by Maxey, Phil
Abbey kept her hands raised, close to her chest, that way the pain was slightly less. When Tinley ‘punished’ her, the pain was so intense she almost passed out, but for now it had descended to a dull throb, unless she tried moving her left hand, then it felt like her wrist was being broken all over again.
He had asked her if she was left or right handed. She told him the truth. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew by saying right, he would do something to her left, presuming she was lying to him, she wasn’t.
She had been moved out of the cold, damp warehouse floor above, downstairs to a room which was slightly warmer. It was also within eyeshot of Tinley’s people. At least now she wasn’t alone. The ‘attractive’ Hispanic woman with the tied back curly black hair, that Tinley threatened earlier was now with her, also tied up.
Both of them were gagged, but not blindfolded. Abbey learned within an hour of sitting on the hard floor just how much you can communicate with your eyes alone. Whoever this woman sitting opposite her was, she was bright and a survivor.
The room they were in was similar to the one Abbey was in before, but this one had been in use. The floor was swept with some rugs thrown down, and there was a desk, some battery operated lanterns, a filing cabinet and some chairs. This was obviously some base of operations, but for who or for what purpose she couldn’t tell.
Abbey had tried to listen as best she could through the closed door and glass windows of the office she was in to the activity that was happening outside. Every now and again she would hear muffled voices, one of which she was sure was Tinley’s, but there were also others, many others.
The light was starting to fade when the door burst open. Abbey and the other woman shuddered in reply.
Tinley stood in the doorway, with a large ponytailed man behind him who was holding a bag.
“Good afternoon. My friend here, Clovis is going to ungag you, and then give you some food and water. It’s in your interest that you don’t try anything, he’s a lot less nicer than I. Actually Abbey you already met him, but you probably don’t remember,” he gave out a snigger. The man behind smiled. Tinley then went to walk away but stopped. “Oh, almost forgot. Your man, Zachariah, I’ve been informed that he’s on his way, so there’s hope yet!” he sneered, then turned away.
Clovis walked slowly into the space between them and dropped a bag onto the frayed patterned rug. He then leaned down, and pulled the gag from Abbey and then Daisy, both of whom tried not to look at him directly. He then left.
They both sat in silence waiting for his footsteps to grow fainter. When there was silence form outside, Abbey shuffled forward on her backside and went to open the bag, but winced.
Daisy shuffled forward. “No, let me do it, you’re in pain.”
Abbey smiled awkwardly, realizing how stiff her face felt from the dried tears on it.
Daisy opened the plastic bag and pulled out a plastic bottle of water, there was also what looked like a large bag of chips and a candy bar. “I’m Daisy Castillo,” she opened the bag of chips and the candy bar, pushing the bag towards Abbey and splitting the candy bar in two, passing half to her as well. She then opened the bottle of water, took a quick swig and passed it to Abbey, who stretched for it and groaned in pain. Fighting through the sensation of her bones being pulled apart she grabbed the bottle, and took a number of mouthfuls. She breathed heavily. Even though she had just been sitting on the floor all day, waves of fatigue were starting to take hold of her and she wavered back and forwards.
“Hey, eat first, then you sleep. I’ll keep watch after. What’s your name?”
“Abbey.”
“You know, you really pissed him off.” Abbey looked at Daisy unsure of who she meant. “Tinley, when you barricaded yourself in upstairs. I’m sorry about that, if it weren’t for me, maybe you could of gotten away.”
“I don’t think there was any way out anyway. I don’t know what I was thinking, I just wanted,” emotion started to well up inside her and a tear ran down her cheek.
“It’s okay, take a bite of the candy.”
Abbey chewed on the chocolate, and shook her head slightly. Need to keep my head. “How did you end up here?”
“I was taken from the courthouse. He killed the judge, and he would have killed Arnold, so I volunteered. Last time I do that.” They both giggled while eating as fast as they could. Daisy then shuffled closer to Abbey. “I think we can escape, we just have to wait for the right moment. This is a big city. We just need ten or so minutes alone, and they will never find us, and whatever plan he’s got for your boyfriend. Well if he doesn’t have you, it’s not going to work as well.”
Abbey wanted to agree, but right now all she wanted to do was sleep. She almost didn’t have the energy to eat the food and drink the water she knew she had to, to stay alive.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As the shadows started to grow long, and day gave way to the evening, the convoy approached the outskirts of Jackson, Mississippi. For most of the journey they had managed to avoid E.L.F’s due to Cal’s sense of them being close or far. As they moved along the tree lined highway, he started to feel uneasy.
He furrowed his brow and squeezed his forehead. “I’m picking up that same feeling again.”
“The same feeling you had in Monroe?” said Zach.
“Yes, I think so. It’s almost… the best way I can describe it, is each E.L.F ‘sounds’ different to me, when there are lots of types close by, it sounds like that sound orchestra’s make when they are just starting up, I can’t make one from the other, but I know they are there.”
“And now you’re starting to recognize individual instruments?” said Raj.
“Yeah I guess, but I don’t actually hear them, it’s like a sensation. Anyway, I picked up something in Monroe which was different to anything else I’ve felt before, and I’m feeling it again now, the weird thing is, it feels like it’s the same, like it’s the same E.L.F.”
