Can't Run (Danger and Desire Book 1) (7 page)

This was it, he was going to rape her and she couldn’t even fight him off. With a new intensity she kicked with her legs and tried to defend herself but he again grabbed her throat with a strength that left her struggling for air. She felt him undo the top button of her shorts and braced herself for what she was certain was about to happen to her.

Then out of nowhere she felt a massive weight on top of her. The suffocating weight rolled off of her and her shirt was pulled back downward so she could see what had happened. She saw Eric standing over her with his knife, and quickly cut her hands loose. As she ripped the tape off of her mouth he beckoned for her to be quiet, and she nodded obligingly before throwing her arms around her and pushed her mouth against his shoulder to stifle a sob that was threatening to escape. Tears were still streaming down her face, what had happened became too much and she felt so vulnerable and so shaken. He held her tightly before stepping back to check that the group of kidnappers were still asleep by the fire. Their guns were dangerously close to them as they slept/

Sara looked down at the man who had almost raped her laid lifelessly on the dark earth floor. Eric took her hand and ran in what seemed some random direction into the jungle, she followed cooperatively trying her best not to stumble on roots. The moved quickly into the dark silently, and didn’t stop for about an hour. Sara was shaking, with exhaustion and with shock. Running aimlessly in the dark dint help improve her state. Once they gained some distance between the sleeping group of heavily armed kidnappers Eric stopped pulled out a flashlight and shined the light over Sara.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice full of concern.

Sara nodded, “Yes”, her voice was still shaking.

“They are going to be looking for you as soon as they wake up. I know you’re tired but we have to push further away.” Eric’s voice was soft, too soft, it reminded Sara of her own victimization and made her feel weak and terrorized.

Sara felt a lump in her throat, threatening to erupt into sobs. She weakly nodded her head in agreement. He took her hand again and tightened her grip as he led her deeper into the wild forest. It was impossible to tell where they were going, but Sara knew that at that moment their sole purpose was to get as far away from the armed men as humanly possible. Still, she couldn’t help but hope that Eric had a plan to get back.

After a new more hours of tiredly trudging through the forest they stopped for a quick rest, he laid large leaves down on the ground next a large trunk for them to them to sit on.  “We can rest for a few hours, but at first light we have to move, they might be able to track us” he warned.

Sara nodded understanding that they weren’t even close to being out of danger. He ran the light of his flashlight over her, looking over each bruise and every cut she got from the branches and thorns encountered on the rough journey. He saw the bruise on the top of her breast and flinched, Sara couldn’t help but see the glint of sadness and anger in his eyes through the deep darkness.

“They didn’t… he didn’t ... you know, you got there in time.” Sara whispered.

“I’m sorry, none of this should have happened.” Eric said shaking his head.

“This isn’t your fault,” Sara said, “I wish I believed you and my parents. I really didn’t believe there was a threat.”

Her voice was shaking as she continued, “If anything, this is all my fault.”

Sara’s heart sank as she remembered her friend laying on the boat deck covered in her own blood, struggling to breathe shallow breaths as she was taken off the boat.

“Amanda?” Sara asked.

Eric shook his head, his face was solemn and his jaw clenched, “I’m sorry.”

Sara began to sob uncontrollably, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her sweatshirt to muffle the noise. She felt strong arms surround her and pull her close. She put her face against Eric’s shoulder, welcoming the human comfort, and sobbed while he stroked the back of her hair. She couldn’t believe that Amanda was gone, and worst of all it was because of her. Never again would she hear Amanda’s laugh, or see the flaming red hair, and knowing that her friend was gone forever shattered her.

When she could finally calm her breathing she wiped her eyes and leaned back against the tree.

“Is Carrie okay?” she asked, with renewed pangs of fear stabbing into her gut. She remembered Carrie bent over their friend, distraught and crying as fear and pain consumed her. There were so many questions left unanswered.

Eric saw the concerned look on Sara’s face and seemed to interpret what she was thinking.

“After you were taken, the crew came and woke me up.” Eric began, “They tried to revive Amanda but she was already gone. Carrie wanted to come with me to go after you but the crew and I convinced her to go back on the boat to Manaus to contact your family and get help. I took one of the motorized dinghy’s to go after you.”

“How? You were unconscious, how did you know where to find me?” Sara asked, surprised that he had even attempted to go after her.

“The crew pointed me in the right direction, the dinghy wasn’t near as fast as theirs but I kept going until I saw the speedboat pulled over. By then it was dark, I began to track you guys, but, because it was hard to see it took me a lot longer than it should have.”

“But you found me,” Sara whispered, her voice breaking with exhaustion.

“I will tell you more when in the morning, rest for a few hours.” Eric softly insisted, and Sara couldn’t help but accommodate his request as sleep overwhelmed her and she drifted into a dreamless slumber.

~

Sara woke up freezing cold, curled up in a fetal position against Eric who was still sitting against the trunk. He was awake, and she didn’t doubt that he didn’t sleep at all. Sara was sore and found that although there was daylight creeping through the canopy that it was still surprisingly dark. Sara sat up and put the hood of her jacket over her head hoping it would give her some warmth.

“Did you sleep?” Sara asked noticing the dark circles around Eric’s eyes.

“Not at all,” Eric replied grimly, “I wanted to hear if anyone was approaching.”

Sara nodded, understanding that they were nowhere near safety.

“What’s the plan?”

“We have to get to the consulate, but getting to Manaus would be a start.” Eric replied thoughtfully.

“So, we just have to get back to the dinghy.” Sara said, confident they could make the trek within the day.

“No, I hit a stump while going after you. It’s probably completely deflated by now.”

