Held (Gone #2) (27 page)

Macy didn't know where they were in relation to the fence. Obviously, being in the middle of a corn field, they had to be pretty far from it. She looked at Luke, who appeared to be deep in thought.

Chester yelled something, but Macy couldn't understand what he said. He must have moved further away from them.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered.

Luke looked at her. "Let's wait a minute. It sounds like he's moving away from us. We're going to have to go the other way, which will put us at a different part of the fence than we were, and we're going to have to start over with the fire.

"Do you think we're still going to be able to get away?"

"Yes. I have my doubts about getting to the parking lot, though. Will you be able to make it to the highway if we have to run?"

"I'll do whatever I have to do. I didn't even know that you were planning on taking a car."

Leaves rustled nearby. Macy froze.

Running

Dorcas appeared in front of them. "You two are difficult to find." She sounded out of breath. "Sorry about Chester. He snuck around a way I didn't see."

"Where is he now?" Luke asked.

"He's gone that way." Dorcas pointed to the left.

"So we're definitely going to have to run for a different part of the fence," Luke said.

"What's going to happen if he catches us?" Dorcas' eyes were wide.

Luke grabbed Macy's hand and squeezed. "He's not."

"But what if he does, Luke?" Dorcas asked. "You guys have to plan for that."

"I'll fight him off and let you and Macy run."

"Macy?" Dorcas looked confused for a moment. "Oh, her real name. All you have is matches, right?"

"Don't worry. My street smarts have stuck with me, Dorcas. You need to get Macy away from him if I end up fighting him. He kidnapped her. Who knows what else he's capable of? She has to get away even if I don't."

Macy gasped. "No."

Luke pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her. Despite the fear shooting through her, his embrace was comforting. He looked into her eyes. "I knew the risks when we made the plans."

The blood drained from Macy's face. "But I—"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. When I saw how desperate you were to get away this morning, I knew I needed to help you."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to put you in danger."

Dorcas frowned. "It's not time for remorse. We're past that. You two are in deep; Chester hasn't seen me yet, but I promised to do what I can to protect you guys, and I will."

"Can you hear him?" asked Luke.

They all sat in silence. Macy couldn't hear anything above their breathing.

Dorcas looked at Luke. "Either he's too far away to hear or he's sitting still like we are, waiting for us to make a move."

Luke nodded. "Let's wait a little longer. If he's waiting for us to make a move, I want to disappoint him."

Macy leaned closer to Luke, feeling both comforted and energized in his arms. She noticed her shoulder moving along with his breathing; she was breathing in tune with him.

"What are we going to do?" Macy asked. "I feel like we're sitting ducks."

"Wait just a bit longer," Luke said. "We need to be patient. I want to be sure that he's not waiting close by for us." He pulled out the box of matches and took some out. Then he handed Macy the box.

Macy nodded and then leaned her head against his chest. Her breathing had almost returned to normal. The muscles in her legs still ached, but the burning had at least stopped—for the time being, anyway.

It felt like ten minutes passed as they sat together in silence. It could have been just a couple minutes, but it was too hard to tell. Time had a way of passing at different speeds since she had been kidnapped.

Luke sat up straight, causing Macy to also. "I think we need to make a run for it now. Or perhaps a walk for it. Walking would be a lot quieter. We don't need to alert him to our location." He looked at Dorcas. "We already know he's out there. You should go home. That way you'll be safe and no one will be any wiser."

She shook her head. "I need to know that you guys are safe, Luke."

He let go of Macy and put a hand on Dorcas' shoulder. "Dorcas, you're dear to me like a sister. Please, go home. I need to know that you're safe too. We'll be all right. I promise."

Dorcas looked conflicted. "Whatever you say, Luke. I wish you both the best." She stood up and walked off.

He turned to Macy. "I had to say that line about her being like my sister. It was the only way she would actually go home. She has feelings for me that I can't reciprocate."

"Oh?" Macy didn't dare say more.

Luke lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. "Now to get you safely out of here." He pulled her up before she could respond to the kiss. He looked at her, this time his face was serious. "Like I said, we need to walk. Be careful not to brush against the stalks. They're too noisy, but at least they're a great way to hide."

Macy nodded. Still holding her hand, he started walking, but their arms brushed against the corn, so he let go. It was for the better anyway because it was too difficult for Macy to focus when her hand was in his. They made their way through the corn mostly avoiding the stalks. Every once in a while, one of them would accidentally brush against one.

It looked like the fence was visible in the distance. "Are we almost out of here?" Macy whispered.

"Pretty close, but don't get too confident."

"That's right, Heather." Chester jumped out in front of them.

Unable to contain herself, Macy let out a blood-curdling scream.

Luke spread his arms out, acting as a shield between Macy and Chester. He looked back at Macy. "Run."

"Not without you."

He gave her an exasperated look. "Go! I'll catch up."

Chester gave an evil laugh. "No, he won't."

"Don't listen to him. Run, Macy!"

"Her name is Heather." Chester shoved Luke.

"No. Her name is Macy. That's the name her real parents gave her, you lawless heathen."

"Heathen? Who are you calling a heathen? I'm about to be anointed as a high prophet. If you repent, I might consider granting you forgiveness for your trespass, young man."

"You're the last person to be able to give me absolution." Luke turned to Macy again. "Run, will you?"

"Sorry, I won't leave your side, Luke."

