Highway Part 35

Highway Chapter 20

 

            I couldn’t move. It was as if my body was frozen in a block of ice, immobilizing me. My worst nightmare was standing casually in front of me, looking down with a smile on his disfigured face. The grin made his wound even more ghastly than before. I didn’t remember what it looked like, but I could see it now.

The eye was completely destroyed, a slit running across it. But the cut didn’t end there. It started at his eyebrows, coming down to the end of his nose. It was gnarled and scarred, a faded red color. It was an awful sight to see for anyone, and I wondered how these men hung around him like this. He bent down, crouching in front of me.

He reached out for my face, and I couldn’t even flinch. Lifting it with caution, he examined where I had been slapped. I couldn’t even think anymore. He frowned, the scar contorting at odd angles.

“Who did this?” he asked, that voice causing uncontrollable shivers to rise again.

When I didn’t answer, he stood up.

“Well?” he asked, his voice loud and commanding, “Who was it? This couldn’t have been an accident during the struggle.”

He gestured to me. When it grew quiet, he wandered around the circle, scanning over each man. He came to stop next to the two men who had brought me here.

“Jack? Marshall? Could either one of you have something to do with this?”

His voice was casual and light, but it held a deadly undertone. The man who had hit me, Jack, fidgeted nervously.

“Come on, fellas,’ he said breezily, “Things happen, I understand. Just tell me.”

Jack spoke up.

“She had just bit me, that’s all. She was thrashing around and I was mad. I know you don’t like that though boss, so I’m sorry.”

My father drew in a deep breath, as if preparing to say something. Then, without warning, he lunged at Jack. He punched him in the face violently, knocking him to the ground.

“If you knew I didn’t like it, why would you consciously do it? Because you were mad? If I acted on my emotions like you did, you would have just gotten a lot more than a punch.”

He looked at him with disdain, the anger written on his features.

“I’ll have you know that you picked a terrible person to hit, my friend,” he said, dark and annoyed, “This happens to be my daughter, and the only other surviving member of the family. Do you still think it’s okay you hit her?”

He shoved him as he tried to get up. On his way over to Jack, he tripped on the other girl’s foot. She screamed, much louder than one would have thought could have come from such a small girl. She didn’t stop, and so he rounded on her.

“Shut up!” he said, leaning close to her face.

The gruesome sight made her look faint, and she seemed like she was going to collapse right there. He sighed, pinching his nose.

“Put her with the others,” he commanded to another man, gesturing to a small unit off to the side.

He picked up the frantic girl, slinging her over his shoulder. When he went for me however, my father intervened.

“No, not her. I need to speak with my daughter about some very important matters. We need to catch up. Isn’t that right, darling Veronica?”

His smile made me feel sick. He told another man to take me to the dressing room first, and then to his office.

“To be clear, she isn’t one of the normal girls. If I find that anything has happened to her, whoever did it will have to face the consequences. Does everyone understand?”

They nodded, looking away. The man picked me up, and began to walk away. He went inside, and my spell was broken. Now that I was not under the influence of my father, I could move again.

“Let go of me you freak! Put me down! I said let go!”

I pounded on his back with my fists, kicking in the air. He winced as he shifted me, picking up the pace.

“Oi!” he shouted, “Stop fussing! Watch what you say to me!”

I continued to attack him, elbowing his neck as best I could.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked, challenging and defiant, “Or what? Are you going to hit me? That didn’t go over too well for the last guy.”

I smirked at him, attempting to show my contempt. I didn’t understand my father being here, but I still wouldn’t let them bully me. He hesitated, and shrugged.

“He didn’t say I couldn’t carry you the whole way, or even that I had to take off the restraints when I set you down.”

I smacked him in the head one more time out of spite, thinking of a plan. If I could make the man mad enough, I could get injured again. That didn’t sound fun, but the more incapacitated the group was from fighting with my father, the better. I called him several names, and hit him every chance I got. Why wasn’t he doing anything? I suppose after the display outside, they were all scared of my father.

