The Iron Room

by Sarah Himebauch

  “What… what about Mark and Amy?”

  “Amy’s dead… and we left Mark back there. His mother shot him, and we left him behind on the main road. He took Amy, but he also helped us escape.” Johnny was explaining the situation in simple terms to my dad.

  I’m in for a round of questioning.

  “Mark took you? And the family has had you this whole time?” My dad looked taken aback, and genuinely furious.

  Yeah, they had the wool pulled over all of our eyes.

  “It’s a long story dad. Just please arrest them and I’ll give you a statement.”

  My dad nodded his head, giving in for now at least. I had no doubt that he would want a full detailed report later.

  “First, you’re going to give me another hug.” He reached out and squeezed me even harder than the first hug, and I found myself squeezing back. It felt so good to hug my dad again after all I had been through… and all I’m sure he has been through.

  He released me, and grabbed Johnny pulling him into a hug as well. Johnny looked awkward at first but returned the hug. My dad would be forever eternally grateful to him for doing what everyone in this town wishes they had been able to do… save all of us.

  I looked for Kim and Tara, but they had already been taken to the hospital. My dad informed me that I was going to be going there as well. I tried to protest, but it was no use.

  “Katie, you look like someone has beaten you half to death. Your ankle is also very obviously broken. You’re going. I will arrest them and meet you there. But you will have an officer escorting you, and he’s not going to leave your side. Neither is Johnny, right?”

  “Right.” Johnny nodded in agreement, and after a final hug to my dad- Johnny, an officer and I headed down to the local hospital.

  Please be safe dad.

  We arrived at the hospital in no time at all, and they took me in right away. Everyone there was shocked to see me, and they even stuck me in the same room as Tara and Kim as I was being examined. I told them that I had not been raped, but they still wanted to do a full physical check. I asked Johnny to wait outside.

  In fact, all three of us had to do a physical check throughout. While we were in the same room, they used small curtains to separate us into sub rooms. The checks didn’t take long, and they begin examining my face and the bruises. They said they would heal, and that I didn’t have too much damage in the facial region.

  They explained they were going to hook me up to an IV, noting that I looked severely dehydrated and malnourished. I could hear the other two doctors telling Kim and Tara the same thing.

  Tara and Kim’s final checks were done, and the doctors left. The nurses for each pulled the curtains open so we could freely talk. While I was almost done being examined, I needed my ankle to be looked at. The doctor took one look at the swollen, purple ankle and said it was broken. He wanted an X-ray done as soon as possible, especially since it had been hurt twice.

  They wheeled me away, and I gave a wave to my friends as I was leaving.

  I wondered if it was weird that I now considered the girls I was in captivity with as friends. I don’t know how you could go through something like what we did, and not come out of it with some sort of bond. We were bonded for life, and I could live with that.

  Besides our obvious differences in the beginning, Tara and I had started to warm up to each other recently. Once she realized that we were really in it together, she came around. Kim had always been sweet to me from the day she was taken.

  As I waited for the x-ray to take, my mind became lost in thoughts of Mark. Was it wrong to want him to be okay? I knew he was the catalyst to my coming into this Iron Room in the first place, but he also got me out. He turned against his family and everything he knew in order to save me.

  That counted for something right?

  It at least gave me the grounds to want him to live.

  Don’t forget he also took you.

  Yeah, but if I had never been taken then I wouldn’t have been able to get the girls out.

  True, but Anna wouldn’t have been dead, and Kim wouldn’t have been taken.

  I shook the negative thoughts away and focused on the positive. I was free. Kim was free. Tara was free.

  And the Puntzer family was about to get what they deserve.

  “X-ray is done. I’m going to wheel you back to the room, and the doctor will come in, in a few minutes to talk to you.” The nurse smiled at me, and I recognized her as Alexis from two streets down. She was always such a sweet lady.

  “Thank you.” I returned her smile as she began wheeling me back to the room where Tara and Kim were waiting.

  When I entered the room, they were both already hooked up to the IV and a nurse was waiting to do the same for me. Kim and Tara both smiled meekly, as they rested their heads on the pillows. It was a surreal feeling… to be safe after feeling scared for your life on a day to day basis.

  We knew we were safe, and I was sure the IV was making them feel much better.

  The nurse began inserting the IV needle into my arm vein, and for once I didn’t flinch at the pain.

  I had been through worse lately.

  A sad, sobering truth.

  The doctor walked in just as the nurse switched on the drip.

  “Katie… glad to see you’re getting the hydration you need. I looked at your X-rays…” He stopped, and looked at the other girls, unsure if he should proceed.

  “It’s okay Doctor. There’s no secrets between any of us anymore.”

  He gave a sympathetic smile and continued.

  “You have a comminuted fracture on your ankle bone. The bone snapped, and broke into a few other pieces. Due to the severity of it, and the fact that is was broken twice, you will need surgery. I’m so sorry Katie.”

  “It’s okay. Thank you, Doctor.”

  I put my head in my hands, nervous for surgery. I had never had surgery before in my life, and the thought nearly scared me half to death, but I also reminded myself that I had been though absolute hell the past few days, and nothing should scare me anymore.

