Before the sun rose, Ben woke me up. I yawned, stretched my sore joints, and changed my clothes. My movements were too slow for Ben, and he began to pull my arms through the sleeves of my shirt. Before I had a chance to comb my hair, he threw the duffel bag over his shoulder. I wore it in a ponytail, but the short end kept coming off the elastic band.

He made me sit in the car, it was dark outside, and this stupid pair of sunglasses made me feel like I was floating in a black hole.

When Ben got in the car, he turned on his classic rock radio station and drove the car out into the street. We were all silent, only Ben humming along to the song. I leaned my head against the window.

Light crept into my dark abyss. I looked up and Ben drove into the gas station. The lights on it were bright and allowed me to really see. "Stay in the car and rest," Ben said. "It only takes a minute."

I nodded, my arms crossed over my chest. I sat in my seat and watched Ben walk into the gas station. I reached forward and changed his radio station until I found the news station. The two presenters are talking about a severe thunderstorm that is expected to occur within a few days.

"Change the subject." The hostess said. "Have you heard the new details of Benjamin and Diana's story?"

"Nope." The male host said. "Have they finally figured out where? They are? ”

"No, not yet. Remember the other victim they found tied to the bed? Colin? Police have just released that an autopsy of his body revealed that his eyes had been replaced by cat's eyes. ”

My breath got stuck in my throat. They now know about these experiments. If I take my sunglasses off, there's no excuse for using them as contact lenses.

I squinted and saw that Ben was still in the gas station. He leaned against the counter and talked to the woman. Work behind the counter. She giggled incessantly and threw a strand of blonde hair over her shoulders.

I turned around and saw a truck pulling into the gas station. A man with a beer-bellied and a bushy beard climbed out of the truck. He inserts the credit card into the machine and fills the truck. I looked back and saw that Ben was still talking to the girl behind the counter.

My hands trembled as I reached for the handle. I slowly opened the door. I didn't want to go too fast to get Ben's attention, but I also didn't want to go too slow and miss my chance.

As I walked towards the man, my eyes were fixed on Ben. If Ben wanted to know why I went out, I would lie and tell him I needed to go to the bathroom. I took a few steps back to the side, and the man looked up at me. His thick eyebrows were furrowed together, and his eyes scanned me up and down. I looked back and Ben hadn't noticed that I had gotten out of the car.

"Please," I said. My voice was low. I knew there was a glass door between Ben and me, but paranoia took over my mind. "Please, you need to help me."

I looked back at Ben. He had him come down from the counter, but still talking to the girl.

"What's wrong?" The man said.

"I need you to call the police," I said, but I didn't take my eyes off Ben. "I'm Diana."

"The kidnapped girl?" He asked.

Ben turned his head to the side. His smile disappeared when he saw me get out of the car. He left the woman during the conversation. I started moving forward so I could keep my fake story. As Ben rushes out of the station, the door suddenly opens. "What are you doing, Emily?" Ben threw me another fake name.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," I said. "I didn't go to the bathroom before we left the hotel."

"Are you talking to him?"

"No, I didn't! I promise I just am

Had to go to the bathroom. ”

Ben grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. His fingers were deep in the soft flesh of my arm. I gritted my teeth to keep myself from screaming in pain.

"Let her go!" The man said. "There's never an excuse to catch a girl like that." "Don't tell me what the fuck to do," Ben snapped.

"Let her go." The man said.

Ben's jaw tensed. He narrowed his eyes and let go of my arm. He slipped his hand into the pocket of his leather jacket. As Ben popped the blade out of his pocket knife, I saw a flash of metal. Men see this too.

He reached for Ben, but Ben jumped away. Ben's arm stretched out. The man tried to dodge, but Ben plunged the blade deep into the man's neck. The man's cry rustled, and his throat was filled with blood. He fell to the side. Ben's hilt pulled out of his neck.

I ran to the man. I knelt down. The man's face turned pale. His hands covered the wound. I covered his hand with my hand. Blood was pouring out of his fingers and staining mine. I held his hand to stop the bleeding. He made a voice that sounded like he was crying out for help underwater.

That's it, I think.

Ben had just murdered a man in public. There may be a security video of his brutality. I looked back and saw the girl with her phone to her ear. Tears streamed down her cheeks. When she saw me looking at her, she knelt behind the counter. She must have thought I'd break in there and get rid of any witnesses.

Sunglasses slipped off my nose. I shook my head and let them fly away. A warm liquid seeped into the denim of my jeans. I looked down and found myself kneeling in a pool of this man's blood.

A hand grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me up. "Come on, Dee," he said. "We've got to go."

"He needs help!" I screamed as I struggled to break free from him.

"Look at him!" Ben shouted. "He's dead."

I turned my head to look at the man. His big belly no longer rises and falls with his breathing.

