Ferocious

23. Bury the Scissors (Part 1)

I punched with both fists. My knuckles crunched on the metal, shock waves rippled through my hands and arms, but no pain. I screamed. The sound was swallowed the same as I was. Kicking and hitting, I attacked every inch of my trap. I screamed at that mother-fucker who shut me in there.

I was a human, not some animal, not an insect in a jar, not a plaything, not a bargaining chip. I was not his to use.

I'm a human being!

I screamed the words to convince myself as I thrashed blindly in the dark. I hit my head on the lid above me. Ears ringing, I laid back. Around me, the car jostled and shook. He was driving fast. We were still on the gravel road and would be for a while, unless the looping had kept us close to the town.

Idiot. I had let rage steal precious minutes.

Analyze. Act. Save yourself.

We hit a bump, and I smacked my head again. For a second, I felt the panic squeezing my chest and neck again. Maybe we weren't going back to town. Maybe he was going off road. Maybe that sink hole he raved about was a hole in the ground the size of a body.

Analyze. Act. Save yourself, Brooklyn. I gritted my teeth and got to work.

The trunk was lined with carpet that seemed fixed in place. I tore at the edges in the corners and along the trunk lid to find any weaknesses. There might be a release handle or wire, but I wasn't hopeful. This bucket was too old for safety features.

My other option was trying to tear out the brake light. That would be my beacon for help if we actually did go back to town.

The zip-tie cut sharply into my wrists, he had pulled it too tightly for me to work my thumb out. I would have to break it, which wouldn't be easy in the confines of the trunk. I twisted until I was lying flat with as much room for my arms as possible. I lifted my arms, testing the amount of space above me, then brought them down hard to my stomach.

The tie held.

Shit that hurt. I curled in a tight ball, sucking in air and blowing it out slowly, keeping as calm as possible.

"You all right back there, Brooklyn?" Todd called, voice muffled and thin from the front seat.

"Fuck you, you ugly, friend-murdering asshole!" I shouted. I was past pretending with him. Trunks and zip-ties obviously did that to you.

I caught the end of the tie with my teeth to position the clasp between my wrists and to tighten it more.

Arms up. I breathed. I had to make this work.

"We all do what we have to do in life, not what we want to," Todd said. The trunk made him sound far away and right there with me at the same time. Whispering words straight to my brain.

Ignore him and do this.

"Animals don't think about killing, they don't have fears or regrets. If I was an animal, or if you were, this would be easy. I could do what needed to be done and good riddance. It's because we are humans that this is so hard for both of us. This is humanity in its purest form. Accepting the choices we don't want to make. I don't want to hurt you, Brooklyn, and I will regret it if I have to do so, far more than a girl like you could ever imagine. It's hard being a man."

The BS was so thick I would be drowning soon. Using my anger, I jerked my hands to my stomach and flared my elbows. The tie snapped.

A sweeter sound, I've never heard. And Todd finally shut the fuck up as we hit pavement. We went straight and fast.