Black Sun by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 56

Ryan ran the short distance to the corner of the room, where Abby crouched in the fetal position. He gently took her by the shoulders and attempted to pull her to her feet. This would not be as easy as he thought it might, and Abby seemed frozen with fear, unable to be pulled out of the corner, much less made to walk. Ryan was quickly led beyond frustration and closely facing her, he began yelling.

“Abby,” he yelled. “We've got to get the fuck out of here!” Still, there was no movement. But Ryan had an idea--something that went back to when they were in Albany. “Abby,” he yelled. “Remember what happened in the book store? I think I saw someone else coming towards the hotel—might even be one of these guy's friends. I don't want you going through that again. Now, we have to go before that guy gets to our floor. Now, come on!”

He knew that yelling would only give them away, but he had to take the risk. Besides, there was no one else inside or in the general area, but he needed something to get Abigail up and moving— something that provide her with a bit of a shock.

Abby's eyes suddenly snapped open as her head rose, displaying her fear boiling up from her soul. Ryan was startled at how quickly she got to her feet. As if on automatic pilot, she seemed to know exactly what to do while stuffing her backpack with only the necessities—including food. Ryan had all he could to keep up. His mind raced so that the next step of their exodus eluded him and for the first time, he had become confused. Abigail was headed for the door when she turned towards him and chastised him for his slowness.

“Jesus Christ, are you coming or not? We don't have all fucking day.”

She seemed to be taking charge, but only for as long as it took to put a safe distance between them and the hotel. But where would they go? They needed to be inside where no one would find them out, and sleep was an absolute necessity—they still needed to travel by night to minimize their presence. It was the only way to ensure their safety and so far, it was working.