The Ranch Ch. 11

Peter's jaw dropped disbelievingly at Cory. With justifiable horror, he slowly turned as Mark used the wall to push off from the ground, his hands still tied behind his back.

The three of them looked to the phone in Peter's hand, which he had inadvertently pressed to loudspeaker. Besides some background noise that sounded like a car engine, there was silence. Until...

"Disappointing," came George's distinct voice, before the line went dead.

**********

Anxiously waiting in the shadows, Katie gasped when she heard Greg's piercing scream, followed by raised voices. Remembering Alex's order, she forced her limbs to stiffly move in the opposite direction of Dom.

Heading toward the quiet, gloomy forest ahead, she'd almost reached it when an approaching car stopped her.

A horrible sense of déjà vu kicked in as Katie bleakly remembered a time not long ago, when she'd painfully run barefoot into wilderness before being interrupted by a car's arrival. That awful false hope, presuming help had come. But it was only her nemesis.

Katie desperately ducked down, but the car's headlights turned on her full beam.

"Get her!" George barked, and Katie blindly turned back.

"Aghhh!" she cried out, colliding with something that had come at her full force.

Gathering her bearings, Katie realised was on her ass, sitting across a man who gazed back, shaking and petrified. It was surreal for Katie, chancing upon a stranger who seemed more frightened than she was.

"Fuck this. I didn't sign up for this shit," he moaned, picking himself up to run for the woods.

Stunned, Katie stared after him, listening to his running steps carry across gravel. Then she jumped and clapped a hand over her mouth as a single gunshot ripped through the quiet, and the man's footsteps immediately stopped.

"Fuck," she whimpered against her palm, and quietly got to her feet.

Jumping onto the lawn beside the path, she gingerly tiptoed back toward the large shed. Her mind was utterly scattered, it didn't matter where she went. All that mattered was that she increased distance between herself and George.

********

"We have to separate," Cory muttered, briskly finishing the last knot linking Frank and Peter together.

"I thought you were joking about Boys Scouts," Mark said, feeling surreally out of place next to Cory's confident decisiveness. Cory was usually the worrywart, but now he seemed pumped and full of initiative. Even optimistic.

"Nope," Cory briskly wiped sweat from his temple. "Can't run a farm without the basics. George will be here, if he isn't already."

"You have to stay with me."

"Why?"

"George wants me alive. I can protect you."

Cory shook his head and roughly flicked Peter's forehead, smiling grimly as Peter glared up at him, roughly gagged.

"You heard this guy. They'll use me to force your compliance, then I'll be dead. If anything, my chances of survival are better if I'm caught while you're on the loose. Not together."

"Yeah," Mark reluctantly acknowledged Cory had a point. "Then get out of here. Fast."

"What?"

They started, hearing a distant gunshot.

"We can't stay here. Let's go." On a whim, Mark crouched down and dealt Peter a crushing punch to the head.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because rope is unreliable," Mark dryly replied, sneering at Peter. "I doubt this guy has held a gun before tonight. I should have known," he said harshly. "But I froze, like an idiot."

"Not every day there's a gun pointed at you."

Mark shook his head. "I'm seriously shocked by George's choice of aides. I'm embarrassed for him. Either he's not the man I thought, or he's down to his last dollar."

Cory grinned. "Forget weapons, we could just lay down banana peels...Wait," he said suddenly, peering around. "Where'd the gun go? Did that guy...?"

Mark's eyes darted over the shadowed ground. "He could have taken it. It could be anywhere, but there's no time. George knows we're loose."

Together they cautiously made their way through the shed, angrily whispering.

"I'm not running away," Cory argued.

"I don't know why they want me, but you're expendable to them. Live to fight another day."

"Once George gets what he wants, he'll disappear. I'll never find you, if you're alive."

"Fuck, Cory!" Mark snapped, irked that Cory was being inconveniently insightful. "I can't let anything happen to you."

"You're not my dad."

"Cory, please!"

Cory scornfully shook his head and stepped toward a side door. "I'm going this way. You continue on. Alex can take care of himself. Focus on finding Katie and Rosa."

"Cory!" Mark growled warningly, but it was more of a plea as Cory reached for the handle.

"Whether you find one, or both. Hide them before coming back," Cory murmured. "I'll do the same."

"Cory!"

