Gone (Gone #1) Read Free Page B

her.
    "Don't get any funny ideas. If you try to escape, I'll go back and kill your entire family."
    "What?"
    "I got in once. I can do it again. If you get away, I'll go after them instead of you. Well, I will go after you too, don't get me wrong." He laughed. What a freaking psycho.
    Macy shuddered.
    "You still haven't eaten the burger I was nice enough to get you? Get one thing straight: you're not getting anything else to eat until you finish that first."
    "But it's old and gross."
    "Maybe you should have thought of that when I gave it to you. Don't test me, girl. I will wait as long as it takes for you to eat it before I give you anything else. It saves me money."
    "But you know I don't eat meat."
    "Looks like you're going to have to. It's going to be even less enjoyable as cold as it is. I wouldn't let it get any older, because it's sure not going to get better."
    "Where are you taking me?"
    "You'll find out soon enough. Eat the burger."
    "What'll you do if I don't?"
    "Don't you listen? I won't give you anything else to eat. I need some rest, so we're going to stop for a bit. Eat that damn burger, if you know what's good for you."
    He slammed the canopy door shut, and locked it. Tears filled Macy's eyes. Was he serious about killing her family? He was crazy enough to kidnap her, so he was probably serious about killing them.
    They hadn't done anything wrong. This whole situation was on Macy, and she knew it. She had been the one stupid enough to get herself into the truck in the first place. She would have to figure something out.
    Her stomach rumbled again. Macy looked at the burger, disgusted. Would he really make her eat it? Why did he care what she ate? There had to be a way she could hide it, so he would think she ate it. Where? There weren't exactly hiding places in the truck bed.
    She tried to focus on calming her stomach. Once it relaxed, she stared at the burger, imagining she was having a staring contest with it.
    "I'm losing my mind," she muttered. If she was going to eat it, it needed to be soon. The burger wouldn't get any fresher. Which was the more appealing choice? To starve, or to eat the cold, greasy burger? She would have chosen to go hungry, except that she didn't want to be forced to eat it a day or two later. At least it was somewhat edible right now.
    The minutes ticked by as Macy stared at the burger. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought about having to eat it days down the road. That convinced her. She crawled across the cab and carried the burger back to the blanket.
    "I'm sorry," she said to the cow she was about to eat. She unwrapped the waxy paper, and looked at the wilted bun, shaking her head. Her stomach growled, begging her to give it the nourishment.
    Closing her eyes, she bit down. The cold grease shocked her taste buds, and she had to force herself not to spit it out. The way it felt as she chewed it up only made it worse. It stank too. She plugged her nose, and took another bite, relieved to discover she almost couldn't taste it.
    She shoveled it in, eating as fast as she could without choking. Macy tried to pretend she was eating a veggie burger, but it didn't work. It was an old, disgusting slab of meat cooked in grease, no matter what she told herself.
    After finally finishing it, she threw the wrapper and tried to ignore how disgusting she felt. Her skin felt oily from the grease, and her stomach didn't feel right. Hopefully once it settled she would have more energy for getting away—if she could.

 
     
    Interrupted
     
     
    Chad Mercer was typing at his typical 120 words per minute when there was a knock on the door. He ignored it. His family knew to leave him alone when the door was closed.
    The knocking continued, distracting him. Why couldn't they let him get his work done? Well, it wasn't actually work. Not yet, anyway. He had a popular sports blog, where he posted his opinions. People loved his sense of humor, and he always had good statistics.
    With his