Patiently I Wait (9 page)

They decided to circle the house slowly, seeing if they could find anything around them to suggest a city or town was close. Before they got into the light provided by the house’s porch lamp they started to circle around, aiming for a spot about midway down the driveway to emerge. The house had an extremely long driveway that was leading out into the darkness. If they got on the path and followed it away from the house, it should lead them to somewhere eventually, or so they hoped. After successfully avoiding to be noticed as they walked around the house they ended up on the driveway, about two hundred yards from the front door. There was no way they were in sight or hearing range, giving them confidence to move quickly in the night to see what was on the other end of the long, narrow road. It must have been an hour or so before they saw any change in scenery. They hit a road that intersected the driveway, but was just as desolate. They could go left or right, and both ways looked just as hopeless as the other. They decided to go to the right and began walking along a two lane road, sticking to the forest line instead of walking directly on the road. If Dan or Julie happened to drive by, looking for them, they wouldn’t be seen quite as easily this way. After a couple hours of walking, the sun started to come up, which was both a good and a bad thing. It would bring them a break from the freezing cold darkness they had been treading through for most of the night but would also draw attention to them much more easily. They would have to be more careful now, watching every car that passed, or movement in the woods. They were nervous, but confident as well. They were going to be okay as long as they didn’t try to make things happen too quickly.

After what seemed like days they finally reached a fork in the road, littered with road signs that promised civilization up ahead. It said a town called “Franklin” was three miles from their current location, and given the fact they must have walked thirty by now, that didn’t faze the girls a bit. They took the fork left, toward Franklin, hoping to find a way back to Ann Arbor from there.

“You think we are going to be okay?” asked Shannon, breaking the silence of nearly four hours.

“Yes Shannon, I think we are going to be just fine,” Megan said, smiling from the corner of her mouth.

By this point the girls were tired, hungry, and wanted to just get somewhere. It didn’t really matter where they ended up, they just didn’t want to be walking anymore. After an hour or so they saw the outskirts of the tiny town that was displayed on the road sign on the road behind them. “Welcome to Franklin – Population 216” read the sign.

“Two hundred and sixteen people!” Shannon said, almost angry with the sign it seemed. “There might not be anything here at all! I will go door to door asking for a ride if I have to do so.”

She was angry, and for obvious reasons. They had been walking for hours and were excited to finally be done with their journey when they realized the town they ended up in might not have as much as a payphone.

“I’m sure it will be okay Shannon,” Megan said cheerfully, trying to raise her spirits back up. “We might luck up here.”

As they got closer to the town they saw houses lining the street, about a quarter of a mile ahead. It seemed to have a few stores there, mainly thrift and resale shops. The only other thing they saw from the distant was a police station. Both Shannon and Julie knew it was only bad news to go to the police with this one. First, they would ask questions, and since it wouldn’t make complete sense, they would lead Dan and Julie straight to them to make sure they were telling the truth. Not only that, the police would probably call in the report on radio, tipping the two off as to their whereabouts. They were not going to go to the police with this one.

When they reached the town, they made their way over to a service station on the corner of an intersecting streets. There were a few people outside, heading to work it seemed, along with a few truckers that were fueling up for a daily run. Shannon walked over to the truckers, hoping to get some help. With her looks it was not usually a good plan to engage with drooling men, waiting for a woman to come along, but she didn’t look quite herself this morning and wouldn’t have attracted anyone in this condition.

“Hey guys, how far is Ann Arbor from here?”

The men looked at each other, almost confused at why she was asking them anything, but especially that question. They giggled at the fact that Shannon was clearly lost and looked like she had been that way for quite some time.

“Well honey, you are about two hours north of Ann Arbor. You need a lift? We are going that way.”

Two hours? How were they possibly that far away without knowing it? Megan hadn’t caught on while in the car with Dan? Why didn’t she tell Shannon it was that far away from the city before setting out on foot to find a way back?

“How did you not notice that you drove for that long to get to the cabin Megan? You have been there before, multiple times, and you failed to mention how far we were!”

Shannon was mad. She didn’t know if Megan was acting along with all of this as part of the plan once again, or if she truly didn’t know somehow.

