You'll Thank Me for This by Nina Siegal (top novels txt) 📗

of him, she could run way faster than he could. She turned and tried to sprint. But he managed to stick out his leg and trip her. She fell to the ground but kept the phone in her hands. While he attempted to pull her back, she found the most recent call and pressed it. Dial, dial.

The phone rang—she could hear it ring—even as Martijn threw his whole body weight on top of her, trying to climb his way up to her hand, which she held outstretched in front of her on the ground. She elbowed him and wriggled under his weight. If only she could get out from under him, she could run. She could run and he would not be able to catch her. She could tell her mother where they were. But where were they?

Martijn would not let her stand up, though; he pressed his knee into her back and she cried out.

“Karin?” She could hear her mother’s voice on the other end of the line. It was her mother, at long last. “Karin, are you okay?”

Martijn tried to wrestle the phone out of Karin’s hand. She tossed the phone forward, ahead of her in the dirt, and she elbowed him in the jaw to try to get him off of her. He crawled over her head and grabbed the phone, quickly putting it to his ear.

“Grace! Hey! It’s me,” he said. He was breathing heavily, but he was trying hard to sound normal. Karin knew her mother wouldn’t buy it. “Sorry, dropped the phone.”

Karin could not hear the words on the other end of the line. “Yeah, Karin twisted her ankle. It’s pretty bad. She fell down, and she was alone in the woods. But I found her! She’s all right. Just hurts every time she takes a step, as you can hear. We’re still on our way to the campsite.”

Karin was still lying facedown on the ground. Martijn had put his knee on her shoulder to pin her. “Mom! Mom!” she cried. “I’m not okay…” He pressed his hand down to cover her mouth, pressing her lips into her teeth and making her lip bleed. She could taste the copper flavor of the blood in her mouth. She tried to bite his hand, but he pressed harder.

She could hear just the vague sound of her mother’s voice. Was she looking for her? Did she know Karin was in danger? She must know that she was missing from the dropping. They must all know, mustn’t they?

The thought that her mother was trying to find her made Karin suddenly roar. With all the energy of her twelve-year-old body, she heaved herself up from under Martijn’s knee and hand and shoved him over into the dirt. “Mom!” she cried. “Help me. He’s got me. He won’t let me go. He’s looking for something, but he’s holding me hostage. You have to send the police.”

Martijn, in his fury, threw the phone at Karin and then lunged at her to try to make her stop shouting. She didn’t stop. “I’m in the middle of the forest, near the mouflon place. Somewhere between there and the museum.”

She kept yelling while she scrambled to find the phone in the dirt. She had no idea if her mother had heard what she’d said. Then she saw it, glowing there in a heap of grass, and grabbed it before Martijn could leap on her again.

Once she had it in her hand, she ran. She ran as fast as she could. Martijn was not far behind her, but she held the phone to her ear and spoke, “Mom?” she said. “Mom, are you there?”

“Karin! Thank God. I’m here. We’re coming! We’re going to get you. The police are here. Try to get somewhere safe. We will find you.”

Karin kept running as fast as her legs would carry her. She could sense Martijn behind her, and he wasn’t far. His breath was loud and labored as he ran—that was lucky for her; he was middle-aged and out of shape—but she could hear it just behind her back. She ran on, never losing speed, and starting to gain momentum when she got over the top of the mound and started down the incline toward the forest. She could see the line of dark evergreens so close, and she was going to make it.

Then Martijn’s hand landed on the back of her shoulder and got hold of the neckline of her jacket and pulled it hard. She was jerked back and almost fell, feeling the collar of her zipped-up jacket tight against her neck, the zipper digging into her skin.

For a second, she thought the jacket would strangle her if she didn’t fall, but she managed to reach up and grab the zipper and unzip the jacket, so that it came loose and fell off her back. Martijn toppled backward into the sand, holding the jacket in his hand, but not Karin. The phone flew out of her hand then too, and she couldn’t turn around and get it. She could hear Martijn cursing as she tensed her legs and picked up speed. He had the box now, she thought. He had the box in the jacket, if he bothered to search it. He would find the phone too. But he didn’t have her.

And there was the forest, right in front of her. She dove into its embrace, smelling the soft, cool peat, the welcoming scent of pine trees. This place she had fled earlier was now a safe haven. She didn’t have the phone, but her mother knew she was in danger—and that was good.

She slowed just a little bit to try to catch her breath, knowing that Martijn had fallen and it would take him a moment to find the phone and come and chase her again. Her chest was heaving from sprinting, and she was drenched in sweat. Her walking was fast, though, ducking under branches and feeling leaves whip against her face, until she