Chapter Thirty

Aryia's P.O.V.



I wait until I'm sure Justin has gone before I let out a loud growl. I want to kill him. I actually want to kill put my hands round his throat and watch the life drain from his face. Who does he think he is, demanding answers like that?! Why does he think I'm going to give him the answers he's looking for? Why should I tell him anything? He pretends like he's trying to help, but in actual fact he's going to make it worse for me when I go back to New York. As it is, I'm going to have to fight for my place in the pecking order. I'm going to be doing some serious fighting when I get back. People will think I've lost it and they'll test me constantly. Don't get me wrong, it won't take long for me to get my place back, but that's not the point. If he insists he's trying to help me, then he'd leave me alone. I've already been here far too long and I'm losing my street sense. If I allow that to happen I'll be killed.

I can feel my muscles wasting away with every minute I'm tied up here. I'd rather work harder to get that back instead of talking to him or anyone for that matter. I'm not telling him about the scars. I wasn't lying when I said I did them. I wasn't completely truthful either, though. I did cause them indirectly. It was my decision to choose those over the alternative. But I'm not going to tell him that. He can't keep me tied up forever. If I refuse food and water, then he'll have to untie me at some point. I'll just use that opportunity to get out of here. I simply need to conserve all the energy I can for that moment.

I don't want to sleep, the nightmares aren't the nicest thing in the world. The worst part is not being able to get up and fight or check my surroundings. If I could just get up and punch something then it wouldn't be quite so bad. I feel like I'm going to explode with all this rage and Justin is only making it worse with his stupid questions.

I'm so bored that sleep tugs me in again. I have no concept of time, so I don't know how long I sleep before a dream wakes me.



This mental sparring with Justin continues for another 3 days. I haven't eaten or drunk anything and I can see he's getting worried. I haven't even spoken to him. I know his game plan. He's looking for any form of a response, so I'm giving him nothing. I hardly even look at him. I'm lost in my own mind. Thinking of how to escape or what I'm going to do when I get back to New York. I'm not even thinking about what I'm going to do when he eventually lets me out of my shackles, because I'm not intending to stick around. He's proven he's just like everyone else and he can't be trusted, so there's no way I'm staying here.

Justin's voice breaks through my thoughts, “You can't keep doing this, Ariya. You need to eat and drink. You can't keep being stubborn like this. You're going to get sick.”

I scoff at that. Like he cares about that. I'm sure he just doesn't want to get into trouble for me getting sick or dying in his care, especially if I'm tied to a chair in an old barn. That would be a right turn of events. I die in his 'care' and they find out I've been locked in here for a week or so. He'd get in so much trouble, I'm sure. Although, they might be pleased they're rid of me forever.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Nope.”

He sighs. It seems like he's doing that a lot lately. I don't feel bad about it though. I'm not going soft here, guys.

“You must be hungry by now. Quit being stubborn.”

“You mean, you're actually going to untie me so I can eat something?”

“I didn't say that. I know you'd use that to your advantage. I'll happily feed you, but I can't risk untying you.”

“You're not feeding me, forget that. I'd rather go hungry.”

“You really don't like people touching you, do you?”

I shoot him an 'are you dumb' look. How many times have I said this? He must be losing his memory or something.

“It's my favorite thing in the world, don't you know? I mean, I've been begging for you to touch me all this time, haven't you heard me?”

“Cut the sarcasm, Miss Flynn.”

I really hate him calling me that. That's what my horrible father used to call me. I hate it so much, but I try not to let that show. I know he's looking for a reaction.

“What did they do to you? Someone obviously caused this change in you. It is way more than your father. Did someone do something to you while you were in the system.”

Oh no, this is getting way too real and close right now. I know he hates my silence, so I mask my features and stare at him blankly. I'm determined to give nothing away and it must work because he sighs yet again.

“Someone did something Ariya, that much is obvious. Whether you speak up or keep silent on the matter, you're still answering that question. I may not know who or what caused this, but I do know something happened to you. I know everything that happened when you were 12 wasn't a nice experience. I'm sure you feel betrayed by your mom because she didn't defend you....”

