The Iron Room

by Sarah Himebauch

  “So how old are you son?”

  “18.”

  “Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

  “I was messing around with my friends and I got hurt with a BB gun. I need the doctors to pull them out, it’s quite a few stuck in there.” I shrugged my shoulders.

  Who knew I was a terrific liar?

  “Some friends.” The driver tut-tutted and shook his head in disappointment.

  The reality was that I didn’t have bad friends, but a bad family, where my mother felt it morally okay to shoot her own son in the chest and leaving him for dead.

  It was also incredibly ironic if you considered the fact that just a while before she shot me, she was apologizing for how cruel the captivity was. Imagine that. My psychotic mother felt horrible about keeping me in chains in my own home but could give a shit less about leaving me shot and bleeding in the street.

  She was always more concerned about saving her own skin.

  We were ten minutes into the drive. It was turning from a comfortable into an uncomfortable silence, and I thought it would be best if I at least attempted to have a lighthearted conversation.

  “So, where do you live?”

  “Just about a half mile out of here. You?”

  “Yeah, I live back that way, and that damned hospital doesn’t take my insurance. I have to hitch rides out to this other one.”

  “You get hurt often?” He looked wary of me all of a sudden.

  “Boys will be boys you know,” I said trying to incorporate a light-hearted laugh.

  He could see right through me.

  “You know, I have a relative that lives back there too. In a town called Prairie. You might know him.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Well, you might know him as Sheriff Johnson.”

  Shit.

  My heart stopped in my chest, and I thought it was over for me. Sheriff Johnson probably sent whatever backwoods relative this was to try and find some bleeding six-foot-tall kid stumbling on the side of the road.

  I was so fucking screwed.

  I used my better instincts to figure that I should probably play it cool, just in case the old man actually was clueless and just trying to create a conversation like me.

  “Yeah, he’s a cool guy. I know him. How are you related?”

  “He’s my son. He’s such a good man. I raised him in this town we’re in now, Grenado. But he had bigger dreams than this shithole of a town and now he’s Sheriff over in Prairie.”

  “Sorry to hear about his daughter.”

  The old man immediately slammed on his breaks, and I realized I had said something wrong. I should have never brought Katie up, now he was going to think I knew them more personally than I had originally let on.

  Play it cool.

  “You know about that?”

  “Yeah, everyone does. It’s a sad situation.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Just then, his phone started to ring.

  He flipped open the colossal prehistoric age flip phone and answered.

  “Yello.”

  Who the hell answers the phone like that?

  I mentally shook my head.

  “Yeah. No way! God is good. Mhmm. Yeah, I will definitely come. What? Say that again.” He looked at me.

  “I’m going to have to call you back son.”

  He shut his phone and pulled off to the side of the road nearly knocking my head against the glass doing so. He threw the car into park and yanked the keys out of the ignition. I kept my head facing forwards but could feel his eyes burning a hole into the back of my head.

  I could see him reaching in the backseat for something out of the corner of my eye.

  “Get out.” I turned to my left and he was pointing a gun right at me.

  Do I make a run for it?

  I mulled over the possibilities and the outcomes of what to do, as I slowly but surely opened the passenger door. The minute my feet hit the grass, he jumped out of his car and rounded the front, so he was facing me.

  “Turn around. Walk.”

  I did just as he said, walking straight forward with the barrel of the gun pressed into the back of my head. We had walked beyond the truck and were standing in the middle of a field when he gave me more instructions.

  “Kneel.”

  Executioner style… not good.

  “That was my son on the phone… would you believe it if I told you that he told me to keep an eye out for a guy who matched your exact description? He even nailed you right down to the bleeding torso. You must be Mark… the kid that kidnapped my Katie.”

  This was it. He was going to kill me, and I would never see Katie again.

  “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  This is your chance. Distract him.

  “I do actually. You have the situation all wrong. I was the one that helped Katie escape, twice. The first was a bust because my parents got involved and then they chained me up. I could never hurt Katie… I love her.”

  At this point, I was fully turned around facing this man, as he began to lower the barrel of the gun that was resting between my eyes. I had a big sigh of relief waiting, but held it in. This guy was still a loose cannon.

  Just then, the old man was knocked backwards. His gun was shot out of his hand, and I looked to the right where I saw someone standing with a gun pointed right at the man.

  “You okay? I saw the whole thing. I called the cops… they’re on their way.”

  “No bother.” I grabbed the keys of the old man’s car, climbed inside, and high tailed it out of the corn field and onto the pavement. I was speeding and going well over the speed limit. The cops in all of these towns were few and far between and I knew that their focus would be on the call they just received about a man holding a gun to a kid’s head.

  I needed to get to the hospital and get stitched up. The sooner I was fixed, the sooner I could hide.

  I hated myself for still debating whether or not I would turn myself in. It was guaranteed jail time for the crimes I committed, and while I never hurt the girls physically, not like my mother or sister, I kidnapped them.

  I knew turning myself into the Prairie Police Department was the right thing to do. It would make me a man in Katie’s eyes, and at this point in time, her opinion was the only that mattered.

