Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) (38 page)

The thought of fire floated in my mind while the slight smell of gasoline filled the air the closer I got to the main room. The sound of my steps grew fainter in an attempt to listen intently for any signs or sounds that would give me a clue that Annie was still alive. Once I finally reached the main arch that separated the kitchen from the main room, I heard it. A tiny, shallow whimper emanated from the far corner of the room, just like my dream and Liam had warned me about.

Still wanting to avoid detection, I crept across the room towards the corner, gazing at the familiar space. An ancient looking, oval shaped fire pit that stretched from floor to ceiling was secured in the middle of the room, giving me a good cover to pass by. Polyester couches were sitting in a U-formation on the kitchen side of the room, separating me from the pit.  I looked out through the wall sized windows outside, hoping to see any trace of Liam, without luck. I was alone. Annie’s life was completely in my hands.

While I tiptoed towards the corner, the whimper sounded out again. But it was louder than the first, which made me feel an overwhelming sense of dread. Forgetting the dangers that surrounded me, I decided to make a break for it. I ran behind the couches and past the fire pit and finally discovered Annie’s dark figure curled into a ball. Her head was covered with a black hood and her hands frozen behind her back, which faced me. But, the moment I reached her, I bent down and noticed there was no rope keeping her hands tied. Immediately, I turned her over and pulled off the hood. I stumbled back in shock as it wasn’t Annie’s frightened eyes that stared back at me. I regained my composure in a flash and pulled the duct tape that had been placed over the victim’s mouth off.

“We need to get out of here,” Hope cried.

Her eyes then grew wide in horror while she stared over my shoulder. “LOOK OUT!”

Before I could fully turn around, an extremely sharp pain resonated throughout my body. The only thing I saw before my consciousness vanished was my attacker, who was holding a large shovel and had fire red hair.

Chapter 18: Smoking Mirrors

My eyes flickered open slowly, and began surveying the room. A blurry figure was leaning against what looked like the fire pit, and directly across from me was another chair with someone in it, but they were motionless and silent. The shovel must have knocked something loose as it took a minute of shaking my head for things to come into focus. My body had been placed in a chair, and it felt as though I was frozen to it. Nothing would move. My feet, waist and arms all felt handcuffed to the chair, but I couldn’t see or feel any type of physical restraint.

“You’re wasting your time!” laughed a menacing, but familiar female voice. At that moment, my body stopped trying to fight. My jaw dropped in horror as the figure started to come into focus.

“Steph?” I gasped.

At that moment, the figure leaned away from the fire pit and began walking towards me. Steph’s lean frame came into clear view while my mind tried to grasp what was happening.

“Very good,” she said. A sly, diabolical smile then spread across her menacing face. Her normal, beautiful appearance was now mangled in pure evil. She walked gracefully like a cat, looking around the deserted and dark cabin. 

“What’s going on? Where’s Damien?” I asked, starting to remember what exactly had happened before I blacked out.

“Don’t worry about him,” Steph said nonchalantly while she approached the chair opposite of me. The person in the chair had their face covered underneath a black cloth, which looked like a bag. “He’s harmless.”

A shot of adrenaline raced through my veins. I’d been deceived by one of my closest friends.

“It was you,” I gasped. “The medallion, this trip, everything…”

She just smiled even more widely as she finally reached the chair across from me. Her left hand grabbed the back of the chair while her right hand squeezed the top of the bag. Her victim let out a slight whimper when her hand touched their head. Suddenly, she pulled the bag off revealing Hope’s terrified and mangled face. She had been gagged, and her hair was in shambles. Her cheeks had deep cuts and her nose was clearly broken. Tons of blood had dried up around her lips and mouth.

“I was wondering how long it’d take you to figure it out,” Steph said smoothly, petting Hope’s head.

“Get your hands off her!” I snapped. My body jolted around in the chair in a vain effort to get free. Steph just laughed even louder and more sinister with each futile jerk of my body.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Steph said, not relinquishing her smile. “That attitude simply won’t do.”

In what felt like an instant, Steph pulled her right arm back and threw it forward, her clinched fist struck Hope squarely in the mouth. The impact sounded like a boulder hitting concrete. Hope’s scream was muffled not only by the gag, but by the blood that came spewing from the corners of her mouth.

Steph was in control. There was no way I could help Hope. My body was frozen, and my wrists were locked together behind the chair by some invisible object. Hope was her human punching bag.

