“Where are you taking me?” Cassie said as they passed the outskirts of town, driving west. The land ahead was sparsely populated. A place Novak could easily dispose of her. She doubted that mattered much to him. He had tried to kill her in a cemetery. He’d slaughtered those women in a residential neighborhood, then kidnapped Alice, dragging her out of the house battered and bloodied in the middle of the night during a hurricane. Hell, he’d led Cassie out of the same house at gunpoint in broad daylight.
Novak’s head dipped and swayed with the movements of the car. His stare seemed distant and unfocused. The pistol remained aimed at Cassie, and she didn’t dare try to do anything to test his concentration.
“If you were going to kill me,” she said, “why not do it back at the house? What’s one more dead body there?”
He said nothing. Had no visible reaction to indicate he’d heard her. She switched her attention from the road and studied his face as though she was seeing it for the first time. In some ways, she was. Novak had only ever been the monstrous presence who’d risen from a grave and attempted to steal her life. In court, they were never face to face. She was shielded while testifying, not allowing him the satisfaction of gazing upon her. She only saw him on a monitor with crappy resolution. He’d been fuzzy, like a character in an old television show.
But now, up close, she realized he wasn’t near the villain she’d built up in her mind. His build was sort of slight. His features were soft, almost feminine in the right lighting. Where did the evil live? Certainly not on the exterior.
“I can kill us both, you know.” Her fingers gripped the steering wheel tight enough that her knuckles turned white.
“You’d be no better than me,” he said, still staring off into a distance that Cassie wondered if anyone else could see. “A murderer. At least I took pleasure from my killings. You? Well, you’d be committing two sins by taking your own life, too.”
She relaxed her grip and slunk back in her seat. She didn’t want to die. Not even at her own hand. Her glimpses into what came next were enough for Cassie to want to remain on this earth, inhabiting her fleshy cell, as long as possible, despite the constant bombardment for help. And as much as she hated to admit it, some days those requests were what got her out of bed.
“See that sign up there?” Novak stretched a slim finger out and aimed it ahead toward a billboard with a cow painting on it.
“Yeah.”
“Slow down. You are going to turn right immediately following that sign.”
Cassie glanced into the rearview in hopes that someone was behind them. The road, however, was desolate. Did he know? Had he taken his eyes off that imaginary point in the distance long enough to check the side mirror and see for himself? Or did he not care if they were seen leaving the road? What was his plan? Was he going to have her creep into the woods far enough that he could do whatever he wanted to her, then leave her for dead?
Today was the day he’d finish what he started. Cassie’s throat constricted, and her eyes burned in anticipation of salty tears. She fought them back, forcing herself to swallow the fear. Now more than ever it was important she keep her wits about her.
“Slow down, Cassie.” He shifted in his seat so that he leaned back against the door, allowing himself better control over his weapon and aim.
She wished they were in a cartoon, in one of those cars that had a button where she could eject him from his seat, flinging him high into the air.
“Just relax,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen to you here.”
Here.
Why was no one else chiming in? She’d been there for them when they needed help. If there was ever a time for them to repay the favor, it was now. Cassie took her foot off the accelerator and pressed the brake. The sound of the tires on the asphalt rose in ferocity as the friction built. She spotted the two dirt tracks that ran behind the billboard. She looked up and saw that the cow was hanging in front of the billboard, not attached in any way she could see. How’d they do that?
“That’s right,” Novak said. “Turn there and follow that old road.”
Her small car pitched and swayed as the tires found their place in the dirt ruts. How long would it last in these conditions? Enough grass covered the path that it looked abandoned now. But at one time it had been used regularly enough that the tracks had been etched permanently into the earth. Hunters, she figured, drove it during deer season.
She followed the trail, weaving around trees, trampling over new growth. In some spots, the grass grew past the hood, hitting the grill with a soft thunk and swishing underneath the vehicle.
The woods thinned out. The tracks split and formed a V.
“Go left.” Novak remained seated against the door, facing her, no seatbelt on. If she had a chance, this was it.
Cassie pushed as hard as she could on the accelerator. At first, nothing happened. The wheels roared and ripped into the soft earth. The car shook, but didn’t move forward. She glanced over and saw Novak’s eyes widen. Much like the vehicle, he was stuck, processing what was happening.
Cassie grabbed the gearshift and yanked it toward her, dropping the transmission into second gear. The engine screamed at her for doing so. She feared it would burst due to her actions. Then she was slammed back into her seat.
Had he hit her?
In her peripheral vision, she saw Novak flung forward. His head smacked the windshield. The glass splintered. The car had lurched forward, stopped abruptly when she hit the brake, and was now bouncing in the rutted ground. She kept her foot pressed on the gas as they blew through the middle of the V in the path into the field. Ahead, she estimated fifty yards before they reached the wood’s edge.
She pressed harder on the accelerator. Gripped the wheel. Let out a scream that had been building since the moment life had been restored to her shredded body.
Then the world went black.