  “It’s okay Katie. We are going to be right here with you the whole time.” Tara spoke, and Kim gave an affirming nod.

  I’m so thankful for them.

  “I will also be here.” Johnny stepped into the room, clearly given the go ahead now that we were all fully clothed, and had our IV’s hooked up.

  Johnny smiled at me, Kim, and headed over to Tara’s bedside, taking a seat. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

  Well I didn’t expect that.

  Tara smiled at him, happiness clear on her face and I felt my chest tighten with excitement. These girls and I had been through a horrible trauma, especially Tara who was there the longest out of us three. She deserved happiness so much, and with a cute guy like Johnny especially.

  Go Tara!

  Johnny turned to Kim and I and explained their situation.

  “Before she went missing, Tara and I were actually really close. She helped me with my homework, and I taught her how to play the guitar. It was a fair trade, but what I didn’t know is how I would fall madly in love with her. When I found out she was missing, I vowed that I would do everything in my power to find her- whatever it took.”

  Tara smiled and leaned in to hug him. He returned the hug, and I felt like I had stepped into a private moment. I turned away, with a grin plastered on my face.

  Tara and Johnny were in their own little world, and Kim and I took the opportunity to talk.

  “I wouldn’t have been able to mentally survive without your support, so thank you. I mean it,” I said looking at Kim.

  “I don’t think any of us would. It helped, to have someone who knows exactly what you went through. I think we’re bonded forever in a way.” Kim laughed.

  “Me too.”

  Just then, my dad walked into the room and my heart started beating a million times a minute. Did they find Sharon and Paul? Did they arrest them? What about George?

&nbs
p; What about Mark?

  I mentally slapped myself for thinking about Mark. He kidnapped me! But he also helped me to escape twice, even though the first time failed. He didn’t come and see me after that, for reasons unknown, but he still took that opportunity to get Johnny to help us, or me. I didn’t know how he felt about the other two girls.

  “What’s going on dad?”

  “Well, we arrested Sharon and Paul under kidnapping charges since you haven’t formally told me what happened. We found the gate attendant George and arrested him as well. However, we weren’t able to find Mark.”

  What?

  “We did circle back and find his blood on the road like you said, but the bullet was lying there so I’m assuming it was pulled out.”

  “What’s going to happen when you do find him?”

  “He will be arrested, even if he didn’t do anything. He clearly knew about everything.”

  “But he helped us escape.” I pleaded with my father.

  “And I’m sure the prosecutor will take that into consideration when passing a sentence. Now, I need you to tell me everything… all of you.” My dad looked around the room at Tara, Kim, Johnny and myself.

  “Mark kidnapped Anna first, and then me. They tortured us with beatings almost every day. They fed us only twice a day, in unbearably small amounts.”

  My dad shook his head, becoming upset.

  “And you Katie?”

  “Mark took me Sunday night. I was planning to stay over Amy’s after we spoke. I felt he was a suspect, and he wanted to clear it up. When I made it known that I wasn’t going to stop looking, he stuck with me a needle and I woke up in this Iron Room.”

  “Iron Room?”

  “That’s what I call it. It’s made of metal, even the walls, and it has a big iron door with chains.”

  “I know what room you’re talking about. The doors were open. We found Amy’s body in there.”

  I continued.

  “It was weird the first day and a half. They were unsure what to do with me. But once I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with them anymore, they started to treat me as a prisoner.”

  “And they gave you these…” my dad reached out and touched my bruises. He looked down at my ankle and wiped away a tear.

  “You need surgery too Katie. The doctor told me.”

  “I know Dad, I’m safe now though. Mark helped us. He tried to help me escape once, but they caught us. That’s when Amy got increasingly more violent with me. She tried to kill me.”

  “And who killed her?”

  “That would be me.” Johnny raised his hand in the air.

  “Where’s the gun?”

  “I dropped it in the forest,” Johnny explained.

  “Well I will need your statement. Thank you though.”

  Johnny nodded. My dad turned to Kim.

  “I got into it with Amy and Mark at school when I recorded them talking about it. I tried to run into the school when they caught me, put a needle in my neck, and took me home.”

  “That day when I went into the office to talk about Mark assaulting me, it was because I had showed Amy the receipts that I got from the phone company where it showed she agreed to meet Mark in the park that night.” Johnny began to explain to my dad.

  “You didn’t tell me that.” My dad looked shocked.

  Johnny was really trying to help all of us.

  Johnny shrugged. I knew he probably felt best if he investigated himself, like I did. Except when I did, I got caught and kept as a prisoner.

  “My detectives are searching the entire house now going through that “Iron Room” as you call it, and the rest of their home. Katie, what happened to your car?”

  “No clue.” I wondered that as well, as it was quite hard to hide a huge car. Knowing those nut jobs, they probably pushed it into a lake.

  “Sharon and Amy would come in and abuse us physically every day. Paul sometimes came in and watched or ripped off their clothes in the process. Mark only came in when I was there to talk to me.” I looked at my dad.