“Now, are you ready to act more civil?” Steph said while running the back of her hand down Hope’s cheek. “Or will poor Hope here have to take even more punishment?”

At that, Hope let out a big muffled cry and jerked around feverishly in her chair, only to be paralyzed just like me.

“What do you want?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m glad you asked,” Steph said and in a heartbeat, she took one giant leap and was about six inches from my face. Her hands were resting on the arms of my chair and she stared right into my eyes. Her regularly welcoming and friendly green eyes had been replaced by a sinister and frightening midnight black.

“I’ve been watching you Zoe, for a long time” she started to say, not taking her eyes off of me. “For years, you’ve been my primary responsibility. It’s been my duty to get to know as much about you as I possibly could. I know everything from what you did in the second grade to how your foolish parents died.”

My eyes widened in shock at the mention of my parents. What role she played in my parents’ deaths was beyond my understanding, but I knew by the wild and mad look in her eyes that she knew something I didn’t.

“How did you-” I started to ask, but she cut me off as her finger pressed against my lips. She leaped into my lap and put her arm around my shoulders.

“Anyway, for years I’ve been watching you and your family from right under your noses. You grew up so properly, so innocently,” she said in a sarcastic sounding voice. “You were sheltered from a world that you truly belonged in and it was a waste of my time and skills. But my master seemed to think that you were highly valuable, so I had to keep tabs on you. I quickly grew tired of your disgusting and weak existence. Luckily for me, because your parents were so stupid and got themselves killed, things finally started to get interesting. Nobody wanted you. You had to go live with humans which made even me start feeling sorry for you. Just when things were getting good, my master had me pulled away from you. He knew your parents had informed that idiot Woodward about their pathetic end and he’d expose you to our world. It then became too dangerous for me to continue my mission,” she finished with a sigh, sounding disappointed.

She stood there for a moment, just staring at me with a look of amusement in her face.

“You know what’s funny about it all?” she then asked. “It’s that I know your deepest, darkest secrets; what you’ve done, who you’ve been with. Shoot, I know more about you, than let’s say, Annie does.”

My eyes narrowed in hatred and bore deep into Steph’s. The mention of Annie’s name sent fire running through my veins.

“Where is she?” I asked coldly.

“FINALLY!” Steph roared, leaping out of my lap and landing flawlessly on the ground in front of me. “I was wondering how long it’d take for you to ask about her. Let’s just say she’s hanging out with Damien. But don’t you worry; the water will break her fall… eventually.”

“What the hell does that mean? If anything happens to her, I swear on my life that I’ll kill you,” I growled.

“Oh Zoe, you’re so funny. Annie will be okay,” she chuckled and then leaned back in towards me. “As long as you cooperate.”

My heart had a quick jolt of hope. If there was any way Annie would survive and be okay, I’d have to submit to whatever Steph wanted. I had to get out of that cabin with Hope and start looking for Annie as soon as possible.

“What do you want from me?” I asked in a defeated voice.

The question seemed to finally hit a button. Steph stopped dead in her pacing and turned to me, her suddenly red eyes glowing eerily in the dark.

“Where is he?” Steph asked.

“Who?” I asked.

“Oh don’t play dumb with me. I know he’s here somewhere. He’d never let you out of his sight, especially after that sickening kiss you two had,” she said, while starting to pace back and forth again in between Hope and me.

“Liam?” I whispered.

In all of the shock and confusion, I had completely forgotten that Liam was there. Part of me immediately felt that we were going to be saved. The other part of me couldn’t help but wonder where he was since we’d been tied up for quite a while.

“Yes, him, where is he?” Steph said.

“Why do you want him?” I asked. “I’m the one you’re looking for!”

“Wow, how self-centered can you get?” she chuckled, shaking her head. “He’s got something my master wants. And if you ever want to see your precious Annie again, you had better tell me where he is,” she said curtly.

“I…I don’t know,” I stammered.

“Wrong answer,” Steph said grimly.

She stopped pacing and turned her back to me and faced Hope. She walked to the side of Hope’s chair, and with each step, Hope’s eyes grew wider and wider in fear.

“If you don’t tell me where he is now, I’m going to start breaking each of her fingers until your memory comes back to you,” she said while she started to play with Hope’s defenseless fingers.

“I’m telling you the truth!” I started to cry. “I have no idea where he is!”

Before I could react, there was a loud crack and a deep muffled scream. Hope’s body was shaking in pain. Steph had just broken one of her thumbs.

