The Madness of Annie Radford Read online

  “What the -”

  Suddenly there was a clicking sound right next to her head, and a moment later the trunk was opened to allow a vast blast of light to flood into the trunk. Elly squeezed her eyes tight shut and turned away, and it took several seconds before she even dared to try opening her eyes again, at which point she spotted her old book of maps scrunched in the corner, which meant only one thing.

  She was in her own trunk.

  “Are you okay?” a familiar voice asked.

  Still blinking in the bright morning light, Elly rolled over and looked up to see Annie staring down at her.

  “I was worried I might have hit you too hard,” Annie continued, “but it was better than any other method of knocking you out. I think so, anyway. Maybe next time... Well, let's hope there doesn't have to be a next time.”

  “What's happening?” Elly asked, pulling hard on the ties that were holding her wrists tight behind her back. “What are you doing to me?”

  “You were going to talk to those cops last night.”

  “What? No, of course I wasn't!”

  “I know you were. You were looking at them, and then you started going over to them, and then you lied and pretended you hadn't even seen them. Besides, I'd be more surprised if you hadn't been tempted. I know you were listening in while I was talking to Kieran.”

  “I was -”

  Stopping suddenly, Elly stared up at Annie and saw that her face was once again twitching slightly.

  “Kieran helped me get you in the car,” Annie explained, “but then he had to take off. It's like I told you before, he's a little paranoid these days. You can't blame him for that, right? Don't worry, though. He'll be back soon. He promised. And next time, he might be able to stay. He's going to try.”

  Elly opened her mouth to reply, but no words emerged. For a moment, she had no idea what she could possibly say, but she was starting to realize that Annie was even crazier than she'd guessed.

  And maybe dangerous, too.

  “Anyway,” Annie continued, wiping sweat from her forehead, “he told me that Farstone is definitely the right place to go, so that's good. I'd been starting to worry that maybe I had us heading in the wrong direction, but Kieran agrees with me and he's put us back on the right road. He says there's something going on down in Farstone, that some of the cults are going there already, but he thinks we're going to arrive first. That gives us an advantage and -”

  Stopping suddenly, she seemed momentarily lost, and yet again her face twitched slightly.

  “Well, we'll figure out the rest once we get there,” she added finally, trying to force a smile that didn't quite spread convincingly. “The important thing is to get ourselves on the ground there, and by my reckoning we're only about six hours away. I know it's hot in the trunk, but you haven't given me a lot of options and anyway I...”

  Again she hesitated, and then she took a bottle of water from her pocket and removed the cap, before leaning down and offering the rim to Elly.

  “You should drink,” she pointed out.

  “Untie me,” Elly stammered.

  “Why?”

  “Why? Because you've kidnapped me in my own car!”

  “I haven't kidnapped anyone. You said you'd come to Farstone with me.”

  “You knocked me out and shoved me in my own trunk!” Elly yelled, before trying once more to sit up. “Help!” she screamed. “Somebody help me! Get me out of here!”

  As she craned her neck and looked out beyond the trunk, however, her heart fell at the sight of desert scrub-land stretching to the horizon in every direction. She looked around, hoping against hope that she'd spot some signs of life, but she quickly realized that they were out on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere, under a relentless morning sun.

  “You see,” Annie said, “that kind of behavior doesn't make me any more inclined to let you out. I know you're on my side, Elly, but it's obvious I'm going to have to restrain you until I can show you some better proof. That's coming, though, so don't worry.” She reached up to slam the trunk shut again. “Like I told you, six hours or so. You can hold out that long, right? Now duck down a little so I don't hit your head.”

  “No!” Elly shouted. “Please don't shut me in here again!”

  “It's been years since I drove a car,” Annie muttered, as she took a swig of water from the bottle. “I probably should have got some sleep last night, but that's okay. I'll find some way to keep myself awake. I'll keep pinching myself, something like that.”