  Within a few minutes, I could see the hospital straight ahead.

  Yeah, it’s amazing how far you get when you actually drive over 25 mph.

  I was smart and made sure to park the old man’s car out of sight. If the police came looking for it, then they wouldn’t be able to find me. I don’t know exactly how long it takes for a bullet wound to get all fixed up.

  I walked into the hospital, and straight up to the front desk. I could already see that the waiting room was packed but I needed help right away. I couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Excuse me, I need medical assistance.”

  “Sir, please sign in and we will be with you shortly.”

  “No, I’ve been shot.”

  Her eyes darted up from the computer screen she was immersed in, and she pressed a button on the desk. She spoke into a little microphone, off to the side of her screen.

  “Dr. Fields to the ER. Urgent.”

  Just then, a team of nurses, and a doctor came running out behind double doors, with a bed. They laid me down on top of it, and the doctor removed my hand from my makeshift bandage. He pulled it back slightly as they were wheeling me in, and immediately replaced it again with his hand when it began to spurt blood everywhere.

  I’m going to be okay. I have to be.

  “He’s losing a lot of blood Dr. Fields,” The nurse warned.

  I could hear a flurry of voices but couldn’t focus on one. Everything was becoming blurry, and then black. I was out.

  When I finally opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a hospital bed, in a room isolated by myself. I laid my head back when I saw the bandages covering up my bullet wound. Thank god. When I started to fade in
to the blackness, I feared that I wouldn’t make it.

  I wanted to see Katie.

  I reached out to touch the bullet wound but found myself unable to. I looked down at my arm, which was cuffed to the side frame of the hospital bed.

  Sheriff Johnson strolled in the room with a grin plastered over his face.

  “Hello Mark, glad to see you have woken up.”

  I shook the cuffs once more.

  “Oh… those. Yeah. You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Anna Lewis, Tara Brooks, Kim Meyers, and Katie Johnson.

  Fuck.

  35

  Katie

  They were selling videos of our abuse to sickos online for money? My head was spinning. Mark had never let on about the reason for all of this, but that was pretty out of left field… even for this family.

  My heart ached. I was really struggling with the internal battle I faced. On one hand, I was furious. I was angry and upset at the fact that each one of us girls had been mentally, and physically broken in more ways than one. We had been exploited by this family in every aspect of the word, and now to find this out… it’s unimaginable.

  On the other hand, some twisted, deep part of me sees Mark as the hero in this story. And how can that possibly be? He kidnapped women, including myself. He never partook in the physical abuse but allowed it to happen. He was a clear bystander, who seemed to not give a shit about whether these girls lived or died. How could I care for someone like that?

  I don’t know… but you do.

  Okay, I will admit, I care about Mark. It’s nothing more than the “you saved my life” aspect though. Nothing about his traits are desirable to me in the slightest. My heart simply felt a large sense of gratitude to him, when my mind is telling me that’s absolutely insane.

  You’re insane.

  “Katie?” My dad was looked at me, trying to get my attention, and in turn- breaking me out of my deep dark thoughts.

  “Yeah… sorry. I was just trying to process.”

  “That is understandable. All of you have been through a great deal of trauma, especially you Tara. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.” My dad turned towards Tara… a great sense of empathy clear on his face.

  “It’s not your fault Mr. Johnson. No one saw it.”

  He nodded his head and turned to me.

  “I’m going to make a quick call to your grandpa before you head into surgery. Let him know that you’ve been found.”

  I smiled, letting him know that was okay. All this drama and new developments allowed me an escape from reality, and for a moment- I forgot I had to get surgery.

  Yeah, tough luck on that one.

  “I can see you worrying about the surgery. Stop. You will be fine.” Kim comforted me with a grin, and I felt for a second a sheer sense of calm.

  Just then, the doctor glided into the room and let me know that the OR was prepped and ready for me.

  “Can we wait for my dad to come back in the room? I want to say bye first.”

  “I’m here, I’m here.” He walked over, planted a kiss on my head, and continued.

  “I will be right here when you get out of surgery. Don’t worry about Mark, I told Grandpa to keep a look out for him.”

  What?

  I had no time to process anything, because the nurses were swiftly rolling me away. What would happen to Mark? My stomach was torn up into knots, and I must have looked visibly nervous, because the nurse addressed me.

  “Don’t worry about anything hon. It will be a quick surgery. You will be all better in no time at all.” She smiled as she wheeled me into the OR, put the mask over my nose and mouth, and started counting back from ten.

  I counted with her, the room getting darker and darker, until it blurred to nothing.

  Please let Mark be okay.

  I had no idea of how long the surgery actually ended up being, but I was met with a chorus of “You did great” when I woke up. As I opened my eyes, I was back in the shared room with my friends, both of which were knocked out.

  I’m glad I can be in the same room of them.

  Despite being in a room together already, this room, this hospital room attached different promises to it versus the Iron Room.

