Turn for the Worst

Chapter 44

Emma still couldn't see anything. Her entire body ached from being in a cramped trunk for so long and her head ached from the anger she felt towards her captor and the lack oxygen she'd been receiving because of the gauze and the duct tape covering her mouth. At least now the vehicle had stopped moving and hopefully, she'll be able to find some way to escape.

When the cold autumn wind hits her face, Emma tries to breathe it in, clear her head as much as possible.

"Well, Emma, welcome to your new home."

Emma's skin crawls slightly at his words. He sounds very satisfied with what he's done and she knew he wasn't through with her yet.

Emma feels the two strong arms pick her up. She immediately wants to struggle against him, find a way to get loose but with her arms and legs bound, she wouldn't get very far. She'd be more likely to hurt herself and anger Arthur than anything else.

Arthur had gone into the cabin in advance and seen what it looked like. The place was covered in dust and cobwebs. It appeared to have been a nice place at one point with a nice chandelier, wide windows, a stone fireplace, plush couches, animal heads mounted in certain places, a small dining room and a kitchen that must've been comfy to cook in at one point. But it seemed that time had taken its toll on the place, the dust and cobwebs had overtaken practically everything, decorating the chandelier, the windows were clouded and gray, the fireplace was boarded up, the couches had various holes in them exposing springs and stuffing, the animal heads looked like demonic creatures, the dining room was covered in empty beer bottles, likely from various hunters looking for a means of escape and the table was missing a leg. The kitchen was also quite filthy, piled high with dirty dishes. The entire cabin was gloomy and smelled musty, clearly, no one had been around to care for it in a long time, which was perfect for Arthur. It wasn't much, but it could work.

Arthur brings Emma in and drops her on the dusty and rutted couch. Emma grunts angrily and tries to kick at Arthur with her bound feet.

"Don't be so angry," Arthur says. "I'm about to let you go, but if you keep this up, the woods is an awfully cold place to sleep."

Emma sighs angrily and tries to calm herself. She knows fighting with Arthur will get her nowhere, at least not right now. She lays still for a few moments to gather her bearings.

"That's better," Arthur says. He then reaches over and removes the tape from Emma's mouth, which fortunately was loosened by her own work. "You can scream as loud as you want, no one will hear you out here. There's no phones, no Internet, not a single person here... except us"

"Well, how am I supposed to know that when I can't see," Emma snaps back.

Arthur sighs and removes the duct tape from her eyes. Emma's green eyes blink furiously as they try to adjust to the limited light the cabin was providing.

"You're a monster," Emma says, trying to move into a more comfortable position on the couch.

"You realize that phrase doesn't bother me anymore,"

"Right because the last time I said it, you strangled me."

"I realize that I lost my temper there, but believe me, now that I know I'm safe, everything will be much better."

"For you maybe," Emma mutters. "You expect things are better in a place like this?"

"I'm not concerned," Arthur says. "You'll be cleaning it soon enough. I'm sure as a mother you've cleaned up hundreds of messes before."

Emma grinds her teeth together at the very sexist comment and bites her tongue to prevent herself from lashing out at him.

That means he'll let me out soon, then I can escape.