House of Secrets

Chapter 2 - Alone in the Woods

House of Secrets, by Sebastiene. Chapter 2 - Alone in the Woods. 

Gwen woke up, cold and cramped, on the back seat of the car, instantly aware of how alone she was. Her first thought was trying to figure out what had awakened her. If someone had discovered her hiding place, she might be in trouble.

It had taken time the night before to find a place out of sight, hidden by the trees, where she might be safe enough to sleep. Finding that was easier said than done on a rural road in the dark. Every turn-off had been someone's gravel driveway. The shoulders were nonexistent—just tiny strips of dirt that immediately became thick weeds and trees that were too close together. There were no public parks, no convenient parking lots. Not on this out-of-the-way route.

When you gave up the highways and interstates, you gave up things like rest areas, overhead lights, and the dubious comfort of at least someone witnessing what happened to you. Smaller roads might not have offered her safety, but it meant Gwen could travel with fewer people noticing as she passed, or guessing where she might be going.

She was going to Oakwood House.

Tick, tock. The same two words had been running through her head for days. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Every day, every hour of delay brought them closer to the abyss.

If anyone started asking questions, they might figure out that Marvin wasn't at Oakwood House, anymore. The only way she was going to have time to search it was to remain as invisible as she could. That was the plan.

It had been pitch black when she had parked the night before. Now, pale light shone through the thin quilt she'd pulled over her head for warmth. She made sure to leave all of the other blankets for her mom.

The tense silence stretched on. Gwen kept her head down and listened carefully for footsteps, for a car door closing, or anything else that might give away that someone had discovered her.

If a policeman had found her, he could cite her for sleeping in her car. She didn't know what the laws were in this state. She might be on private property, for all she knew, and be arrested for it.

What could she tell the police if they insisted on knowing where she was headed? Even if they didn't arrest her, or give her a ticket, they might follow her after they let her go.

"For your own safety," they might say, assuming she was a vagrant and essentially escorting her back to the county or the state line.

No matter what, she couldn't let that happen. She had to get to Oakwood House without being seen, and she had to get inside the house without anyone knowing she was there.

Gwen clutched the soft, fraying quilt covering her. It was a puzzle pattern. Bethany had made it for her years before. That had been back in the days when Beverly had still been able to finish projects. The quilt was the closest thing she had to her mother's presence now.

Beverly was being looked after by her old friend, Renée, since her mother couldn't stay by herself for long periods of time. Luckily, Renée had offered to help, but it was only a temporary arrangement—just for a week, or two at the most. She couldn't afford to stay where she was, either, and was moving in with family.

If someone is out there, what are they waiting for?

Then, Gwen had a worse thought. If someone had woken her, they might not be as friendly as the police. She and her mother had slid down the social scale over the years, forced to move from bad neighborhoods into worse ones. Living in the city had made her cautious. Only a woman with a death wish would ignore the fact there were men out there who would hurt her, and do it for no other reason than she was vulnerable, and they could.