They waited, but Betts didn’t show up. Josh could hear him moving around outside, so he was still there and hadn’t left them. He made a lot of noise and didn’t seem to care if anyone heard. But he didn’t come back into the semitrailer.
Josh glanced at his watch: 6:17 p.m.
This had to happen soon. It would start getting dark around eight, and sundown would come a few minutes after that. Maybe 8:20 p.m., or close enough. The others would also be back by then. Folger didn’t look like a stupid man, and he would have taken the clock into consideration during their supply raids around town. They would definitely be back before eight o’clock. Much earlier than that, probably.
Where the hell is Betts?
Just when Josh didn’t think he would ever show, there was a loud clanging from the ramps and Betts appeared, covered in sweat again. He stalked forward and went straight to the box where they kept their clothes.
As Betts did that, Josh looked over at Gaby and caught her eye and nodded quickly. Gaby shrugged off the long-sleeved plaid shirt and left it lying next to her. Without his prompting this time, she sat up straighter, accentuating her chest underneath her cotton T-shirt, and stared forward as if she didn’t realize what she was doing.
Josh tried to make himself as small as possible, shrinking into the corner of the cage. This was something he had mastered all his life — becoming less, even in a room filled with people. It wasn’t hard to do, you just had to commit. Josh committed now, and when he peeked quickly across the cage, he saw the other woman doing the same thing.
She knows, and she’s playing along. I might have some help after all…
Josh slipped his forearms over his head and looked down at the floor. There was dirt, strips of old clothes and grass, like they were sitting in a pigsty that had been re-used over and over again. Anyone who saw him would think he had drifted off into his own world; or better, had fallen asleep while curled up in a ball. Josh was using his ears to listen and his downcast eyes to catch shadows on the floor. It was a skill he had mastered over the years of middle school and high school, where eye contact with bullies was the same as challenging them to a fight he couldn’t possibly win.
It didn’t take long. After a few seconds, Josh heard Betts walking toward the cage. Betts didn’t say a word but stood outside looking in for a moment. Josh could see Betts’s shadow falling through the bars, and he could imagine the tall, scarred man staring into the cage at Gaby, raping her with his eyes.
Josh willed Gaby not to flinch, not to grab her shirt and pull it back on and run into a corner — anything to get away from what must be Betts’s searing glare at the moment.
Be brave, Gaby, be brave…
Then he heard Betts walking — away from them!
For a moment, Josh was certain Betts had seen through the trap, but then a few seconds later there was the jingling of keys and then Betts’s footsteps returning.
Josh prepared himself. He estimated Betts had about twenty pounds on him. Whereas Josh knew he would have no chance against Manley or Del, or even the short Hiller, Betts was another matter. Betts was all height and no width. Tall people, Josh had found, were ungainly and tended to lose their balance easily, especially those who weren’t athletically gifted. Josh figured Betts was one of those people. Or at least, he hoped.
If not…
Josh heard the sound of the cage’s lock turning, turning, and then click. Then the door opening, and Betts’s footsteps getting closer, and Josh saw Betts’s entire shadow moving into the cage, toward Gaby.
Be brave, Gaby, be brave…
He was sure she would scream, or get up and run away. But she didn’t. He could see her body out of the corner of his right eye, the point of her pink shoes as she sat on the floor, back against the wall, her arms at her sides. Inviting. He couldn’t imagine how much courage it was taking her to just sit there and look back at a man who had things on his mind that would horrify most people if he ever said them out loud.
That’s my girl. That’s my girl…
Josh waited for the right moment. He saw Betts’s shadow fall over the point of Gaby’s left shoe and could hear the fabric of Betts’s jeans constricting as he bent down into a crouch, one foot extended in front of him. Then Josh saw another shadow — Betts’s hand, reaching forward, toward Gaby.
And still Gaby didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t get up and try to escape.
Now.
He shot up from the corner like a rocket. Or at least, he liked to think he looked like a rocket, though in truth he probably looked more like a small bundle of clumsy hands and feet — or maybe a moderately sized boulder stumbling and fumbling its way forward. It didn’t matter how he looked or how convincing, it only mattered that he was moving.
He was on his feet and pushing forward before he lifted his head and saw Betts, who, sensing movement, turned suddenly in his direction. Josh saw the whites of Betts’s eyes as they widened in surprise, and Josh thought, Suck it!
He intended to barrel straight into Betts and knock the man off balance and drive him into the floor. Instead, Josh just barely clipped Betts’s shoulder, because Betts was standing up, moving much faster than Josh had expected — how could someone that tall move that fast? — and twisting at the very last second. Josh did manage to get a piece of Betts, and the bigger man spun a bit and lost his balance, even as Josh flew past him and landed in a pile, grimacing with pain as his body slammed into the hard floor, the carpeting providing almost no cushion at all.
No!
Josh was still on the floor, trying to get up, when he heard Betts grunting and felt the flailing of feet and legs and God knew what else behind him, because the entire cage suddenly exploded with violence.
It was Gaby. She was fighting with Betts. Josh was still trying to come to grips with his utter failure and Gaby’s attempts to save herself and him, when he saw a pair of feet rushing past him and knew the woman was joining the fray.
Oh, thank you, God.
After what seemed like minutes — though it was more like milliseconds — he finally found his footing and turned and saw Gaby, on her feet, whaling on Betts’s face, while the woman was on top of him, riding his back like he was a horse. The woman had her legs wrapped tightly around Betts’s waist and was raining blows down on his head. She was relentless with her attack, delivering a torrent of fists, her face twisted in unleashed fury. Not that Betts looked like he even felt them. If anything, he looked annoyed, and was trying to shake off the woman while blocking Gaby’s fists as she flailed at him from the front.
Josh gathered himself, took a breath, and raced back across the small space of the cage with everything he had. He picked up speed as he went and crashed into Betts. This time he got all of Betts from the side, and they went spilling — Betts, Josh, and the woman, who was dislodged by the impact and went flying through the air. Josh didn’t see where she landed, but he heard the sound of the cage’s bars rattling, and he thought, Oh, God, I hope I didn’t just kill her. Please don’t be dead, because I think I’m going to need you for the next few seconds.
Josh was on the floor again and trying to get back up for the second time, but he never got the chance. Betts was suddenly on top of him and Josh felt hands — and long fingers, such damn long fingers — going around his throat. He felt stabbing, intense pain, the likes of which he had never experienced in his life — and wouldn’t have thought was even possible — shooting through his entire body. Betts’s face, hovering over him. Up close, the scar looked more terrifying somehow, and Josh couldn’t help but wonder how he had gotten it, and if it had hurt. Maybe it had even hurt as much as Josh’s neck was hurting at the moment as Betts applied pressure and tried to choke the life out of him.