“Don’t even think about running, Emily!” A deep voice I didn’t recognize, shouted from the other side of my door. “I have two of my guys circling the place. We just want to talk.”
“Go fuck yourself!” My mother snarled, but her hands paused on the frame of the window. I clung to her arm, feeling like I was seconds away from passing out. If what he said was true, we couldn’t run. Not with two guys watching the outside. My mum swore under her breath and snapped the window shut, locked it, and pushed me to the back of my room to my closet door. She threw it open and ushered me inside, guiding me into a crouched position in the back corner.
“Emily… come on out. I just need to know where-”
“Did I stutter?” My mother called over her shoulder. “I thought I told you to fuck off!”
“Where is Mina Westberg?”
My body turned to stone at his words. Me? They were searching for me? Why? I looked up at my mother as she placed my cell phone on the floor by a pair of my shoes, keeping it concealed from view. It was still on speaker. James was listening to everything. The banging continued, until a shattering crack broke a panel partially off the middle of the door.
Mum didn’t even glance back as she cupped my face, catching me off-guard with the tender gesture. It had been years since my mother touched me like this. What was wrong with her? Her face was filled with a sort of… understanding… grim acceptance. Seeing that look only heightened my panic.
“Mum?”
“Stay quiet, honey,” she whispered and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “When they find you, use that…” She nodded to the knife in my hands. “…fight like hell. Understand? No matter what you hear, you stay hidden. You got that? No matter what you hear. You stay! Now, promise me.”
“Wh-what?” I stammered, my eyes wide as I stared up at her in confusion. What was she talking about? Why was she saying this to me?
The men continued to pound on the door. “He just wants the girl, Emily! Tell us where she’s hiding!”
“Promise me you will stay, Mina!” She gave my shoulders a desperate, little shake, bringing my attention back to her when a loud crack pierced the air as the men managed to break part of the frame.
“I-I promise… but what-”
I didn’t get a chance to ask her what she meant before she gave my forehead another firm, quick kiss, reached up and moved my hanging clothes around so they concealed me as much as possible, and shut the doors. Peeking through the cracks between the slats, I watched her stand and turn just as the door smashed in. I flinched back, covering my mouth with my free hand as two of the men dressed in black, wearing those terrifying skeleton masks, burst in.
They looked right at her for only a second before the leader stepped forward. As soon as he was within arms’ reach, she didn’t hesitate as she swung the frying pan with all her might, and managed to knock the guys hand aside. He shouted in pain, but she didn’t stop. Mum turned to the other one and swung at him, too. He dodged to the side and barreled into her side, knocking her off her feet. I shoved my fist into my mouth, biting down on my own flesh to keep myself from screaming. As I furiously blinked away tears, the man who had knocked her down grabbed a fistful of Mum’s hair and yanked her sideways. She landed on her hip and he dragged her across the room to where his companion was waiting, shaking out his hand after the blow she’d give him. My mum shrieked and kicked her legs the entire way, still fighting as hard as she could. The one she had managed to hit had recovered, and he seized the frying pan from the floor, the eerie face of his mask fixed right on her.
“Where is the girl?” he asked her.
“What girl?” she spat, breathing hard as she panted from exertion.
“Don’t play dumb! Where is your daughter?”
“She’s not home.”
“Lying bitch.” He swung at her then, using his hand, and I shut my eyes just before he struck her. But I still heard her cry out in pain. I choked back a sob as I listened.
“Where the fuck is Mina?”
“Not… here…” she panted, and then there was another loud smack.
I felt sick to my stomach, feeling like I was on the verge of fainting. Where the hell was James? Hurry the fuck up! Hurry up! Please!
Two more sets of footsteps came stomping into the room.
“Any sign?”
“She’s not outside, but I saw her come home. She’s here somewhere.”
“Fine, you,” the skeletal face nodded to the one holding her by her hair. “You wanted to take care of this one, go ahead while we search. We’ll find her…”
Take care… What in the fuck does that mean? Oh my God! I watched helplessly through the cracks as the silent masked man dragged her from the room by her hair, heading down the hall to the kitchen with her as she cried out in pain and kicked to free herself.
I felt sick, my mind wrestling back my impulse to protect her. I promised… I promised… I wanted to run out there and protect her, but really, what could I do? Yeah, I had a knife in my hand, but I didn’t know how to fight. I’d never been in one in my life, let alone taking on four huge men. And I promised her I would stay, no matter what I heard. But-but…
One man remained behind in the room, stomping around as he overturned my bed to check beneath it when, from the kitchen, I heard my mother scream. An ear-splitting, bone-chilling scream that turned the blood in my veins to ice. I squeezed my eyes shut as the sound ripped through me.
No matter what you hear, you stay hidden… she had said. No matter what you hear. You stay! Now, promise me. God, I wish I hadn’t. I was biting into my fist so hard, the sharp coppery taste of blood coated my tongue.
The closet doors suddenly flew open causing me to instinctively shrink back into the corner, praying to God he couldn’t see me. Overhead, my hangers were thrown aside, the material brushing across the crown of my head, and I slowly looked up into the horrifying mask of one of the men. He didn’t say a thing. He just reached out, gripped my upper arms and hauled me to my feet. Immediately, I kicked at him, managing to get him in the shin. He grunted a bit and I used my free arm to swing the knife at him. He dodged it effortlessly as he seized my wrist, and slammed it into the wall.
I clung to the knife, holding it as tight as I could as he repeatedly smashed it again and again on the panels. I grit my teeth, trying to bear the pain and hold on, but it only took him a few seconds before he managed to disarm me, and my weapon clattered noisily to the floor. From the kitchen, there were more piercing screams from my mother, and I felt a rush surge through my veins. Unarmed now, I pressed my back against the wall and lifted my legs as he held me there, and kicked against his stomach. He groaned beneath the hideous mask and stumbled back. Rushing him, I attacked him with everything I had, kicking and punching at every part I could reach, when…
My mother stopped screaming… instead, she started wailing.
I shoved past my attacker as he bent over from my assault, and ran back for the knife I’d dropped. A hand snatched at my ankle, sending me off-balance so that I crashed to the floor onto my stomach, forcing the air from my lungs in a rush. I gasped desperately as he hauled me up to my feet and crushed me against himself.
Pushing back against his chest, which was thick with muscle, I could barely make him budge an inch. He was built like a brick wall. I was blinded by tears from being winded, and though I was still coughing as I tried to suck in air, I forced myself to keep fighting. As he tried to get a better grip on me, I fought the only way I knew how… by using my nails as I clawed at the mask, somehow managing to rake at the skin beneath. He snarled, but kept his hold. I then bit down on his forearm, which was wrapped right below my chin, and he cussed loudly as I broke the skin. I kicked and flailed, hoping to make it as difficult as possible for him so that he’d drop me.