End of the Line

  So easy for Aaron to talk about having children! He wouldn’t be the one who would be carrying the baby for nine months before labor. I mean, come on! Who would want to bring a child into this kind life? We could barely take care of ourselves as it was, and he wanted to add more mouths. What a moron. Furthermore, if you’re trying to talk someone into having your children, you should have some sort of feelings toward them. Or be able to tell them you love them.

  I stomped through the woods, really not caring about the amount of noise I made. I needed to blow off steam although wandering through the woods wouldn’t have been my first choice. I knew Aaron was right. Wandering off alone at night was stupid, but there was no way I was going to listen to him or let him know that he was right. I wished I watched more carefully at where I started and which direction I went.

  I stopped so I wouldn’t get more lost than I already was. I sat on an old tree stump and rested my elbows on my knees to run the argument through my mind. I missed the warmth the fire had been giving off as a chill went through my body. I needed to get back to the campsite. I heard a piece of wood snap. I froze and my back stiffened. Who or what could have made the noise? Could I have imagined it? Maybe the noise was just an animal moving around.

  “Well a little girl alone in the woods. Girly, hasn’t anyone ever told you not to go off by yourself at night in the middle of the woods?" a strong voice weaved through the trees.

  I jumped up to only to have come face to face to a guy’s chest. I looked into his face and his eyes seemed familiar. I turned to run only to notice there was another guy with him who was just as large. Both more built then I was.

  “Hey, is it just me or does this girl look familiar?” a raspy voice questioned.

  Even through the darkness, I could see the other man's grin as his friend grabbed my arms and held me prisoner against him so my back was against his chest.

  “It’s the girl without any manners. Remember? Her Prince Charming tried to hurt us. Well I guess you’re lucky, girly. We actually came back to see you like we said we would.”

  “Go to hell!” I spat then literally spat in the other’s face.

  He slapped me hard against the cheek. My head whipped to the side.

  “Now you really need to learn some etiquette, young lady. And I think my friend and I just might know how to teach you,” the stronger voice spoke. He took a pause before continuing. “My friend, do you still have that rope that we used for our last shelter?”

  My insides started to become aware of what the two men were hinting at. I tried even harder to get out of the guys arms. His grip tightened to the point where it hurt too much to fight him. I screamed, hoping I hadn’t wandered too far from camp for anyone to hear me. Instead of a rescue party coming to get me or even just Aaron, I got a harder slap across the face. My teeth scratched my inner cheek. The guy who had a hold of me threw me onto the ground. I hit my head against a tree as I fell. I felt the bark scraped across my skin.

  My vision blurred as I sensed my arms being tied around the tree. A thick wad of cloth was stuffed into my mouth. One of the men brushed against my cheek with a long falsely tender movement that was horribly sinister.

  “What a pretty girl. Now you’ll learn what happens when you don’t use your manners with a real man.”

  Chapter Ten

  Aaron