Ben jerked me forward. He opened the man's truck door and pushed me inside. He followed me and I slid to the side. Before I could put on my seatbelt, he put the key in the ignition and took us out of the gas station. I was dumped when Ben made several sharp turns. My fingers hadn't even gotten my fingers wild along a series of country roads before I had time to fumble my trembling hands to fasten my seatbelts. We flew over every bump. I put my hand on the window to deal with every collision.

"Why did you do that?" He asked.

"Me?" I turned to face him. "You're the one who just killed someone!"

Ben slammed on the brakes and I was thrown forward onto the dashboard. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me to the door on the passenger side. His teeth were clenched. My heart was beating wildly in my chest. His fingers were buried in my shoulders, giving me a strange sense of comfort. If his hand was on me, then they didn't reach for the gun.

"I have to. You made me do it," he said. "If you don't talk to him, he won't die."

"I didn't talk to him!"

"Stop lying to me, Diana. I love you, but I don't know why you left me. Don't you love me? ”

"Of course I do," I lied.

"Really? Because you messed everything up. We're almost to Muscoca, you're messed up. ”

As he spoke, my hand slid along the side of the door. My fingers found the doorknob. I gasped as I opened the door and leaned back. When I fell on the gravel road, the pain hit my neck. I hurried into the tall grass on the side of the road. The lights on the truck were the only thing I could see.

Ben jumped out of the truck. He pulled his gun out of his belt. I was buried between the grass and the darkness. I curled up in a ball. The rocks on the gravel slid into my shirt and tore at my skin. "Diana, why are you like this?" He asked. "Tell me what's wrong. I don't want things to turn out like this. ”

I looked around, the open, uncultivated meadows. I have nowhere to run. I ran fast, but I couldn't outrun the bullets. I breathed trembling as I tried to kneel. I keep my back arched so I'm still under the grass. Ben walked through the meadow. His gun was pointed at me and he was walking towards me.

I didn't run this far to get killed. As I slowly stood up from the ground, I raised my hands in front of me. Ben saw me stand up and stopped. His gun was still pointed at me. His chin was closed and his chest was heaving.

I took a step towards him and held out my hands. He didn't move when I got closer. I hope he'll put down the gun when I get closer.

He didn't.

When I reached for the barrel, I bit my lip and pushed the gun away. I thought I would have to fight resistance, but he told me to move the gun. Now it's away from me, and the pressure on my chest has taken a little less. I stood on tiptoe and put my arms around his neck. My fingers dug deep into his hair.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice barely below a whisper. "I'm so sorry for my actions. You know I've always missed my family, I really miss them. ”

Be

I took a deep breath and the tension in my body disappeared. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on mine.

"Maybe we'll be able to go to them when this settles down, okay?" He said. I nodded.

"I love you," I said.

I leaned forward and kissed him. His arms wrapped around my waist, but the heavy weight of the gun still weighed down on my back.

We were standing alone in the field, but I knew the police would find us at any moment. I had to keep him in one place for as long as possible so they could find us. I deepened the kiss and his arms tightened me. We stayed like this for more than a minute. When he starts to relax the kiss, I will roll my fingers tighter into his hair and pull him back. Pulling us apart, I tried to lean back and kiss again. Ben turned his head to the side and didn't let me touch his lips.

"Dee, we have to go," he said.

"Come on," I said. "I love you so much."

Ben smiled and shoved me away.

"Love it again in the future, feel it tight and go!" He said.

He tucked the gun back into the belt of his jeans. He took my fingers in his hands and turned around so we could walk back to the truck. It was still pitch black on the road and there was no sign of an alarm in our vicinity. I knew I had to stop him further.

We started walking towards the truck. I tried to slow down and buy more time, but Ben pulled me. I let out a scream as I fell to the ground. Ben was shocked by my movements, and he let go of my hand. I grabbed my ankle and let out another fake cry. Ben crouched down next to me and sat on his heels.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I must have tripped over a rock," I said. "I really hurt my ankle."

Ben's hand ran over my ankle. I hissed in feigned pain and writhed under his touch.

"It's not broken," he said. "Maybe it's just a sprain."

"It hurts," I said. "I don't think I can walk."

Ben brushed his hair with his fingers and looked around. He must have also wanted to know how close the police were to us.

"We have to go," he said, putting his arms around me. He tried to pull me up from the ground, but I writhed in his hands and screamed loudly trying to stop him. He grunted as he managed to pull me up from the ground.

"We have to go," he said, putting his arms around me. He tried to pull me up from the ground, but I writhed in his hands and screamed loudly trying to stop him. He grunted as he managed to pull me up from the ground. He carried me towards the truck. He put me in the passenger seat. He kissed me on the cheek and crawled to the other side.

We drove away in the dark. Only our headlights illuminate the road. The blue and red flashing lights that gave the distress signal were nowhere to be seen.