  “No!” Elly yelled. “Annie, I'm not -”

  Before she could finish, Annie slammed the trunk shut again, bumping Elly's head and then plunging her back into darkness.

  “Please don't do this!” Elly screamed, twisting around and then starting to kick as hard as she could manage against the side of the trunk. “Annie, listen to me! I won't try to get help! I'll do exactly what you tell me, but you can't leave me in here! I'll suffocate!”

  She heard the car door opening, and then she heard it slamming shut again, and finally the engine started.

  “No!” Elly shouted, kicking harder and harder until suddenly she came up with a better idea. Twisting around again, she tried to kick the wall behind her. She'd seen films where people had managed to break through from the trunk of a car and reach the back seat, and she figured she could do the same and that then she'd be able to maybe wrestle control of the vehicle back from Annie.

  No matter how hard she kicked, however, she found that the wall wouldn't budge so much as an inch. She kept trying as the car rumbled back onto the road, even as she felt the wheels turning faster, and she spent several minutes trying to smash her way through until finally her tired legs gave out on her and she leaned back in the darkness.

  “HELP ME!” she screamed as loud as she could manage. “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

  Chapter Five

  As the car rolled to a stop, Elly waited in the dark of the trunk. She'd lost track of time, but it certainly seemed possible that six hours had passed since Annie had spoken to her. In all those hours, Elly had been trying to come up with a plan for the next time the trunk opened, and now she was ready. The moment the lid was unlocked, she was going to spring out at full force and throw herself against Annie's chest, and then she was going to knock her out and figure out a way to get loose. Then she was going to put Annie in the trunk, and then she'd drive to the nearest police station or hospital, and then she'd get Annie some serious psychiatric help. And then everything would be okay.

  She waited for the sound of the car's door opening.

  And she waited.

  And she waited.

  As the seconds passed, however, she began to worry more and more. She told herself that Annie was probably just taking a drink, or maybe eating, and that she'd open the trunk soon. At the same time, she was feeling increasingly claustrophobic and – no matter what she told herself – she couldn't shake the feeling that she was slowly running out of air. Plus, the constant smell of gasoline was making her feel nauseous. She tried to believe that she was simply panicking, but she could feel her breaths getting shallower and shallower and she was scared that maybe Annie hadn't taken oxygen starvation into account.

  “Come on,” she whispered under her breath, “open the trunk. I dare you. Open this goddamn trunk and -”

  Suddenly she heard a scratching sound over her shoulder. She turned and listened, and after a moment she saw a faint square of light appear down by her hips. She furrowed her brow, trying to work out what was happening, and then finally she saw a hand reach through from the back seat, holding a syringe.

  “Hey,” Elly said, “what -”

  Before she could finish, the syringe's needle slid into her thigh. She tried to pull away, but she was powerless to resist as something was injected into her body.

  “Annie, is that you?” she yelled, filled with a fresh wave of panic as she tried once again to struggle. The needle was already out again, and then
the small square closed and darkness returned. “Annie, what was that?” she shouted, and she could already hear her voice starting to slur as her thoughts turned to mush. “Annie, please, I'm on your side. I'm not...”

  Her eyes slid shut and her head dropped to one side, as she fell into a deep, drug-assisted sleep.

  ***

  “...but that's where I'm focused for now. Something's not right in that place, I can see it in the owner's eyes. I guess she's just taking the money and not asking too many questions.”

  Elly's eyes flickered open, and in that instant she noticed the unmistakable aroma of a Big Mac.

  “I've got to watch the place like a hawk,” Annie's voice continued, and now it sounded as if she was speaking with her mouth full. “He's going to make his move soon, and I have to be ready. We've come all this way, we can't let him get away now. If he escapes Farstone and we don't at least have a track on him, it could be months or even years before we can find him again.”

  Elly blinked. Her mind still felt groggy, as if the drugs were still in her system.