Now I'm livid! “Defend me?! Are you kidding me right now?! She didn't just not defend me; she lied to the police! She put me in the system! She's just as bad as my father, if not worse!”

My breathing is labored as I try to get my emotions under control. I really am losing the ability to hold onto my anger. It's Justin. It's his fault. He caused this slip. I was fine until I met him. I don't know what that means, but I know he caused all of this. If I had stayed in New York I wouldn't be acting like this.

“I don't know why she did that. Maybe she was scared. She'd just lost her husband and her unborn baby. I'm not excusing her behavior at all, but you were a child. There's no way you could understand every decision she made. Maybe she didn't know how she was going to care for you. Maybe she had no money and nowhere to live. Maybe she did what she thought was best in that situation...”

I laugh bitterly, “There are far too many maybes in there. There's no excuse for what she did. She could have given me up and still told the truth. She didn't have to lie about it.”

“I agree with you, but she might not have thought the same way...”

“Obviously not...”

“I'm not going to pretend I understand her decision or the situation. Especially when I don't know the full story. But I will say that it may not be as black and white as you're making out.”

“Whatever.”

I'm done with this whole place. I'm done with Justin. I'm done with his talking. I'm just done. I'm going to find a way out of this hole and I'm going to get back to New York. I'm going to get to D and I'm going to go somewhere no one will find me.

As I get lost in my thoughts, thinking of a way to get myself out of here, I'm aware of Justin's sigh before he leaves me locked in the barn on my own. He's annoyed. He thinks he's getting somewhere, but I won't allow him to find out anything more than he already knows. It's already too much, but what's done is done. I won't give him any more information.



It's night time. I can see parts of the dark sky through some of the gaps in the wood on the top of the barn walls. I can't sleep, so I'm stretching and relaxing the muscles in my arms and legs as much as I can. I'm getting stiff and sore, so I need to try to make myself as supple as possible. I don't know if the lack of food and drink is making me delusional, but I'm sure I hear something outside the barn. I'm sure there's someone there. If I'm right, this could go very badly.

I hear someone hiss, “This one is locked. There must be something in here...”

Yep, there's something in here alright. This might be my chance. If I can get them to untie me, then I can get out of here.

Whoever it is, they are right outside the door, so I can hear them whispering. There's at least two of them, because I hear a different voice whisper, “Cut the lock then. Let's see what they have in there. It must be valuable if they're keeping it locked up.”

I almost chuckle. I'm definitely not valuable.

I sit quietly, waiting for them to come into the barn. I put on my best innocent face and make it look like I've been badly mistreated. I'm sure that won't be too hard to accomplish. I must be filthy and smelly and the dirt could almost be confused for some bruising.

When they come into the barn fully, I wait for them to notice me. When they see me, all three men stop in the middle of the barn and stare in shock.

I have to think of what I should do if this were a real hostage situation, so I whisper, “Help me. Please?”

“What the...? What kind of messed up place is this?”

“He's keeping me tied up. Please, let me loose before he comes back...”

The one who seems to be in charge grunts, “There's nothing of value in here. Let's get out of here. We can take some of the horses and sell them on...”

I'm not letting that happen. I might not like the people here, but the horses have done nothing wrong and they don't deserve to be in the hands of these kind of people.

“Please... You can't leave me here. I don't know what he's going to do with me. You've got to help me... Please?”

The shortest one, who also looks like he's the youngest, says, “We can't leave her like this, boss. It's not right.”

I nearly scoff at the irony of that statement. They're willing to steal the horses but not leave me here? That's messed up logic.

The biggest one looks squarely at me and then says, “We could let her go, but we could have some fun with her first. What do you say, boss?”

He snickers and the thought makes my skin crawl. “Please don't hurt me. He's done enough of that already... Please just let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone you were here...”

It almost makes me sick to play the weak victim here, but I fight the urge to puke or get out of character. My freedom is counting on me sticking with this.