“It isn’t that far from the cabin to Ann Arbor, Shannon. We walked the wrong way. We must have gotten turned around in the woods and headed north. Now, we have a choice to make. Do we try and get to Ann Arbor on our own somehow, or risk going with these guys? We really have nothing to lose now babe.”

Megan actually had a good point. They could ride back to Ann Arbor and get to Julie’s house with the truckers, or spend another full day looking for a way back. They would probably end up walking, which was over a hundred miles one way in the end. Shannon had made her decision and piped up quickly.

“We’ll take your offer. When are we heading out?”

The men looked at each other, surprised the girls had decided to get in the truck with them. They shrugged and replied, “Ready to go now?”

Megan and Shannon didn’t have anything else to do, so they thought now was better than ever.

“Let us head to the restroom first and we will meet you back out here. Don’t head out without us,” Shannon yelled as she headed to the door, knowing there wasn’t a chance in the world they would leave. She grabbed Megan’s hand and walked into the store with her, holding the door open for her as they entered. They went into the bathroom, knowing the ride was going to be long and there wouldn’t be time to stop along the way. They washed their hands together and looked at each other intensely. Shannon, with her hands still wet, reached out and grabbed Megan, hugging her tighter than ever. She squeezed her even tighter, letting Megan know that she didn’t ever want to be without her. Megan caught on, holding the back of Shannon’s head and whispering in her ear, “It’s all going to be okay baby. We will get through this.”

Shannon had no way of knowing but hoped to God that she was right. She wanted to believe her, but had a little ways to go first. As they walked back outside, they heard laughter come from the truckers as they were joking amongst themselves by the gas pumps. They were done fueling up and just messing around, waiting for the girls to get back out. As the girls walked up to them, Shannon reached out her hand, introducing herself politely.

“The name’s Shannon, nice to meet you,” she said, confidently shaking the bigger man’s hand, letting him know that she wasn’t going to be intimidated by him.

“Well Shannon, we have already come up with another name for you and our friends on the radio like it just fine.”

The next part of what the trucker said didn’t even register as fear struck Shannon like a lightning bolt.

“What… what did you say on that radio?” she said, trembling from head to toe.

“Well babe, I told all my friends out there how lucky we were to find two hot young ladies in Franklin, Michigan. Everyone usually talks this town down so much I just had to let them know. Why, do you want to keep things a secret between us?”

He smiled creepily, enough to give anyone the shivers.

Shannon looked at Megan with the most terrified face. Megan knew what Shannon was petrified, and she had good reason.

“We have to leave now. There are people going to kill us, and you just led them right to where we are. No more radio communication at all from here on out. We need to get out of here before they show up.”

Megan had taken control and was furious not only at the situation, but also at the fact that Shannon was scared all over again. She hated to see her worried but knew she could do nothing for her at the moment.

“Wait, you mean to tell me that someone was listening to us, and is going to be on the way here to kill you now?”

The truckers didn’t understand, which wasn’t really unreasonable giving the information they had just gathered in such a short period of time.

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it really,” said Megan, very bluntly, “we have to leave now.”

They all piled in the truck and the driver fired up the truck. Not only did they seem nervous now, but they had forgotten they had a job to do as well. They were more worried about Shannon and Megan’s situation and decided to give them the reins.

“Where are we heading girls? Might not be the best idea to go to Ann Arbor still, since we accidentally gave up your location.”

The driver seemed sad, hurt by what he might have done.

“I’m sorry girls; I was just trying to have a little fun. I didn’t know you were trying to hide. We will help you any way we can.”

“Well,” said Shannon, “let’s start by heading toward Ann Arbor. We will think of a plan along the way.”

CHAPTER TWELVE: NEVER TURN BACK

The girls knew they were running out of time and had to make their plans happen quicker than they had anticipated now that their location was most likely known by Dan and Julie. They still wanted to get back into Julie’s house to retrieve anything they needed for their getaway journey but didn’t know how possible that was, or if the items they needed were still in the house. Dan and Julie might have taken anything they might have needed with them in case they tried to return for them. It was a risk they had to take and were willing to see what happened in the end.

