[Recap: Amy has been kidnapped by a psychopath. Locked in a cabin hidden deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains, Amy awaits certain death… either by the hands of her captor or from hypothermia brought on by winter’s frigid temperatures. Sky, Amy’s wife, searches the snowy forest, desperately hoping to find Amy. Instead, she finds their Golden Retriever, Rudy, bleeding out in the snow. Sky does what she can to comfort Rudy, but eventually she has to leave him there alone, in order to continue her search for Amy. Sky finally makes it to the cabin…and now she wonders what her next move should be.]
***
Love Without ReservationSky stood behind the protective cover of snow laden fir trees. The cabin was only few feet away, but Sky decided it best to stay hidden, just in case he was close by.
It had taken her hours to get here. Now as she surveyed the area, she wondered what she should do next. Surely Amy was held captive somewhere in the ram-shackled structure. The cabin was ancient. No smoke escaped its stone chimney, and the sod between the hand-hewn logs crumbled from the years of long Blue-Ridge Mountain winters. Sky could see clear through in places. She realized that Amy must be cold…and her heart ached. How she longed to hold Amy in her arms, and kiss away the fear that had tortured her these past months.
Sky reached behind to grab the revolver nestled between her shirt and jeans. The steel was cold, but comforting within her hand. Crouching she began her way towards the cabin, careful to stay behind the cover of the trees as much as possible.
“Hang on, baby…I’m coming,” her teeth chattering.
***
Amy opened her eyes. Sunlight poured into the broken window, and unfortunately, so did the harsh winter air. She regretted breaking the damn thing. Amy had never been so cold. Her body shook uncontrollably in its effort to fight off hypothermia.
Amy looked up to the window, and for the one-hundredth time, wished she could climb out of it. She knew this was impossible, for she had already tried standing on the pee-bucket, and even on the tip of her toes, her fingers were short of the ledge by a good three inches.
Amy tried to stand, but her body refused to comply. With each attempt she always fell back upon the mattress. After the fourth try, she laid in the fetal position, her thin blanket barely big enough to cover her. She began to cry, but as the minutes ticked away her cries turned into laughter.
“At least my god-damned ankles have quit hurting…they’re too fucking numb to feel any pain,” thought Amy, and laughed all the harder.
Such irony that she should die from her own hand and not that of her captor’s.
***
Sky slipped herself against the cabin’s wall and began to inch her way towards the front door. Again, she surveyed the area. The absence of the snowmobile gave her hope. She prayed like hell…that he had left. She knew he would return and realized she only had a small window of time to get inside, get Amy, and get back into the cover of the forest.
One step at a time, Sky was careful to hold the gun with both hands; ready to fire if need be.
All of a sudden Sky felt the ground meeting her face. The gun flew out of her grasp, and landed on something hidden just beneath the snow. Sky heard a faint “click,” felt a gush of wind, followed by a loud clap. Shocked, Sky stared at the tripped bear trap only inches from her face.
Fear of what could have happened coursed through her veins like hot lava, and then she began to tremble. The gun still quivered upon the bear trap’s trigger. Afraid to move, Sky let her gaze travel down her body to see the culprit of her fall: a split piece of fire wood. No doubt it had been purposely placed there to serve as a booby trap for anyone trying to save Amy.
Slowly, Sky got up, careful as to where she put her hands, knees and feet. She bent to pick up the gun, and put it back in the waistband of her jeans. She picked up the piece of firewood and used it to test the ground in front of her before each step. Finally, she made it safely to the front door, and was surprised to find it unlocked.
Sky cracked the door, to peek inside. Through the crack she was able to see a fireplace overflowing with ashes, a tattered couch, and what looked like a pile of rags on the floor by the couch. She leaned in a little more causing the rusted hinges to protest. They squeaked with even the tiniest move, so, she opened it just wide enough to squeeze inside. She stood in silence for a long while. Hearing nothing, she felt confident her presence was unknown.
Sky surveyed the contents of the tiny room. The kitchen to her right consisted of a tiny refrigerator, small enough to sit upon the wooden counter. Two hot-plates were a few inches away. A cast-iron, fry pan rested on one, and a coffee pot on the other. A tiny table for two was tipped over, and its companions…chairs, plates, and glasses lay shattered on the stone floor. Sky shifted her gaze to the left to rest once again on the tattered couch.
Stepping quietly, she walked over to the couch to inspect the pile of rags that lay on the floor. They were red-stained with what she knew to be blood. Her heart sank because she knew it had belonged to Amy.
A darkened hallway, only a few feet away beckoned her.
