," I told him with a slight smile, as I held onto it tight against my chest. This was now my safety blanket, and it made me feel a whole lot better.

"Alright, follow me," he said, grabbing onto my hand and bringing me closer to the cabin. I was shaking, which I knew he could feel due to grasping onto my hand tighter and rubbing his thumb against mine. It was something I had never experienced before, a sort of fear that I hoped no one else in the world would have to feel.

Coming up to the cabin's front door, police tape wrapped it in a fine layer, obviously not wanting intruders inside. However, Toby didn't care one bit and tore it off as he let my hand go, opening up the door easily as it wasn't locked.

Taking a deep breath of air, I stepped inside, grabbing onto Toby's hand almost instinctively for comfort. However, little did I know that no one would be able to help much with what was just about to happen...