Chapter Twenty-Two

Savannah

WAKING UP SLOWLY, the first thing to filter through my mind is the absolute pain I'm in. Every inch of my body hurts and it takes everything in me to look down at my body to find out where the pain is coming from. I don't remember what the fuck happened to make me be in so much pain as I slowly try to take in my body. As I'm looking down to find myself covered in bruises as pain fills me when I suck in a deep breath, I start to remember what happened to me. Conrad caught me at the house alone and I fought back so he wouldn't take me. He ended up knocking me out and that would be why my head is pounding right now. The second thing I notice is that I'm completely naked. Conrad stripped me bare and didn't even leave my bra and panties on. I have no clue if he sexually assaulted me or anything else after knocking me out. Trying to pull my arms down, I realize he made a rookie mistake by not tying me to the bed somehow. This stupid fuck is making it easy for me to escape.

Slowly, I get up and move my legs to the side of the bed so I'm facing the door I believe leads in and out of this room. Pushing myself up, I wait for my head to stop spinning before I take slow, careful steps away from the bed across the room where there's a window. It doesn't have bars on it as I move the flimsy curtain out of the way to take a look around the area outside the place Conrad is holding me hostage. Looking at the window closer, I see that it's been nailed shut. There's no way I can pry the nails from the wood to open the window in an attempt to get away from Conrad.

What I see when I look out the window is a field of nothing. It looks as if he's holding me on an old, abandoned farm. The field might have once grown hay or corn but it's now overgrown from years of no one tending to it. Taking in more of the details outside, I see a forest on the opposite side of the field. If I can get in there, I might be able to hide until it's dark out where I can start walking along the road until I reach a town or something so I can get help. I just need to find a way to get outside and away from Conrad before I start letting myself think of ways to get away from him.

Letting the curtain fall back in place as dust fills the air from the movement, making me cough as I do my best to hold it in so Conrad doesn't hear me making any sounds in this room. The more time I can stay away from him, the better and safer I'll feel. If he's even here since I don't hear anything coming from outside the door of this room. Maybe Conrad isn't here right now. I could only be so lucky as I move around the room once again.

Going to the door on the left side of the room, I open it to find an empty closet. This room is in horrible shape. The paint is peeling off the walls and there's a large crack in the closet door that runs almost the entire length of it. When it comes to the carpeting in this room, what's left of it is stained so I can't even tell you what color it's supposed to be. And it's matted even though I suspect at one point this carpet was thick and heaven to walk on. Now, it's disgusting and I hate walking barefoot on it. Opening the next door I find a bathroom that's seen better days. Dirty, nasty water fills the tub halfway making the room stink and the toilet looks as if someone tried to rip it from the floor as it sits at an awkward angle. There's a sink that's slowly dripping water as I step back and close the door to get away from the smell filling the bathroom. I will not be using this room at all. I'll hold off on going to the bathroom for as long as I possibly can versus going in there.

I carefully make my way over toward the door I believe leads from the room. I'm unsteady on my feet and run my hand against the wall. As I walk toward the only door left in the room, I hold my breath as I try the handle. It's locked from the outside since I don't see a way to lock it from inside. Hearing movement from outside the room, I move as fast as I can to move back to the bed and climb back in. The mattress is lumpy and springs have poked through in some places. It's covered in stains and I'd rather not lay on it naked but I don't have a choice in the matter.

Closing my eyes, I pretend to still be asleep as the door opens on rusty hinges that make me want to shudder in response. Doing my best, I keep my body as still as possible as I wait to see what Conrad's going to do.

"She's still fucking out of it. I didn't hit her that hard," I hear him say and I have a feeling he's on the phone with someone. "I don't know what the fuck to do. Do I shake her awake? Am I supposed to get her medical attention or something?"

Conrad's voice is frantic as I take in his words and realize without even looking at him that he's not seeing what's right in his face as I lay on the bed and practically wheeze from the pain in my ribs. My eyes flutter open as I hear shouting from whoever he's talking to. They're calling him all sorts of names and telling him he's fucking dumb as fuck if he thinks getting me medical help is going to ensure no one knows I'm here. People have a way of talking and he can't guarantee whoever he brings in to check me over won't give up his location, my condition, or that I'm being held against my will. I never did say Conrad was the smartest person out there. He's fucking dumb as hell and I want to laugh at him, but hold it back.

