Untrustworthy - Chapter 18/Rescued
The end.
He sat and watched as my heart beat fast, then faster. My pupils dilated and I grinned. I was strong. I was happy. I was exhilarated. "You can't keep me here." I informed him. "You can't keep me here against my will. I'll get out. I'll get out and I'll get you and throw you out the windows because I'm just that strong. Elysa will kill you, she's done it before and she'll do it again I saw her and I'll help her and laugh." I was babbling. He put a hand on my stomach, pushing up my shirt.
"I like you like this." He said. Sudden fear overwhelmed me. I saw the man in the dream with the sword, tall and terrifying, ready to kill me. I thrashed and screamed while sweat beaded on my temples and the back of my neck. I worked myself up on my knees and tried to smash my taped fists into his face, tried to drive him away from me. He caught my wrists and threw me back on my side, laughing.
As I writhed on the floor he rolled on top of me suddenly taking my face into both of his hands he kissed me. I jerked and screamed and he frowned. "I'll let you think about us for a while, honey." He said, and got up, switched off the light, left me in the room. The door closed silently behind him with a swish.
"Don't leave me here alone!" I howled. I rolled up in a ball and trembled, again in a small dark place, but unlike before trapped dopamine was causing brain my brain to run riot. Erratic thoughts skittered through my head, through my dreams. There was no discerning waking or sleeping in here, was I in a crazed nightmare or in a crazed reality? I don't know how long it lasted...
When I'd gone quiet he opened the door and took me out, sat me on the bed again.
"That was interesting." I stared at him with black eyes. "Do you want to tell me you're sorry for kneeing me?" Without answering I lay down on my side, my wrists and legs still taped. "I can do that again to you. Soon you'll be begging me for it."
I trembled. "No."
"I told you, no one is coming to save you. No one knows you're here."
"Except me." We both looked up and saw Mark, the bedroom door swishing silently shut behind him.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Arden spat before he saw the small revolver cupped in Mark's hands, pointing at him.
"I knew enough to get out of that house and follow you here. I found out where you were keeping this kid and I've come for her." Arden sat still, like a chalk-white statue. "Go ahead and take off that duct tape." Mark looked at me, he seemed to be checking for damage. "I'm sorry I'm late Sara. I got a little lost. I said now, Arden." I stared wide-eyed at my savior as my captor peeled off the tape for a second time that day.
Mark motioned for me to come and I jumped off the bed and ran to his side, grabbing on to him. "Go into the living room and wait for me, I'll get you home." He whispered and opened the door for me with one hand, not taking his eyes off Arden. I slipped behind him and found myself in a living room, and looked back to see him shutting the door.
"You, found out where I was taking her?" I heard Arden say as the door closed. There was a muffled bark that I barely made out through the walls, and then Mark opened the door. He gave himself just enough room for his body to slip out before closing the door soundly, as if to protect me from the sight of Arden's corpse. It had happened so quickly, I didn't know what to do or say. We stood for a second and gazed at each other, and I noticed for the first time he wore gloves.
"My daughter was your age when she died." Mark said, his dark enigmatic eyes on me. "That man let me cover up my sin and get away with it, but that was wrong. I still have to live with it every day of my life. You've helped me see that...I don't owe him anything." I just stared at him, feeling strangely disconnected with myself. 'I'm not me', I thought silently, 'I'm a character in a vivid dream.'
He grabbed me arm suddenly, breaking me out of my reverie. "We have to go." He took me outside where the cold air swept over my face and hands like freezing water and I closed my eyes against the chill.
"Where are we going?" My dream character whispered.
"You're going back home." Mark said. He opened the door to close-bed truck I looked at the clock on the dashboard, it said 5:00pm and outside the winter sun was beginning to set. The twilight only intensified the nightmarish quality of what was going on. Nothing felt real or resolved, I was still inside a dream. He drove me back to the airport, and we didn't say much. The after effects of the injection made me feel depressed and drained. I couldn't believe Arden was dead.
"Did he hurt you?" Mark asked, looking down at me. I shook my head. "There's something I didn't tell you kid. I'm friends with your brother, from before. Long time before. I'm going to get you back to him." We arrived at the airport and parked in front of the departures gate. Someone had come up from behind the truck and suddenly there he was, the first real thing in my nightmare. I screamed and he flung the door open, enfolding me in his strong arms.