Cory turned back and they stared at each other. With the sudden realisation they might be separated for the last time, the anger faded from Cory's face and he unexpectedly stepped forward and pulled Mark against him.

Mark returned the hug and they embraced like brothers. But time was short, and the emotional gesture ended as Cory retreated to the door. Though his eyes shone with tears, Cory grinned at Mark's devastated expression.

"I'll be seeing you. Love ya, buddy," he winked, and opened the door, stepping backward into the night.

As the door drifted closed between them, Mark shakily exhaled and raked both hand through his dark hair. A big part of him was driven to follow Cory, to protect him. But his rational side knew Cory was right; if they were caught together, Cory would be finished quickly. Separating was their best chance.

But the thought of anything happening to Cory, the possibility Cory could die, raised a familiar, crippling panic inside him. With difficulty Mark stifled it, and forced himself to proceed toward the other end of the shed in search of Rosa, or Katie.

********

Hearing running footsteps behind her, Katie abandoned all caution and broke into a sprint. Rushing into the shed, she tripped over a body and barely managed to keep her footing. Katie stared down at the obstacle and let her sight adjust, terrified of the prospect Cory or Mark might be dead.

It took less than a second to register the two unconscious men tied together. She vaguely recognised Frank as one of George's henchman. As her pursuer approached, Katie quickly turned the corner and hid behind an aisle of crates.

Someone cautiously stepped through the open door, and Katie silently cursed as a flashlight clicked on.

"Oh, crap. Peter?" a hushed voice mildly echoed through the shed.

A moment later the light began to move, travelling along the stacked crates. Katie's eyes widened with alarm as thin slivers of light emitted at the end of her aisle, inching closer as the man slowly walked along.

Katie was in fight or flight mode, and she had nowhere to go. The light was less than a metre away, the man almost directly opposite her.

"Sorry," she mouthed without remorse, and used all the strength she could muster to push against the piled boxes between them.

Hearing the slow, creaking movement, the man on the other side looked up too late, and screamed in agony as he was crushed. By the clattering that followed, the boxes were clearly filled with metal equipment.

Katie covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out the man's shrieks.

Reaching for a side door, it opened before Katie touched it, and she gaped at George in the doorway.

Seeming both excited and angry, his appearance was tall and business-like; an older, more capable version of Dom. Wearing a long travelling coat similar to when they first met, this time he'd kept his gloves on. The light of the moon reflected on a gun held in each hand, and the shine of his leather boots.

"No!" Katie uttered, stumbling back.

Turning to run the way she came, Katie felt like a mouse in a maze. A sadistic maze with traps around every corner, and no cheese. All she could do was scamper back and forth, while danger steadily closed in on all sides until inevitably she'd have nowhere to go.

Part of her knew running was pointless, an instinct quickly verified as something unpleasantly jabbed the back of her thigh. But still she pushed onward, hoping to either escape or die. To be anything but George's captive.

"Oh no, Katie," he called behind her, briskly striding down the aisle in her wake. "You do not evade me a second time."

As her body gave in to the drug, Katie fell ungracefully against some crates and slid down them. A second later, George hauled her upright.

"Here we are, again," he breathed. "Just the two of us."

"George," the trapped man's voice weakly entreated. "I think I've... I think everything's broken..."

"Not everything," George observed, attaching something to his gun and walking around. Fighting to stay on her feet, Katie slightly jumped at the silencer's metallic bleep.

"What a mess," George sneered, returning with an accusing eye on Katie. "Honestly, Katie, I am not sure whether to link you with desire, or disaster."

"And I cannot believe," he said, sounding exasperated. "I cannot believe after all these years I find myself surrounded by incompetence at this most critical time of all. Peter has especially let me down," he added on a side thought. "I won't deny he was assigned an uphill battle. This would never have happened if Mark was in my employ."

"Please..." Katie faintly begged as he stepped closer. "Stay away from me."

The adrenaline, fear and numbing sensation flooding Katie's body had the combined effect of a pounding headache.

"Darling, you are far too clever to hope such a thing," George slowly smiled.

Closing the distance between them, he pressed against her ruthlessly, and seized her chin in a firm pinch, forcing her face upward.

"So charming. It makes me wonder what your parents looked like," he spoke huskily against her mouth, smiling at the fleeting mix of revulsion and pained defeat on her face. In the dark lighting, her green eyes glittered opaque olive tones, deliciously frightened.

