Stepbrother (Sequel to Stockholm Syndrome)

55

I'd left Luke to himself for a few hours. By the time the clock hit 2:30 pm, I was becoming nervous. He'd left for his walk around 11:00 am, and although he was a grown adult who could do whatever he pleased, it was unlike him not to at least let me know that he would be out so long. I let a shuddering breath as I got dressed after the shower I had recently taken. Decisively, I pulled a pair of Converse on and grabbed my phone before heading out the door. I phoned Luke three times as I walked in case he had simply lost track of time.

No reply.

I'd seen which way Luke had gone when he'd first left sight of the house, but after the first few feet into the deeper part of the forest, I was going off my gut feeling. I tried not to feel creeped out as the trees blotted out most of the sun, but I couldn't help jumping each time a bird or squirrel cracked branch- at least, I hoped that's all it was. I had no idea what was in these woods. There were so many acres that I would not be surprised to find cougars, bears, and all sorts of wildlife in the woods.

Despite my best judgment to stay quiet, I began calling Luke's name after about 20 minutes of walking. After each time I called his name, I stayed silent for many moments before calling out again. Nervously, I fiddled with the house key I had in my coat pocket, unable to contain a shudder that ran through my spine.

"Luke?" I called again, not expecting a response from anyone but the leaves. I thought I heard a faint moan this time. Every limb in my body froze but I tried to keep myself composed and told myself it was just the trees groaning. I called his name out again. A second time, there was a moan that carried a little bit further and louder than it had the first time. "Shit," I muttered, knowing in my gut that it was Luke. "Luke!? I need you to be loud so I can find you!" I yelled, not sure how close or far he was or how well he could hear me. It was silent for a moment. I was about to call out his name again before there was a muddled yell and I watched a couple small branches and pinecones fly into the air and then fall back down. I followed the noise, but as that died down, the twigs continued to fly up. I followed the visual cue for about 30 feet before I could see him. Luke was laying on his back, clumsily propped up against a boulder, feebly tossing twigs into the air as a beacon for me. He seemed to not even have enough strength to dodge the debris and it fell back down and much of it landed on his chest and his face. I rushed to him, not sure how to take in the situation.

"Madeline... good." As I knelt next to him, it became very clear that he was bloody and beaten.

"Don't you dare go to sleep on me, Lucas!" I snapped as his eyes lulled a bit in the back of his head. "How did this happen?"

"Well," He winced, slowly lifting a hand to his temple, "There are these guys... total douchebags as of now... that think I'm.... a bad guy. They've seen you.... At my house ... and they think... you know?" He looked at me expectantly before it seemed to click in his head that I had not been given that much information. "They think I'm holding you... as some sort of..." His eyes zoned out for a moment before refocusing on me, "slave... or a hostage... you know? They told me that you must be easy to get if I could take you.... So they wanted to take you.... I think they're on the way to the house to do just that, actually...." Luke seemed much less concerned than I felt. I blamed it on a concussion. "They don't like me... very much." He said decidedly before passing out.