“Why don’t you just fuck off and not come back, Claire?!”

To any other teenage girl who heard that from their mother, it would likely hurt, cut deep. But Claire Temmet was used to her mother’s drunken insults by now. She should be grateful really, at least she wasn’t storming around the house wrecking everything this time.

“Maybe I’ll do that mom, would you even care if I did?”

Of course, she didn’t answer, her mother was already passed out on the couch again before the sentence left her lips, she was surprised she was even able to get her barb out at all, considering her latest drinking binge last night, plus her ‘breakfast’ this morning.

Claire turned away, pushed some of her shoulder-length black hair behind her ear, and picked up her school bag.

She turned back to her mother just as she was about to walk out the door, she looked again at the passed-out trainwreck sprawled on the couch.

“Maybe I’ll do just that mom!”

‘Just two more years of high school Claire, can’t you just hold out a little longer?’

She walked her usual route to the cesspit that some called a school, preparing to face yet another day of listening to screaming hoodrats, getting into arguments with the teachers and supers, the backbiting and snide groups of bitchy girls, and the occasional lewd proposition.

This time, she stopped at the crossroad in front of the dilapidated building, left to fall apart through lack of funding.

She looked at the school for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, smelling the stale air of the main corridor already.

‘Fuck it!’

Claire turned away, For the first time in her life, she felt a rush from the small act of rebellion, but she knew that literally no one would care or note her absence, not the teachers or superintendents, and least of all her mother.

She reached into her skintight denim shorts pockets, pulling out a wallet to count how much she had with her. Although she didn’t have much actual cash, Claire was the only one in the house that took care of the money and bills, she had her mothers Debit card since she could never be trusted with anything that could incur actual debt, and there was plenty for at least a couple of weeks in the account.

She needed to get away for a while, clear her head, be away from everyone here, including her mother. Perhaps she would figure things out over the next few days.

Claire had initially planned on renting out a motel room to stay for a couple of days, but she quickly remembered that the nearest one was owned by a woman who was friends with her mother, and in the unlikely event that people did start to come looking for her, there would be no way she wouldn’t blab to everyone where she was.

She didn’t know how far away the next rest stop or motel was, this whole running away business was harder than she realized.

Eventually, she had no other choice, she stopped off at the local Walmart and bought a sleeping bag and some camping items, along with a large rucksack and some general supplies, a few changes of underwear, and feminine items.

When it hit her that she would be sleeping rough, she almost had second thoughts.

‘It’s still warm weather, you won’t freeze. Probably won’t have to even zip up the bag. Cmon Claire! It’s not like this is permanent or anything, think of it as a little camping trip in the woods.’

She managed to soothe herself as she made her way out of the store before taking the bus to the next county over, she’d gone on shopping trips with her mother along this route during more sober times, and the county was known for its secluded homesteads and forest parks.

She looked at herself in a handheld mirror she’d bought with her while on the bus. Claire had always been told that she had a smooth complexion and nice figure for her age, and had gotten the usual high school attention from boys along with a few others.

Her mother was still not bad-looking for her age either, at least that was one thing she gave her aside from drunken fights.

Claire heard the bell indicating her stop was next. She put the mirror away and got up from her seat, climbing out onto the road.

Her stomach had started to flutter heavily since she got off the bus, now fully realizing that she would be sleeping outside in a strange place for the first time in her life. She’d come across a few homes adjacent to what looked like small farmland, a few of them had barns, and of course, there was the large stretch of woodlands as the highway disappeared into the distance in front of her.

Claire didn’t see any road signs and no indication of whether this was a national park of any kind. Her phone did pick up a wifi signal, but the area on the map didn’t seem to have any names, nor a google street view.

She was about to just turn into one of the dirt trails she spotted when she heard a horn sound out from a dirty blue minivan, it pulled up beside her and a handsome face leaned towards the window.

“You ok honey? You look a bit young to be walking along the side of a deserted highway!”

Claire’s heart sped up, realizing that she was completely alone alongside the road, with this dude, he wasn’t ugly or creepy looking, but her vulnerable state was still apparent to her.

“Yeah ... uh, I’m fine, just making my way to a friend’s place.”

Obviously, she wasn’t, but she wanted the guy in the truck to think someone was expecting her.

“Ok, that’s cool, do you need a lift?”

She couldn’t help but notice he was staring at her bare legs, she’d only put on a pair of denim shorts this morning due to the unseasonably warm weather for the time of year. She also cursed herself for not putting on her bra, no doubt this guy was getting an eyeful of her cleavage through her sleeveless shirt too.

“I’m ok, but thanks for offering. Can’t be too sure who you’ll run into after all.”

Claire tried to put on a brave face, hoping this guy was just being kind and would move on.

He paused for a bit, his eyes moved up her before he looked her in the face. He gave another warm smile as he spoke.

“Ok, hun. There’s a gas station a mile or so up ahead. You might want to consider giving your buddy a call, leaving a young gal like you to walk alone like that ain’t right!” He smirked.

“Um ... sure, I’ll do that. Thank you again.”

Claire breathed a sigh of relief as the guy pulled away, the minivan drove up the highway out of view as she tried to calm herself from the encounter.

‘Fucking hell Claire! What the fuck are you doing out here, just swallow your pride and go back home you dumb bitch!’

“No. Fuck that!” She started to speak to herself out loud. “I need this. I’ll see this through, maybe then if mum sobers up enough she might even notice I’m fucking missing!”

Claire walked on ahead, the exposed skin between her breasts was starting to sweat in the heat, beads of it trickled down between them under her short sleeveless shirt as she kept up her pace.

She pushed her black hair behind her ears again, wishing she had bought some hairpins when she noticed something ahead.

As she approached, she saw a wide dirt road that led into the woods to her right, there was also a faded signpost pointing in the direction, but it appeared extremely old and any words had long weathered away.

She considered carrying on to the gas station the guy in the minivan had told her about, but the dirt path led into the woods themselves, which was the whole reason she was even out here at all.

Claire took a deep breath and turned, making her way along the uneven trail, a vehicle had been through here several times, judging by the tracks, this might be one of those roads that park rangers use, they could set her up properly if it was.

She had been walking along the pathway for about fifteen or so minutes before she came to a clearing with a small lake, filled with discarded junk. Claire’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the blue minivan was parked by the side of it.

As she approached, she saw that the back doors of the vehicle were both open, The inside had a dirty, stained mattress and two rucksacks.

Her breathing sped out of control, sweating profusely, she took a few slow steps back.

The voice behind her was soft, but what it said made her blood run cold.

“Hey there again beautiful ... Don’t back away now. We made it nice and comfy for you while we take you back home.”

She shook as she heard multiple giggles, feeling hands rest heavily on her shoulders and the sides of her legs as the soaked cloth covered her mouth.

The first thing that Claire’s clouded mind registered as she slowly came round, was the stale smell in the air, she started to open her eyes.

She took a sharp breath in as she realized she couldn’t move her arms or legs. She could feel the draft of the humid air all over her body.

It didn’t take her long to realize why. Looking down, she gasped in horror as she realized she was completely naked, and bound by her wrists and ankles to a filthy double bed frame with an old mattress.