“Like we are being tracked.” Zach said in a deadpan tone while driving.
“Yeah.”
“Great,” said Fiona.
“Do you think it could be human?” said Zach.
“It’s not human.”
Fiona looked upwards to see as much of the sky as she could. “So a monster has tracked us for a hundred miles.”
“I think so.”
Zach clicked on the radio and informed the rest of the convoy that there might be something following them.
Raj leaned closer to Cal. “Your abilities seem to be improving.”
Cal gave a quick smile, but he wasn’t sure if he was happy about that.
“Bass, we will leave the highway at the next exit and then head into the suburbs, see where there is to hold up for the night. Over.”
Bass acknowledged, and they left the highway passing back under it, and then moving onto a wide deserted road which led towards the heart of the city. Overhead the sky was gray and filled with formless clouds refusing to let any direct sunlight hit the ground. Passing a college and a clock tower they were soon surrounded by numerous hotels and stores, most of which looked undamaged.
“Might be a good place to check out in the morning,” said Fiona.
Zach pointed to his left, up ahead. “There, let’s check out that place,” he informed Bass, and they pulled up out front of a large brick pharmacy building. A few cars sat in the parking lot, but there was no sign of any people or creatures having been there.
The convoy sat for a moment, all their engines turning over in the stillness of the early evening. The fumes from their exhausts turned to a thin mist as the temperature continued dropping.
Zach studied the building in front of him. “Good line of sight, and the building doesn’t have many windows, apart from the entrance it looks pretty secure. Cal stay out here, if you sense anything get on the radio,” Zach then left the Humvee, walking up to the tank, where Bass had already popped open the turret hatch.
Soldiers jumped down from the truck, and joined
Zach as he walked inside through the already open glass doors.
Cal reached forward and put his hand on Fiona’s shoulder, which she covered with her own hand.
Raj stretched out. “I’ll be glad to get out of his Humvee, even if it is on a cold, tiled floor!”
Micheal banged on the Humvee’s side window, making them all jump. Fiona swore.
He pointed to the building. “I’m going inside.”
“I’ll think I’ll join him,” said Raj, who then got out.
Fiona sighed. “Been a crazy few days.”
Cal moved forward, between the front seats, pulled her towards him and kissed her. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’m okay.”
“It’s just…”
“You’re worried about what I can do, that it’s making me someone different?”
“We don’t know what’s happening from one day to the next. Back at the camp, it started to feel…”
“Normal?”
“Yeah, well as much as it can do.”
“We get Abbey back, then we can decide where we want to go. Back to the camp, or maybe somewhere else, who knows what other communities survived.”
“I don’t think they will want to let you go, you’re too useful to them.”
Cal smiled. “That’s our choice and anyway there will be others that can work with them.”
Fiona’s radio cracked then Zach’s voice came through. “Looks all clear in here, bring the supplies in. Back up the vehicles as close as you can to the main entrance, we will use the tank as a barricade.”
As Cal, Fiona and the rest left their vehicles, the gloomy sun had passed below the horizon, and the rain started to fall again. High above in the gray heavens a shadow moved and swayed, watching.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A man in eighties heavy metal leather clothes screamed, and a stadium full of creatures responded, laughing and making unrecognizable sounds of joy. Abbey had almost gotten used to the dream she was repeatedly having. This time she thought she would do something different. Standing, she moved up the aisle and walked under a bright green neon sign that said “Cascade.” She continued through a dark shadow infested hallway until she came out into a deserted lobby only half lit. Everywhere she looked where placards and posters. “Tickets to the Cascade, brought to you by Arclight! One night only!” She started to feel uneasy. Her face was sweating. She needed to get some air. Walking down some impressive stairs, she ran across the plush carpet, and through ornate glass doors, into… a jungle.
The heat was more intense than before, more stifling. Turning around she looked back at the lobby she just came from to see nothing but just a mass of bright green leaves and branches. Trunks covered with lichen reached skywards into a canopy so thick no sky could be seen, but yet there was light enough for her to see a path crawling through the undergrowth ahead of her. Feeling worse she looked down at her left arm. There was no hand, not even a tentacle. She screamed.
“Abbey!” Daisy tried to hold her hand over Abbey’s mouth, trying to stifle her scream. “Abbey, it’s a dream.”
Abbey flicked her head left and right, and then intense pain shot up her arm from her hand, forcing her eyes open wide. “Where am I…”
“In a warehouse, I’m Daisy, remember? From earlier?”
Abbey breathed heavily. “Yes, sorry, I remember. Do you have any water?”
Daisy opened the bottle, and held it up to her mouth so she wouldn’t need to lift her hands. She drunk a little. “Thank you,” she then realized Daisy's hands and feet were not tied anymore.
Daisy anxiously looked at the office door. “You began to scream, I think I woke you before anyone heard.”
“Sorry. It’s just I keep having this dream, a dream where I’m someone… or something I’m not, and I’m in this weird stadium, or theater, and then there was a jungle…”
A noise echoed around the large open area beyond the office and they both froze. Only silence followed.