One small step at a time she inched closer. She reached for the gun and once again it felt good in her hand. She knew she would have no trouble killing that son-of-a-bitch. On sight she would put a bullet between his eyes. On second thought, she decided she would shoot his balls off, first. That should suffice as suitable punishment for attempting to rape Amy. The ass-hole needed to suffer, and suffer LONG, before he entered Hell.
Stepping into the dark hallway, Sky had to wait a moment for her eyes to adjust. She barely made out a small door only four feet tall to her right. A closer look assured Sky, that it was padlocked. Her heart raced. Perhaps Amy was inside. All of her instincts demanded she charge the door, but common sense warned that there was cabin left to explore, and that the son-of-a-bitch could be hiding around the next corner.
After another couple of feet Sky saw a door on her left. This door, unlike the other, was regular sized, and had no padlock. She stopped and put her ear to the splintered wood and could hear no sound coming from inside. With her ear to the door, she glanced down the hallway. It ended with another door that led outside. It too was padlocked.
Slowly she opened the door and peered into a dark room. Sky had the gun ready to fire, but nothing came at her. Once her eyes adjusted she could make out a bed and a tiny dresser. Save for that, the room was empty.
Confident there was no one else in the cabin, Sky hurried back to the four-foot padlocked door.
“Amy…?”
“Amy…honey, are you in there?” Sky whispered.
In vain, Sky pushed and pulled on the door.
A little louder than before, Sky repeated her question.
“Amy…AMY…ARE YOU THERE?”
Sky paused a second with her ear to the door, trying to hear any sound of life. Very faintly, Sky thought she heard a groan, but it was followed by complete silence. Thinking it must have been her imagination, she started to call for Amy again but was cut short by the sound of a shaky voice.
“Skkkkk…. I’m heeeeee….re…”
The sound of Amy’s voice kicked Sky’s adrenaline into overdrive. She lunged at the door with all her might, and felt it give some, but not enough to dislodge the lock.
“Fuck…” she cursed, and threw herself once again into the door. The wood groaned in protest, but still she was unable to break through.
Frantically, Sky looked around for something to use to pry open the lock. She thought of the gun, but decided against it, fearing the sound would alert the psycho if he were close by.
“Amy…I’ll be right back. I’m going to get you out”
The shaky voice from the other side of the door said, “…ple…please…d…don’t le…le…leave me…”
Sky heard the desperation in Amy’s voice and it broke her heart. “I’m not leaving you…I promise…I’m coming back…”
Sky went to the kitchen and scanned the area for something to use. Not seeing anything of value, she looked around the living room. Her eyes rested upon a set of wrought iron, fireplace tools.
“That’ll work!”
Sky grabbed the poker and rushed back to Amy. She put the pointed end into the loop of the pad-lock, and leaned downward with all her weight. The metal screeched in protest, and she felt it give a little. Encouraged, she did it again, and this time she was rewarded by the sound of the busted lock hitting the stone floor.
Sky burst open the tiny door. She fell into the dark room and desperately searched for Amy. Amy lay shivering uncontrollably, five feet in front of her. Sky went to her, pulled her close, and enveloped her within her arms. She rubbed her vigorously, trying to stimulate heat into Amy’s frigid body.
Amy wanted to cling to Sky, but her hands were too cold to move. She was numb from head to foot, but somehow, she was able to move her trembling lips enough to say…“I…lu…luvv…u…” Her eyes filled with tears that spilled over her cheeks.
Sky gently wiped away Amy’s tears, and leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. After the kiss she pulled her closer and whispered in her ear…“I love you more.”
Sky helped Amy from the room, and took her across the hall into the small bedroom. She laid Amy on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and then lay beside and held her until she stopped shivering.
Sky searched the dresser drawers and found shirts, hoodies, sweatpants and a pair boots underneath the bed. They both dressed as warmly as possible, and then headed toward the front door.
On their way out the door, Sky grabbed a broom, and used it to test the ground in front of them just in case there was another bear trap.
Amy still hurting, and extremely weak leaned heavily upon Sky. It was slow going but finally they made it to the edge of the forest. Sky felt it a milestone, so she breathed a big sigh of relief.
“We’re going to make it,” she said to Amy, and couldn’t help but smile.
A distant sound of an engine caused Sky’s smile to fade.
Amy heard it as well, and her face turned wild with fear. Like a frightened animal she began to look in all directions for the oncoming danger. Finally, she looked to Sky. The amount of horror Sky saw in Amy’s eyes took her breath away. She had never seen Amy look so afraid.
