Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty Seven

I'm on my way again.Everyone was off work and trudging home through the cold, dark streets.Both men and women lowered their heads to avoid the wind, all they wanted was to be in a warm place.All I could think about was finding that address, knowing I was no longer following in Zou's or my own footsteps, and at the same time it was so close that it was almost within reach, I was determined to follow the last lead. A van roared by, splashing cold mud all over me from puddles in the road, and I swore and wiped the mud off my face.Maybe I'll just walk all the way home?Where is home?I have to go back to Sadie's place.It's just that when I thought about going there again, I hesitated. After a long circle, I returned to the starting point of the nightmare.

I took out Ben's mobile phone from my pocket, held it in my hand for a long time, and stood in the middle of the sidewalk, with the crowds passing by me.I turned on the phone to check, twelve new messages, I listened to them one by one.The three links are for Ban, and I don't know the person who left the message.Batong was called by Ban, and his tone became more and more urgent.Eighth Pass only said Abby.that is it.Abby.It's like someone is calling me from afar. Another call was from Cross to me.Abby, he said, sternly.listen to me.I just spoke to Mr. Brodie and he seemed concerned about where you were.May I suggest that you at least let us know where you are and that you are safe?Please call back as soon as you hear this message.After a pause he added: I mean it, Abby.Please get in touch immediately.

I turn off the phone and put it back in my pocket.Jack.Cross was right, I had to call him right away and tell him what I had found.The Three Kings pub across the road must have been warm, smoky and full of laughter, beer spills and gossip.I gotta go find the owner of the van and find out Vic.Murphy moved somewhere, then went to the bar to order a drink and some potato chips, then called Cross to tell him what I found, and then he took over.I'll call Ben too, at least I'll have to give him his phone back, and then I don't want to think about what I'm going to do next, because it's like looking across a big brown stagnant water.

I am heartened to have made this decision.An address, and that's the end of it.But the bitter cold pierced my bones, my toes ached from the cold, and my fingers gradually became numb. My face felt extremely tense, as if my skin was about to be ripped apart, as if sand and stones in the wind had worn away my skin.The sidewalks glisten with frost; parked cars are covered in a thin layer of ice.I quicken my pace, breath curling up from my mouth, my nose tingling.I can sleep on Sadie's couch tonight and then look for a house in the morning; I have to find a job and start from scratch.I need money urgently, and more urgently, I need a goal and the feeling of returning to normal. I will buy an alarm clock tomorrow and set it to 7:30.I went to Ben's place to pick up my clothes, and asked Cross to accompany me to Zou's place to pick up the rest of my belongings.My life was scattered all over London, and I had to put it back together.

I turned left onto a narrower, darker street.The sky was clear, with a cold, pale moon and pale stars flickering above me.The houses I passed had their curtains drawn, and the bright light of other people's lives shone through the curtains.I've done my best, I think.I've tracked down Zou and tracked me down to no avail, we're all gone and I don't believe Cross can find us anymore, but maybe he can find the guy and I'm probably safe Yu. I don't believe in anything anymore, not really.I can no longer imagine that I was in danger, or that I was taken captive and imprisoned in a dark place and then escaped.The time I can remember and the time I lost seem to have merged in my mind.The class I had known and forgotten seemed indistinguishable from the class I had rediscovered and lost again.The Zou I knew and had fun with was gone, even from my memory.It doesn't matter anymore, I'm just putting one foot in front of the other because I just tell myself I have to.

I took out the explanation from my pocket with fingers like frozen chicken feet, and carefully studied the words on it.I take the second right, Belham Road.There are raised deceleration piers along the road, as well as fences surrounded by water wax trees.The road leads to a small hill and then goes downhill, with houses on both sides.The lights in the front rooms of every house are on, and the chimneys of some houses are filled with smoke, and the lives of others are happy.I continued on my way with difficulty. The guy in the store said it was number thirty-nine, on the left side of the road, at the bottom of the ramp.I looked from afar and saw no lights, and though I didn't have high hopes, my frustration was building that my work would be wasted.I walked down the hill and stopped in front of Gate No. 39.

