Page 3 of Unhinged

“This is close enough.” Tommy’s voice was suddenly at Carrie's shoulder as he leaned forward between the front seats.

“What are you—?” Before Carrie could even blink, his hand whipped out, and she froze as the blade of a knife pressed against her throat.

Selah sucked in a gasp as Tommy stretched his free arm toward her, shoelaces dangling from his fingers. “Tie her hands to the wheel.”

Selah hesitated, and the blade dug deeper into Carrie's skin. She cried out in pain and tears welled in her eyes, clouding her vision. “Oh, God, just do what he says, Selah.”

Selah’s hands trembled as she reluctantly took the shoestrings and secured Carrie's right hand, then the left to the steering wheel. Tommy deftly slipped the keys from the ignition, and Carrie heard the soft jangle as they hit the floor somewhere in the back.

In the passenger seat, Selah whimpered. Carrie tested the bonds around her hands, but they were too tight. She didn’t have a chance—but Selah did. “Selah, run!”

With one last beseeching glance at Carrie, Selah pushed open the door and sprinted from the car. Tommy let out a low curse and slid out behind her, then took off into the darkness. Fueled by terror, Carrie pulled at the bindings. The more she struggled, the tighter they became, rubbing her skin raw. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she fought to get free, to no avail.

Oh, God. The silence outside was deafening, and Carrie prayed that Selah had managed to evade him. She had to get out of there before he came back. She did everything she could think of to get someone’s attention—screamed at the top of her lungs, pressed her head against the horn. The night air remained quiet and still, devoid of life. Her heart rate increased with each minute that ticked by. How long had it been now? Where was he? And was Selah safe?

A loud thump on the window made Carrie scream, and she jumped as Tommy threw the door open. The deadly, metallic glint of a knife suspended the breath in her lungs as he slashed at the shoestrings binding her to the steering wheel.

“Come on.” He jerked Carrie roughly out of the car, and she stumbled as the rocks slid precariously under her flip flops.

“Where’s Selah?”

His grip tightened on her arms, fingers digging into the tender flesh. “Don’t worry about her.”

His words sent a ripple of terror racing down Carrie's spine. She had to find Selah and get away from here. She could barely make out his face, even from just a few inches away, but she could feel his cold gaze on her. A breeze whipped through the trees, parting the branches overhead and allowing the bright light of the moon to spill over them. His face looked demented in the dim light as his deformed mouth curled into a menacing sneer.

Carrie's mind spun frantically as she followed beside him, tripping over branches littering the uneven forest floor. Finally he clicked on a flashlight and the ground in front of them glowed yellow in the bright beam of light.

The leaves looked disrupted, and Carrie's blood ran cold as her gaze settled on a scrap of fabric. The material was ragged and marred with dark brown stains. She stepped closer to inspect it and froze, her heart tripping in her chest as a logo jumped out at her. Selah had been wearing a shirt with that same distinct alligator logo tonight.

Reluctantly, Carrie's gaze followed the trail to a large, pale lump on the ground twenty feet away. A familiar shoe stuck up from the leaves and she stared uncomprehendingly at Selah, her body twisted at an unnatural angle, the same brown stains marring her skin. Carrie's eyes fell to the wide, dark gash that split Selah's throat, stretching from ear to ear.

No, no, no…

Bile rose up, burning the back of Carrie's throat. Dropping to her knees in the crumbling leaves, she retched until there was nothing left in her stomach. A rough hand bit into the flesh of her arm again, and she pulled against his grasp.

“Get up.” Tommy dug his fingers in and yanked Carrie to her feet.

Feeling lightheaded and swaying unsteadily, Carrie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and regarded Tommy. Rage welled up inside her. Pulling her arm back, she threw as much force into the punch as she could. His hands flew up to cover his nose, and Carrie placed a well-aimed kick between his thighs. With a muffled shriek of pain followed by a string of curses, he dropped to his knees.

Not wasting a second, Carrie broke free and ran. Her feet slid over the uneven ground, and her lungs burned with exhaustion as she searched the darkness for some sign of life—a house, a road, anything. The reflection of moonlight glinting off of metal came from up ahead as a bridge came into sight, and her heart leaped in her chest. With a burst of energy, she pumped her arms faster, pushing herself to keep going despite the urge to break down and cry. She would not think of Selah right now.

Obscured by darkness, Carrie didn’t notice the railroad ties until it was too late. Her foot caught on the rail and her teeth gnashed together, sending a frisson of pain through her entire body as she sprawled face-first onto the tracks. Shaking off the pain, she scrambled to her feet and dashed forward as the sound of footsteps met her ears.

Just as she reached the middle of the bridge, a hand closed around her hair and she was yanked back roughly. The motion brought her to a jarring halt, and she fell to her knees with a sharp cry as pain exploded over her scalp.

One hand still fisted in her long strands, Tommy dragged her to her feet. “It didn’t have to be this way.”

Those fathomless black eyes bored into hers, and ice streamed through Carrie's veins. She’d invited this monster into the car with them—and now she was going to die at his hands.

Slowly backing her toward the railing of the bridge, he continued to speak. “You want to know about your friend?”

Tears clouded Carrie's vision, and she shook her head violently. She wanted to remember Selah vibrantly alive and happy, not cowering in fear before she died.

Despite her denial, Tommy leaned in close and continued. “The whore couldn’t even make it good. She tried to fight back, scratched my face until I broke her fingers, one by one. It would have been so good with you.”

He rubbed his nose along Carrie's jaw and she let out a strangled sob. “Please don’t do this, please just let me go!”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”