Katie closed her eyes but the sounds continued and she knew that the same fate awaited her and she knew, within the depths of despair that bound her soul as much as the chains and ropes bound her hands and feet that she would never see the world again. That all she would know for the rest of her life was captivity and fear.
This middle aged man and his slightly younger wife were her gods and they were unforgiving and cruel.
She would never escape from them; She would die.
YYY
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
David sat in the café. He was nineteen and already his hair had started to desert him. It was not something that he could help and the fact that his already bland looks were going to be ruined by baldness was something that weighed heavily in his heart. He gazed into his coffee mug and listened to the song that was playing on the radio. David preferred Classical Music, but he quite liked this song though he had no idea of who sang it. He was never one to keep up with modern trends. He raised his eyes and looked at the reason that he always came here. She had been in his class all the way through school and even though he had known her for seven years, he had never had the courage to start up a conversation with her. She had smiled at him though and she knew his name and that was enough to fill his heart with something that resembled hope.
Her name was Samantha and she was the most beautiful girl that he knew. She had an easy winning smile and the most gloriously warm eyes that he had ever seen and David was deeply, in love with her. The way the light shimmered through her dark hair made his stomach churn and he knew that they were meant to be together. He had never had a girlfriend. At school, his preoccupation with chess, the school orchestra and science fiction had pretty much ensured that he had remained less than attractive a proposition to the girls that surrounded him. He had been okay with that, he was shy and had a little bit of a stammer that amplified when he spoke to a girl, but he had always been attracted to Samantha. She had haunted his dreams and his waking hours like a ray of glorious sunshine and he wanted to at least let her know how he felt.
He was about to go to University and he could not leave this town without telling her. It would not be right and if he did tell her and she said that she felt the same way then he would be faithful; He would come home as often as he could and they would build a life together that would be happy and joyous. Samantha worked in this café. She was not stupid, but she had never had any real desire to study and seemed happy to make the money that she needed to go out at weekends. As he watched her, she looked at him and smiled, affording him a little wave and he smiled back, raising his hand in return and knocking over his coffee cup.
A ripple of laughter came from a table across the café and he looked to see a small group of people, two women and three men that he had known at school. They were looking at him and laughing at his clumsiness and David felt his face start to burn. He wanted to leave but knew that their laughter would follow him as he went and he didn’t want Samantha to know how much of a coward he was.
‘Don’t worry about it David.’ Samantha came over with a cloth and started mopping up the mess that he had made. ‘The coffee in here is terrible.’
‘Thanks – thank you Samantha,’ he said slowly, hoping to avoid the stammer that still lay in wait, ready to pounce. ‘I – I was – I’m sorry, I’ve always been clumsy – that’s the main reason that the SAS turned me – me down.’
She looked at him and smiled. ‘Do you want a fresh cup of terrible coffee?’
‘That would – that would be lovely thank you.’
‘I’ll be right back,’ she smiled again and turned to walk to the coffee counter. He marveled at the way her hips moved and the bounce in her hair as she moved. David glanced back at the table and they had all moved on to whatever small concerns filled their days.
He knew that he only had a limited time left to speak to her, to ask her to go and see a film with him or maybe a meal. Even if she only went with him as a friend then that would be fine because he did not want to live a life where he never tried. His mother always said – ‘disappointment passes but regret lasts forever’ and he had always believed that to be true. He watched as she made another coffee and built up his courage. She was lovely and this wouldn’t be hard. As she came back to the table, he ran through what he was going to say to her. He looked at her face and she smiled at him.
‘One fresh cup of shitty coffee, sorry we’d run out of terrible coffee. I hope this is okay?’
‘Yes, that – that’s lovely thank you.’ He smiled and then saw that she was going to turn away. ‘Sam – Samantha?’
She turned and looked at him, the smile still on her face.
‘Listen, I was wondering if you would – well, you see I am leave – leaving for Uni at the end of the month and I was – well, I hoped that maybe you would come out with me one night? Maybe we could go to the cinema or maybe we could – well it’s – it’s up to you.’
He watched as she glanced at the table across from him and as he followed her glance he saw that they had an audience. Samantha looked back at him, still smiling and she shook her head.
‘Sorry David, you’re not my type.’ She turned and walked away and the laughter began at the table. He stood up and threw some money on the table before stumbling past the other customers, his face on fire and his heart somewhere in the pit of his stomach.
‘Sam, what did baldy Dave want’? He heard one of her friends calling out and although he didn’t hear what the bitch said in reply he certainly heard the laughter that erupted around the café as he left.
He was engulfed in shame and fury and his love, such as it had been, turned to hate. She could have said no without getting them all to laugh at him. Why had he thought she was such a nice person when in reality she was evil, Why hadn’t he seen what she was before he had made such a fool of himself. He hated her; he hated himself – his mother was right – regret would last forever.