"Bryson! Bryson!" I wrapped my arms around him and he lifted me out of the truck.
"Let's go home." He whispered. "You are safe now, it's over." I rested my head on his shoulder, arms still wrapped around his neck. 'All that pain, all that suffering.' I mused. 'Three people dead, it can't be over.'
All the way back I held on tight to his hand, not wanting to let go. I scanned faces, afraid to see the one I was looking for, biding his time, waiting. On the plane I listened in a stupor as Bryson talked about Mark. "I met Mark my Sophomore year in highschool. Some of my 'friends' introduced me and besides being my dealer we would hang out some. I thought it was cool that I had older friends."
He gave a self deprecating laugh. "Then Mark got busted for drugs and went to jail and we lost touch. I was having my own problems back then and you guys were trying to get me clean. When I finally decided on my own to become clean I lost all the friends I had been hanging out with. I was really surprised when I got a call from Mark. He told me about you two, how he was getting worried about the two little girls who were hanging around Arden's place. He said you two weren't like the crack whores who usually come around and one of them had my last name.
He put two and two together when I beat up Gage. Plus he was getting suspicious of Arden's real reason for being there. Then almost an hour before everything was set in motion Mark broke into Arden's room, found ether, a ticket to New York and the address to his apartment. He also found a shipping container in Arden's closet made for transporting large pets. At the bottom of the container was your name."
"Why didn't he call the police?" I asked, feeling a little like a broken record.
"Mark said Arden could pull strings just as well in jail as out of it. He said he'd been doing it all his life." Bryson shrugged. "He told me that he could get you, and make sure Arden never came after us again."
"Did you know he was going to kill Arden?"
"All I know is Mark called me and warned me what was happening. I bought one ticket out here and two return tickets. I told mom on the way here, and I'm sure she called the police."
We arrived back home to a horde of police officers and reporters. I got off the plane and ran straight to my mom. I was examined and then asked a lot of questions by the police.
"Sara, are you ok?" Elysa kept asking. She didn't know about my rescuer, she seemed to think Bryson alone had saved me. "Sara, everyone responsible is going to jail. I'm coming to live with you now, in your home!" Her smile was brilliant, genuine and her relief infectious. "They've found Arden, he's dead." For some reason the words hit home, and as I cried with relief a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and my nightmare came to a close. Arden was dead, and the dark misery he'd caused had come to an end.
"I like you like this." He said. Sudden fear overwhelmed me. I saw the man in the dream with the sword, tall and terrifying, ready to kill me. I thrashed and screamed while sweat beaded on my temples and the back of my neck. I worked myself up on my knees and tried to smash my taped fists into his face, tried to drive him away from me. He caught my wrists and threw me back on my side, laughing.
As I writhed on the floor he rolled on top of me suddenly taking my face into both of his hands he kissed me. I jerked and screamed and he frowned. "I'll let you think about us for a while, honey." He said, and got up, switched off the light, left me in the room. The door closed silently behind him with a swish.
"Don't leave me here alone!" I howled. I rolled up in a ball and trembled, again in a small dark place, but unlike before trapped dopamine was causing brain my brain to run riot. Erratic thoughts skittered through my head, through my dreams. There was no discerning waking or sleeping in here, was I in a crazed nightmare or in a crazed reality? I don't know how long it lasted...
When I'd gone quiet he opened the door and took me out, sat me on the bed again.
"That was interesting." I stared at him with black eyes. "Do you want to tell me you're sorry for kneeing me?" Without answering I lay down on my side, my wrists and legs still taped. "I can do that again to you. Soon you'll be begging me for it."
I trembled. "No."
"I told you, no one is coming to save you. No one knows you're here."
"Except me." We both looked up and saw Mark, the bedroom door swishing silently shut behind him.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Arden spat before he saw the small revolver cupped in Mark's hands, pointing at him.
"I knew enough to get out of that house and follow you here. I found out where you were keeping this kid and I've come for her." Arden sat still, like a chalk-white statue. "Go ahead and take off that duct tape." Mark looked at me, he seemed to be checking for damage. "I'm sorry I'm late Sara. I got a little lost. I said now, Arden." I stared wide-eyed at my savior as my captor peeled off the tape for a second time that day.
