Never Look Back

Chapter 9- Emma

I was about a block away when I heard her scream.

"Ivy." I whispered.

I turned on my heel and started running back towards her.

That was when I heard him.

"Stupid girl. Sacrificing yourself for your sister? How dumb are you?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, shaking.

It was him.

The voice of the man who I had only minutes ago escaped.

How could I run right back into his clutches? I swallowed hard and against every instinct I had, I kept moving. She had sacrificed herself for me. I had to do the same for her. But it went deeper then that. I felt a strange connection to her. I had only met her moments ago, but it felt like I had known her since birth.

Whatever the reason, I knew that I couldn't just desert her.

I ducked behind a wall to keep the tall, large man from seeing me. I peeked out from behind the wall, and almost cried out at what I saw. Ivy was slung over the large man's shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head and she was clearly unconscious. "Is she O.K.?" One of the pedestrians asked.

"Oh, yes." The man answered. "She's....... My daughter. Yeah, my daughter. She just had a seizure. She's been having them since she was just a baby."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call for an ambulance?" Another woman asked.

The man smiled at her reassuringly.

"Oh no. That won't be necessary. I have some medicine for her at our house. We will be fine."

With a lot of grumbling and some skeptical looks, the concerned citizens left. The man hurried off at a fast pace and I did my best to keep up with him. Eventually he walked into an abandoned three story house that was boarded up. The house looked like it would fall apart at any second. It was a filthy brown color with graffiti covering most of it. A dusty gray roof topped it off. Many of the shingles were missing from it revealing the moldy wood beneath it. The windows were boarded up, but it seemed as if lots of people had tried to break in. Many of the boards were broken, or missing entirely. The steps leading up to the house were filthy and cracked. The middle one looked as if someone had tried to saw it in half.

The large man set Ivy down on the ground roughly and walked up the cracked steps. He stopped at the door and examined it for a moment. Then he grabbed one of the boards on the door and ripped it of as easily as if it was a twig. He continued ripping boards off until the door was cleared. He peered in the shattered pane of glass on the door, then opened the it. He walked down the steps, picked up Ivy and headed inside.

I waited outside for about a minute to make sure the man wouldn't come right back outside. When I was sure he wasn't coming out, I dashed up the steps and opened the door, praying he hadn't locked it. Thankfully, it seemed that the lock, like everything else in the old house, was broken. The door opened with a creak. I heard shuffling in the house, and was sure that the man had heard it. But when he did not appear in front of me, I decided that I had gotten lucky. I dashed up the main steps and turned into a long hallway with faded wallpaper pealing off on both walls. One problem:

Their were about a dozen rooms.

I mentally slapped myself.

Real smart, Emma. You play hero and forget that your not all-knowing. Nice move.

How would I know where she was? I didn't have time to search every single room!

A loud groan came from the door farthest to the right. I ran over there and pulled the door open. Ivy was laying in a heap on the dusty floor.

I threw myself onto my knees in front of her.

"Ivy." I whispered, shaking her shoulders. "Ivy, wake up. It's me, Emma."

Her eyes slowly opened.

"Come on, Ivy. We have to get out of here."

Her eyes fully opened, and instantly filled with fear. She seemed to be staring into space.

"Run." Her voice was dripping with terror.

"Don't worry." I soothed her. "He has no idea that I'm here.

She shook her head forcefully. "Run." She repeated.

"What's wrong? Your safe now."

She shook her head ever harder and pointed behind me.

I turned my head and felt like a fool. She hadn't been staring into space after all.

Behind me stood our kidnapper with a manic grin on his face.

"Welcome." He said, his voice anything but welcoming." Please, make yourself comfortable. Won't you stay awhile?"

Some hero I'd turned out to be.

*~ HopeForTomorrow~*