“Aw, I bet that hurt didn’t it?” she asked Hope, again sliding a fake consoling hand down her tear soaked cheeks.

“Steph, listen to me!” I said in a rush. “I have no idea where Liam is. I saw him outside a while ago but then he took off. I really don’t know anything else!!”

Again, there was another loud crack and deep scream. Hope’s cries had begun getting hoarse. Her almost lifeless body was twitching in pain and the tears started to dry up on her face.

“Geez Zoe, someone who apparently is supposed to be as great and powerful as you is really heartless. You so easily let your friends suffer for your disgusting love,” Steph said.

Liam’s and my relationship was the furthest thing from my mind at that point. I just shook my head in disbelief, unable to even blink my wide horror-stricken eyes.

“This is what you call a friend? That’s why you are so weak,” Steph spat at Hope. She then reared her arm back and delivered a huge open handed slap to Hope’s face.

“Stupid human.”

“DAMNIT STEPH! I DON’T KNOW!!” I started to scream, but was cut off by the sound of breaking glass.

All of the windows along the cabin shattered at once and Liam’s body came thundering through the cabin. He was a second ahead of Steph who didn’t have time to get out of the way. His fists were clinched in rage when both hands connected with Steph’s chest. She flew ten feet across the room over the couches. The impact was anything short of terrifying.

“Are you alright?” Liam asked me. But, instead of trying to get me out of the chair, he leaped behind it and softly placed his hands on my wrists.

“What are you doing?!” I shouted. “I’m going to be fine, get Hope out of here!”

There was an odd melting sensation that ran through my arms when Liam softly touched my wrists. After a few seconds my arms and body were suddenly free and I leaped up out of the chair and rushed to Hope.

She had almost passed out. Her eyes were barely open and her head had drooped so far down that her chin was pressed against her chest. . A slight cry kept coming from her slightly agape mouth.

“Get her out of this chair!” I demanded to Liam, who had appeared behind Hope’s chair. Without warning, Steph popped up right behind Liam with the shovel and hit him so hard, it sounded like a church bell going off. Liam collapsed onto the ground next to Hope’s chair, and remained motionless.

The look on Steph’s face was of pure madness. Her hair was completely disheveled and that diabolical smile was wider than ever.  She started to approach me slowly, somewhat apprehensively.

“Well, well, well, looks like the newbie is all alone…” she taunted while she started to circle me.

There was no escape from what was about to happen. Liam was unconscious; Hope would be no match for Steph and everyone else at camp, as far as I knew, had no clue what was going on. I began to circle Steph as well, trying my best to delay the inevitable so I could think of an escape plan.

“I don’t want to fight you,” I said apprehensively.

“Ha! How weak…” she spat. “I guess he was wrong about you.”

“I don’t care what Ignacious thinks of me! Just let us go!” I demanded.

Steph’s face and body went stone cold at the mention of Ignacious’ name. For a split second, I foolishly thought that I’d reasoned with her and would be able to escape without fighting. But after another moment, she leaped towards me and threw me to the ground before I could react. She started punching and scratching at my face, with each blow causing more and more pain. Any time I tried to put my hands up, she just fought through them and continued to beat me. Just as I started to lose consciousness, she picked me up and tossed me across the room. I crashed through the glass coffee table in between the couches while Steph came leaping over them and landed back on top of me.

“You’re pathetic!” she mocked. “At least put up some kind of fight! Let’s see why everyone thinks you’re so special!”

All I wanted at that moment was to disappear; to get away from Steph and her insanity. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and thought about nothing but being invisible. All of a sudden, Steph relinquished her grasp on me. She stood up instantly, and for the first time all night, I noticed the look on her face was one of complete shock. Her eyes were bulging out of her skull and they were scanning the ground all around me.

“W-W-Where’d you go?” she stuttered in fear while her feet scrambled backwards.

Nothing had changed since I went crashing through the coffee table.  I was still lying in the same position; the only change was that Steph was no longer towering over me. Slowly, I stood up and walked towards her, not exactly sure myself what was going on. Without looking at my surroundings, I accidentally stepped on some of the broken glass from the coffee table. Steph’s glance instantly fired over to the spot I was standing on. She looked around for a second with confused eyes and then, almost immediately, shifted her sight again around the cabin.

The look of fear etched in her face made me realize what had happened. Professor Woodward’s advice came flooding over me. When I needed them the most, my powers would come out. All I wanted was to be invisible to escape Steph’s wrath, and that’s exactly what I got.