Like a cat toying with a trapped, injured animal, George's eyes gleamed with callous enjoyment and he gently kissed Katie's smooth cheek.

"I would like to fuck you right here, like this," George murmured, his hand creeping up Katie's waist to squeeze her breast. "Slowly. All night long."

George abruptly released her. "But right now, you are merely an item on my checklist. And I surprise myself, truly, when I say you are not the most important item."

Katie drearily slid to the floor like a ragdoll, wishing she was unconscious.

"Mark would never leave you," George said smugly, eyeing Katie's svelte figure and lovely face with narrowed eyes. "We will just have to wait."

**********

Moving between buildings, Cory noticed two parked cars and wondered what they were up against.

Flattening himself against the shed wall, he strained his ears. Through the dead silence, Cory wasn't sure if he'd imagined the faintest sound of a girl crying.

Squinting, he scanned the immediate surrounds and finally sighted one of the doors to the staff quarters slightly ajar. Taking a deep breath, he braced for whatever was on the other side and quickly crossed over, sneaking behind the open door.

Entering a dark hall, he paused, hearing a commotion from the shed. Shaking off his fears for Mark, Cory continued on. Cautiously peering into the room at the end, he saw Rosa, wretchedly sobbing and pulling at Alex.

As Cory stepped inside, his eyes fell on Greg's body and he didn't know how to feel. Alex was saturated in blood. Rosa was covered in her fair share of it as she struggled with Alex's bulk, crouching to drag him toward a large, open closet.

"What happened?" Cory hoarsely whispered, and Rosa stifled a shriek under her hand.

Cory stumbled forward and dropped to his knees, hauling Alex against him.

"Hey, Alex. Hey..." he said softly, tapping Alex's cheek. When Alex didn't respond, Cory looked to Rosa. "What happened?"

"T-they had me," she managed between ragged breaths. "This one," she gestured to Greg's body. "He was..." she swallowed convulsively. "But Alex came."

"Is-is this..." Cory stammered, closing his eyes. Fighting for control, he felt Alex's warmth and prayed it wasn't temporary. "Is this Alex's blood?"

Rosa shook her head, and Cory exhaled with relief.

"But he was stabbed with something," she blubbered. "I pulled it out, but-"

Cory looked stricken as Rosa gingerly picked the dart up to show him.

"And I couldn't find a pulse," she whimpered. "And I don't know what to do now."

"It's alright. It'll be alright," Cory whispered, still cradling his cousin. "Rosa, we have to hide-"

"Keys. Car keys," she said distantly. "Alex wanted his keys. I found some in his bag, but I don't know..."

"Thank you, Rosa, that's great," Cory said reassuringly, becoming alarmed as Rosa began to shake uncontrollably. "We have to leave. I'll carry Alex," he added.

Rosa stared at Greg's body, suddenly frightened.

"I s-stabbed him. I-I've murdered someone-" she gasped.

"Rosa! Rosa, look at me," Cory said sharply, and she uncertainly looked his way. "This is almost over. I just need you to stay calm a little longer. Can you do that for me?"

Rosa took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly nodded. Glancing over her, Cory realised fresh rivulets of blood ran from a cut on her forearm.

"Rosa, you're bleeding," he frowned. He released Alex as Rosa blankly stared down at her arm.

"I had to cut myself free," she muttered, looking at the bloodied cable ties on the floor. "It was plastic. I couldn't see..." She emerged from her daze as Cory tore the hem of his shirt and tightly bound the wound.

Closing her eyes with exhaustion, Rosa leaned forward to rest her cheek against Cory's shoulder, inhaling his scent until he gently eased her back.

"How does that feel?" he asked, nervously watching her eyes drop longingly to his mouth.

"Fine," she breathed with a wistful smile, edging closer.

"Good," Cory returned the smile, but moved back to put space between them. "Can you find the light and turn it out? The moon is enough."

Rosa unsteadily rose to her feet and looked for the switch. Cory made sure she was preoccupied before urgently pressing two fingers beneath Alex's jaw.

**********

Mark listened carefully when he heard the crates collapse, and was satisfied the screaming man was a stranger. About to turn back, he was about ten metres from the other end of the shed when he sighted movement beneath an exit on his right.

Darting into shadow, Mark held his breath and waited. A slow minute passed before the door carefully opened. For a second he thought it was Alex, and almost stepped into view.

