They were expecting her on the other side. She got off one shot before they saw her. They’d taken shelter behind trees as well. But she missed again. She wasn’t yet a good enough shot to hit very small targets, and they weren’t exposing much of their bodies at all.
Her heart was pounding.
But this wasn’t the end.
She was going to fight. She’d take them out. The only advantage they had was the fact that there were two of them, compared to one of her.
Her advantages? More determination. A stronger will to live. Not being stoned.
Mandy heard the noise too late.
Footsteps. Close by.
Something pressed into the back of her head.
Mandy didn’t dare to move.
She knew it was the barrel of a gun.
She waited, completely frozen. But no one spoke.
Shouldn’t they tell her to raise her hands above her head? To drop her gun?
Unless they were going to simply kill her right then and there.
If that was the case, the should just get on with it. Better to just die quickly than to draw the whole thing out.
Why didn’t they at least tell her what they were going to do?
The silence was almost more terrifying than the gun that was pressing harder and harder into her skull. She felt the cold steel against her, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
“He got her!”
“Danny did?”
“Who else, moron?”
“I didn’t hear a shot, though.”
“Don’t you know Danny? He’d never shoot anyone unless he had to.”
Mandy heard the footsteps of the two men approaching.
So Danny, the guy they’d talked about, was the one with the gun against her skull. She should have been more careful. She should have taken the third man into consideration. But she’d assumed he wasn’t there, since she’d never heard them talk to Danny. And she’d never heard Danny say anything.
“Good work, Danny,” said one of them. Probably the tall skinny one.
“He can’t hear you, asshole.”
Mandy opened her eyes to see the two men in front of her, pointing their guns at her.
The bigger one, who looked like a banker, was making signs at the man behind her. At first, it didn’t make sense.
Then it hit Mandy. He was using sign language. The man who held the gun to her head must have been a deaf mute. That was the only explanation. That was why she hadn’t heard him talking, or the two others talking to him. They conversed with him in sign language and gestures, and nothing else.
“All right, honey, drop the gun. You know the drill. Or at least you’ve heard it in movies.”
Mandy laid her gun down carefully on the ground. There was nothing else to do. There was no way she could make a move in her own defense without receiving a bullet to the head.
“What do we do with her? Shoot her?”
“That’s what I was thinking, but I just got another idea.”
“What?”
“What if we put her to work?”
“Put her to work?”
“Yeah, your lazy ass is hard to get out of bed half the time. And you do a shit job and you know it.”
“Come on, man, don’t be like that.”
“Look, you’re still going to get your cut of the profits, but you’ll have someone else helping you. Why would you complain about that?”
“I’d never looked at it that way,” said the skinny one.
“Of course you hadn’t. You’re an idiot.”
“Well, I don’t see the harm in it. But why wouldn’t she just escape?”
“Come on, we’re not going to let her just have the run of the place. I’ve got some chains that’ll do nicely.”
“Chain her up?”
“What the hell do you think I meant?”
“I’ll do whatever you want,” said Mandy, looking the bigger guy in the eye for the first time. “Just let me live. I’ll work all day. Whatever it takes.”
The big guy chuckled. “See? She’s already agreeable to it. Come on, let’s get a move on it.”
So she wasn’t going to be killed. But it’d be hard to escape from chains.
Max would come for her. Probably with James.
But it wouldn’t be easy to find her. Not if they were going to take her away in the truck. Who knew how far away their pot farm was.
The big guy made some signs at the deaf mute behind her, who grabbed her arms with great force and started dragging her towards the truck.
Mandy got her first look at Danny, the deaf mute. He was huge, six and a half feet tall, with massive muscles. His hair was so long and matted that it got mixed up with the beard that ran down to his chest. He was older than the others, with streaks of grey and wrinkles that lined his strange, intense face.
Danny shoved her roughly into the cab of the truck. He pushed her into the middle of the cab, and sat himself in the driver’s seat. He was so massive that he took up most of the cab, his body pressed uncomfortably into hers.
The skinny guy was loading the water into the bed of the truck.
The banker-looking guy got into the driver’s seat, squishing Mandy even more.
“Now I know what you’re thinking.”
Mandy didn’t say anything. She was going to play the part of the obedient servant. Until it was time to escape. And then she’d have no hesitation in killing them all. If that was what it took. And she had a feeling it would be.
“You’re thinking you’re going to attack me or Danny here while we’re driving, and then escape. Let me dissuade you of that silly notion. See this?”
He took his gun out of its holster and stuffed it into the left side of his waistband.
“You’re not going to be able to reach for this. And one false move, and we’ll simply shoot you dead. Not to mention Danny’s going to be holding onto you so tightly, you’re not going to be able to move, let alone escape.”
He signed at Danny. In response, Danny tightened his grip on Mandy. She winced in pain.
He started the truck, and soon they were barreling down the dirt road.
“Where are you taking me?” Mandy ventured to say.
“To our farm. Haven’t you been listening?”
“I know,” said Mandy. “I’m just curious where you had it. I imagine you’d have to be very clever to hide a large grow operation.” Hopefully flattery wouldn’t fail her now.
It worked.
“You know, you’re not quite as dumb as you look. Hell, you’re probably a shitload smarter than Sam there in the back of the truck. Nothing seems to get through his thick skull. Anyway, we’ve got a nice little operation tucked away in the state hunting grounds. No one’s found us so far. And the couple people that have, well…” He ran his thumb across his neck, showing that they’d murdered the hunters.
“Very clever,” said Mandy. “I’d never have thought of that.”
“Well, I’m pretty smart.”
The state hunting grounds. That was where Max and the others would be heading. Maybe there was a chance she’d be rescued after all. But she remembered the maps, and the hunting grounds were substantial in size.
25
The noise of the dirt bikes was only getting louder.
“They’re coming right towards us,” said John.
“It could just be a coincidence,” said Cynthia.
John shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
He had a pair of Dale’s binoculars pressed to his eyes.
“Are they from the compound?” said Cynthia. “Can you see them?”
“I can now. They’re… shit…”
“What? What is it?”
Cynthia heart was already beating rapidly.
“They’re wearing military uniforms,” said John.
“Maybe they’re actually from the military.”
“There’s no way,” said John. “I bet they’re from the militia. From the suburbs.”