Sara sat thoughtfully, “Well, we’ll just take the speedboat then. If they haven’t already taken it.”

Eric shook his head, “I already checked yesterday, it’s out of gas. We’re going to have to make it by foot, at least to a village where maybe we can get in contact with the consulate or find transportation.”

“But,” Sara felt the worry in her gut that had been haunting her since the previous day, “we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

Eric let out a breath, “No, there are villages throughout the amazon rainforest, along the rivers there are fishing villages and throughout there are also groups, many of which have contact with the cities.”

“They were taking you away from the river which makes me assume that they were taking you to a camp for the hand off,” Eric continued.

“What hand off?” Sara asked, feeling suddenly terrified.

“Well, it’s safe to assume that these guys, considering they only wanted you, were hired to take you.” Eric hypothesised, uncomfortably running his hand over his head, “Look, I probably shouldn’t even be talking to you about this. I don’t want to worry you.”

“You don’t want to worry me?” Sara repeated in disbelief, “Like hell, you shouldn’t be talking to me about this! I want to know everything you know! Why do I have people after me, who is after my dad? I don’t understand, and I think I deserve to understand what is happening and why.”

Eric glanced at her, his expression was disconcerted and apprehensive but with a sigh it was obvious that he was about to concede. 

“I don’t know everything.” Eric said, “Just what I was told when your father hired me.”

Sara nodded encouragingly.

“So, from what I understand is there are some people who are after your father due to some international development dealings. They began by trying to extort him, which he ended up paying up, but they kept wanting more so when he said no he started receiving death threats. He responded to that by topping up his and your mother’s security. But then, they began leaving messages about you. Sending pictures, sending kidnapping threats, threats to harm…”

Sara shuddered.

“That’s when your father hired me”, he continued, “told me to stay close to you and keep an eye on you. But he didn’t want you to know or to worry…”

Sara nodded, but now she was worried. She was terrified. She had people who wanted to harm her and wanted to harm her family, and they obviously had the financial backing to orchestrate someone taking her in Brazil.

“Try not to worry,” Eric assured, “We’ll get out of here and get you back to safety. I promise.”

Sara gave the man a weak smile.

They began their journey early, Eric was certain that the armed group was searching for her, he was worried they had made contact with those who may have hired them and brought more people to find her. It was obvious that whoever it was who was after her would put in any amount of effort necessary. Their safest bet would be to find a village as quick as possible, but with minimal supplies it would be difficult.

Fortunately Eric always carried his holster which held both a gun and a large knife. When on the job he also always carried a small kit with a compass and a fire starter in his pocket. This was strangely reassuring to Sara who felt do helpless.

As they trekked through the warm and muggy air, the exertion began to take its toll on Sara who hadn’t eaten or drink since the previous morning. Sara’s muscles ached, her head throbbed and felt unsteady. She stopped for a moment bad squatted down as her stomach twisted and turned.

“Are you okay?” Eric asked, squatting down next to her.

“I just need a moment, I don’t feel so hot.”

“When was the last time you had any water?” Eric frowned.

“Not since yesterday morning” She replied weakly.

“You’re dehydrated…” Eric said looking around them.

He abruptly stood up and grabbed one of the low hanging vines. Sara looked up, watching Eric with curiosity. Eric cut one of the vines and gestured for Sara who forced herself up. He held out the vine, which she hesitantly accepted.

“Drink,” he commanded.

“F…from the vine?”

“From the vine” he confirmed.

She hesitantly held it to her mouth and drank, it tasted like water… real water. She immediately began to feel refreshed, it was simply divine. Eric had to cut a few more vines for Sara to get enough water to feel right again, but he was right, being rehydrated gave her the strength she needed to keep pushing through.

There was no path, just trees and plants everywhere. To Sara, they were in a completely overwhelming Labyrinth and it left her feeling trapped. Eric, on the other hand seemed calm and sure as he trudged through the endless maze of massive trees, vines, and brush. The constant hum of bugs and the endless bites didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Sara, on the other hand was constantly slapping the bloodsuckers that were all over her body. She was thankful that she got all of her travel vaccinations, the last thing she wanted following this whole ordeal was a case of malaria.

In the early afternoon the clouds rolled in and erupted in a short downpour. Unfortunately, the canopy did little to shield them from the rain and Eric didn’t want to risk stopping to find shelter and wait it out. He was convinced that people were on their trail. Sara, however, didn’t see how anyone could track them in that sort of environment; however doubtful, she followed obediently not wanting him to be right.

At dusk Eric decided they had better set up camp. He worked quickly to build a makeshift shelter but insisted that they shouldn’t have a fire as to not give away their position. Sara helped gather leaves and sticks and watched as Eric impressively macgyvered a shelter.

Dragging long thick sticks he created a two sided leaf hut that was wedge-shaped.He first carried over a long, thick bamboo pole that was about 12 feet long. He propped it up against a large rock, and covered the sides of the pole with the tree branches that Sara gathered.

Sara filled the inside of the hut with a thick pile the leaves she gathered, hoping it would act as some sort of bedding, hopefully helping them to have slightly more warmth than they did the previous night.

That evening they were both exhausted and hungry.

“I will try to find some food tomorrow after we get a few hours of walking in. I just don’t think it’s safe to attract anyone with a fire.” Eric whispered as they both laid in the buzzing darkness.

Sara didn’t respond as she folded her arms over her trembling body. She couldn’t get over how cold it would get at night when it was so sticky warm during the day.

“I hope you trust that I just want to keep you safe.” Eric whispered, evidently misinterpreting Sara’s silence for resentment.