His words made my stomach clench tightly. As insane as it sounded, death was obviously within reason with these guys.
“If you promise to let us go,” said Anna, “I’ll cooperate. As long as I know that thing upstairs is restrained somehow.”
“You’re safe down here,” replied Martin, looking up towards the loft. “That’s all you have to remember.”
Tara snorted. “And we should trust you?”
“Whether you do or not is completely up to you. I don’t think you have much choice though, do you?” stated Martin.
She clenched her jaw and looked away.
“Remember, obey us and you’ll be free to leave the barn later,” said Brandon, walking towards the door.
“What about Gloria’s body?” asked Anna.
Martin and Brandon looked at each other.
“We’ll take care of it,” said Martin. “Later.”
“Now would be better,” said Tara.
“I’m sure it would,” said Brandon, laughing.
I watched as the two men left and locked us inside once again, wondering if we should have tried making a run for it or tried rushing them as a team.
“This is crazy,” said Amy. “I just don’t get it. Why would they keep us in here just to let us go without expecting something?”
“Oh, they expect something,” said Anna, her forehead wrinkling. “We just don’t know what it is yet.”
“Okay, is it me, or are those two of the whitest people on this planet,” said Tara. “I don’t want to sound racist or anything, but they’re so damn white, they glow.”
“It is kind of creepy,” said Amy. “My skin has always been pale but they make me appear tan. Maybe they’re sick?”
I walked over to the girl with the pink hair and knelt down beside her. She was looking pretty pale herself and I wondered if she was even alive. “Maybe they’re albino,” I said, reaching out to touch her forehead.
Her eyes popped open and she backed away in terror.
“Wait,” I said, smiling reassuringly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Where am I?” she asked, her eyes darting around.
“You’ve been kidnapped,” I replied. “Just like us.”
“Kidnapped?” she squeaked. “I’ve been kidnapped?”
I nodded. “Unfortunately. Do you remember anything?”
“Um, yeah… I… Oh, God,” her green eyes filled with tears. “I was at this club with my boyfriend, Danny, and we got into this major fight. I left him at the club and started walking home when this man approached me from out of nowhere… and that’s all I really remember.”
“He brought you here,” I said, standing up. “He brought all of us here.”
She looked around at all of us. “But, why?”
“That is the question,” I replied.
Chapter Four
We took turns sleeping and guarding each other. When the sun rose, the barn started getting warmer and within a couple of hours, the scent of Gloria’s dead body was so pungent, my stomach began to roll.
“Poor Gloria,” said Anna, shaking her head sadly. “She must have been so terrified.”
Tara stood and walked to the barn door. She grabbed the handle and tried pulling at it. “Poor Gloria? Poor us… she’s dead and we’re still trapped in here. With it.”
I glanced up towards the loft uneasily, wondering if it was awake.
Clenching her jaw, Tara smacked the wood with the palm of her hand several times. “Dammit, I just can’t take it anymore!” she growled, turning back towards us. “I mean, really, we shouldn’t just sit around here and do nothing! Make it easy for them? You know they’re not going to just let us go.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “Why would they go through all of this trouble?”
“Maybe they’ve sent ransom letters to our families,” said Amy.
“Is your family rich?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Well, either is mine. I doubt this is for money,” I replied.
“My mama is so broke, she can’t even afford to pay rent next month,” muttered Tara. “If these guys are doing it for money, they’d better change careers ‘cause they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Marie, the girl with the pink hair, moved next to Tara. “Not to change the subject, but have you guys tried throwing all of your weight against it at once?”
“Yes, several times last night,” said Anna.
I walked over to the barn door. “Let’s at least try again. It’s better than doing nothing.”