Chapter 18

The night felt long as she sat with her back against the door, holding it close. Her stomach was full, and being alone made her think of her family. She lost her mother, and her brother was turning into someone she no longer knew.

She felt remorse towards Nicole, who had been out here all alone. Is there a possibility she is still alive? If she is, she would be out there.

Angela had fallen off to sleep with her back against the door. She woke up to a sudden bang. She jumped up and opened the door slightly. The wind had picked up, and it started thundering and rain pouring, lightning striking.

Angela felt scared. The only thing keeping her warm was the fire. She would have frozen to death if it had not been for the fire. She had gone outside, picked up her bark, and pushed it against the door with the stopper. "This should hold it close."

Angela laid the blanket on the floor, looking up at the roof; she opened Nicole's diary. Reading through it, she saw that Nicole had some dark secrets, which made her stop reading. Just as she was about to close the diary, she saw a drawing of what appeared to be a map. The waterfall she had passed was on that map. She could get out of these woods if she continued on her trail.

But how could Nicole have known this? If she had drawn this map, she could still be alive. Angela thought about it for a while and decided to risk it. She patiently waited for the sunrise and followed the trail of the map.

She walked for hours before finding a road which she then hitched hikes. The hot sun burned her skin; as the hours went by, she realized, what if the same person who had placed her here could pass again, "well, I survived a night out in the woods. I survived a bear attack and wolves. What could he possibly do to me that could be worst." She reached into her pocket and tightened her grip on the knife.

She heard what sounded like a truck. She walked to the center of the road, waving her hands as the red truck stopped. Hesitantly, she walked up to the window. She saw an older man mid-sixties wearing a blue lakers cap. "Hello, sir. Thank you for stopping, but I am lost."

"You know, young lady, we don't usually get people on this road, but it's now the second time I've found someone. Is there anyone else out there?" He asks with a brisk voice.

"Second person? The first person, is it a girl my age, sir?"

The man nodded, "yes, just a week ago, but she was in a terrible state. Her clothes were all ripped, and she was bloody all over. l, anyway, climb in."

Angela, not trusting, gripped her knife hidden in the pocket; as she climbed in, she looked around. The truck looked like a dumb site. How does anyone drive something like this? She noticed a red hairband and the white lace of her other shoes lying on the ground.

It could be that he helped the girl, or he could have made up that story thats when she noticed scratches on his neck.

"So, young lady, tell me about yourself. I mean, you out here, do you stay around here?"

Angela remained silent for a moment until he looked at her, his thick bushy eyebrows raised suspiciously as his eyes trailed down her legs.

Angela reached into her right pocket, removed the knife from her pocket, and kept it close to her, gripping it tightly.

"I am from around here. Yes, I dont remember this road. You might know my parent. They are with the FBI, my mom works in the homicide division, and my dad is the best. He is the higher division."

Angela removed a tiny brown block from her pocket with a red light flickering.

"No, I do not know anyone in the FBI, and what is that thing, young lady?" He said worriedly.

"Oh, dont mind this. My parent had multiple of these on the road. It's a tracer the moment I stop moving, it sends an alert signal to them, and they can be here within 5 minutes. I can pinch in a code."

"Code? I will never understand these gadgets, but if that gadget works, why didn't you alert your parents you are out here?"

Angela smiled, " I was, then I saw your truck."

The man smiled nervously, " So, where is that girl you picked up last week?"

"What, girl?"

"The girl you spoke about, the girl you had picked up last week?" The driver's hands became fidgety.

"I never picked up any girl last week."

"Sir, you just said you picked up a girl last week?" The older man looked out of the window into the side window, "this black van has been following us since I picked you up. Is that also the FBI?"

Angela looked out of the window and saw the van., "Yes, that's Robert and Curtis. My parents probably sent them to trail me again."

The man looked into his rearview mirror. Angela looked down and saw the red stains on his boots, "So, do you stay around here, Sir?"

He glanced at her, "you ask a lot of questions, young lady. You should drive with those guys following us, Kurt and Jackson." Angela's eyes grew wide. That's not the name she mentioned. These people followed him because they were all together in on it."

The driver smirked, "that thing you are holding in your hands in just a flickering light, you can't remember who I am, can you?" He placed his filthy hands on her naked thigh.

Angela took her knife and pointed it at him. "What did you do with Nicole?" He signaled his hand out of the window and slowed down.

"Don't dare slow down. I will put this knife through you," the man laughed. That's when Angela stabbed the knife into the man's leg. He screamed as the truck swerved.

Angela grabbed the steering wheel, "what have you done with Nicole?" He laughed loudly, "you won't get away with this young lady, we thought you wouldn't survive out there, but I told them to put you out."

Angela pulled out the knife and stabbed it into the other leg "you bloody bitch you will pay for this."

"I asked you where she is!"

"Where is your little friend, my boys took a good ride on her before putting her out." Angela felt a rage of anger as she pushed the blade into his thigh deeper and moved it around, "you will have to kill me if you want to make it out alive."

"Stop the truck and move to the back."

"My boys will up to you, you know?"

Angela pulled out the blade, stabbing it again into the same thigh. Moving to the back, as the man pulled Angela back, she stabbed the blade into his hand. The man screamed in pain.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you." The anger she had built up for her stepdad came all out at this moment. She did not care anymore. She was no longer not that soft, polite girl.

"Who are you?"

He saw she had no remorse or emotion as she turned and looked at him, "I'm the beginning of your miserable end." His blood was all over the truck. He crawled to the back, and she told him to tie his feet.

Angela climbed into the driver's seat, and as the van caught up to them, Angela took off. The guys in the van leaned out of the window, shooting at the truck. Angela had enough as she accelerated and drove into the van by swerving the back of the truck into the van. The van lost control and swerved off the road.

The older man started to panic, his backup was gone, and now it was only him and this crazy girl.

"Looks like your buddies are gone. It's time you tell me where that girl went!"

"What, girl?" The old man played stupid as Angela took the knife, stabbing it multiple times into the man's legs, "you know what, girl."

"Fine, I will talk. Please stop," he pleaded.

Angela looked up in the rearview mirror and smirked. "This is only the beginning."

Blood was all over the front seat. The older man grew pale as he fought to stay conscious, but with the blood loose, he slowly faded away. Angela stopped the truck and looked at him. "This is your last chance to speak."

"Drive up ahead is a silver fence. You will find her there."

The older man slowly closed his eyes and fell unconscious. Angela spilled water on his face and slapped him to stay awake. But he had lost too much blood.