AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The truck comes to an abrupt stop. “That’s it. We’re turning around.”
My eyes fly open, and a wave of blistering heat hits me, intensifying the moment. “No.” I take quick breaths and plead with my eyes. “I can do it. I need to do it.”
He lifts his ball cap off and runs his hands through his hair before putting it back on. “I don’t know if I can stomach watching you torment yourself.”
I shake out the tenseness in my arms and sit up taller. He’s right. I’m here to prove this place doesn’t control me, but now the invisible leash tightens, proving the opposite.
“Please,” I beg, desperation lacing my plea.
He shakes his head in disapproval but puts the Jeep back in drive.
We stop, the empty grave to the right of us. I unfasten my seat belt, not allowing myself any time to reconsider. Both my feet hit dirt, and my mouth feels like a desert, making it impossible to swallow. This is where he stood, reveling in my terror, listening to my desperate pleas for life as I fought like a rabid animal, caged.
Paxton walks around to the front of the Jeep and waits for me, an unspoken understanding lingering in his eyes. Paxton directs Riggs to stay.
“When you get there, Kali, remember that you survived. As you confront that faceless, cowardly demon, you remind yourself that you survived. He didn’t win. You survived.” Dr. Betty’s words swirl through my mind as I sense the evil around me.
With each step, I whisper, “I survived” to myself. The earth shifts with each footfall, the weight causing a slight earthquake underneath me. I pause for a moment, glancing at the tree Paxton placed me under, giving me a moment to regain my senses. I exhale with puffed-out cheeks, shaking out my hands. Fresh scars line the tops of my hands, serving as a visceral reminder of the ferocious struggle. My nails, though still horrendous, are growing back. “I survived.”
I continue, nearing the edge of the hole, and Paxton matches my steps, a silent pillar of support at my side. The closer I get, the harder it is to breathe. Yellow tape still surrounds the hole, a stark reminder to the world that the girl buried alive suffered right here. As we approach, Paxton tears off one side of the tape, letting it fall to the ground. It dances like a serpent in the breeze before getting wrapped around the wooden stake.
I gaze down and swallow hard. They removed the box, leaving behind a random hole in the ground. I thought it would be deeper. In the suffocating darkness, it felt as if there was a mountain above me.
Squatting down to a sitting position, I sit at the edge before pushing off and jumping into the hole. It’s only about four feet deep. Being free, it’s surreal to think this was the exact spot that held me captive.
A hawk soars overhead, casting a fleeting shadow, circling in search of death.
Not going to find it here. Not today.
Paxton watches me from above as I lie down. His crossed arms are tense, but he remains quiet. There’s a single cloud above, shielding me from the intense afternoon sun. Off in the distance, a clap of thunder warns of impending rain.
My fingers dig into the bed of the grave, and I take a deep whiff of the surrounding earth. This is not the devil’s playground. The dirt is as innocent as me. I am not afraid of you. For the first time, my stomach doesn’t twist. “I am free. This hole can’t hurt me anymore. It’s not the villain.”
A sense of calmness envelops me, and my lips curve up. Even though Dr. Betty told me I had made great improvements, I questioned if I really had. I was in a controlled arena, and I wondered if I would crumble the second I got within five feet of this place. But I didn’t. I did it. “I beat you, asshole. You didn’t kill me. You didn’t break me. I. Beat. You.”
That same surge of energy propels me upward. Paxton extends his hand to help me up from the shallow hole, but my uncontrollable excitement sends me right into his arms. He catches me effortlessly, my feet dangling above the ground. In that perfect moment of a million milliseconds, everything around us disappears. His eyes fill with longing as they drop to my wet lips. My heart moves faster than my brain, like lightning chasing thunder, and before I can stop myself, I lean in to kiss him.
And then it ends before it begins.
He sets me down and twists away from me, his shoulders tense as he silently fights with himself.
Oh my gosh. Why did I do that? “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
He whips back around, shaking his head and running his hand over his stubbled beard. “Kali, there’s nothing to be sorry about.” He sighs, shoving his hands into his short pockets. “You’re the one dealing with all these emotions. I’m supposed to be the one in control.”
Right,” I say, relieved he’s offering me an out to one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. “Because if I was in control, we’d probably both be dodging emotional landmines like it’s a game of Twister.”
His laugh lightens the moment. “You would totally win because I’d trip on the first one.”
“Oh, whatever, sly. I saw the video of you jumping some fence.” Of course, I googled him and that was the first thing that popped up.
He rolls his eyes, biting his bottom lip. “I can’t believe you saw that.”
“It was the comments from the women that did it for me. I’ve never seen women act that desperate. I was a slightly afraid for your safety,” I tease, happy to have moved on from the awkward kissing attempt.
“Freaking man-eaters,” he says, laughing out loud as we start heading back to the Jeep.
I stop before getting in, turning to face him, a weight of gratitude filling my chest. “I just…can’t thank you enough.”