That house was different from the others because it was set back from the road to allow the broken double doors to be drawn inwards, hanging precariously on their hinges and creaking in the wind. rattle.I pushed the door open, it was my last task, and in a few minutes I would not bother with the matter.I have done my best.Inside the gate was a courtyard full of frozen puddles.The courtyard is full of messy debris, looming in the dark is a pile of sawdust, a wheelbarrow, a rusty trailer, a pile of rubber tires, two what look like heaters, and a chair with a leg missing A chair that is upside down.The house is a two-story red brick building on the left side of the yard, with a small porch at the front door.There was a broken pottery urn on the porch, and a pair of big rubber boots, which made me wish for a moment that someone was still in the house.I rang the bell by the door but couldn't hear it, so I knocked on it with my fist instead, and waited, stamping my feet in the meantime to keep my feet from freezing.No response, no one came to the door.I put my ear against the door and listened quietly.

That's all for now.I turned back to the yard, and for the first time I could see clearly that it was an old outdoor stable.Under the clear night sky, I could see a grid of mangers, and if I looked closely, I could still see the names of the horses in worn capital letters above the entrances and exits of each grid: Spider, Peugeot, Douglas, Raghorse, Caspian, Jingjing.But the horse trough was empty here, and it was obvious that the shadow of the horse had not been seen for a long time.Many gates are gone.I couldn't smell horse chaw or dung, but I could smell gasoline, paint, machinery.The door above a manger was open, and it was damp and stuffed with miscellaneous paint cans, planks, glass.There is no neighing or snorting of horses here, but a dead silence.

Then I heard a sound which I thought came from the low house opposite this house on the other side of the yard.Maybe the landlord is still there.I took a few steps towards the source of the sound.I haven't been scared yet, not very scared. Hello?I cried.Hello, is anyone there? No one responded.I stand and listen.I can hear cars in the distance; music is playing somewhere, and I can faintly hear bass pulsating in the night sky. Hello? I walked to the building and stood outside, hesitating.The house was built of coal and wood, without windows, and the tall door was fastened with a heavy bolt.There was another sound, like a long hum or moan.I held my breath and heard it again.

Is anyone here?I cried. I raised the latch and pushed the heavy door open as wide as I could peer in.However, it was cold and dark inside, almost pitch black, and the moonlight could not shine into the house.After all, there are no people here, maybe only animals.I thought of bats, rats, and then I thought of rats, omnipresent, prolific, thriving on rotting food and animal carcasses, stalking under floors, with smudged yellow teeth and fat tails when doors blow open As it creaked, I heard that sound again. Gradually I could make out a dim view of the house, with bales of chaff piled at one end and what looked like an old-fashioned plow at my side.At the far end of the room was an indecipherable object.what is that?As I moved closer, the door closed behind me, and I groped with my hands outstretched.At this time, I was stepping on wet horse chaw.

