A Deadly Trip (Now Available on Amazon!) (Unedited Version)

Chapter 20

I couldn't believe it.

Dylan.

Of all people, he was the one helping this psycho.

My friends were all missing, I was currently being held in the back of a van, and we were all probably going to die.

I didn't think it could have gotten much worse, but obviously I was wrong.

I had been in the back of this van for what felt like forever, but I couldn't be sure how much time had passed since there were no windows for me to look out of. It was only when the doors were pulled opened again that I got a glimpse outside. The sun was still high up in the sky so too much time couldn't have passed.

I only turned my attention away from outside and to Dylan when he held a bottle of water out to me which I eyed suspiciously.

Catching my look Dylan sighed heavily.

"I didn't do anything to it."

"Right, because your word means so much." I replied sarcastically.

Dylan held the bottle closer to me.

"It hasn't even been opened. See? The seal isn't even broken."

"Like that means anything. You could've used a needle and slipped something in there."

Dylan sighed again and rolled his eyes.

"Look if you want to sit in the back of this van and dehydrate be my guest."

"Yeah, because sitting in the back of this van not dehydrated and waiting for your stupid psychotic friend to come back and kill me is a much better option. Seems like either way it goes I'm dead."

"Gemma look-"

"Save it." I snapped.

"You don't understand."

"I don't really want to." I countered.

"Gemma he threatened my family!"

I looked at Dylan with wide eyes.

"What?"

Dylan ran a hand through his blond hair and sat down on the edge of the van.

"He threatened to kill my family Gemma." he repeated.

"My mom and my little sister are all I have and he said he'd kill them both if I didn't help him with this." Dylan explained. "He found me a few weeks ago on my way home from work. At first I had no idea who he was. I thought he was just some whack job off the street, but then he started telling me stuff. Stuff that I hadn't told anyone about what had happened while we were down there. Stuff that no one could know unless they had been down there with us."

Dylan took a deep breath before he continued.

"When I realized who he was I told him I was going to call the police but he said that if I did then he'd not only kill me but my mom and little sister too. Then he told me what he wanted from me. He wanted me to help him with this whole crazy plan that he has to get back at Archer."

The entire time Dylan was talking he wouldn't look at me until now and my heart broke a little when I saw tears in his eyes.

"He told me that he'd find me again in a couple of weeks and when he did I had better be ready." He took another deep breath. "Gemma you have to believe me. I didn't want to do this. I don't want to do it, but he'll kill my mom and my sister if I don't. I haven't even seen them for almost a week now. That's how long he's had me with him and my mom and sister have no clue where I am or what happened to me and I'm scared shitless right now."

Dylan let his head fall back against the door of the van.

"I don't really like Archer, I borderline hate the guy, but I don't want him dead. I just... I don't know what to do. I feel like no matter what I do someone I care about is going to pay if I don't do what he asks." Dylan looked me right in the eye when he said this.

Probably against my better judgement, I crawled over so I was sitting next to him and I placed a hand on his shoulder.

Dylan looked at me with a sad expression and then slowly lifted his hand to my face and cupped my cheek.

"Look at what he's already done to you."

"Yeah, I probably don't look too great right now." I tried to smile but it probably came across as more of a grimace.

Dylan let his hand fall from my face and then sighed heavily.

"It'll be a thousand times worse if I don't do what he says."

"It doesn't have to be like this." I said quietly.

"Let me go and we can find my friends together then we can go to the police."

"Gemma-" Dylan began tiredly but I cut him off.

"Dylan please. All of my friends are missing and he's probably going to kill them all if we don't do anything about it."

"Gemma I don't have a choice. Your friends lives aren't the only ones on the line."

"But if we could just get to the police then you wouldn't have anything to worry about."

"That's not a chance I'm willing to take."

"He's going to kill me too Dylan. If this whole thing is just to get back at Archer then he'll kill me and he'll make sure Archer knows, which means before he goes to kill Archer, he'll have to kill me first."

"I'm not saying my life is more important than your mom's or your sister's," I continued. "But we could save everybody if we could just get to the police. He obviously trusts you enough to guard me on your own. We could make a run for it and get to them then all of this would be over."

Dylan didn't say anything, he just stared down at his hands which sat clenched in his lap. After a moment he got up, sat the water bottle down next to me, and took a step back.

"I'm sorry Gemma." Was all he said, before closing the doors to the van.