Chapter 57 - Chapter 56

# Chapter 56
AYANDA

The first thing I become consciously aware of is the sound of splashing in the distance. It comes and then it stops, only to start back up again. Shivers rack my body as I slowly lift my heavy head and blink to clear the haze.

Where am I? I scan the clearing, my head pounding from the movement.

Justice stands some way away, framed by a large train bridge, skimming rocks on the river's surface. I'm lying on my side on a damp, creased tartan blanket, with my arms and ankles bound and my mouth taped shut with duct tape. I try to move, shuffling on the spot, wiggling like a worm. Pain radiates through my joints, and a small whimper rings out despite my best attempts at keeping quiet.

Justice stiffens before he slowly spins around. His gaze lands on me, and he drops the rocks in his hand. He walks closer with measured, slow steps as he takes me in, eyes raking over my body. "Welcome back, Ayanda. I was growing worried."

Stars twinkle overhead, bright and clear; the glow of Cape Town is nowhere in sight now. We must have driven a long distance.

I whip my head around to scan the snow-covered trees in the clearing and the bridge in the distance. Justice chuckles under his breath, looming over me. "I did a lot of research, you know. Scouting my locations beforehand."

Defeated, I lie back down. The cold snow bites into my skin through the blanket's damp fabric. I'll die here tonight—another victim of a madman.