Mark motioned for me to come and I jumped off the bed and ran to his side, grabbing on to him. "Go into the living room and wait for me, I'll get you home." He whispered and opened the door for me with one hand, not taking his eyes off Arden. I slipped behind him and found myself in a living room, and looked back to see him shutting the door.
"You, found out where I was taking her?" I heard Arden say as the door closed. There was a muffled bark that I barely made out through the walls, and then Mark opened the door. He gave himself just enough room for his body to slip out before closing the door soundly, as if to protect me from the sight of Arden's corpse. It had happened so quickly, I didn't know what to do or say. We stood for a second and gazed at each other, and I noticed for the first time he wore gloves.
"My daughter was your age when she died." Mark said, his dark enigmatic eyes on me. "That man let me cover up my sin and get away with it, but that was wrong. I still have to live with it every day of my life. You've helped me see that...I don't owe him anything." I just stared at him, feeling strangely disconnected with myself. 'I'm not me', I thought silently, 'I'm a character in a vivid dream.'
He grabbed me arm suddenly, breaking me out of my reverie. "We have to go." He took me outside where the cold air swept over my face and hands like freezing water and I closed my eyes against the chill.
"Where are we going?" My dream character whispered.
"You're going back home." Mark said. He opened the door to close-bed truck I looked at the clock on the dashboard, it said 5:00pm and outside the winter sun was beginning to set. The twilight only intensified the nightmarish quality of what was going on. Nothing felt real or resolved, I was still inside a dream. He drove me back to the airport, and we didn't say much. The after effects of the injection made me feel depressed and drained. I couldn't believe Arden was dead.
"Did he hurt you?" Mark asked, looking down at me. I shook my head. "There's something I didn't tell you kid. I'm friends with your brother, from before. Long time before. I'm going to get you back to him." We arrived at the airport and parked in front of the departures gate. Someone had come up from behind the truck and suddenly there he was, the first real thing in my nightmare. I screamed and he flung the door open, enfolding me in his strong arms.
"Bryson! Bryson!" I wrapped my arms around him and he lifted me out of the truck.
"Let's go home." He whispered. "You are safe now, it's over." I rested my head on his shoulder, arms still wrapped around his neck. 'All that pain, all that suffering.' I mused. 'Three people dead, it can't be over.'
All the way back I held on tight to his hand, not wanting to let go. I scanned faces, afraid to see the one I was looking for, biding his time, waiting. On the plane I listened in a stupor as Bryson talked about Mark. "I met Mark my Sophomore year in highschool. Some of my 'friends' introduced me and besides being my dealer we would hang out some. I thought it was cool that I had older friends."
He gave a self deprecating laugh. "Then Mark got busted for drugs and went to jail and we lost touch. I was having my own problems back then and you guys were trying to get me clean. When I finally decided on my own to become clean I lost all the friends I had been hanging out with. I was really surprised when I got a call from Mark. He told me about you two, how he was getting worried about the two little girls who were hanging around Arden's place. He said you two weren't like the crack whores who usually come around and one of them had my last name.
He put two and two together when I beat up Gage. Plus he was getting suspicious of Arden's real reason for being there. Then almost an hour before everything was set in motion Mark broke into Arden's room, found ether, a ticket to New York and the address to his apartment. He also found a shipping container in Arden's closet made for transporting large pets. At the bottom of the container was your name."
"Why didn't he call the police?" I asked, feeling a little like a broken record.
"Mark said Arden could pull strings just as well in jail as out of it. He said he'd been doing it all his life." Bryson shrugged. "He told me that he could get you, and make sure Arden never came after us again."
"Did you know he was going to kill Arden?"
"All I know is Mark called me and warned me what was happening. I bought one ticket out here and two return tickets. I told mom on the way here, and I'm sure she called the police."
We arrived back home to a horde of police officers and reporters. I got off the plane and ran straight to my mom. I was examined and then asked a lot of questions by the police.
"Sara, are you ok?" Elysa kept asking. She didn't know about my rescuer, she seemed to think Bryson alone had saved me. "Sara, everyone responsible is going to jail. I'm coming to live with you now, in your home!" Her smile was brilliant, genuine and her relief infectious. "They've found Arden, he's dead." For some reason the words hit home, and as I cried with relief a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and my nightmare came to a close. Arden was dead, and the dark misery he'd caused had come to an end.
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