willingly.” As mortifying as it was to
say, it wasn’t as if this man couldn’t figure that out with what
he’d been about to walk in on. It was somehow important to me that
he know Trevor hadn’t thrown me down and had his way with me, that
at least I’d wanted, or thought I’d wanted, to be with him.
“I’m sorry,” Shannon said.
“I thought we were surviving together in a collapsed world. He took
good care of me. I felt safe with him. B-but then you show
up, and you rip that reality away, and now I’m not a survivor
anymore building a life with somebody who loves me. I’m a victim.
And he died with me crying over losing him. He’s won. I
can’t ever take that victory away from him. I can’t trust anybody
else to tell me the truth about me. Please just go. Forget you found
me. I’ll figure something out when the sun comes up. P-please.”
By this point, he’d managed to inch his way to within reaching
distance of me. “Elodie, the park is dangerous and hard to get in
and out of. You have to at least let me help you get out of here, and
give you something decent to wear.”
I watched warily as he took the pack off his back. He unzipped it and
tossed me some pants and a T-shirt. After sizing me up, he gave me a
nylon belt that I’m not a hundred percent sure was really meant to
hold pants up.
He turned his back to me and waited. I stood there for a moment,
staring at the clothes in my hands, still gripping the bloody sheets
around my body.
“I’m not going to look. I promise. Just put some clothes on. I
need you to stay here in the present moment, no matter how unpleasant
it is. I don’t want you to go into shock. Start moving.”
I dropped the sheets on the ground and put the clothes on.
“O-okay, you can turn around.”
The walkie talkie crackled again. “Shannon. You okay? Where’s our
check-in?”
“I’m fine. But I think I’ve come down with a stomach bug. I’m
going to head out.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Where are you guys?”
“We set up clear on the other end of the park near the Ferris
wheel. We can’t even see the castle from here. Do you want us to
come to you?”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. Though I did throw up in here so... sorry
about that. It’s not pleasant.”
“Yeah, you sound sorry,” the guy on the other end said, laughing.
“We might brave it tomorrow. I assume you don’t feel well enough
to clean up?”
Shannon’s voice affected a sick sound, coming out more slow and
labored. “No such luck. I might be puking the whole way to the car.
You guys okay?”
“Yeah, we feel fine. We’ll catch you next trip.”
Shannon clicked the walkie talkie off. His gaze went across the room
in a calm, assessing way, finally landing on me. “Are you
absolutely sure you can’t face the world right now?”
I nodded.
“Then here’s what will happen. I’m going to dispose of the
body, then I will take you out of here. You will stay with me. I will
honor your desire to do this at your own pace. For now.”
That sounded too much like Trevor’s veiled rape threat that first
night when I hadn’t swooned in his arms immediately.
“What is it?” he asked.
“N-nothing.”
Shannon wasn’t talking about sex. It wasn’t enough that I didn’t
remember my life; now I had this new screaming vortex of horror to
deal with.
Chapter Three
Once things had been decided, Shannon went into
this laser-focused sort of zone—like the whole rest of the world
just shut off, and everything turned to auto-pilot. He was suddenly
so intense. I sat quietly while he assessed things. I think I
imagined if I was very quiet he would forget I was there and leave
without me. How hard could it be to get out of the park on my own in
the daylight? Even though I’d never ventured to the perimeter, as
it was so overgrown and Trevor’s warnings had kept me away, I felt
certain it couldn’t be that bad.
Shannon came over to the table where I was sitting like a piece of
statuary. He knelt
say, it wasn’t as if this man couldn’t figure that out with what
he’d been about to walk in on. It was somehow important to me that
he know Trevor hadn’t thrown me down and had his way with me, that
at least I’d wanted, or thought I’d wanted, to be with him.
“I’m sorry,” Shannon said.
“I thought we were surviving together in a collapsed world. He took
good care of me. I felt safe with him. B-but then you show
up, and you rip that reality away, and now I’m not a survivor
anymore building a life with somebody who loves me. I’m a victim.
And he died with me crying over losing him. He’s won. I
can’t ever take that victory away from him. I can’t trust anybody
else to tell me the truth about me. Please just go. Forget you found
me. I’ll figure something out when the sun comes up. P-please.”
By this point, he’d managed to inch his way to within reaching
distance of me. “Elodie, the park is dangerous and hard to get in
and out of. You have to at least let me help you get out of here, and
give you something decent to wear.”
I watched warily as he took the pack off his back. He unzipped it and
tossed me some pants and a T-shirt. After sizing me up, he gave me a
nylon belt that I’m not a hundred percent sure was really meant to
hold pants up.
He turned his back to me and waited. I stood there for a moment,
staring at the clothes in my hands, still gripping the bloody sheets
around my body.
“I’m not going to look. I promise. Just put some clothes on. I
need you to stay here in the present moment, no matter how unpleasant
it is. I don’t want you to go into shock. Start moving.”
I dropped the sheets on the ground and put the clothes on.
“O-okay, you can turn around.”
The walkie talkie crackled again. “Shannon. You okay? Where’s our
check-in?”
“I’m fine. But I think I’ve come down with a stomach bug. I’m
going to head out.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Where are you guys?”
“We set up clear on the other end of the park near the Ferris
wheel. We can’t even see the castle from here. Do you want us to
come to you?”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. Though I did throw up in here so... sorry
about that. It’s not pleasant.”
“Yeah, you sound sorry,” the guy on the other end said, laughing.
“We might brave it tomorrow. I assume you don’t feel well enough
to clean up?”
Shannon’s voice affected a sick sound, coming out more slow and
labored. “No such luck. I might be puking the whole way to the car.
You guys okay?”
“Yeah, we feel fine. We’ll catch you next trip.”
Shannon clicked the walkie talkie off. His gaze went across the room
in a calm, assessing way, finally landing on me. “Are you
absolutely sure you can’t face the world right now?”
I nodded.
“Then here’s what will happen. I’m going to dispose of the
body, then I will take you out of here. You will stay with me. I will
honor your desire to do this at your own pace. For now.”
That sounded too much like Trevor’s veiled rape threat that first
night when I hadn’t swooned in his arms immediately.
“What is it?” he asked.
“N-nothing.”
Shannon wasn’t talking about sex. It wasn’t enough that I didn’t
remember my life; now I had this new screaming vortex of horror to
deal with.
Chapter Three
Once things had been decided, Shannon went into
this laser-focused sort of zone—like the whole rest of the world
just shut off, and everything turned to auto-pilot. He was suddenly
so intense. I sat quietly while he assessed things. I think I
imagined if I was very quiet he would forget I was there and leave
without me. How hard could it be to get out of the park on my own in
the daylight? Even though I’d never ventured to the perimeter, as
it was so overgrown and Trevor’s warnings had kept me away, I felt
certain it couldn’t be that bad.
Shannon came over to the table where I was sitting like a piece of
statuary. He knelt
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