The Castle On The Hill

Chapter Five: Part 1

Chapter Five.

Part-1

"Sam, can you hear me? Are you alright?" Parker's worried voice bounced around the closed rocky walls of the cave.

Sam groaned in response. He couldn't string together enough words to form a coherent sentence because of the nerve wrenching pain in his head. He couldn't even move his head straight. His head hanged low and steady drips of blood seeped through the makeshift bandage on his temple to the ground, creating a small pool of blood right beside his legs. Nylon ropes dug into his skin and his wet clothes didn't provide much help. He was tied up with his hands tied to the hand rest and his legs tied to the front two leg of the chair.

"What did you say? Say it clearly." Parker's voice again rang out causing Sam to wince. It was not particularly loud but it seemed very high pitched to him. He opened his eye after some difficulty and moved them around to see Parker.

She didn't fare much better than him. She was also tied up on a wooden chair similar to him, her clothes torn and there were scratches all over her arms and face. But none of them looked that serious. She also didn't seem worried about them. Seeing her face, she looked like she was more worried for him than herself.

Sam moved his eyes away from Parker and looked around to inspect the surroundings. Although he didn't see much in the darkness, it wasn't completely dark. A couple rays of dim light were coming from under the only man-made thing in this natural cave- the steel door. He stared at the door and thought back as to how they got tangled up in their current situation.

***

"So, this is the backside road." Sam moved around his head after jumping down from the jeep.

"Yeah." Parker also got out and slammed the door shut. As to why they were taking the backroad- it was because Roy couldn't come with them. So, Parker drove on the path she was familiar with.

The reason behind Roy's absence was his wife- Barbara. She suddenly called yesterday and told Roy to take Mary and come meet her in her house in Sacramento. She didn't elaborate as to why she called for the sudden meet but it sounded urgent so Roy and Mary left last night. But before leaving, Roy assured Sam that he won't be gone for long.

Parker came to the bar next morning (which was today) looking for Sam and Roy so Sam informed her of the situation. She slightly grumbled at first because of the inconvenient timing for Roy to be gone but decided to go ahead with the plan anyway.

Sam glanced at Parker hearing her short reply and saw that she was opening the backdoor of her jeep. He noticed the duffel bag on the backseat as soon as he got into the car. But Parker didn't say anything so he also didn't bring up the topic. He saw her take out a flashlight first and couldn't help but to ask,

"Do you really think that would be necessary?"

"You never know." Parker's reply was short again.

Sam shook his head and examined the surroundings. The forest on this side was much thinner than the one on the front but there were no clear trails to follow on this side. There were small pools of water here and there on the ground and the leaves of the trees seemed extra lush. He had no trouble guessing as to why that was. There was a shower of autumn rain late last night. It was short but intense while it lasted. The ground also seemed soft. Although it was not mushy like mud but it caused Sam to worry about the slippery factor of the road ahead. His worry reflected on his words,

"Do we absolutely need to go through the wet grounds? Because I'm very scared. The ground was very slippery the first time I came here and it was dry then. I don't dare guess how slippery it must be now."