53

It wasn’t perfect, but it was inescapable for the most part.

The killer was standing outside the car, looking over the urban farm while he considered his options. There were no soundproof rooms in here, but there were pens and coops he could lock them up in. As long as he was quick, this place could be his in a heartbeat.

“You, come with me,” he said, leaning into the car’s open window.

The young woman got out slowly, a mess of tears beneath her red hair. The cripple stayed inside – not much of an escape risk – while the killer made his way to the front door with the other woman. There was movement in the window of this modern-looking cottage. On either side of him was a split lawn with vegetables breaking out of the soil. Beyond that, he could see a large field full of crops. It was a farm within a city. He had read about these but never actually seen one. It was actually quite impressive.

The woman knocked. They waited in the cold. The killer threw occasional glances back at the car, quickly making sure the blonde wasn’t doing anything stupid. Finally, the door sprung open to reveal a man of about sixty. He had a nest of gray hair and a long shirt covered in mud. There was a tin bucket by his feet.

“Yes?” he said, looking over them both.

“Help me,” the woman said quickly, desperately. “This man has kidnapped me to—”

The killer rolled his eyes, drew his gun, and fired into the old man’s skull. His large body hit the ground with a heavy thud, blood spraying into the woman’s face. “Look what you made me do, you silly girl. He could have lived if you didn’t open your dumb mouth!”

Behind him, the blonde was still lying in the back of the car. Now both of them had tried screaming for help, which meant he would have his hands full. The killer shoved the nearest one into the house as she made strange cries of shock at the blood spatter on her face. Meanwhile, he trod back to the car to grab the other one. They were growing to become quite a handful now, but that wouldn’t be a problem for long.

One of them was due to die very soon.