She looked at the transfer device. There were lights flickering. She opened the case and saw the password prompt. Should she turn the device off? Best leave it for now.
Mackenzie walked out of the bedroom and closed the door, headed back to the kitchen, found herself a glass and poured some water. She looked out the window and saw a tractor in the distance, ploughing the land, dust rising. Was there any way she could get the driver’s attention? Maybe set fire to the house?
She sat down. It was deathly quiet. She got up, opened a window and was greeted by a bark and growl. How quick is this dog? She sat down again. Lord, please help, I’m frightened. What was that noise? She looked around and saw a bird sitting on the window ledge. It was calling out to someone. She gave a nervous smile. Silence returned.
Thump. What was that? It was loud and came from down the passageway. A dull sound, like something had fallen onto the carpet. In the silence, she was sure she heard a creak. And then another. A door was being opened.
She got up silently, walked over to the knife rack, found the largest knife, and concealed herself behind the kitchen door. She stood there, shaking. The mirror under the clock reflected the passageway.
Someone was moving in the passageway, coming towards the kitchen. They stopped and pushed open a door, Mackenzie thought maybe that was the bathroom door. They were looking for something. Back in the passageway again, the mirror picked them up.
Mackenzie was shaking uncontrollably now. She screamed. “Who’s there?”
A voice came back. “Mackenzie . . . is that you?”
Aaron?
Chapter 34
AARON CAUTIOUSLY ENTERED THE room. Mackenzie burst into his arms.
Aaron looked around. “Are you by yourself?”
“Yes . . . the crazy man has gone to buy some things from the local shops.”
“He went shopping and left you here?”
Mackenzie hugged Aaron even tighter. “He’s crazy, Aaron . . . I think he’s in some kind of psychotic state. He’s living in another world.” She pushed back and looked up at Aaron. “How did you get here?”
“I have access to the technology, Kenz. I have one of their devices.”
“But how?”
“The Rev gave me a security card that gave me access to where one of the devices was stored. I think he got the keycard off the minister when they spent their confinement time back at the property. But we can talk more on this later. I need to get us out of here.”
“We can’t use the technology. You need a password for the device. There is a mighty mean dog out there. I searched for food to pacify him but the place is bare.”
“Pity about the technology. That’s what I was planning to do. Mean dog . . . no food?” Aaron walked over to the kitchen window. The dog soon made its presence known. A nice pat wasn’t going to work here. “Do you know if the man has a rifle or something in the house?
“I haven’t seen anything . . . besides, I wouldn’t let you shoot a dog.”
Aaron looked at her, still a loving spirit no matter what the circumstances. He thought of something he saw in the bathroom. “Kenz, I have an idea.” She followed him back to the bathroom. He pointed to the net hanging from the ceiling. “This caught my attention when I looked in here before. I think we could throw it over the dog. It may not hold him, but should give us enough time to get out.”
Aaron pulled the net down. Bits of plaster floated down from the holes left in the ceiling. It was a good-sized net and more than enough to entangle the dog. He placed the net on the kitchen table.
“Let’s go to the front door and see how far we’re going to have to sprint.”
They came back to the kitchen with a clear view of what they had to do. “Okay, Kenz. I’m going to distract the dog around the back and when I yell, you run to that gate. You’ll have plenty of time because I’ll throw the net over it, then come and join you.”
“You sure this will work, Aaron?”
“It will, Kenz. Either way, you’ll get free and I’ll be okay. I can look after myself.” Aaron walked over and gave her a hug.
“Okay, go to the front door. Make sure you can open it. Give me a yell when you’re ready.”
Aaron watched her walk off. She looked back, giving him a nervous smile. He got the net off the table and gave it a good look over—the rope was thick and heavy, and he was surprised it stayed hanging from the ceiling. There were no tangles. He felt confident that it would do the trick.
“I’m ready, Aaron.”
“Okay, wait for my call.”
Aaron went to the back of the house and opened a window. It wasn’t long before the dog made its presence known. It started jumping up, trying to get Aaron. Aaron put his arms out with the net. The dog stopped jumping, tilted its head and looked up at Aaron.
Aaron threw the net over the dog. It barked and then started squirming around trying to get the net off its back.
Aaron yelled, “Go Kenz.”
The front door shut with a loud bang. He saw the dog’s ears prick up. It tried to run but was tangled. Aaron sprinted to the front door, opened it and saw Mackenzie safe behind the gate. Aaron opened the flyscreen door, but paused when he heard barking and saw the dog coming around the side of the house, almost free of the net—it was trailing behind. The dog ran to the gate and jumped up at Mackenzie—the net now completely off. Mackenzie stood back. The dog turned and started coming toward Aaron. Aaron closed the flyscreen door. “Get help, Kenz. . . try and contact the police. Don’t worry about me I’ll be fine.”
Aaron watched Mackenzie run off. He thought of getting a towel or something and wrapping that around his arm. It was a mean-looking dog. Aaron looked down the road in the opposite direction to which Mackenzie was heading. A dust cloud was moving along the road. Was that Lucas coming home?
<°)))><
The dog was at the front gate barking, its tail wagging.
From behind a front bedroom window Aaron watched through lace curtains as Lucas got out of the vehicle. He paused at the gate. Aaron saw him looking at the net on the front lawn. He walked back to the vehicle and came back with what looked like a rifle.
Lucas told the dog to be quiet and threw a bone that he must have purchased on his shopping trip. He walked up to the front door and opened it.