Hello.I said it again.My voice sounded weak and trembling, echoing through the air.At this time, there was a smell, a smell of excrement and urine. I'm coming, I said.I am coming.I took a few steps forward, my legs felt weak, and the heavy fear in my chest made it difficult for me to move.Zou?I said.Zou?It's me, Abby. She sat on the hay at the far end of the room, just a dark silhouette in the shadows.I groped towards her, and I touched the thin shoulders.She smelled foul of urine, feces and sweat.I stroke up the rough cloth covering her face.She was making faint noises through a piece of cloth, and her body twisted at my touch.I reached down her throat and felt a cable; I groped her back and found a tight, cold rope that bound her wrists and stretched back to the wall behind her.I tried to pull, but the rope was only taut and could not be pulled apart.She was chained like a horse. Shh, I whispered.never mind.She made a high-pitched noise with her face covered.Don't struggle, don't do anything.Let me come and I will save you.Oh please, please, don't move. I pull the hood.My fingers trembled so much I couldn't pull them off at first, but finally managed to pull them off her head.I couldn't see her face in the dark, her hair was just a greasy mat under my fingers.Her cheeks were cold and teary, and she kept making that high-pitched noise, like an animal caught in a trap. Shhh, I yell at her.Be quiet, please, shut up.I am trying. I started to untangle the cable from her throat.It looks like it's connected to the ceiling or something, so she has to keep her head tilted back.Since I couldn't see what I was doing, it took a long time. At first I wound in the wrong direction, but it got tighter and tighter.I could feel the throbbing in her throat.I kept whispering that it was okay, but we could both hear the fear in my jerky tones. Her ankles were also bound, and a rope was wrapped several times around her calf to bind her.But this time the untying was easier than I expected, and soon her legs were free, and she kicked like a drowning person trying to rise to the surface.Her left leg kicked me in the stomach, and her right foot kicked my elbow hard.I wrap my arms around her knees and grab her like a football player.Sit still and don't move, I begged her.I'm already doing my best. Then I found the knot on her back.From what I can feel, the knot is very tight.I tugged and tugged to no avail, my nails were all torn and still wouldn't come off.I knelt down and bit the rope with my teeth. It smelled of gasoline.I think back to the smell of gasoline in my mouth, I think back to the smell of shit and piss, the smell of fear and fear in the room, on her skin and in my lungs, and my heart pounding violently in my chest. I'm short of breath and bile rushes up my throat and it's dark in every direction Wait a minute, I say.I'll see if I can untie the rope from the other end.Don't worry, I'm not leaving.Please, please, please, don't make that noise.help. I groped along the rope from her wrist to the wall, and it felt like I was tied to a hoop.If only I could see it.I fumbled in my pockets, maybe by some miracle I could find matches, a lighter or something.Nothing, but I got my old car's paint key out, I put the key in the knob and then a little deeper and twisted until I felt the knot seem to come loose.My fingers were frozen, and at one point I dropped the key and groped among the chag on the floor to find it, and my fingers were scratched by the rough surface of the chap.She started screaming indistinctly from the gag again, and then she tried to stand up, but collapsed in the grass again. Shut up, I'll stop her.Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!Oh, damn it, don't pull the rope like that, it'll just make the knot tighter and tighter.do not move!Let the rope hang loose.Oh my God!Please please please please. I tried to break the knot with the key.I could feel the knots coming loose little by little, but, oh my god, it took so long, so long.My brow was dripping with sweat, wet and sticky.I might as well just walk, I thought.Now run out and call for help!Why didn't I run out onto the road and stand there and shout for help?I could knock on every door or stop every car.I need to leave immediately.I shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't be here.The knot loosened again. Almost done, I'm out of breath.You'll be free in a few minutes.Hush, please. okay!I stood up and tore off the gag from her mouth, and a mournful wail came out of her mouth. Zou?I whispered.Are you Zou? I'm Sarah.help me.Please save me.Oh God, oh God, oh God, God God God God. I'm disappointed, but there's no time for disappointment now.Escape is important, I have no time to think about anything else. stand up!I said, holding her upper arm. She tried to get up but collapsed from weakness. listen!what is that soundI gasp. There are people outside, footsteps in the yard, and the sound of some metal objects colliding in the distance. I pushed Sarah back into the hay and sat down.I shoved the rag back into her mouth to muffle the sounds she was making.She began to struggle, but feebly. Sarah!Our only chance.Let me do it, fuck him let me do it.I'm here, Sarah.I'll save you, okay? She blinked at me with horror in her eyes.I noticed that the cable was dangling above me like a giant spider's silk, so I pulled it over her head and pulled it tight.Footsteps gradually approached.I frantically wrapped the rope around her legs and wrists.I need to find that rope.I bent over and groped on the gravel floor and finally found it.Then the footsteps came closer, and there was an asthmatic cough.I almost screamed, but I swallowed it back.There was a gag, rumbling in my ears.I fumbled for the headgear on the floor, then looked for it in the bale that the trembling figure was sitting on, and when I found it I slapped it back on her head, feeling a jolt in her neck. wait.I beckoned to her and ran across the room and hid behind a metal object that cut my calf.He must hear my heart beating like a drum, my breathing like a sob he must have heard, if only he would move the latch, open the door, and walk in.