Heartless Savage by Ivy Blake
Chapter Twenty Six
Austin
I was running as hard as I possibly could, metaphorically running away from my problems. My feet beat down on the pavement as I cursed the world. Me and Nate had spent hours trying to figure out who’d gotten into my stuff and stolen those pictures of Megan, and had been unsuccessful. They hadn’t left a single trace. Whoever had done this had no intention of being caught. That had been my final hope dashed. Nate had suggested we get high and play video games to take my mind off of everything, off the ridiculously stressful day I’d had. When I’d rejected that, he proposed that we throw a party, he knew that Ross’ parents were out all week and that he could invite some hot girls round for us to have some fun with, but even that couldn’t lift my spirits like it would have before. Before her.
I wanted to outrun my feelings, my thoughts of her, the image of her crying when she came to see me. I wish I could go back to when I didn’t know her, before she came to Valley High and fucked everything up. I wanted to go back to fucking girls I didn’t care about, getting high or drunk every week and chilling with my boys, roaming the school halls looking for victims of our fun. I wanted to go back to when things were normal.
I stopped in my tracks as I heard footsteps nearby. Who the hell was out walking at this time of the night? Granted, I was out, but I’d gone running on this path hundreds of time and never seen anyone else. That’s why I liked it so much. Further down the road I could see two figures coming out of one of the side roads, one walking behind the other one which I thought was really odd. I started walking towards them, curious to see what was going on. I walked slowly, keeping my footsteps as light as possible so they wouldn’t hear me and turn around. They were walking towards the forest. The one at the front, the smaller one stopped as if they were a Sim stuck in a room with no doors. I watched as the taller one, who’s hair was hidden by a dark hoodie walked up behind the smaller one who instantly started walking again. Weird.
I tried to get a bit closer, keeping to the shadows as best as I could. Just before the pair entered into the woods the one in front turned their head to the side and my blood froze in my veins.
No, it couldn’t be.
I blinked twice, hoping for once that my eyes were betraying to me, that what I was seeing wasn’t true.
But it was.
Clear as can be.
The figure being pushed into the forest was Megan. Suddenly I put everything together, realising that the other person with her could be none other than her stalker. All my desires to forget her and block her out of my head and out of my heart were tossed to one side as I followed them into the forest, making sure to keep a few steps behind.
I’d never come to the forest at night, always preferring to run around it or come during the day in case there were any weirdos lurking around. Clearly Megan’s stalker had seen the appeal and brought her here, why? I stifled a growl in my throat, I wanted to kill him, whoever the motherfucker was, but if he was armed and I pounced on him- me and Megan were both fucked. I was her only chance at survival right now and I had to make sure not to fuck it up. Discreetly, making sure to keep my eye on Megan and her stalker, I texted Nate to call the police to the forest as quickly as he could. He didn’t ask for an explanation, and like a good friend, he just assured me that he’d do it.
I tucked my phone away and looked around for something big that I could knock over the guy’s head, hopefully knocking him down long enough that I could grab Megan and take her to safety. As long as I stayed focussed and stayed quiet, everything would work out. I felt along the grassy and muddy floor, unable to see clearly in the minimal light. My hand wrapped around a thick log and I lifted it up with two hands, it definitely felt heavy enough to do some damage. I kept walking, cringing as I felt and heard a twig snap beneath my feet. I froze and so did the guy in front of me. I ducked where I was standing, thankfully behind a massive tree, and held my breath. The hooded figure looked around, and I spied the flash of a pale, creepy mask. Once he’d deemed the area empty, he continued walking and I started following them again, hoping that he couldn’t hear my heart drumming on the inside of my chest.
* * *Megan
My breathing became more shallow as my stalker lead me further and further into the forest. I felt so claustrophobic and was getting more scared as I pictured the fate that lay before me. Even though tears fell down my face, I didn’t even dare try to wipe them away in case the stranger pointing a gun at me thought I was trying something and pulled the trigger.
I thought back to the last interactions I’d had with Mom, Lola, Sophie. Austin. If I had known that the likelihood of ever seeing them again was going to be so low, I would have been more careful with my words. I sniffed, looking back on my day and how it had gradually gotten worse and worse. I cried for all the mistakes I’d made, and apologies I didn’t get to make. I cried for myself and for my senior year and the future I wouldn’t get to have.
We arrived at a clearing in the forest, where there was a big tree stump in the centre. The masked man pushed me forward and I had to put my hands out to stop myself from tripping over the tree stump.
“Please don’t kill me,” I sobbed, hoping that he’d change his mind and let me go. The hooded figure chuckled behind his mask, a deep sound that rippled through my bones.
“Now that wouldn’t be any fun,” he said, speaking for the first time. I couldn’t place his voice, it was low and masculine, fairly generic sounding.
“What do you want from me then? Why have you been stalking me and doing all these things?” I cried, unable to keep the desperation out of my voice. He walked around the stump, circling me, the mask glinting in the moonlight.
