Discarded by M. Hunter (the reading list .txt) 📕

and puffing off to the left as he pulled on the generator’s starter cord, and finally the motor whirred to life and he reappeared from beside the caravan. She closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, breathing in the fresh air.

‘Oh no, you shouldn’t be outside,’ he said, trying to usher her back inside. ‘Grey would kill me if he found out.’

‘Please, Chez, just a few seconds of fresh air. The cabin is so stale and stuffy. I have such a headache.’

‘That’s probably the after-effects of what Grey gave you,’ he said glumly, before quickly changing the subject. ‘The others will be back soon, and then we’ll have supplies and can cook up a big feast.’

She remained where she was on the step. ‘Would you take me for a walk?’

Chez looked around uneasily as if he could feel unwanted eyes on them. ‘No, sorry, out of the question. I’m to keep an eye on you here.’

‘Oh, but please, Chez. My head is pounding and I’m sure that some fresh air is all I need. We wouldn’t have to go far. Maybe just to the trees and back. Please? I won’t be any trouble, I promise.’

Chez looked over his shoulders at the wood and she sensed he was starting to wane.

‘You can hold onto me if that would make you feel better. What’s the worst that can happen?’

He looked back at the woods again, behind his eyes calculating the distance and time required to go there and back.

‘Please, Chez. Maybe then you can tell me a bit more about the photoshoots Grey told me about. He told me my parents know where I am, and how lucky I am to have been chosen. I know I was acting immature before but I understand now, I think. Please, just a five-minute walk, and then we can be back.’

‘Ah, okay,’ he grumbled reluctantly, ‘but we come back as soon as I say. Yeah?’

She raised herself onto her toes and pecked his cheek. ‘One other question: can I have some trainers to put on?’

He ushered her back into the caravan and this time she obliged, sitting patiently on the stool as he moved to the back bedroom and rummaged inside a carrier bag, emerging a few seconds later with the trainers she’d been wearing when Grey had picked her up at the newsagent’s.

‘Put these on, but we’d better be quick.’

She took the trainers and slipped her feet in, tightened the Velcro straps, and leapt up excitedly. Chez gripped her hand tightly and led her back out of the door, closing it behind him and pocketing the key. Leaving the steps, they moved across the damp grass, Joanna nearly losing her footing at one point when it was more slippery than she’d anticipated. He certainly was keen to get to the trees and back in a hurry and she struggled to keep up with his large strides, having to take two quick steps to his one.

She hadn’t lied about the headache, although she’d exaggerated just how much her head was spinning. The fresh air was certainly helping to sharpen things in her mind, and she prayed he couldn’t feel just how fast her pulse was racing. He’d trusted her to come this far, and she felt pleased with how she’d managed to manipulate him into doing what she wanted.

The world around them darkened as they neared the edge of the wood, the tree branches blocking out the sky. She’d half-expected to see a trail or path through the wood, but as they neared, it appeared to stretch on for ever and she had no way of knowing what lay beyond it.

‘Right, time to head back,’ he said, yanking on her arm as he turned around on the spot.

But she pulled her arm back and managed to break free of his grasp. Reaching into the pocket of the dress, she coiled her fingers around the handle of the cheese knife, and quickly yanked it out and pointed it at him menacingly.

‘You’re going to show me a way out,’ she said, trying to keep the sheer terror from her voice. ‘Right now.’

‘W-w-what?’ he asked, but then his face screwed into a ball as realisation hit him. He glowered in frustration. ‘You lied to me.’

She shook her head. ‘No, but come on, Chez, this is our chance to go. You could come with me. If we can get to a town, or village, we can have someone ring for help, and then you can return to that little town you told me about and I can get back to my home too.’

She was waiting for the moment he would slap the blade from her hand and drag her back to the caravan, but he didn’t make any move towards her. ‘You don’t realise what you’re asking. It isn’t that easy, Kylie.’

‘It can be, Chez. The two of us together is all it will take. You know this place better than me; we can get away now before anyone realises we’ve gone. Please? I’m asking as your sister.’

His eyes shone in the dimming light of the day, but he still made no effort to take the knife from her. ‘Just go,’ he eventually whispered. ‘I can’t go with you, but if you really want to take your chances, then just go. I’ll give you ten minutes before I raise the alarm.’

She held the knife firm, unable to read whether it was him who was now trying to manipulate her.

‘Go through the woods and keep going straight until you come to a stream. Turn right and follow the stream until you get to a footbridge, which will take you past a golf course and into the town centre. You need to move quickly though.’

She hadn’t expected him to be so obliging, but the thought of heading into the dark woods alone was almost as terrifying as remaining with him. Threatening him with the knife was a line she couldn’t cross back from, and if she didn’t make her move