"Fine! I won't bring anyone else in. I'll let her wake up on her own," he says, frustration filling his voice as he stomps back across the room and I hear the door open and slam closed before the lock clicks back in place.

I don't move for several minutes as I wait to see if he'll come back. When I don't hear movement from the door or whatever is outside of this room, I carefully get back up once again. Heading for the spot on the wall I felt as I was walking toward the door to get out of here,I'm positive it will lead me out of the house at the very least. It almost feels like a trap door of sorts and I'm curious to know where it will lead. Or if Conrad knows about it and has men stationed there to wait for me to fuck up. Though, I don't get the feeling his father or him trust too many people to bring into their operation. Holding my breath, I find the spot in the wall again and search for a way to open it.

As I search the wall, my finger slips into a hidden hole and I curl my finger before pulling the wall toward me. It slowly creeps open and I peer inside. There's a tunnel of some kind. I don't know where it could possibly lead, but what I do know is that this could be my chance to get the fuck away from Conrad and back home where I belong. Taking a look back over my shoulder, I listen for a minute and don't hear anything. Stepping into the tunnel, I close the door behind me. I'm not going to give Conrad any clue as to where I might have disappeared. With the door latched behind me, I keep both of my hands stretched out and rubbing against the rock walls of the tunnel to guide myself.

The tunnel is darker than dark and it terrifies me. If I were kidnapped by anyone but Conrad, I'd say they terrify me more than this tunnel, but that would be a lie. Conrad depends on someone else to give him orders and direction. If he were any kind of man I needed to be afraid of, he'd be calling the shots no matter what anyone else said. I know Zach wouldn't ever depend on anyone else for orders about what to do in order to protect his family. That's one of the biggest differences between the man I love and this asshole who wants to sell me to the highest bidder after breaking me into nothing more than a shell.

I move as fast as possible through the tunnel, waiting to see any sign of light and hope that I didn't make a huge mistake by coming this way. The reality of my situation is that there's only one way to get away from Conrad—taking a chance on this tunnel instead of staying in the room he locked me in. There's no concept of time as I make my way through the tunnel and hopefully toward somewhere safe and some way of getting back home. I simply concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other one and keep moving forward.

I have no clue how much time has passed as I continue walking through the tunnel. All I know for sure is that I'm exhausted, getting more unsteady on my feet with every step I take and my vision continues to blur around the edges in the dark tunnel. I honestly feel claustrophobic and ready to have a panic attack as I try to focus on keeping my breathing as normal as possible. I can't take a full breath with the pain in my ribs which only makes everything worse. Still, I manage to keep my breathing steady and not collapse on the ground beneath me made of nothing more than rocks and dirt. Someone spent a lot of time digging out this tunnel and somehow reinforcing it so it doesn't collapse.

Finally, I squint my eyes and take in what I believe is a light in the distance. Hope fills me as I speed my steps up a little more and head straight for that light that's calling out to me like a beacon in the dead of night where no stars or moon is shining to guide me. This light represents so much to me. Hope. Safety. An escape. Freedom. Light in the darkness. Everything I need as my body continues to fill with exhaustion and my steps want to falter. Seeing this light is the only reason I keep moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other one.

Thoughts of Zach and my sisters fill me as I try to move even faster toward the light. By now they have to know that I'm missing. At least Zach does. My only hope is that he's not allowing the girls to enter the house and see the mess I made of our home. Of a place that I used to feel was a sanctuary and now is nothing more than a house filled with nightmares and broken dreams. Conrad stole our home from me because I won't ever be able to step foot in there again. I don't know if the girls will feel comfortable inside those walls either. I have to figure out a way to tell Zach that I can't go back there. For now, I push that thought aside as I focus on the light and the memories I've made over the years with my sisters and Zach.