The boss speaks up, “If he's already hurt you enough, then it won't matter if we have a go, will it. We can't have a go when you're tied up like that though, can we? Untie her boys and we'll see what all the fuss is about. She must be pretty good if this guy is keeping her here.”

My stomach erupts with butterflies at the prospect of getting loose. I'm not scared they'll hurt me, well, not really. As long as my muscles don't fail me, then I'll be ok. I'm relying on my adrenaline to kick in now and keep me going long enough to get out of here. I'll need to get some food and drink before too long, otherwise I won't get very far.

Once the zip ties are off, I let my muscles relax a little. Making sure I play the part properly, I beg, “Please don't hurt me. Please. I won't tell anyone you were here. I promise. Please...”

The boss and the biggest guy chuckle. The boss says, “You'll be begging for completely different reasons when we're finished with you...”

The biggest guy runs his hand down my face and then down my body; gripping parts of my anatomy that I don't want anyone touching. His hands linger on my skin, under my shirt and it takes all of my strength to not rip that hand off.

I shrink away from his touch and whisper, “Please don't hurt me...”

The begging makes me feel sick. That isn't me. I'm not a weak victim. I vowed I would never be caught like that ever again, and I haven't. Because I don't seem like a threat, and I don't try to run, the two men who untied me don't keep a firm hold on me. I seize the opportunity and I make my move. I grab the biggest one round the neck and hold him in front of my body in a choke hold. Not something I usually do, but I have to go with a quick escape and I have to make sure I'm not biting off more than I can chew after being tied up for a week.

I tut at the group of men and my voice is cold and hard as I say, “That was a very big mistake, boys.”

I keep the guy in a choke hold until his thrashing around stops. Because he's flailing his arms and legs, the other two can't get close enough to stop me. I was counting on that. Once he's unconscious, I drop him and make a start on the other two guys. They advance at me, like they know how to fight, and maybe they do to some degree, but I can tell by their stances that they're not real fighters. They've had no formal training. Probably some drunken brawls in bars or whatever they have in this backwards town.

I use a lot of quick footwork to counteract the two men. I fight off both of them in what is almost a weird dance routine. I make quick work of knocking out the youngest guy. I almost feel bad for doing that, seeing as he was the one that wanted to let me go and all. But my freedom is depending on no one throwing up an alert to Justin.

The older one is a bit more difficult, partly because I am getting tired and partly because he is a pain in the butt and staying just out of my reach. I do something that could prove risky, but it's worth the chance. I fake tiredness and try to lure him closer to me. He thinks I'm flagging and he steps a bit closer to me. Instead of reacting and taking my chance straight away, I continue to play tired and wait for him to move closer still. He doesn't disappoint and I quickly attack him with a combination of hooks and jabs, not giving him the chance to guess where the next hit is coming from. It takes a little longer than the younger guy, but eventually he is knocked out as well.

I pause to catch my breath and assess the situation. If these guys wake up before Justin finds them, they'll still probably steal the horses, or maybe hurt them in revenge. I can't let that happen, so I quickly search around the barn for something to restrain them. I'm seeing stars a little, which is probably from the quick surge of adrenaline, the lack of food and water, and the recent exercise after sitting for so long. I need to focus and get out of here before someone wakes up. I find the spare zip ties Justin left hidden under one of the dust sheets so I grab them and tie each guy's hands together. I make sure the ties are really tight before hauling the biggest guy into the chair and tying him to that as well. His hands are behind his back, so I zip tie his legs to the legs of the chair. Then I drag the other two over and zip tie them to the legs of the bigger guy. They shouldn't be able to escape out of that at all. I smile at my handiwork and leave a note in the dust of the window on the old car.

I write: 'These guys were going to steal the horses. You're welcome.'



There's a couple bottles of water on one of the work benches, so I grab them and make a run for it. So much for Justin being a light sleeper. He obviously didn't hear these guys trying to break in. Even still, I don't bother to close the barn door, in case he hears that. I just make a run for it and head in the most hidden direction. I take off across one of the fields and I won't stop until I physically can't go any further.