  I watched as my dad shook his head in disgust. The Puntzer family was held to the highest esteem and were one of the most distinguished families in the town of Prairie. No one would have seen something like this coming.

  My dad’s phone rang, and he stepped into the hallway to answer it.

  Have they found Mark?

  The phone call took longer than I expected, lasting up to a few minutes.

  When my dad finally stepped inside, his face looked somber.

  Bad news.

  “Did they find Mark?” I was hopeful.

  My dad shook his head no.

  “That was one of my detectives. They found the cameras in the room.”

  “Yeah I saw those. They liked to watch.”

  My dad continued,

  “Yeah, and apparently so did a few thousand other people. Did you know that the Puntzer’s were broke? The camera in the room was live streaming the abuse to the dark web. People were paying them thousands to watch you guys get beaten.”

  34

  Mark

  I watched them running away, with tears in my eyes and blood on my hands. Once the sirens started blaring, I watched my parents run away probably hoping to be clear out of town by the time the officers made their way to the house.

  I couldn’t be found, not like this. I pulled out the bullet, which was to the point of being unbearable. I left it on the road, as a token of my love for Katie. I had hoped she would see it and know I was okay.

  I had to stop the bleeding, which thanks to my mother was profuse. I was grateful that she had shit aim from a distance, otherwise she would have had two children die today.

  I pulled myself a safe distance away from all the commotion where I was still able to watch what was going on. I ripped off a piece of my shirt and stuffed it into the wound as a haphazard attempt to stop the bleeding.

  I hope Katie is okay.

  I had no doubt that she had already filled her dad in on everything that happened since I took her. I was sure that Kim and Tara also spewed some horror stories, painting me out to be some monster. I knew in my heart that Katie wouldn’t do the same, and neither would Johnny- well hopefully.

  I was man enough to know when I had done wrong, and when I messed up. Taking Katie was a big mistake. She never belonged there, and I feel personally to blame for what she had to go through every single day. My sister and mother ruined the years of friendship and throwing the familial love out of the window by treating her like one of the other captives.

  But I never did.

  I tried to always treat Katie with the utmost of love and respect, because she was a genuinely beautiful and kind person.

  Earlier, I had decided that I would be okay with being taken into arrest. I thought it would serve as the perfect penance for what I did to Katie, and the other girls as well.

  Don’t get me wrong, I still despise them. I think that they exhibit horrible qualities, absolutely deemed unfit for society.

  However, I have come to the riveting revelation that maybe that doesn’t exactly allow for them to be beaten every single day and held in captivity.

  And then there’s the streaming. That part was all mom and dad. I knew that the bank hadn’t been doing too good lately, with a lot of the townspeople taking out loans in return for IOU’s. Our town of Prairie had been hit especially hard with a financial hardship, and in turn, the townspeople turned to my dad for help. It in turn, made us nearly broke.

  I took Anna purely as an opportunity. The room had been built as a safeguard in case of national disaster but served a greater purpose in housing our occupants. Mom was researching ways to make some extra cash and came up with the idea of taking requests from strangers online on how to follow abuse requests, as well as streaming, in return for cash.

  The whole family thought it was a brilliant plan, including myself.

  Now, the thought of all of it made me sick to my stomach.

  I hobbl
ed through the greenery, trying to stay out of the way of the officers. I needed to patch myself up, and quick. I knew enough about crime shows, that I knew I needed to stop the source of bleeding. I should probably get checked out by a doctor, but I would need to go a few towns away to do so.

  I continued walking for as far as I could when I collapsed from sheer exhaustion. I had spent most of the night walking, and it was wearing on me. I made my way to the main road and felt comforted when I realized I was out of Prairie. I decided hitchhiking would be my best bet for getting me to a hospital without collapsing again.

  Or they could kill you.

  I was too tired to care, and after what I did, I deserved it.

  I stood on the edge of the forestry, where it meets the road. I saw small businesses nearby and not many cars on the road. But still, I persevered and held my thumb up.

  I looked up and down the road, desperate for someone to agree to give me a ride, while my chest ached considerably.

  Finally, after what seemed like forever, a small truck was driving towards me, and upon seeing me slowed down. The truck did a complete stop in front of me, and the driver was an older gentleman.

  “You need a ride son?”

  “Yeah thanks.”

  I opened the door and climbed in. He surveyed me, taking in the ripped shirt and the spot dripping blood as if he had only now just seen it.

  “Do you need a doctor?” He looked worried.

  “I do. Can you drive me to the nearest hospital?”

  “Sure thing, bud.” He put the car in drive and started to make a U-turn.

  No, not Prairie, I can’t.

  “Not that hospital, please. They don’t take my insurance.”

  “Well son the only close one beside that one is 2 miles the other way.”

  “That’s fine with me. Please.”

  He continued to study me, probably thinking I was batshit crazy for wanting to go to a further hospital when I was clearly in bad shape. Oh well. I didn’t care. I just had to do whatever I could to get there and get examined.

  He fixed the car, continuing straight. The drive was quiet, only the sounds of the country music station filling the empty void of silence.