“Okay I think we’re alone.” Daisy sat back against the filing cabinet. Something just outside their room provided just enough light for them to see each other and the furniture but not much else. “That sounds like the kind of dream you might have if you had been kidnapped by crazy freaks.”
Abbey smiled, and even though it was hard to see, thought Daisy was as well. “I hope that’s what it is… have you thought about a plan to get us out of here? What if they find you untied? What time is it? How long was I asleep?”
“In reverse order. About four hours. I think it’s around ten, I can put the cord back on quickly if I need to and yes I have.” Daisy moved close to Abbey. “The windows in the room outside the office, they are only ten or so feet from the sidewalk.”
“Okay?”
“We’re going to open one, and then I’m going to lower you down, with this.”
Daisy picked up plastic cabling, it looked twisted and was wrapped around into loops.
“You’ve been busy.”
“I’m going to help you free your legs and hands. It’s going to hurt, but you have to not scream out, if you do no one’s going anywhere.”
“Any idea what way to go when we touchdown? This is my first time in Atlanta for many years.”
“We just get as far away as we can, as quickly as we can.” Daisy pulled her shirt off, twisting it tight, then placed it near her mouth. “Bite down on this.”
Abbey did so, then Daisy set about untying her hands. It took longer than she wished, and on more than one occasion Abbey thought she would bite right through her friend’s shirt, but eventually her hands were free. The throbbing though had intensified, and made her feel light headed.
“I… I don’t know if I can do this, the pain in my wrist…”
Daisy continued untying her feet. “That’s why I’m lowering you down, we will tie the cord around under your shoulders. You shouldn’t have to use your left hand at all. Right, are you ready? Let’s see if you can stand.”
Abbey blinked but didn’t respond. She started to put pressure on her thighs, then calfs then ankles, all of which hurt, but compared to her wrist it was manageable. Eventually she was sitting on the nearby chair and could see into the large empty space just beyond the thin walls of the room they were in. Daisy quickly put her shirt back on, picked up the rope she created and walked to the door, crouching. She then slowly put her hand on the cold rusted metal door handle, and turned. There was a loud click, and both of their hearts missed a beat, but she continued turning and then pulled the door open a few inches.
A waft of cool air brushed over them, and along with it came the sound of distance voices.
“They’re not far away!” said Abbey disturbed by the new sounds.
Daisy put her hand up. They both sat waiting for the distant din of chatter to quieten. After what seemed like hours but was in fact only a few minutes, only silence came from the rooms neighboring them. The light coming from the room with the noises also disappeared, plunging them both into complete darkness.
“Fuck. Okay I think they’re gone or asleep.” she whispered.
“I can’t see my hand in front of my face!” whispered Abbey in reply.
Abbey gingerly got to her aching feet, and walked, keeping herself low and stopped just behind Daisy. Abbey knew that at any moment someone could enter the room, walk across the open space to the office and they wouldn’t be able to tie themselves up quickly enough in the darkness. But she didn’t care. If there was a chance to escape she was going to take it.
Daisy pulled the door open a few feet and waited. Still no sounds. She then moved out of the room trying to remember which direction she needed to move in. Luckily the night sky though the windows was slightly less dark than the space around her and her eyes begun to adjust. She was soon below the window.
“Come on,” she threw her voice best she could while keeping it low in the direction she just came from. She felt a presence behind her.
“I’m here.”
They both
crouched below the window and looked in the direction they thought the door was, the same door which many times during the previous day people had come through.
Daisy stood up slowly and looked out the window. Light from somewhere behind the clouds above, gave just enough light for her to make out the sidewalk below. “I think it’s about ten feet, but I can’t be sure,” she then felt around the window frame until her fingers caught on a latch, which she pulled on. There was a creak, and the window opened a few inches. She then pushed it further. She then ducked back down and pushed her hands out until they came into contact with Abbey.
“I’m going to wrap the cord around you, under your shoulders and tie it in a knot, then you climb and out. Try to use your good hand and your feet to support your weight if you can.”
Abbey for the first time since she entered prison, thought about her weight and tried not to giggle at the absurd notion of doing so in this moment.
It wasn’t long before the cord was secure around her, and she grabbed the window rim, pushing the window further open, and climbed onto the ledge, she then looked back at Daisy who she could now make out. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, quick.”
Abbey swung both legs around so they were dangling off the edge, then pivoted around, holding onto the frame of the window with her good hand.
“Go on.” Daisy’s voice came from inside, just a few feet away but she wasn’t sure from exactly where in the pervading dark.
Getting a good grip with her right hand, she prodded the brickwork with her boots trying to find a foothold but there weren’t any. She took a deep breath, and let herself down, just hanging from one hand. She instantly dropped a few inches and her heart leaped into her mouth. The ground might as well of been fifty feet below her because she couldn’t see it, and she would be falling not knowing when it would stop.
The cord tightened under shoulders, and she was dangling beside the wall. She then started to lower, a few inches at a time. She kicked out desperately hoping that her boots would hit the hardness of the alleyway ground, but instead she kept being lowered. Where’s this damn sidewalk!
