Chapter 3 Escape

Elle’s POV

They were sitting silently in the car for 10 minutes. Elle snuck occasional glances in his direction, careful to avoid eye contact. His rugged features were exceptionally threatening.

The sharp lines and furrowed eyebrows expressed dark emotions and thoughts of misery. His grey eyes were steely and cold. 

The rough stubble on his jaw somehow made him look less human, more primal. He was the predator. What did that make her?

In sharp contrast, his long silver, neatly combed, emphasized the beastly appearance of his face. Silver hair was often an indication of age, like greys. But there were no wrinkles on his aggressive face.

Was he just a man losing his mind? If that were the case, there was no telling what he could want. She closed her eyes tightly, trying not to cry. He drove so fast that the scenery blurred around them.

Driving like a maniac, the terrifying stranger swerved fast between the other cars and missed them by a hair. With the car accident fresh in her mind, her heart was trying to beat through her ribcage, her shallow breath caught in her throat. A series of mini panic attacks shook her.

The choking alarm rattling through her body worsened the longer he remained quiet. He wouldn’t tell her what he wanted or where they were going; it was up to her to conjure her own dire possibilities. She also wondered if he could even talk.

He couldn’t want to kill her because he let everyone see him take her away. If he hurt her, the police would know who he was. But the question remained: what could a billionaire CEO want with a simple high school student?

She fought back the sinking feeling of dread as her brain continued to remind her of her mortality. Conjuring an image of her mother, she asked for courage.

A surge of strength seemed to flow into her from the image. She had never understood how it worked, but this process helped her through things before. She blew her breath out through her mouth. Then, she leaned back in her seat, keeping her back away from him. 

“Would you at least please tell me where we are going?”

He sniffed annoyedly. “The church.” He could speak! His voice was deep and gravelly.

She latched onto the answer apprehensively and shot out a barrage of questions. “What church? Why would we go to church? What are we going to do there? How long before I can go back to my party?”

“Your party? You are not going back. You should be going to church to repent of your cheating ways.” He irritably growled.

“Cheating?” She gasped. “How did I cheat? What did I cheat on?”

He made a low menacing sound in his throat but did not speak. Pulling up to the church, she followed his eyes to the sun on the horizon. The moon would be full tonight. A man and a woman ran out of the church when they saw him pull up.

“Axel, come with me.” The man grunted. “Arya, you are going to need to prepare the girl.” Axel wasn’t as big as her abductor, but he was bigger, beefier than any football player on her school team. 

She didn’t have the time to examine him. She was frantic with panic. What were they preparing her for?

But as Arya approached her, Elle studied her. Arya was a beautiful pale girl with silver hair. She looked to be in her early 20s. She was slender but with a chest size that Elle would, in most situations, be jealous of. 

“Come. Please, tell me your name.” She invited, opening the door of the car. 

Elle froze as she stared at the open door with wide eyes. Arya was not threatening in any way. But after she left the car, what else would they expect of her?

Elle got out and looked around frantically. Where was the best place to run so that she could get help? She had to escape this madness. But they were bigger and probably faster than her.

Arya whispered. “Don’t run because Corvin is not in the mood to chase you down again. He seems pretty annoyed. It makes me wonder, what were you doing when he found you?” Her tone was curious and playfully teasing.

Elle looked at Corvin, who was almost in the church. She could be across the street before he’d notice. She didn’t belong here and didn’t want any part in any of this!

Arya groaned when she made a run for it. She watched Elle cross the street before turning to the church’s steps. “I don’t think your bride wants to be here.”

Elle didn’t hear Arya. She quickly crossed the front yard of the closest house. It had a big front porch. After climbing the steps, she banged furiously on the door.

Her breath came in short hurried rasps. Corvin’s growl carried from the church. She mentally begged them to hurry but wouldn’t allow herself to look over her shoulder. She didn’t want to see them coming. She just wanted to disappear!

An elderly man opened the door. “Please, sir. I have been kidnapped. Call the police!”

He put a hand to his ear and asked, “Eh?” 

Tears covered her cheeks as her words caught in her throat. A loud sob escaped in the place of words.

Finally, she was able to beg him for help. “I have been kidnapped. They're coming for me. Please let me in.” She clasped her hands together and bent her knees. 

He would be on her any second now. If they didn’t let her in, what would become of her? She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out her thoughts.

“Dad. Let her in. Can’t you see how scared the poor dear is,” A lady said from behind the old man. 

He opened the door, and Elle stepped in. Relief filled her entire being now that she was inside this unfamiliar house. Her breathing settled with the realization she had escaped the monster that snatched her away from her birthday party. She was safe again.

Elle finally dared to look out the door into the street as it shut. Corvin had not followed her, but Arya was slowly approaching. Her eyes held a gleam of something dangerous.

 Elle would not give in to her threats. She was finally safe, and Arya would have no hope of getting Elle to leave until her parents and the police arrived. The lady who lived there handed Elle her cell phone. 

“Call who you need to call.” 

Elle dialed 911. When she told the dispatcher about being kidnapped, she explained that she needed an officer; they told her one was on the way. She sat on the lady’s couch and smiled her thanks.

“I was at my birthday party, and some man burst in. He brought me to the church across the street to repent of my sins. This is crazy!” She gasped, the words all running out at once.

The woman handed her a cup of tea. “Well, sit and rest until the police show up. They won’t be too long.”

Outside of the house, Arya called out to her. “Little girl. Little girl. Let me in.” She laughed wholeheartedly.

The woman and the older man exchanged glances. “Not by the hair on your chinny chin chin?” She asked Elle.

Elle shook her head. “She is on his side. Make her wait for the police.”

She tried to call her mom, but the voicemail picked up. Her dad didn’t answer either. Where were they? Had he done something to them? What about her sister? Was she ok?

Soon, there was a loud, intrusive knock on the door. “Police!” They said in a boisterous authoritative voice.

She jumped up and ran to the door. Two older police detectives looked down at her. “Are you Elle?”

She nodded. “This man showed up at my birthday party and kidnapped me. He wanted me to go to the church over there, but I escaped.”

One officer wrote on a notepad while the other watched her. “What did this man look like? Did he say what he wanted?”

She shook her head. “He said I had to repent of my sins. He was so weird. Silver hair. Really big.” She looked across the street and saw his car. “That’s the car he brought me in!” 

The one with the notepad put it away. “Stay here.” They told her before heading to the church. She felt a moment of relief. 

The police would save her from whatever devious inclinations these crazy people had in mind. It was comforting. Standing inside of the screen door, she watched them approach.

They had been inside less than 5 minutes before the police came out with him. They were laughing and joking. Her optimism crashed. The feral man looked up at her with a sneer.

Elle felt her heart speeding up. Crippling fear started gnawing on her insides again as she saw him inching closer. He was so formidable. Hostile. She didn’t understand why the police would be joking with him. Was she truly alone?

But he stayed behind as Arya accompanied the police across the road. Elle grimaced expectantly at their approach. When the police and Arya stepped up on the porch, Arya asked, “Can I come in now?”

me in now?”