  “I wish I knew what drew him here, though,” Annie said. “I don't buy the idea that the entity can communicate directly with people. This isn't mnesmology here, this is something else. It's almost as if there's some kind of intelligence working behind the scenes. It's almost like someone has a plan.”

  As soon as she moved her lips, Elly realized there was some kind of ball in her mouth, preventing her from making any noise above a very faint murmur. Confused and frightened, and with a pounding pain starting to throb in her head, she tried rolling onto her back. She just about managed the maneuver, at which point she looked up and saw Annie's silhouette sitting just outside the car's trunk, framed against the starry night sky.

  “Oh hey,” Annie continued, leaning closer, “are you awake?”

  “Let me out of here!” Elly tried to say, only managing a muffled groan thanks to the ball in her mouth. “Please don't kill me!”

  “I'm sorry I had to knock you out again,” Annie said. “It was my fault. I should have gagged you at the start, but I didn't think about it at the time. I'm not very good at this kidnapping business. Anyway, there shouldn't have to be any more injections, not now. Not so long as the ball holds, and of course so long as you behave yourself.”

  “Help!” Elly tried to shout. “Somebody help me!”

  Again, all that actually emerged was the faintest of murmurs.

  “We're parked way out of the way,” Annie explained. “Like, beyond the edge of town. So don't think about banging for attention or anything like that. You'll only be wasting your energy. Now, like I was saying a moment ago, I think tonight's the night. This guy is holed up in a room at the only hotel in town, and he's guarding his room like crazy. I think he's a bounty hunter, some kind of professional. And he's got something in his room. I need to see what he has.”

  Twisting around, Elly started crying out as hard as she could, while kicking against the inside wall of the trunk.

  “What did I tell you?” Annie asked, sounding a little frustrated now. “That won't do any good, and you'll only end up annoying me. Do you want to annoy me?”

  Ignoring her, Elly continued to kick and kick, and now tears were streaming from her eyes. She was convinced that Annie was about to kill her, and her only hope was that somehow she could attract attention from somewhere. Even as she struggled, however, she could already hear how desperate she sounded, and she was starting to think that there was no way to escape. As she pulled at the restraints around her wrists, she began to feel blood dribbling from the worn cuts, and finally she fell still as she tried in vain to come up with a better idea. She wanted to plead for her life, but the ball in her mouth meant that she couldn't get a word out.

  “There's no sign of any cult members yet,” Annie said after a few seconds. “That's odd, but maybe they're tripping over one another. Wouldn't be the first time. They'll be here soon, though. I'm sure of that. And this bounty hunter is going to sell them something. Maybe it's a map, or some kind of information. I mean, what else could it be?” She paused for a moment. “Yeah, I think it's information. I think maybe he's got a clue about where to find the entity, or maybe even where to find Nurse Winter. Or both of them. Maybe they're the same thing now, anyway. The cults would want to find Nurse Winter, because she probably knows more about the entity than anyone at this point. But I need that information first. I can't let one of the cults get ahead of me.”

  She's insane, Elly thought. She's out of her mind and she's going to kill me. And it's all my fault, because I stupidly let her do this to me.

  “I think I'm going to go and take a closer look at that hotel,” Annie muttered, getting to her feet as she finished the last of her food. “I have to be careful and make sure I'm not spotted, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Actually, I don't want to start sounding cocky. This guy could be lethal. Kieran warned me that I might get into a situation like this. I can't let him down now.”

  Please realize that this is wrong, Elly thought, as more tears streamed down her face. Looking up, she saw Annie staring back down at her. Annie Radford isn't a bad person. Or at least, she wasn't, not at the start of all this. Please, Annie, you have to realize that this is all wrong.

  She waited, hoping against hope that Annie would somehow hear her.

  Suddenly Annie slammed the trunk shut, plunging Elly once more into darkness.

  No! Elly's voice screamed in her head, and she instinctively began kicking the sides again, trying to get Annie to return. You can't do this! I'll suffocate in here! Annie, come back! Please don't do this to me!