Chester grabbed Luke's shirt and choked him. "I'm not going to offer this again. Go now and save yourself. I may even consider going easy on Heather if you run. Nobody else needs to know about this."

Macy smelled smoke. The fence must have finally been engulfed in flames. If they could just get away from Chester, they would be able to make their escape. "Luke, it's okay. Go. I don't want you getting hurt."

Chester pulled on Luke's collar again. "Listen to her. She knows what's good for you." He let go of Luke's shirt and shoved him back. "This is your last chance. Don't test me."

Luke fixed his collar. "Macy deserves to go back home to her family. You're not her family. Why do you need her? You and Rebekah can have your own kids."

Chester furrowed his eyebrows. "Not that it's any of your business, Son, but Heather is my daughter and I will not lose her again."

"You need to rethink that." Luke ran at Chester, ramming his shoulders into his chest. Chester gasped for air, stumbling back and looking surprised. He grabbed Luke's hair and shoved his face into a corn stalk.

Full of rage, Macy ran at Chester. She slammed into him, causing him to stumble slightly. Not even enough to let go of Luke. She dug her nails into his arm. He pushed his elbow out, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She squeezed even harder. "Let go of him!"

"Macy, run! Get out of here," Luke begged.

"I wouldn't listen to him," Chester said. He let go of Luke and pried her off his arm. His eyes were full of anger, but she felt less intimidated with Luke at her side. The two of them could take him.

Luke jumped on Chester, knocking him down. Halfway through the air, Chester grabbed Macy's arm and pulled her down with him. Her face scraped along a stalk, burning as she went down. She landed with a thud and then rolled against Chester. Luke landed on his knees and punched Chester in the nose.

Chester shoved Macy off him and hit Luke in the jaw. Macy jumped up and grabbed his arm, trying to keep him from hitting Luke any more. Luke hit Chester in the cheek, barely missing his glasses.

Chester shoved Macy down. She stood back up and saw Chester and Luke were wrapped around each other, wrestling and punching on the dirt. She couldn't see a way to jump in without getting hit by either one of them.

She remembered the box of matches that Luke had given her. She pulled it out of her pocket and lit one. As soon as the flame came to life, she set it against the stalk of corn that had scratched her face. It took a moment, but it caught on fire, the flame simultaneously going up and down the stalk.

Macy put the match against another stalk and watched it light up as the match itself died. She looked over at Luke and Chester. They were on the ground, still fighting.

Chester's glasses gleamed in the light of the fire behind her. Now was her chance to break those big, ugly glasses. She went over and reached down, grabbing them off his face. He shouted something at her, but she wasn't listening.

Behind her, she could feel the heat from the growing fire. Not only that, but she could hear the crackling and whooshing sounds as it moved along. The smoke tickled her nose and throat.

Before dropping the glasses on the ground, Macy kicked Chester just because she could. Then she stomped on the glasses, breaking them. The frames bent and the lenses were both broken into several pieces. Rage built in her gut and she jumped up and down on them until they were unrecognizable.

Chester yelled something, but Macy was too focused on destroying the glasses even further. Once she and Luke got away, she would never have to worry about keeping Chester happy again. She stomped on what was left of the glasses one more time for good measure and then turned to him and yanked on what hair he had, pulling him away from Luke.

There was just enough space between them that Luke was able to get up. Chester looked around, patting the ground, obviously looking for his glasses. Macy ran over to Luke and grabbed his hand. "Let's get out of here."

"My leg is hurt. I'm not going to be able to run. You should run ahead of me."

"What? I'm not leaving you behind. Get up." She yanked his arm.

"I'm only going to slow you down."

"Who cares? We're leaving together."

"Even if we get out of the community, I'm never going to make it to the main road."

"Yes you will. Hurry up before he attacks again. If he doesn't get us, the fire will. We're going to be surrounded soon."

Luke sighed and then nodded. He took a step, limping. Pain covered his face.

Macy gasped. "What did he do to you? Lean on me."

He did, and they made their way down the narrow path with the raging fire chasing them on one side. It wouldn't be long before Chester was also chasing them. She knew that the lack of glasses would only slow him down, not stop him. The only thing that would stop him would be if she shoved him into the fire—and maybe that wouldn't even do it.

"Are you sure you want me slowing you down?"

"How could I not, Luke?"

"My real name—"

A shot rang through the air. Macy looked around, unable to tell where it came from. She knew it had be Chester, but where was he?

Corn nearby rustled and Dorcas appeared. "You guys have to leave now. He's got a gun. I found a place to escape near the feed stable. I told some of the kids who want to get out. They're already headed there. We have to go
now.
"

"I thought you were going home," Luke said.

Dorcas shook her head. "Not a chance."

Luke shook his head. "I should have known. I think my leg is strong enough to run on."

"Are you sure?" Macy asked. "You were just limping a moment ago."

"It's not as bad as I thought." He took her hand. "Follow me."

Several more shots rang through the air, but that time, Macy could feel the breeze of a couple bullets. "Get down!" she shouted.

She threw herself to the ground, pulling Luke with her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He didn't respond, but she noticed his hand holding his arm.

Fear squeezed through Macy's entire body. She couldn't breathe or talk. When more shots were fired, she found her voice, but it didn't sound like her. "Are you okay?" she repeated, her voice several octaves higher than normal. Macy moved his hand and could easily see a dark red spot on his white shirt. A horrible sound escaped her throat.

Luke looked into her eyes. "I'll be fine." His voice sounded pained. "It only grazed me. Let's go."