Taylor is right behind him. She is ready. I'm ready. Together we're going to get out of this. We're going to, I won't let it end any other way.
"You have to be breakable to be broken," I say, my voice steely. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm made out of the strongest steel. You were never going to break me. Take that one to Mommy."
Taylor raises her hands, and she hits him as hard as she can with her bound fists, using the cuffs to add force to her blow. She hits him so hard, he falls forward, the machete tumbling from his hands. He goes down to his knees, clearly dazed, and she hits him again, raising her arms above her head, then slamming them down on his. "Nobody hurts my best friend," she croaks, her voice so weak, yet so incredibly strong. "No one."
Jacob's hands go out in front of him, and he grabs the machete, spinning around. He swings at Taylor, but misses. I have to act fast. My eyes scan the kitchen, and in the corner, sitting on top of some towels, I see an old meat tenderizer, made of pure, solid steel, used for hitting meat over and over until it's tender. I don't even want to know why he left that out, but it's the only thing I can see. I rush over and pick it up, just as Jacob lands on Taylor, the two of them crashing to the ground. He raises the machete, hissing, "I'll kill you for that, you little-"
I don't think.
I just swing.
I swing with every single ounce of strength I have left in my body.
I smash Jacob in the back of the head, and he goes crashing down, a loud crack ringing out, a crunch I'm not sure I'll ever forget. Then he slumps to the side, blood pooling around his head, eyes open. The machete tumbles from his hand. Taylor lies on her back, panting, her eyes on me.
I killed him.
My knees give out and I drop to the ground, staring at the man with lifeless eyes, laying on the floor. The man who tried to take my life. My best friend's life. The man who took too many lives. I just killed him.
Taylor makes a groaning sound, and I look over to her. There is too much blood on her leg. The strain has made it worse, and it's pooling far too heavily now.
I glance back at Jacob once more, then I look back to my best friend. I take a deep, shaky breath, and push to my knees.
I'm not that easily broken.
Taylor and I, we're strong. Unbreakable. We always have been.
It's time we got out of here.
So on shaky feet, with shaky hands, I shuffle over to where he is laid out, kneel down beside him, and find the keys to the cuffs, which are in his pocket along with seven or eight others. I heard them jingling when he was moving around. I shuffle over to Taylor and uncuff her, then, using my teeth, I uncuff my hands as well.
Then, I take a deep, shaky breath and lean down to lift up my best friend.
It's my turn to save her now.
And save her, I will.
The monster is gone.
It's all over.
TWENTY-SEVEN
"Come on, honey," I say to Taylor, pulling her along with me. Her arm is slung over my shoulder and we're both exhausted. All I want to do right now is sleep for the next week, but I have to get us both to safety. I have to. And I will.
He's gone.
He's gone, but neither of us knows where we are. We could be anywhere. I don't even know if we're in the same city, let alone the same state. But I know my friend needs a doctor. Urgently. The deep gash on her leg is bleeding too heavily. My entire body aches, and carrying her weight is draining every last piece of energy from me.
One foot in front of the other.
We trudge through the mud, and it makes a squelching sound as we move through the trees. It's impossible to avoid the rain that's been falling for the last two hours. I can't stop. I'd love to stop, to let us both rest, but if we stop now I know she won't make it. I've wrapped her leg again as tightly as I can, but that'll only hold for so long before she'll start slipping away.
"Stay awake for me, Tay," I say to her, my voice croaky. "Stay awake. If you go to sleep, you'll die. Do you understand me?"
"I understand," she croaks, but her voice is so flat, so broken, it terrifies me.
"Just keep focusing on one step at a time. One foot in front of the other, we're going to get you out of here."
///
I can't see any sign of light, or hear any sound of traffic. For all I know, we could be walking deeper and deeper into the forest surrounding Jacob's hidden house. I shiver at the horror we left behind. He's gone-by my hand-and that thought alone puts an angry ache on my heart I'd much rather forget. I don't even want to think about what happened back there.
I just have to keep reminding myself he's gone.