Then Mark stiffened, realising the man was shorter and held a gun. As the distance between them steadily decreased, Mark recognised Dominique.

A horrible rage curled in Mark's belly at the sight of him, the abuser who refused to quit terrorising Katie and consequently brought all of them into this mess. Shaking with anger, Mark patiently held back until Dom was alongside him.

"Boo." Mark deftly reached out to pluck the gun from Dom's sweaty grip.

Dom shouted with fright when the wall beside him suddenly came alive, and blindly attacked. Though the gun was lost in the fray, Mark was ready for a fight. He wanted one.

It was difficult to gather bearings in the dim light, and the two men blindly swung fists at each other. Finally, Mark wrapped his hands around Dom's neck, ignoring the other man's nails clawing his forearms, painfully raking across his skin. In the moment, Mark didn't care about anything, except murder.

Everything was ruined and for all he knew, everyone he cared about could be dead, with himself to follow shortly. The least he wanted to do before the end was throttle the bastard who started it all.

"Urrrkkkkk!!' Dom gagged, his head violently jerking as he fought for air.

"Enough!" George's voice sharply cut through Mark's heavy panting and Dom's gurgling.

Despite a light illuminating them, Mark ignored the interruption. It was only when Katie cried out that his hands dropped from Dom's neck and he staggered to his feet, blinking toward the light source.

Satisfied, George strategically balanced the flashlight against a crate so they could clearly see each other. Katie was on her knees beside George, staring at Mark with glazed, horrified eyes. George had cruelly twisted his fingers into her hair and tugged to get Mark's attention. He tutted and pointed the gun in his other hand as Mark took a step closer.

"Hear me out, and she might emerge from this alive," George said.

Mark shook his head, his eyes on Katie. "This has gone on long enough."

"I agree," George smoothly replied. "But I can see you are not in a reasonable mood. Let us try something."

In one swift move he roughly hurled Katie to the side, at the same time pointing the gun at her as she smacked into a large crate and slid to the ground, too weak to stand.

Before he could fire, Mark lunged toward Katie on blind instinct. A split-second later Dom unexpectedly barrelled into him from behind, but surprisingly it wasn't an attack. Unsteadily maintaining their footing, Mark and Dom stood shoulder to shoulder in front of Katie, facing the gun together.

George laughed coldly.

"What a perfect moment to make a point," he gestured between them with the weapon.

"Two men throw themselves at death. One leaps for a selfless cause. The other is an obsessed fool." George fixed his eyes on Dom, deftly pulling a second gun from his pocket.

"Your presumption of my fatherly weakness is your demise. You have undermined me for the last time."

Squeak.

Dom screamed and dropped to his knees.

Before Mark could reach George, he grunted as a painful, sharp sting hit his thigh, shortly followed by a second. Numbness rapidly spread through his legs as George retreated to a safe distance.

"One deserves life," George sneered, enjoying the irony of his lecture as Dom collapsed. "The other brings me shame."

After quietly watching Dom's writhing figure with contempt, George turned his gaze on Mark.

"Life cheated me. You should have been my son," he declared, sounding uncharacteristically more irrational than calculative.

"You're a lunatic," Mark grunted, his face strained as he fought to stay on his feet.

Using the last of his strength to lunge at George, he only managed one step before slowly crumpling to the floor like a folding armchair.

"I am," George acknowledged. "And I may not always know the reasons behind my desires, but I do what I want. Logic has always followed. And Mark, I have decided that I want you in my power." His dark eyes burned with an unfathomable insanity.

"What?" Mark's frowned, believing the drug warped George's words.

A horrible gurgling distracted him, and he looked over to see Dom had ceased gasping and now lay very still on his back, gazing blankly up at the ceiling with wide, dead eyes.

"You just killed your own son!" Mark grunted with disbelief, wondering if the world was upside down, wishing it was all a weird nightmare.

"That he did not die a coward is small compensation. I am proud for the first time," George shrugged, looking bitterly irritated. "He did not betray me as extensively as I suspected. But a betrayal nonetheless."

"Why-? What...What do you want with me?" Mark grimaced.

"To experiment. To see if I can sculpt you into what I want. Imagine that magnificent feat." George's dark eyes clouded over as his mind was distracted by a bizarre, far-fetched fantasy.