  No matter how hard she struggled, however, she couldn't escape a sense of her own increasing hopelessness. She couldn't stop struggling, though, so she kicked and kicked and tried over and over to cry out, straining every sinew in a desperate hope that somehow there might be a miracle, and that maybe somebody would come and rescue her from the madwoman who was holding her prisoner.

  Chapter Six

  Exhausted and drained of all hope, Elly Blackstock lay in darkness and stared straight ahead. After struggling for as long as her body could manage, she'd finally fallen still, and she was powerless to stop thoughts of death creeping into her mind. Because that was what she was facing now. She was certain.

  She was going to die.

  “A woman has been found dead in the trunk of her own car,” she imagined a news reporter saying, “after reportedly befriending and trusting a lunatic. Elly Blackstock is believed to have shown absolutely no common sense whatsoever when she agreed to go on a road trip with an insane woman named Annie Radford. Investigators are still trying to piece together the precise circumstances surrounding Ms. Blackstock's gruesome and painful demise, but sources confirm that the most likely cause of death is sheer stupidity, compounded by a touch of unbelievable naivety.”

  She'll forget about me, Elly thought to herself. Annie's crazy, she'll probably just wander off and leave me to starve to death in here. Assuming I don't suffocate first. Or burn up in the heat when the sun comes back up. This probably isn't even the first time she's done this. She's probably left people to die in trunks all across the country.

  Hope wasn't entirely banished, however. Every few minutes, she tried to come up with some other plan to save herself. She figured that someone smart would be able to get out of the trunk, but she was becoming painfully aware that she lacked that particular type of intelligence. She'd tried again to kick her way through to the car's back seat, figuring that maybe she could use whatever panel Annie had used for the injection, but still all her efforts had come to nothing. Now her mind was racing with fears about how it would feel to die alone in the car's trunk.

  Maybe it'll be quick, she figured. Maybe I can just close my eyes and it'll all be over.

  No.

  No, it wouldn't be like that.

  It'd be painful. Painful and -

  Suddenly she heard a noise outside. Someone was running toward the car, gettin
g closer and closer, and then she heard the sound of the trunk's lock being turned. The sound was different this time, however; this time, Annie – assuming it was Annie, of course – seemed frantic, as if she was panicking and struggling to get the trunk to open. Elly waited, frozen and terrified, and now she heard a faint muttering sound coming from outside. Then, just as she was starting to wonder what might be wrong, the trunk was opened and blazing morning light streamed down, temporarily blinding Elly.

  “Get in!” Annie yelled, suddenly thrusting something from her arms, sending a heavy figure thudding down directly on top of Elly. “And stop wriggling!”

  Panicking, Elly tried to pull back as she felt another person in the trunk with her. A fraction of a second later the lid was shut again, plunging the trunk back into darkness, and Elly heard Annie racing around the side of the car. Meanwhile, she was now joined in the trunk by a slightly smaller figure, maybe a child, who was struggling wildly. The child seemed not to be tied or bound in any way, and instead was managing to kick and scramble. There was a series of faint gasps coming from the child's mouth and – in the darkness of the trunk – Elly felt a pair of hands reaching out and desperately grabbing hold of her shoulders.

  A moment later the car's engine started, and then Elly felt the vehicle race away from its parking spot. At the same time, an elbow swung through the darkness and slammed into Elly's face as the child continued to struggle wildly.

  She's kidnapped a kid! Elly thought, as she took a couple more bumps to the face. She's actually kidnapped a child!

  The child, meanwhile, was starting to scream for help. Not in English, but in some language that Elly couldn't quite make out. Something European, maybe. Full-throated and clearly terrified, the little girl – and she did seem to be a girl, Elly thought – was becoming more and more panic-stricken, to the point that she was wriggling harder than ever and constantly hitting Elly with her elbows and knees as the pair of them jostled in the cramped space of the trunk.