  The Iron Room was dark, bleak, and held no promise of the future. Every day was a fight, and we had to do so chained down, with minimal food in our system, dehydrated.

  This hospital room held three physically broken girls, but not mentally.

  Mentally, we were all stronger than ever. This was a rough patch in our lives, one that we would undoubtedly remember forever. We were weirdly bonded in a way that would stick with us for the rest of our lives.

  This hospital room held hope…and promise.

  “I’ll send your dad in hon. He just got back.”

  Back from where?

  My dad waltzed into the room, in a seemingly great mood.

  He reached over me, hugging me tight. I also forgotten what this had felt like. I missed it.

  “I knew you would do just fine in the surgery. I’m so proud of you. I’m also glad you’re awake, because I have great news.” His grin practically stretched from ear to ear.

  “What is it?”

  I had a gut wrenching feeling it had something to do with Mark.

  “We got him.”

  Oh god, no.

  “You got who?” I asked, playing dumb.

  “Mark. Believe it or not, my phone call to your grandpa did wonders. He found him wandering on the side of the road and picked him up. Mark got away, but the local hospital near there notified me. He’s under arrest and will be picked up when he’s better.”

  Poor Mark.

  “And then what will happen?”

  “Well there will be a trial Katie, and then they will all be handed down a sentence. Sharon, Paul, George, and Mark will all be tried for crimes.”

  My heart sank, knowing that Mark would without a doubt go to prison.

  Sharon and Paul deserved it. Amy deserved it. George definitely deserved a little time in the slammer for halting my escape efforts, and letting the scheme go on while he knew about it and could have helped.

  I know it sounded like I was defending Mark, and I wasn’t. He had done some pretty horrible things, and while I don’t know the specifics of everything, I do know that there would have been no girls to torture and exploit without his hand in the kidnapping.

  It makes him liable, but Mark showed a different side to himself in there. In the beginning, the thought of him at all repulsed me.

  But throughout everything, and the way he so blatantly put his neck out on the line for me, I was fighting an internal battle over what I should feel and what I actually feel.

  You’re being an idiot Katie.

  “Sounds fair.”

  My dad sat down at the edge of my head and took my hand into his. I hadn’t noticed earlier due to the flurry of everything happening, but he looked a lot older. He was sporting more gray hair, and his skin looked sallow, complete with dark circles under his eyes.

  He looked like hell, and it was all my fault.

  I knew in my mind even while I was down there that my dad was without a doubt running himself ragged trying to find me, Tara, Anna, and later Kim.

  I had so many thoughts and emotions flowing in my head and was having an incredibly difficult time trying to separate and evaluate them. I needed a good night’s rest in my own bed and hoped that the doctor would allow me to do so.

  “Dad, do you think the doctor would let me go home tonight?”

  “Let me grab him.”

  He stepped out for a moment’s time, and I took the opportunity to glance at my still sleeping friends. They needed all the sleep they could get. Once wind of everything that happened got out, everyone and their mom would be in our faces wanting to know close details.

  Another perk of living in Prairie.

  The doctor and my dad stepped back into the room, and I braced myself for a hard no.

  “Your dad informed m
e that you had a question for me.”

  “Yes… I wanted to know if I could possibly go home tonight.” I smiled at the stern-faced doctor, in a weak attempt to butter him up.

  “It’s not hospital policy to leave after any surgery, even if it is a bone fracture.”

  “Please? You know my dad won’t leave my side.”

  “Fine. The only condition is that you take a wheelchair, and that your dad stays home with you for a week. You need to come back tomorrow and a few days from now so I can evaluate the ankle.”

  “Deal.” I reached out to shake the good doctor’s hand, amused and also shocked that I got my way.

  I couldn’t wait to be in my own bed.

  I did feel bad about leaving Tara and Kim here, but their parents had been in and out of the room all day from what I had been told, and they had family that I’m sure were desperate to get them home as well. I think visiting hours were almost over, as I didn’t see either of their parents since I got out of surgery.

  “That means we’re leaving tonight kid.”

  “Okay dad. Can you grab me a pen and some paper? I want to leave notes for the girls.”

  “Of course.”

  My dad returned shortly with a few pieces of paper, and a ballpoint pen.

  I started writing the note to Tara.

  Dear Tara,

  Thank you for everything including the support. I don’t know how I would have gotten through this hell without you. You’re sleeping peacefully, and I don’t want to wake you. I passed my surgery with flying colors, or so they tell me. I’m going home tonight and we’re leaving now. Please call me when you get home. My house number is 310-776-3458.

  Love, Katie

  Short and sweet, just like Tara. It was perfect. I had my dad lay it on her bedside table where she would easily see it when she woke up. I began to comprise my note to Kim.

  Dear Kim,

  It’s amazing what we have overcome together in a short amount of time. I’m so glad that you are okay, safe, and where you belong. I know your family missed you terribly. My dad is taking me home tonight, but I didn’t want to worry you or Tara, and left you both notes. Lord know what the family did with my phone, so for now if you need to reach me, my house phone works. The number is 310-776-3458. Talk to you soon.