Where had they taken the girl? What was my father planning on doing that required me to be separated? The questions flashed through my mind like the lightning, and I didn’t have the answers to any of them.

The man stopped inside a small room, one of many inside the unit. They must have been offices. The room was littered with outfits, ranging from formal wear to Halloween costumes. I was sure I knew the reason why they were all here. The man dropped me to the ground, finally glad I wasn’t on his back.

“The boss wants you to change into something.” He said, gesturing to the racks of clothing.

No way in hell was I about to change for him.

I glared at him in defiance, saying, “And if I refuse?”

I was going to make this as difficult as possible. He looked entirely frustrated, and I wondered if I had finally gotten to him. Instead of going after me, he pulled out a walkie talkie. I cursed myself as I remembered mine, sitting back at the hotel. A whole lot of good it’s done me.

He spoke into the radio, calling my father.

“What?” came his irritated reply, crackling through the device.

“She doesn’t want to change, what do I do?”

They conferred for a moment before ending the transmission.

“He gives me permission to dress you if I have to. Your choice, really.”

God, he was disgusting. The look on his face told me that it would be his pleasure to follow out the instruction. No way. I thought about attacking him, but I was still handcuffed and he was too large for me to win.

“You’re sick,” I spit out at him, wishing looks could kill.

He shrugged.

“So what’s it going to be?” he asked.

I gave him a glare.

“I don’t need your help, you freak.” I responded.

He shrugged again. Why wasn’t he uncuffing me?

“Do you expect me to be able to change with handcuffs on? You’re even more stupid than I thought. I guess you can’t expect much from the help.”

His face grew red with anger, but he still refrained from action. My father must have really done some horrible things to people who didn’t follow orders. He stormed over to me, unlocking and wrenching away the handcuffs. When he didn’t leave, I snarled at him.

“What, are you gonna stand there? Enjoy the view? Get out of here! Or should I say you hit me? I could easily smash my face into one of these bars.”

The fact that they feared him could be used to my advantage, and I was going to milk it for all it was worth. Without another word, he went out the door, where I heard a resounding click. Great. After he was gone, I sank to the floor.

Why was I here? Why me? I had finally become happy again, and then this happened. And it wasn’t even a normal kidnapping, where I could free myself with more ease. The spotlight was on me, and there wasn’t a way to get out.

Where was Matt? What if he couldn’t find my clues? It wasn’t raining as hard as before, but it was still dark. What if he wasn’t even coming? The small doubtful voice had come back. Maybe he gave up. He isn’t going to track you down in the rain. You pushed him away too many times. He won’t find you, or even try.

No! He would find me, right? I bet right now he was running through the rain, racing to find me. But… What if he wasn’t? I switched between my thoughts. He hadn’t shown up yet. He wouldn’t be able to find the trail at night. Maybe he was even dead. Those men left behind could have killed him. But it would take a long time to run here, and my shirt was neon green. And he seemed to be such an experienced fighter; I couldn’t believe they would have killed him. But what if they did?

I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. Stop it! I told myself, this is no time for crying! I needed to be strong here, or I wouldn’t make it out alive, much less with my sanity. Matt wasn’t dead, I told myself. If he was alive, he would be coming to rescue me, and there needed to be something to rescue when he got here.

Even if he was dead, I still needed to make it out of here. I had gotten myself out of sticky situations before, and I would this time. Both my brother and Matt had worked too hard for me to just give up now. It would be a disgrace to them.

Thinking of my brother gave me strength. My father had killed him, but not before he gave him the same scar he bears today. I won’t let you down, I promise. I thought, gazing at the ceiling above me.

If my brother could hurt him at my age, so could I. I wasn’t a kid anymore, or at least I wasn’t so small. I was almost an adult legally, and he couldn’t bully me around anymore. The initial shock of seeing him was wearing off, and I could think much more clearly now. Next time we met, I wouldn’t freeze.