Tuesday
Late Morning
When she came to, the first thing Ashley felt was pain. It was so intense that at first she couldn't identify where it was coming from. Part of her was too afraid to open her eyes and check. She knew she was lying on her back at least. But other than that everything was hazy. She didn't have any idea how long she'd been out.
She took a deep breath and forced her eyes open. The first thing she noticed was that she'd landed pretty squarely in the middle of the padded area she'd created using the mattress. The second thing she noticed was that her head was screaming in pain. Her body may have hit the ground first but clearly the back of her head did too. There was blood everywhere.
She glanced at her aching left hand and saw that the wrist was bent unnaturally. It was clearly broken. Her right leg also throbbed. She tilted her head to get a better look. Something was definitely wrong with her shin. The whole lower leg area was swollen up to about the size of a football. She shifted her weight and involuntarily screamed out in pain. Her tail bone felt like it had cracked in half. If that's what she landed on, it probably did.
Ashley forced herself to crawl toward the door of the silo. Every move sent stabs of pain throughout her body. Through her watery eyes, she saw what looked like a reconfigured examination table in a corner. There were straps on the sides and a head restraint. She decided not to think about what it might be used for.
There was a small desk and chair by the door, which she used to pull herself up. She sat gingerly on the edge of the desk as she caught her breath. It was brutally hot at the base of the silo and her nearly naked body was slick with peanut butter, sweat, and blood. She realized the clothes she'd tossed down the funnel were still over on the clump of padding but there was no way she could make it back to get them.
She reached for the door handle and a terrible thought occurred to her.
What if I've gone through all this and the door is locked from the outside?
She started to laugh, aware that she was slightly hysterical but unable to stop. Eventually she calmed back down, grabbed the handle, and pushed.
It opened. Sunlight flooded in, temporarily blinding her. When her eyes adjusted, she took a moment to assess the area. Outside, everything was quiet and normal. A bird flew by as a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. About a hundred yards away stood an old farmhouse. Behind it was a dilapidated barn. Both were surrounded by barren fields that hadn't had crops in years.
She grabbed the chair and headed in the opposite direction, down a rutted dirt road choked with weeds and foliage. She used the chair as a kind of walker, limping on her left leg as she braced herself with her right hand and left forearm. She turned it around and sat when she needed a break.
She followed the road to the top of a sloping hill. When she got there, what she saw made her want to cry out in joy. There was a paved road about two hundred yards off in the distance. It was a long way but if she could make it, then she could flag down some help.
Suddenly she heard the unmistakable sound of a car. Rounding the corner was a silver convertible sedan. Two young women, probably only a few years older than her, sat in the front.
Without thinking, she called out to them.
"Hey! Over here! Help me! Please!"
She waved her one good arm desperately. They would have been too far away to hear her anyway, but as the car passed by she heard music blasting from the speakers. They never even looked her way.
Silence returned to the farm. Then she heard a loud bang, like a screen door slamming shut. She looked in the direction of the farmhouse. A man stood in front of it. He was using his hand to shield his eyes as he scoured the horizon.
Ashley, realizing she was at the top of a hill, immediately dropped to the ground and lay flat. She grabbed at a leg of the chair, trying to pull it onto its side, but the effort required was massive and it took a good ten seconds before it toppled over.
She waited, panting quietly, hoping against hope.
Then, in the distance, she heard a car door close and an engine turn over. It revved as the vehicle picked up speed. It was getting closer. She rolled down the other side of the hill as best she could, ignoring the pain, trying to get as far as possible from the dirt road.
The vehicle stopped. It idled as a door opened and then closed. She heard footsteps getting closer. A figure appeared at the top of the hill but the sun was in her eyes and she couldn't make it out. He stepped forward, blocking out the rays.
"Howdy there," he said amiably.
Memories she'd blocked out flooded into Ashley's brain quicker than she could process them. She recognized the man. He was the guy she'd seen two nights ago at the convenience store near school. She remembered him flirting with her and how she was flattered because he was cute and probably in his early thirties. His name was Alan. She'd even have given him her number if not for Walker. And he was the same guy who'd pulled up next to her in a black van after school yesterday afternoon. She'd only had a second to register that it was him before everything went dark. That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the silo.
And now he was standing over her, the man who'd kidnapped her, greeting her warmly, as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"You don't look so great," he said as he approached her. "You're all bloody. Your wrist and leg look pretty bad. And my goodness, you're half naked. We should really get you back inside and take a look at you. Then we can resume the experiments."
As he moved closer, even though she knew no one could hear her, Ashley began to scream.
