“What are we looking for?” Crew helped me to my feet. The room began to sway as I tried to get my bearings on wobbly feet. The water made me feel hungry. My stomach growled.
“Anything. Everything. Maybe there is something in here that would at least tell us who owns this place.” It was wishful thinking, or resourceful. It kept us occupied. It gave us a tiny scrap of control. At least the illusion that there was something we could do to get out of here.
“I wonder if we’re in the city.”
“We’ll get out of here,” he assured me.
“How?” I knew he didn’t have the answer, but I asked anyway.
“I know we will. No one would go to all this trouble just to lock us up in a cabin to die. That doesn’t make sense, does it?”
I exhaled. I wanted his argument to be true. I didn’t want to leave Knight this way. He was searching for me. I knew he was. If he never found me. If this was how it ended, he wasn’t going to forgive himself. I didn’t want this kind of ending for either of us, but especially for him to have to live with that kind of guilt.
The dividing wall to the bathroom was nothing more than a sliding sheet of plywood. There was a toilet in the corner and a sink attached to the wall. I closed it behind me and ran the water. When I emerged a few minutes later Crew was trying to pry the boards off the windows.
“I don’t think it’s going to suddenly work,” I advised. He was breaking out in a sweat.
He huffed. “Maybe it will one of these times.”
“Bathroom’s open,” I announced.
“Thanks.” He stepped away from the window and walked past me. I took his place at the window and started using my body weight to pull against the planks.
It took more than one tug, but I was finally able to pry a board free. I looked out the window, trying to figure out where in the hell we were. This cabin felt familiar, as if I knew it and it was completely different.
“What? How did you do that?” He stared at the board on the floor. “But good work. I think I loosened them up.”
I groaned. “Does it matter?”
“Now that the window is open we can signal. Someone can find us.”
“Crew, there is no traffic out there. This cabin is remote. For a good reason. It’s not as if someone is going to walk by and hear us. That would be stupid. Utterly ridiculous. Do you know how dumb that sounds? Do you even hear yourself right now? What are you thinking?” I was exasperated with him. Did he have to be optimistic all the fucking time?
“Hey, hey. I’m sorry.”
My hands had begun to shake. I didn’t realize just how harsh I sounded until I saw the look on Crew’s face.
“I-I didn’t mean that, Crew. I don’t know why I said it that way. I’m the one who is sorry.”
He moved from the window. “Hey, it’s not easy being stuck in here and not knowing when we’ll get out. I don’t blame you. It’s okay. You’re just letting off steam.”
“Still. I shouldn’t have said it that way.”
“We’re both frustrated. And hungry,” he added. “But they should bring a tray down soon. They do it like clockwork.”
I blinked. “What?” The fear rippled in my chest. I must have misheard what he said.
“You know, the guy who leaves the tray at the bottom of the stairs.”
I shook my head, realizing, the cabin had morphed into part of the basement. There was a staircase where the kitchen table used to be. The staircase. And cement walls replaced the wood paneling. I turned to tell Crew something about this prison I recognized. I needed him to know it was the same kidnapper. It had to be. We were in the basement. I knew this place well. When I turned he was gone. Vanished.
God, the nightmare was different now. It had come back stronger.
I pushed off the bed, aware of how tender my head was from the headache. The pounding hadn’t eased much. I waited a second to get my bearings before trying to take a step. I didn’t like feeling dizzy on top of everything else.
The door handle rattled, and I saw the deadbolt twist.
This time I ran straight toward it.