“Oh m…my… g…god…it’s…Sa…Satan…he…s…here…to take…us to H…Hell!” Amy’s scream was shrill. The terror was infectious, and it consumed Sky as well.
Sky looked over her shoulder to see a snowmobile with a masked rider coming towards them. Without hesitation Sky pushed Amy into the thicket around a group of fir trees.
Then she pulled out the gun, turned, and faced the snowmobile bearing down upon her. She stood in firing position…feet shoulder width apart, right leg slightly back in a boxer’s stance, knees bent with her body weight forward, all the while holding the gun with both hands.
The rider saw the gun, but refused to veer away.
Sky took aim and waited…the seconds ticked away as he grew closer…and closer. She felt sweat trickle down the side of her face, and wondered how it possible since it was so cold.
When she realized he meant to run her over, she willed herself to stand firm.
As if in slow motion she watched him edge closer, and she pulled the hammer of the gun backwards, but didn’t fire until she could see his eyes. The gun recoiled and fell out of her hands, as the snowmobile clipped her right shoulder. Sky fell and slumped into the snow. The snowmobile turned sideways, slinging its rider a good ten feet into the air. He hit hard, and lay face down in the snow.
Sky was riddled with pain, but she forced herself to get up. Slowly she limped to where the man lay. She could see no signs of breathing, so she presumed him dead.
“You died too easy,” she spoke aloud.
To be sure he was dead she nudged him with the toe of her boot, not once but twice. When he didn’t move, she squatted beside him, and rolled him over.
Blood oozed from a hole ripped in his jacket. Sky reached for the mask covering his face, and slid it up and over his head. She looked down into the face of a monster. His dark hair was long, and fell haphazardly to cover the snow that cradled his head. His eyes were closed, and a trickle of blood ran from his nose, and into his slack and pallid mouth.
She unzipped his coat and unbuttoned his shirt to inspect the fatal wound.
His flesh was ripped and torn from the bullet, however, the damage was not to the heart but more towards his upper, left shoulder. It appeared that the bullet had only nicked his collar-bone. Sky was confident it had to hurt like hell, but she was equally confident it had not been a kill shot.
Quickly she looked back to his face and saw her reflection in the blackest eyes she’d ever seen. Devoid of any white they looked like the eyes of a demon…pure evil.
Panic seized her, and she tried to move away, but he was too quick. He grabbed her shoulders and flipped her over into the snow. He pinned her to the ground with his body, spit blood into her face, and then backhanded her hard with his right hand. Using her as leverage, he pushed down upon her with all his might and stood.
Sky felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, but the thought of Amy caused her to gasp for air.
She looked at the monster towering above her. His eyes were still black with evil, and a fiendishly smile split his face. This hideous sight scared the shit out of her. Then she noticed the large rock he held over his head and heard a guttural growl…
“Die, you ungodly lesbian!”
Sky closed her eyes, and waited for the imminent death blow.
A succession of BANGS ripped the cold air.
Startled, Sky opened her eyes, and watched as half of the monster’s face ripped away like the parting of the Red Sea. Amy a few feet away, stood with the gun in her hand and watched as her captor fell lifeless to the ground.
In a few steps, she moved to stand over him and began screaming, “Die you son-of-a-bitch…die you son-of-a-bitch…DIE…”
Amy emptied the gun into the other half of his face, and kept pulling the trigger long after the last bullet was fired.
[Epilogue]
Three months later…
Amy opened her eyes to an early morning view just beyond the open window of their bedroom. She watched as the breeze gently blew the white cotton curtains, and smiled when she felt the coolness touch the tip of her nose.
She loved her mornings. She quietly gave thanks for another day to live, and for the woman lying next to her in bed. Still asleep, Sky unknowingly spooned with Amy. Amy loved the warmth of her wife’s body. She felt the rhythm of Sky’s breath with the rise and fall of her breasts, pressed against her back.
After a while, Amy felt her stir so she turned to face a sleepy-eyed Sky. They both nestled into each other and as always, their bodies fit perfectly together. Sky nuzzled Amy’s neck. It tickled, so Amy laughed aloud.
Desiring a replay of last night’s lovemaking, they reached for one another, but before they could kiss a large bundle of golden fur pounced on top of them. Rudy barked and wagged his tail at the sight of his two moms.
He was happy they were finally awake…after all he had important things to do!
Amy and Sky laughed at their loveable Rudy, and he wiggled between them to commence operation “slobbery kiss.”
A series of “Ewwwws” and “yuckes” filled the air.
Today was going to be a good day.
The End
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