Insubstantially Me

Chapter 37

"Now?" I asked yet again, dying to rip the wretched blindfold from my face. I lost track of time on this torturous ride. It felt like hours, but I didn't doubt that my perception was significantly skewed due to my anxiety.

To be honest, the drive itself wasn't so bad. David was apparently very skilled at navigating the trail, so it wasn't the jerky, harrowing experience that I originally assumed it would be. The cold hadn't been unbearable either. Holding on to David was something akin to squeezing a teddy bear - comforting and warm. Squashed together as we were on the little car, I was able to absorb some of his body heat. He was also much bigger than me, and once I rested my head against his back, I was shielded from most of the wind.

I marveled that he wasn't even shivering. The temperature must have been in the low forties. His jacket seemed thick, but he still should have been freezing.

Objectively speaking, it was wise of whoever made the rule for the blindfold. I would never be able to figure out how to get here on my own. Of course, I assumed that David had driven in several circles to disorient me, ensuring my ignorance. Which just made me that much more curious about where we were headed. What sort of a place was it that required such secrecy as a general rule?

I thought I'd been pretty patient by waiting until I felt a definite change in the journey before I began asking if I could shed the mask. We must have arrived at the destination by now, since light was filtering through the cloth over my eyes. Not much, but enough to tell me that we were indoors. Also, the ground was smooth and we were moving slowly, weaving through a small area. If I had to guess, I'd say we were in another garage.

I was starting to feel like the obnoxious kid in the back seat, repeatedly asking if we reached Disney World yet, but the wait was excruciating.

"Almost," David answered. The bike jerked slightly and the engine shut off, letting me know we were finally parked.

There was some scuffling and footsteps, but I couldn't identify some of the other noises I heard - maybe a fence scraping closed? It definitely wasn't the same noise that the door of the previous garage had made when David sealed it up.

He tried to pull away, clearly ready to stand up and I began to panic. This was it. I didn't know where we were and I still couldn't see anything. What if he brought me to Wescott or someone just as bad? What if-

"Time to move, Sarah," he hinted, when I clung tightly to him, keeping him in place.

I forced myself to release my hold and he vanished from in front of me. Thankfully, it only took seconds for him to grasp my hands, urging me to get to my feet as well.

I clumsily maneuvered off the bike and stood, resolved not to let him go again until I could see.

"Not yet," David said, anticipating my question as my free hand moved to the blindfold.

"Any way you could speed this up?" I asked in frustration.

"I'll have to lead you along for a little bit," he said. "Of course, it'd probably be faster if I carried you." The blindfold kept me from seeing it, but I knew his statement was accompanied by a smirk.

In the days following my surgery, David had deemed me a bad damsel in distress since I complained whenever he would carry me to the bathroom and back. I kept quiet about it for the first few days since my leg practically burst into flame every time I moved, but it was just ridiculous after that. The apartment was small and there was plenty of furniture and walls to lean on to assist me so I wouldn't have to put weight on my leg. However, Tim absolutely forbade me from moving myself anywhere for two full weeks and David threatened to lock the door if I tried it even once.