Amnesia

26. Running Away

“So, where were we?” Devan asked.

“Owen was threatening me. Again,” I muttered and sat up straight.

“Owen, don’t.” Devan knew what he was thinking. He picked up my phone and started searching through it. “I recognize some of these names. All of them are from Meselva’s gang.” He looked at me accusingly.

“I never said they weren’t,” I defended. “How would I know the names? I don’t even know my own last name!”

“Scout, calm down. We don’t need us all to be heated.”

“Well what do you expect me to do?” I jumped to my feet. “How about you try to forget everything you knew and then be kidnapped and brought to some foreign country where they demand to know everything that they think you know, while also being abused and threatened. If I could tell you what you want to know, I would if it got me out of here. I am sick of this hell!”

“Scout,” Devan tried to speak.

But I was not done. “I don’t know what I did that made you hate me, Owen, and if you could tell me, that would be wonderful.” I was starting to sound delusional. “Why don’t you take one of your precious knives and cut me up slowly so that I feel everything? So that I feel all the pain and then leave me to suffer until I bleed out! In fact, I will ask you, beg you to do that. Anything to get me out of here.

“I have managed to survive what I could, but I can’t take it anymore!” I turned to Devan. “I’ve had enough of you beating me when I simply speak! You can lock me up and keep me here, but you can’t take my voice away!” Involuntary tears were streaming down my cheeks and I don’t know why they were there, but I couldn’t stop them.

I then snatched my phone from Devan, taking one of Owen’s knives and stabbing it through the device on the desk. I then ran out of the room, almost falling down the stairs in my haste. As I ran to the front door, I was stopped by Nate who grabbed me around the waist.

“No!” I screamed, kicking and fighting him to let me go. “I can’t do it!”

I was then passed to Devan, but in the transition, I managed to kick Devan in the stomach, momentarily stopping him, which was just enough time. I twisted myself free of their grip and ran to the back door, throwing it open and heading to the woods. I ran to the river, but instead of crossing it, I stayed in the water, letting the current take me downstream. I sunk myself for a moment, knowing that someone was going to be close behind me. When I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, I surfaced.

I don’t know how far down I was, or how far this river travelled, but I swam with the current until I was too tired and too cold to keep going. I climbed out, immediately climbing into a tree to keep myself hidden. I took a moment to catch my breath that was ragged from the swim and from crying.

“Scout!”

The voice was distant, nowhere near me. I still waited, shivering in the tree for the whole day until it was dark. Then I climbed down and started walking along the river, away from Devan’s house. I wandered for about ten minutes before I passed out from exhaustion and from the pounding in my head that Owen caused.