Broken Part Twelve

Broken Part Twelve
 
Erica waited across from the cabin to see if anyone was inside. She was sure that she was alone there but was also afraid of being surprised by Skeeter whom she had no idea where he had gone. Since he had the 4-wheeler he could show up here in mere moments if he was watching someplace nearby but hidden. Then she would be trapped and have no chance at getting away. Erica knew she wanted to go grab something to eat and some water at the very least. Her mouth seemed to water at the thought of that and she knew it would be cold at night as she was already cold and the sun had just gone down. The battle within her mind was raging as she fought with herself to decide what was best to do. Erica studied her surroundings to try and see if Skeeter was in fact hiding nearby and just waiting for her to trap herself in the cabin. She looked as long as she could and then made her way to the cabin. The door was open and she carefully made her way inside, closing the door behind her. Once inside her heart seemed to slow a little as she just felt safer if even for only a few minutes. She quickly grabbed a blanket and found a backpack in the cabin as well. She was feeling great about coming in the cabin and now began to pack a little food.

Suddenly her heart skipped a few beats as she heard footsteps on the porch of the cabin. She was cursing herself for taking so long inside and wished she had been a little faster. She looked around and decided she would hide just behind the entry into the bedroom. Erica knew she had crunched Ronnie pretty good and knew she could do it again too. The bedroom would give her the advantage of surprise. She moved towards it.

The door swung open and she was too late as she fell trying to make one last lunge towards the bedroom. She landed face down and her muscles tensed with fear. Footsteps made their way towards her and she tensed even more. A hand was now on her back but it was not placed there in a harmful way and began to rub her back softly. Jed spoke softly to Erica as he asked her if she was okay. She turned and he pulled her up into his arms. The embrace was comforting to both as Erica began to sob in Jed’s arms. It felt so good to have him with her again. She felt safer and Jed was relieved to have found her alive. They kissed gently and passionately as their love for one another flowed from deep within. They promised to never let go of one another again. As they stared into each others eyes footsteps were on the porch.

The happiness in their eyes quickly turned to fear as they realized they had almost forgotten how bad the situation was that they still were involved in. Jed put his finger to his mouth to tell Erica not to speak as he got up and moved into the bedroom leaving Erica on the floor and still in plain site.

Ronnie walked through the door and immediately saw Erica on the floor. He shook his head at her and they wiped a little trickle of blood from his right eye. He looked at his hand and then back to Erica. He moved towards he quickly as the rage had taken over again. Any thoughts he had of letting them go had been knocked out of his head by Erica on the trail. She had doomed herself with that swing and then the stupidity to come to the cabin. Ronnie thought she decided to die just for her stupidity alone. His decided his luck was changing as he reached down to grab Erica who was trying to move away from him. She had nowhere to go but was headed towards the bedroom. Ronnie grabbed her foot and as he began to pull her towards him he saw feet appear by her shoulder. Just as he began to raise his head the lights went out for Ronnie again as Jed smashed him above the left eye. Ronnie fell backwards away from Erica and landed on the floor near the table. Jed dropped to his knees beside Erica and embraced her. His eyes never leaving Ronnie’s prone body that was only feet away. They knew they needed to leave and quickly discussed what to do with Ronnie. They decided to tie him up so he couldn’t chase them down anymore and Jed explained to Erica that Skeeter was out of commission not far away from hitting his head on the rock. He was not sure that Skeeter was even alive as he had just wanted to get out of there but was sure Skeeter would not be up and running after them anytime soon. Jed dragged Ronnie outside and across the trail to a tree where he began to tie him up. Erica made her way outside with what she could take for supplies while Jed finished making sure Ronnie was secured. Jed smiled at Erica and then went back inside of the cabin where he began to pour the oil in the lanterns on the floor of the cabin. He had decided to set it ablaze before they left as it would get the attention of someone and hopefully not just the friends of these two crazy men. Then there would be some explaining for these guys to do as the cabin would be gone and one would be found tied to a tree while the other dead near broken 4-wheelers. It seemed like a great idea as it would likely lead to their car being found as well. Jed could picture it all in his mind and knew it would work out. He dropped the match and the fire quickly engulfed the cabin. The night sky was now lit with the orange of the flames licking at the darkness above the cabin.

Jed and Erica began to make their way down the trail towards where Jed had left Skeeter. He was hoping that one of the 4-wheelers would be usable to allow Erica to at least not have to walk on her leg anymore. As they made their way to the hill and began to reach the top of it Jed had a feeling in his stomach that something was wrong on the other side of the hill. He froze as the fear came back to him and his adrenaline began to rush through his body yet again. A noise from in front of him made him realize that it was already too late and that Skeeter was not dead but very much alive. Skeeter appeared on the top of the hill with a smile that would scare God Almighty himself. He pointed his arm at the two of them and Jed finally noticed the gun in Skeeter’s hand. He stepped in front of Erica in a noble gesture before he even realized he had done so. He knew inside that his love for her was deep. Skeeter smiled and pulled the trigger. Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!!
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Broken Conclusion

Jed awoke to the loud noise of banging all around him. His first thought was about the pain he felt in his legs and right arm. Had Skeeter shot him only in his limbs? He opened his eyes and was not where he expected. He was in his Saab and it was at the bottom of a ravine. He had crashed and Erica was beside him crying hysterically. Jed looked at her and she looked at him with relief as he was alive and awake now. She couldn’t reach him to see as she was pinned on her side of the broken Saab. Jed felt a hand on his arm, “sir, you just remain calm and we will get ya right on outta here. You’ve been in a crash and lucky to be living. We get ya set though and right on outta here.” Jed turned and he saw a very familiar face looking back at him. He read the man’s name plate and it read “Skeeter”. Jed felt very confused as he tried to make out what was happening. He turned towards Skeeter and was greeted with a smile that made him quiver inside. He turned towards Erica and saw the fear in her eyes. He now saw another man standing behind her and knew instantly that it was Ronnie. There were more figures behind Ronnie as well but none were dressed like rescuers. Jed locked his eyes on Erica’s eyes and slid his hand over to her leg. They both knew what was coming.

The secrets in the Maine’s woods would be kept quiet still…………unbroken.