I was moving… my head bumping against rough carpet. I was curled up, my back aching. I moved and bumped into something—someone. Oh God—a body?!
"You're awake," she said, sounding relieved.
We were in a trunk of a moving car. I couldn't help glancing behind me in the dark, surprised. "Catherine?"
In the dim taillight light, I could see her face. "Hi," she said quietly.
It didn't take a genius to figure out in whose car we were.
"Where's he taking us?"
"To an abandoned house south of Cheshire. There's a small cellar there—that's where he said he was going to start taking girls and… and—" She started to cry.
"Keep it together, Cathy—I need you. Are there other girls there?"
She sniffled. "No. He said he wanted to get more…. It's just us. I'm so sorry, B—"
"How long will it take to get there?"
"I don't know. A-About an hour—?"
"Scoot back. I'm going to need some room."
Cathy did as I said. "What're you going to do?"
"Get us out of here."
I had to thank Netflix for providing me with the detective show Psych. I was especially thankful for one particular episode where the main guy was stuck in a guy's trunk. It was uncomfortable with two people in a trunk, but Cathy was small and I was nimble. Not to mention my leggings and flimsy dress made moving really easy.
I braced my right foot on the back of a taillight and then kicked as hard as I could. In two kicks, the taillight popped out and I could see the road. Thank God everyone in Cheshire drove old-ass cars.
"Are there tools behind you?" I asked Cathy.
"I can feel… a crowbar?"
The stars seemed to align just for us. "Pass it to me—ow!" She jabbed me in the back.
"Sorry."
The trunk was probably bigger than it actually felt. Being as nimble as I would ever be, I kicked out the second taillight in front of my face, kind of hoping the trunk would open on its own—but it didn't.
"Okay. I need you to roll over me."
"Why?"
"No questions—just do it."
Cathy did as I said.
"Aright, so—I'm going to jam the trunk open. I need you to hold the lid down for a minute so that it doesn't fly up for him to notice."
"And then we'll both jump out?"
"That's right—we'll both jump out. You have to go first so I can hold the trunk lid low, and then I'll roll out after you and we'll run. Can you lead us back to Cheshire from here?"
"Yeah. When Cynthia and Ethan were going out, they'd ride his dirt bike out here before he sold it. We should be out of the trees soon."
Something came to mind. "Are there little mounds of dirt for jumping over or something?"
"Uh, yeah. How'd you know that?"
"You know how to get to Cheshire and then lead people back out here?"
"Uh, yes?"
"Good. Okay, hold tight. Watch your fingers." I couldn't tell where I was jamming the crowbar, but it felt like it was getting pretty far. "Ready?"
"I'm ready."
I levered it up and the trunk lid opened. It pulled Cathy forward a little, but she was pretty strong. "Good job," I said. "I'm going to hold it open now. Scoot forward, right on the edge—just like that. Hug yourself and roll. It'll hurt." Stupid Wyatt was driving fast.
"You're coming right after me?"
"Actually no—someone's gotta keep the trunk closed so that he doesn't notice—okay, go!"
I shoved little Cathy Connor out of the trunk and hastily gripped the lid through the taillight holes. I hoped she wasn't too hurt to move.
I was going to pay dearly for this.
YOU ARE READING
Cheshire Girl
Paranormal"There were three things about which I was absolutely certain. First, I didn't have my cell phone. Second, my hands hurt from gripping the trunk lid closed. They would probably be useless to put up a fight. ...
