twisted her legs around Martha’s and had the woman facedown on the ground just as Bridgett jumped on her back and wrapped her arms around her windpipe.
For a moment, panic threatened to overtake her, but then she forced herself to relax and think through all the moves she’d perfected. She knew just how long she could go without oxygen and forced herself to think of a way out of the hold. She quickly shoved her fist into Martha’s jaw. Blood splattered all over her and Bridgett, and the older woman cried out in pain. When Aubrey felt Martha’s body go lax underneath her, she turned her attention to removing the woman who was cutting off her oxygen.
It seemed to take forever for her to twist out of Bridgett’s hold, but when she was finally free and had the other woman sprawled on top of Martha, holding her broken wrist and crying out in pain, Aubrey walked over and picked up the gun and pointed it at the pair of them.
“Now,” Aubrey said a little winded, “what do you say we take a nice walk in the rain and wait in the lobby for the police to come haul the two of you away?” At that moment, a tree branch landed on top of the metal roof and she winced. “Before we get blown away in this hurricane.”
Getting the women to cooperate proved more difficult than she’d anticipated. Since Martha was still unconscious, she tied up Bridgett’s wrists first, not really caring as the woman complained about her broken wrist. Then she worked on securing the older woman with thick ropes that had been holding up a small kayak. After Martha woke up, she tied the pair of them together, making sure to wrap the other rope several times around each of their hands just in case.
When they stepped outside, the rain was coming down almost sideways. The mother-daughter duo tried to dart away from her but slipped on the slick pavement of the pathway. She laughed and helped them stand again.
“Shall we try that again?” She shoved them to head down the pathway again.
She had to hold onto them and push them along the pathway the entire trip to the main building. The rain was coming down so hard now that if she hadn’t known the route by heart, she would’ve gotten lost.
She guessed that the power must be out since all the lights along the pathway were dark. It didn’t really affect her, since she’d practiced for years walking down the dark pathways, sometimes even with her eyes closed just to see if she could, just like she’d practiced at home and in school. She wanted to know that if it came to it, she could maneuver around River Camps without fear. The only difference was, she’d never imagined she would need to escape the camp and had only practiced it so she could remember every path that she loved. At this point, she was confident that she could maneuver the entire camp blindfolded.
Still, it took the three of them a lot longer than usual to make their way across the grounds. The moment they stepped into the dark lobby, Zoey cried out and rushed forward to greet her. Then she stilled when she noticed Bridgett and Martha and that Aubrey was holding a gun on them.
“What?” Zoey shook her head quickly then moved around and wrapped her arms around Aubrey. “You’re safe.” She sighed. “We were so worried about you.”
“Where is everyone?” Aubrey asked with a frown as she motioned for Bridgett and Martha to take a seat. The three of them were soaking wet and looked like drowned rats with their hair tied in knots from the wind.
“They’re out looking for you,” Zoey answered with a frown. “Didn’t you see them?”
“I could barely see anything out there. If I didn’t know this place like the back of my hand, we wouldn’t have made it back from the boathouse.”
“What are they doing here?” Zoey asked, glancing over at Bridgett and Martha. Bridgett was still crying and complaining about her broken arm while Martha looked stunned and a little in shock.
Aubrey sighed and glanced down at the gun in her hands. “They tried to kidnap me.”
Zoey chuckled. “I feel sorry for them.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe they’re still standing. Is Bridgett’s arm really broken?”
“Yeah,” she answered with a smile. “They weren’t fully conscious. I had to wait for Martha to wake up before getting them back