“You have a lot of questions, Megan.” He stopped in front of me and reached out to stroke me cheek with a gloved hand. I shuddered from his touch and looked away, his closeness making me unbearably comfortable. “I must say,” he purred, his hand now moving to my shoulder and down my arm, “you’re even more beautiful in person.” He chuckled darkly as his hand reached my thigh. I squirmed, but he held me fast, his mask close to my face. I could smell alcohol on his breath and no matter which way I tried to look, I couldn’t get away from the overpowering smell.
“I’ll overpower you no matter what you try to do,” he snarled, “remember, I have this.” He shook the gun in front of my face. I nodded, trying to make out his eyes from the holes in the mask, but it was too dark to see properly and his hood didn’t make it any easier.
“This’ll be quick if you’re a good girl.” My heart stopped in my chest as he grabbed me by the hips and flipped me over onto my stomach, moving me with such speed that I lost my balance and banged my chin on the tree stump. I could taste the blood in my mouth as I tried to wriggle free from his grasp, but he was too strong.
“Forbidden fruit is the sweetest,” he growled as I heard him pull down his zipper.
Tears sprung to my eyes as I realised what was about to happen. I wanted to call for my Mom, for anyone. I held my breath as I felt him fumble with my pyjama trousers. I tried to break free again, ignoring his warning which was a big mistake. He jerked my right arm behind me and twisted it hard. I cried out as I heard an audible crack, the tears unstoppable now as pain shot through my arm.
“Hold, still and shut up!” growled my assailant as his twisted my arm even more. I held my breath, accepting my fate. There was no way I was going to overpower him. There was a grunt and then a thud behind me, my hands suddenly free. It took me a second to realise that I was no longer being restrained. I turned around slowly, afraid that the masked man was luring me into a false sense of security before striking again. I nearly fainted from the sight of him.
He had to be a ghost.
There was simply no way.
“Megan, are you okay?” Austin was standing over the masked man’s body, a giant log in his hand. Still in shock, I quickly pieced the scene together and realised that he’d knocked him out and saved me from being assaulted. Tears streamed down my face as Austin tossed the log aside and walked over to me, pulling me close into his chest.
“It’s okay, Megan, I got you. He can’t hurt you,” Austin said into my ear as he rocked me back and forth. I was shaking uncontrollably, glad to be alive, with my face buried in his chest. I breathed in his familiar scent instantly feeling safer.
“He was going to-”
“I wasn’t going to let that happen,” Austin said cutting me off. His hand touched mine and I stepped back, feeling the splinters of pain again.
“We’ll get you to the hospital,” Austin said gently. I nodded, I didn’t care where we went I just wanted to get out. I looked down at the body in front of me. The man was still alive, I could tell by the way his chest was rising and falling.
Austin let go of me, taking his warmth with him as he bent down in front of the masked man. He looked over at me as if he needed permission, and I nodded my head. Even though I was terrified, I’d gotten this far and I needed to know who the mysterious stranger was. The one that was willing to go to every length imaginable to hurt me and my family. Austin lifted his mask off the stranger, and he looked like he’d seen a ghost. He stumbled back wordlessly, looking lost in a way I’d never seen him look before.
“Austin, what’s wrong?” I said, stepping closer to the body.
The man’s eyes were closed, but I could still tell that he was middle aged, a fact that made me shrink backwards in disgust. Who the hell was this man? And why had he targeted me? The pain from my arm was agony as I looked between Austin and the man, trying to figure out if he knew him or not. Austin’s eyes were filled with tears as he turned to me.
“It was Steven all along,” he whispered. I spied red and blue flashing lights through the trees and then everything went black.
* * *Austin
As I sat in the back of the ambulance with Megan passed out beside me I had to concentrate on breathing or else I’d find myself in the same place as her.
Steven.
It had been fucking Steven who’d not only terrorised me, but Megan too.
I thought I was going to throw up the entire contents of my stomach when I took off that mask and saw his face.
I thought I’d never see him again. I’d hoped that I’d never have to see that face.
From the moment I’d spied him about to force himself on Megan, I’d been on autopilot. Knocking him over the head with the log was a mercy. Even the blood pooled around his head by the time the police and paramedics came wasn’t enough to bring me satisfaction. Head wounds bled more than other wounds anyway. I wanted to kill him for all the things he’d done and the things he’d been about to do.
I squeezed Megan’s hand as tears ran down my face, taking extra care to make sure it wasn’t the injured one. What if I hadn’t been running on that road? What if I hadn’t been able to save her? When the cops had arrived, I was still in shock and had tried my best to explain everything to them. I remembered seeing Nate’s face before I was ushered into the ambulance. Just before the door shut, I caught a glimpse of Steven being pushed into the back of a cop car as he’d started to come to.
It was as if the bastard could sense I was looking at him. He turned to me, a big smirk on his face before his head was pushed into the car. That face would haunt me for the rest of my life, I was sure of it. Everything had happened so quickly and there’d been so much noise, so many questions, blood, a gun, Megan fainting, lying on the floor not moving.
I didn’t care what happened next. I didn’t care what happened to me, I didn’t care who saw us, I just needed her to be okay. I can’t believe I let her out of my sight for even a moment.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered over and over again. I didn’t care if she could hear me or not. I meant it with every fibre of my being. Even though I wasn’t religious, I prayed all the way to the ambulance that Megan would be okay and that Steven would never hurt either of us again.
