CYOA Page 263

[lumy12]

Page Two Hundred Sixty-Three

With both vehicles now turned off, and Ned getting the guys all riled up or whatever by telling them about the guard you killed, their conversation is loud enough to reach your ears without you having to give up your cover and move closer.

"What.The.FUCK" / "He's dead? ...HOW?" / "How many of you fuckers does it take to watch a LITTLE GIRL strapped to a goddamn CHAIR?"

And so on. They're all trying to talk over each other, and you don't catch everything, but you get the gist of it. And THEN--

"Was it him?"

"What -- the old dude?"

"Maybe not so old after all? Did you see him yourself, Bruce?"

"You put him in his fifties. I'M almost that old, motherfucker. Would you count ME out of a fight?"

"I would -- you can't shoot worth shit, dude. Remember--"

"THE GUN WAS FAULTY. Gimme a gun that--"

"Will you bitches shut the fuck up and focus on what matters here? -Ivan. You said you took care of that asshole."

"I did!"

"Obviously you DIDN'T. What does 'take care of' mean in YOUR universe, dipshit?"

"Same as yours. Same fuckin' thing. I swear to God, dude."

You're far too worried about Joel to even bother to take offense over these assholes completely discounting the notion that you freed yourself and killed your captor. You wonder if the guy's lying about killing Joel.

"You're a terrible liar. TERRIBLE."

Aha! So you're not the only one wondering! Come on, dickweed, admit that you didn't kill him...

"You know what I think? Here's what I think: she's all by herself in the woods, right? Answering a call of nature. And she had JUST called out to Daddy to give her a few minutes? I think you figured you'd be long gone by the time he actually came looking for her, and that there's NO WAY the motherfucker would be able to hunt you down in this... vast... whatever. So why put your ass on the line--"

"Dude, he COULDN'T have followed me -- it started raining right after I got here. HARD. It wiped out everything."

"How can he follow you if he's dead? I knew it -- you DIDN'T actually--"

"I did! Maybe they had someone else with them, I don't fucking know!"

"It's your JOB to know! It's your fucking JOB--"

"Alright alright -- all of you -- enough! Ned -- so, what, you were just sitting there on your ass waiting for--"

"Of course not. I looked all around here. They're gone, man. I came back here when I knew it was close to the time you'd be getting back, to let you know what went down."

You're pretty sure Ned was sitting on his ass the whole time, but you can't be certain. You also can't say whether he actually wanted you to escape or whether he was just afraid of getting killed like his buddy; you've learned that not all men are as brave as Joel.

"I don't care who did what, who DIDN'T do what... what the hell am I supposed to tell Frears? This was a guaranteed delivery. Do you realize what kind of SHIT I'm going to be in when I go back empty-handed? He already had a buyer and everything. And now, because of you incompetent FUCKS--"

"Hey, man, I never even saw her--" / "I wasn't there!" / "I've never let one escape -- if I'd been there--"

All the assholes rush to defend themselves to... their boss? Whoever that prick is. One of the two from the van, obviously. Guaranteed delivery... already had a buyer... who were they selling you to? And why?

It doesn't matter now... you got away, and after you listen to them bicker amongst themselves a little more, you gather that they're not going to look for you or Joel tonight. They'll regroup in the morning. The van guys are going back to wherever the fuck they came from to get chewed out for not delivering the goods. The 'deal is off,' and they expect that if you are found, the assholes will personally deliver you free of charge, as a gesture of 'good fate' or some weird shit like that.

You get the feeling you'd rather have them kill you than send you off to this... buyer. And that one hunter bragging about never letting one escape... ugh -- obviously, that means they make a habit out of kidnapping and selling people. Do they just travel around the country looking for victims? Because you feel like... wherever you are, it's just over a day's ride to Jackson, and surely one of the scouts would have discovered this group by now? But, who knows... the guy who actually snatched you was alone, it sounds like. And Joel didn't even fucking hear him. If they only come out of the shadows to kidnap teenagers, or kids... women?

Well, that's going to stop. You're going to find Joel and tell him what these guys are doing. Maybe he'll want to take them down himself. You can see him feeling that way, given how pissed off he must be about what happened. You would help him, of course. Or maybe he'll agree to do what you would suggest, which is to go home and put together a group to go take them out. You feel like this is bigger than the two of you... you have five or six here, which isn't that bad, but the two van guys are connected to this, too, and then there's the guy called Frears... there's even the buyer, and others like him... scum. All of them. And they have vehicles, which makes you think this is all somehow connected to the military, too.

You just... don't want to try to take them out alone, that's for sure. Not when failure means a fate worse than death. Not with the odds strongly in their favor. And not when Joel could be out there, possibly hurt, waiting for you to find him...

No, he won't be expecting me. He thinks I'm being held prisoner somewhere! He's probably going out of his mind with worry! Your heart goes out to him. If only you could somehow let him know you're okay!

You've thought of another reason Joel could possibly be alive: the horses aren't here! Maybe they got spooked and ran off if the hunter fired a gun or if there was a scuffle, but... maybe he never even tried to do anything to Joel. Could he not have known about the horses? Because any smart person would have tried to steal them as well, right? Well, maybe not, if he only cares about selling what he has a BUYER for...

You have no idea which direction to go. You could fire a shot to try to signal Joel, but you might want to hold off on that until you're far enough away from the hunters that you don't get dragged right into a fresh hell.

Or...

Maybe the hunters will retrace their steps? Follow that Ivan dude that took you? ...Would that help you find Joel? Because... if he's not dead (OF COURSE HE'S NOT!), he's definitely not just hanging out at your break spot there, hoping you'll return someday. The thought almost makes you laugh.

...almost. You're too stressed out to laugh about anything right now. Or possibly ever again, if you can't find Joel. You wish you could close your eyes... just close your eyes for a moment, then open them to a brand new day, with Joel beside your truck here, making a fire to cook up some oatmeal, teasing you about sleeping in late...

...FUCK...

You can't let yourself have fantasies like that. They're too fucking painful, and not at all productive. You need to get off your ass, get out there, and find Joel. I will fucking find him if it's the last thing I ever do.



THE END



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Comments

Carlos

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, I don't remember reading this one, but now I did. so only a few more to go.