Dawn by McKayla Box
Chapter 37
“This is it?” Sunny says. “Um. Okay.”
“I double-checked the address before we left,” I tell her. “This is definitely it, according to what we got from Maddie’s phone.”
We’re crawling past a one-story house that has definitely seen better days. The pink stucco is cracked in multiple places, the yard a quilt of bare sand and clumps of weeds. The windows are covered with bars and the screen door looks almost like a jail-cell door. There’s a brand new Mercedes S-Class in the driveway that looks decidedly out of place.
“I’m gonna keep going,” I say. “We’ll circle back.”
Sunny nods, staring at the house through her window.
I drive for two blocks, noticing that most of the houses are similar to the one we’ve come to see. One-story. Older. All have bars on the windows. Some have nicer landscaping, fresh paint, but even these updates don’t seem to be quite enough to mask their age. I don’t see any other cars in driveways, though. Something seems off to me, but I can’t put my finger on it.
We reach the end of a cul-de-sac and I do a U-turn so we can head back.
And then Sunny screams and I hammer the breaks.
Because there’s a huge Land Rover blocking our path, pointed right at us.
“Jesus,” I say. “Why the fuck doesn’t he have his lights on?”
On cue, the lights come on, and both Sunny and I shade our eyes from what feels like a giant spotlight.
And that’s when it hits me.
The houses.
Not a single one had a light on inside or out.
“This feels bad, Presley,” Sunny murmurs.
I agree, but don’t say anything.
Squinting through the windshield, I see the passenger door of the SUV swing open. I make out a pair of legs hitting the ground and the door closing.
And then I very clearly see a guy aiming a gun at us.
“Holy shit,” Sunny whispers.
“Turn your car off!” he yells.
I know nothing about guns, but he’s holding what looks to be some kind of shotgun and it’s aimed right at the windshield. I momentarily consider hitting the gas and trying to get around the SUV, but the road isn’t wide and I’m pretty sure he won’t miss with that gun.
“Turn your fucking car off and get the fuck out!” the guy yells again. “Now!”
I hesitate for just a second, then turn the car off. My lights dim and I can see the guy more clearly now. He’s tall and thin, with pale skin. He’s wearing board shorts and a black tank top. His head is shaved clean and there’s a silver earring in his left ear lobe.
“Now get the fuck out!” he yells. “Slow!”
“Jesus Christ,” Sunny says, her voice shaking.
“We’ll be okay,” I tell her, not believing that all. “Just get out slowly.”
I unlock the doors and slowly open my door, as Sunny does the same.
“Get your fucking hands up!” the guy yells.
I lift my hands up as high as I can get them.
“Move away from your car,” the guy growls. “Chick on the passenger side. Keep your hands up and come around the front of your car and get next to your friend.”
Sunny keeps her hands in the air and does as he instructs.
“Bez, you got me?” the guy yells.
The driver’s side door opens and another guy gets out. He’s pointing a gun at us, too. He’s shorter, but thicker. He’s wearing sunglasses even though it’s dark and his black hair is styled in a faux hawk. “Got you.”
The first guy lowers the gun a fraction and walks toward us, never taking his eyes off of us.
“Hey, we’re just lost,” I tell him. “I don’t know what’s—”
“Shut the fuck up,” he snaps. “Don’t say a fucking word.”
He steps past us and gets into my car. He checks the dash computer and then picks up my purse, rooting through it. He tosses the purse back on the seat and gets out. He walks over to us and stares at us for a very long time.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asks.
“I told you,” I say, quickly “We’re lost. I think...I think I made a wrong turn and we were just turning around in the cul-de-sac.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Yeah? For real?”
“I swear.”
He sucks his teeth for a second. “You hear that, Bez? She swears they’re just lost. You believe her?”
Bez just laughs.
“Yeah, me neither,” the guy says. “Especially since her fucking GPS had our address in it.”
Fuck.
He leans in close to me. He smells like cigarettes and sweat. “Lie to me again and I’m going to lay you down in the street and Bez is going to drive his car over you. Understand?”
I nod.
He motions with the gun. “Start walking.”
My legs are shaking so badly, I’m not sure I can get them to move. “Where?”
He smiles. His teeth are crooked, stained yellow. “To the address in your GPS.”
My heart pounds so loudly, I’m sure he can hear it, too. I swallow thickly. “Wh…what about my car?”
He glances at it. “What about it? It’ll be here if you come back.”
My stomach drops.
If.
“Look, we don’t—” Sunny says.
He jams the barrel of the shot gun right into her forehead. “What? I thought I said to shut the fuck up? You sure you want to keep talking?”
Sunny stands perfectly still.
I try to focus on breathing.
The guy smiles again and lowers the gun. “Now. Let’s take our walk, ladies. And just be warned. If either of you thinks you can start running, you won’t make it far. Bez and I are good with these guns and we don’t miss. You hear me?”
We both manage a nod. “Good girls. Now start fucking walking.”