My feet are killing me and have been cut open with the rocks and dirt I've walked on as I make my way toward the light that's getting brighter and filling the tunnel even more. I'm definitely not imagining this and my hope continues to be that this will be my way out. I almost want to run toward the light, but my feet won't allow me to. They hurt so damn much and I'm limping so bad that my entire body hurts even more than before. Even my head is pounding worse than when I was locked in that bedroom. I'm covered in sweat and my entire body is shaking so bad my teeth are rattling in my head. Every part of my body feels as if it's about to seize up and not allow me to continue moving forward. It's nothing I've ever felt before and I don't ever want to experience it again once I'm away from this fucking asshole.

It feels as if forever passes as I keep my focus on the light getting closer and closer to me. This part of the tunnel is heating up and it does nothing to take away the chill filling my bones. I don't honestly feel as if I'll ever be warm again after being kidnapped and held against my will by an asshole who wants to sell me. I've had so many nightmares of this very thing happening and it's become my reality. I'm ready to collapse and the thought of dying in this tunnel actually fills me despite how hard I try to hold onto the hope that filled me when I first saw the light. Again, my mind starts playing memories of my family on a loop and it gives me reason to smile and let the hope build back up once more.

Finally, I reach the end of the tunnel. Carefully stepping out from the darkness, I lean as close to the rocks as I can. I blink my eyes rapidly a few times to clear them so I can look around and try to determine where I am. When everything finally comes into focus, I realize I'm in the forest on the other side of the field. I'm farther from the house than I anticipated as I look back when I hear Conrad hollering at the top of his lungs. He's realized I'm gone and has no clue where I've disappeared to. Taking the deepest breath I can manage, I quickly start making my way through the trees and further away from the house where Conrad is still hollering my name.

I use every tree I can find to keep myself moving forward and standing on my feet. I'm swaying more than I am moving forward at this point and I honestly don't know if this is going to make Conrad catch up to me. Still I move forward and head straight for the trees that lead me further away from the house and Conrad.

Again, it feels like forever passes me before I start to see signs of a road. Carefully, I move closer to the edge of the road while still remaining hidden by the trees as the sun starts to set and darkness starts to take hold once again. It doesn't escape my notice that I'm still as naked as the day I was born and there is nothing I can do to change that fact. There were no clothes in the house and I wasn't about to remain inside those walls a second longer than necessary while waiting for Conrad to catch me awake and start breaking me. My only option was to escape through the tunnel naked and hope I don't find a fate worse than what I was already suffering.

It feels as if I've walked hundreds of miles away from Conrad. My body is starting to shut down and I know I need to get some help before I pass out in the woods and die from the weather or someone else finding me. Hell, Conrad could still find me. I know he's been up and down this road as I've seen the same car making several passes going way under the speed limit. That's when I hide the most because it can only be Conrad since the same car is passing repeatedly and driving so slow down the road I'm walking near.

Plus, I have to remember that his father is in Pine View and any of the other cars passing by me could be him. I've never seen his father and don't have any clue what he'd be driving. Or riding in since he's a governor. I don't give a fuck one way or another as I try to keep my focus on remaining on my feet and not collapsing as my body is desperate to do.

Taking a risk, I make my way closer to the road as I see a truck making its way down the road toward me. I know this isn't the same vehicle that's been driving up and down the road because that was a car and I could hardly hear the engine until it got right up on me. This truck is large and loud as I make myself visible to the driver of the truck and heading my way. I get as close to the road as possible and pray this person stops because I can't go on further. My body is giving up and I feel it happening with every passing second. My vision starts to black out as I hear brakes squealing as the person slams them on to stop instead of running me over. I'm just a little closer to the road than I anticipated.

"Miss, are you okay? Can I help you?" a man's voice fills the silent night air around me.

Just as I go to answer him, I feel my body giving up and I start to fall toward the road. My mind is blank and I don't feel anything or know if this person saves me or leaves me to die on the side of the road. The only thing I see is my family smiling but I'm not with them. It's just Zach, Ava, Miracle, and Chloe. I certainly hope this isn't what my future will hold and that I'm about to leave them because of Conrad and what he's done to me.