“How much farther until we reached the city?” asked Megan, not recognizing anything along the way so far.

“We’ll be coming into the city limits in about fifteen minutes or so,” the driver said, “do you girls have a plan?”

Megan and Shannon looked at each other, not really sure of what they were going to do once they arrived. They shook their heads, letting the driver know they were going in blind, with no idea of what was in store for them. They had a better chance before the truckers gave away their location. Nearing the city, they needed to think fast and have a game plan of some sort before charging into the dark.

“I’ve got an idea,” said Shannon. “If you guys are willing to help, I think it might work.”

The driver and his partner knew they owed the girls and nodded quickly, agreeing that they were in on whatever the girls concocted.

“When we get close we should park down the street and walk to the house. That way they won’t see us coming as easily. You guys can knock on the door, and we will enter through the back. If anyone is home, maybe you can distract them, telling Dan and Julie that you have us and are willing to work out a deal. This will give us enough time to get in and out without them noticing. Walk them to the truck, acting as if we are inside. When they get there, we will have it staged like we got out of the truck and are running away. Convince them that they should head one way, and you head the other. We will sneak back to the truck and get inside after they have disappeared. We can make our getaway while they are out searching the streets,” Megan stated.

“What if they see you come back to the truck,” the driver interrupted.

“Well then,” Shannon said, “we will have to fight for our lives.”

The plan wasn’t foolproof, but was the best option at the time. They were going to have to try and execute it without anything going wrong in the process.

As Megan led them to the street that Julie lived on, she instructed them to drive past it to see who was there at the time. As they drove past the house, they saw Dan’s car, parked in the driveway with Julie’s sitting right beside it. Shannon’s heart sank, knowing it wasn’t going to be an easy task getting inside and back out without being seen. They would have to make the plan work and hope for the best along the way. After passing the house, Megan told the truck driver to park in a motel parking lot, about a quarter of a mile down the road. As they parked, Shannon made sure everyone knew exactly what to do, and how to do it.

“We are going to walk with you until we get to the driveway of the house. You guys walk to the front door and we are going to head around back. Megan has a key for the back door so we can get in easily. After knocking, locate both Julie and Dan as we know they are both there. Stall them there, letting them know you want to work out a deal for the release of us. They will comply with you, as we are all that they want at the moment. Lead them to the truck and after seeing we are gone, they will want to look for us. Help them search, but sneak back to the truck when they are out of sight and we will meet you there. Good luck, and thank you for the help.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as they started the short walk to Julie’s house. No one said a word until they reached the driveway, most likely thinking the plan over in their heads once again. As the two men started walking toward the house, Megan stopped them with a quiet whistle.

“Here, you may need this,” she said, as she handed over the pistol that was attached to Shannon’s side.

“I trust you guys to help us get through this, but I don’t want you to be hurt in the process. They are going to want to get us back no matter what the consequences, so use this if you need to do so.”

The man that was driving the truck took the pistol, nodded, and continued toward the house as he tucked the gun into the backside of his pants.

The girls crept down to the backdoor, hoping they wouldn’t run into the enemy first as they had no protection anymore and would have to fight to stay alive against Dan or Julie. They wanted to give the truckers time to start the plan off right so they didn’t walk in just yet. They looked through windows, trying to see if they could see what was happening, but all the action was toward the other side of the house and they couldn’t see anything from where they were. It was dark and ominous inside the house, revealing nothing at all to the girls. After a few minutes they decided to go in, not knowing if Dan and Julie had been escorted back to the truck or if they were still inside, waiting for Shannon and Megan. As Megan pushed the key into the door handle, she took a deep breath, hoping for the best as they walked inside, shutting the door behind the two girls. It was dark inside, and not the typical dark we encounter in our everyday lives. It was a dark that was unforgiving and spooky. They could see the outline of the door that led upstairs and made their way over to it. As Shannon swung the door open they could see that the floor above them was well lit, but they heard no sounds coming from that direction. They walked up the stairs quickly but quietly. As they reached the top, the door to the living area was open, forcing them to lose the stealth factor momentarily. They emerged onto the main floor, out in the open completely. They still saw nothing, and noticed no sounds coming from any direction.