C3 Chapter 3

My legs felt a thousand pounds heavier.

"Get in!" He barked, his grin turning to a mean scowl.

I moved hastily to the back door. it was stiff and frozen at the gaps, ice blocks falling as I forced it open.

The seats were stained with splashes of blood, and on the floor were piles of trash.

Despite the overwhelming stench of the truck, I stepped in and sat down on the worn and cracked leather seat.

Before I could shut the door, the truck moved off, the cold night's wind slamming the door. If I hadn't been fast, the rusted iron door could have broken my fingers.

"What's your name?" He asked, his voice raspy and hoarse.

Somehow the truck was colder than outside, and I could feel droplets of rain fall on my skin from the leaking roof.

"Sheila." I muttered with a shaky voice.

He grunted, cleared his throat and rolled the window down to spit out.

"I hate your name." He said, his voice a bit clearer. "Change it!"

I didn't understand what he was saying. A few bottles of gin rested on the floor mats, empty cans of beer and cigarettes, but he didn't sound drunk.

"The men will prefer a name like Sugar or..." His eyes met mine in the rear mirror. "Dancing Pussy"

My stomach rolled in disgust, and I could feel a gag forcing its way up.

"Keep the name and you can keep your kitty headband," He said, laughing. "It would be part of your uniform."

I was still a bit confused as to what I would be doing for the gang, but all my mind could think of were unthinkable things which made my heart heavier.

"Do you have a daughter, sir?" I asked, wiping tears off my face.

He was taken aback by my question, and released an unsettling laugh. "Yes, I do. Why're you asking?"

"How old is she?"

He glanced at me through the mirror again, curiosity making those red eyes crinkle.

"Six." He said

"How would you feel if your little girl was in my shoes?"

He glared at me through the mirror, his brows furrowed and his forehead was etched in wrinkling lines.

"Watch your tongue, Sheila." He warned.

"How would she feel if she knew her father could sell her off one day?"

He pressed hard on the brakes, lurching me and all the bottles and cans forward.

My head met with the iron rooftop before resting back on my knee. I couldn't feel my nose anymore, and when I looked up to the rear mirror, a trail of blood dribbled down my nostrils.

"Shut the fck up!" He cursed, reaching to his side to grab a tape.

He had bruises on his face too, and the blood made his teeth look dirtier than it had been.

Tearing a piece from the tape, he crawled over to the back seat and grabbed me by the chin, his sharp fingers piercing into my skin.

"You're nothing like my daughter." He snapped, struggling to wrap my hands with the tape. "So keep your mouth shut. No one forced your mother to sell you off!”

Tears crinkled down my face as his fingers dug deeper into my chin.

"I'm sorry sir." I pleaded. "I just want to be free."

He chuckled. "Stop dreaming, Sheila. You belong to the gang now."

The tape sealed my lips and the man crawled back to the driver's seat, cackling in delight.

After two hours of endless driving, the truck stopped and to my dismay, Steve's sedan approached us.

Steve stepped out of his car, his rifle hung over his shoulder. The heavy rain had come down to a mild drizzle, and I could hear Steve's greeting to the man.

The trucks' engine sputtering went off once the keys were removed, and all that could be heard was the chirping of crickets.

"Don't even try to run, girl." He said, a sultry look on his face. "We're in dangerous terrain."

I looked out from the window, and all I could see was dense forest.

"This is Dark wood Lane."

I gasped out, blood draining from my face. "The Darkwood Lane?"

He nodded. "Just like you've heard, the only difference is that it's worse."

Since I was a kid, stories of evil creatures lurking in a dark forest after Bergon were told to children to make us fear.

I never knew the tale was true.

"This is also the best place to make secret deals." He said as he grabbed his shotgun and kicked open his door. "So stay put and don't go anywhere, if you don't want to be sucked dry by evil creatures."

My skin tensed as my eyes scanned the woods around me.

Steve and the man spoke for a long time, and from time to time, they glanced back at me.

Was this the end? The end of all those years of me taking three to four jobs to pay for my school fees. All the endless nights of studying for scholarship exams. Were they all for nothing?

As I adjusted in the leather seat, my legs felt something sharp on the rug.

I looked down and there it was... A blunt knife.

My eyes darted back to Steve and the man: they were lost in an argument. This was my chance. This was my only chance at freedom.

I leaned backwards and used my legs to grab the knife.

The first three times were a failure but on the fourth trial, I managed to grab it with my feet and pull it up.

With a good grip on the knife, I placed it at the centre of my wrapped hands and I applied as much force as I could.

"Are you okay?" The man asked, looking back.

I dropped the knife at once, and nodded quickly.

His eyes lingered on me for a while before turning back to Steve.

The knife had already split the tape more than halfway, so I applied more force, feeling the tape peel off my skin until finally my hands were free.

This was my escape from captivity and nothing was going to stop me.

I yanked open the car door, almost ripping it from its hinge.

Steve and the man were shocked by the noise, and rushed to the truck.

My legs felt lighter than a feather as I ran on the muddy ground, along a clear lane in the woods.

I heard a gunshot, then two.

It was Steve's rifle, but before he could fire the third, I heard the mufflings of the other man telling him not to alert the creatures.

It was then my heart sank and fear gripped me. Creatures?

Truly, I was walking on a lane in the woods. This was probably Darkwood Lane.

Both Steve and the man didn't chase after me, they just stood by the truck. I couldn't see their facial expressions from here, but I could tell from Steve's angry kicking of the truck tyres that he was furious and disappointed.

As I watched them from this distance, hesitating to move further into Darkwood, the man threw something at me.

I didn't know what it was, until it struck me right across my cheekbones.

"Arrrgh!" I cried, grasping onto my face as blood flowed freely.

On the rocky lane was a blood stained knife.

"Take that bitch!" He cursed.

He began to aim again, but this time around, I didn't wait. I ran as fast as my legs could take me, deeper and deeper into Dark wood Lane until I couldn't hear a thing from them.

I was losing a lot of blood, it was so much that it dyed my white night gown to crimson red.

The wound was too deep and I wasn't sure I would make it.

My eyes began to blur and my knees weakened but I didn't stop. I couldn't.

As I ran with blurred vision, I didn't see the net that was laid on the lane. By the time I noticed it, I was halfway in the air, dangling upside down in a net trap.