His shame had burned and his plans for revenge had filled the moments when he wasn’t crying. On the Thursday after he had asked her, he walked into town and avoided eye contact with everyone because he knew that they all heard what he had done and they all saw him for the ridiculous clown that he was. It was a small town and news of his stupidity would have gone from house to house like a virus. Everyone would have known what he did by now and they would all be laughing at him.
To be honest, he didn’t blame them; it had been a stupid ridiculous thing to even think that she might have said yes. It was the laughter that he hated, not the rejection – he had tried and failed but the fact that she ridiculed him as he walked out would always be with him and he would teach her a lesson.
He walked to the hardware store and bought a 40 metre length of white cord, two roles of silver gaffer tape and a sharp knife. He had visualised what he would do to her. He would take her to the woods and tie her to a tree and then he would cut her clothes from her body and fondle her tits. He would kiss them and then he would kiss her and then he would kill her and then she would know what it meant to hurt someone.
He took the stuff home, hid them under his bed and sat on the bed. Samantha finished late on a Thursday night and always took the same route home. This meant that she walked through a quiet lane and it was there he would grab her. She would be afraid and he would laugh. As he thought of that moment, tears welled up in his eyes.
All he had wanted was a chance to show that he was a nice guy. That’s all he ever wanted.
Of course, the Thursday night came and he stayed at home, the rope, tape and knife hidden and unused. He had dismissed the idea as a fantasy. He was not stupid and he knew, when he bought the stuff that he would never use them. However as his acceptance of this as a fantasy had taken hold, he had masturbated furiously to the thought of Samantha, her eyes wide above a tape gag and her lithe young body restrained by rope. In some of his fantasies, he was the villain who had bound her and in others he was the hero, rescuing her from a fate worse than death; But
she was always tied and gagged as he thought of her and he had continued to masturbate over this until he met Madeleine years later.
His mother had been right – regret stayed with you forever.
YYY
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Portia lay in her chains. She heard some muffled screaming and yelling coming from behind the room where she was bound and briefly wondered if they had started torturing the Australian. Her body was tired and sore from having been pinioned to the table for so long and a large part of her wondered if they would untie her again, even if only to move her to a different position. She thought that they might, as the bondage, the intricate amount of bindings they used, seemed to be part of this ritual that they had. She hoped that she was right because the pain she was in was beginning to cloud her mind and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. If she couldn’t think straight, then the chances of her escaping would be limited. The knowledge of the chains around her was beginning to override all other thoughts. Her ankles were in incredible pain. The links of the chains had begun to dig into the bone almost as soon as she had been bound up and as they hadn’t moved, it was almost as though her bones were being ground to dust.
She wanted David to come back to the room. She knew what to do with him, what buttons to push and he was her best chance for survival. The woman, Maddy, wasn’t quite as receptive to her. Even though she could see that the woman was attracted to her, it was clear that Maddy had a fascination with Katie and she hadn’t quite worked out the best way to exploit that. She tried to move again but the chains dug into her legs and hips and it felt as though her ribs might break.
She focused her thoughts on Caroline, the sweet girl that had been murdered when they had been fifteen.
‘Portia? Where is everyone?’ Caroline turned and looked at her with wide eyes. The old railway tunnel was dark and isolated and had been used many times before for ad-hoc drinking parties by everyone from the school. However it had fallen out of favour as a venue after they had seen some rats and Portia had spread the knowledge that the bubonic plague had been spread by the fleas that lived deep within the fur of black rats. Of course, the girls at her school had been so stupid and self-absorbed that within three days there were rumours of the Black Death and of how four people had died in the nearby town but the police were covering it up. She had found this hilarious as these dim-witted bitches were easier to manipulate than wet clay. Of course she had told Caroline that it was all nonsense and that she was arranging a party in the tunnel for a handful of close friends. Caroline had been so happy and excited and they had wandered down that night to partake in the festivities.
‘Portia, I said where is everyone?’
‘Caroline, sorry, I told you a little lie – they’re not coming. It is just you and I.’
‘What? Why?’
Portia had smiled and placed a hand on Caroline’s cheek, she didn’t flinch and the soft, warmth of her face sent a little shiver down Portia’s spine. ‘I think you know why Caroline.’
‘I think I do.’
‘So, how do you feel about it?’
Caroline brushed her hair from her eyes and leaned forwards to kiss her, Portia opened her mouth and the moment was full of tenderness, passion and love. However Caroline had pretty much sealed her fate as soon as she had moved her lips forwards. Portia wouldn’t have it known that she had brought Caroline down here and kissed her, it was not something that she wanted to have around the school. It was private.
‘Caroline, you are beautiful,’ Portia had said in a quiet voice. ‘I think that you are sweet and funny and I really, really like you an awful lot.’
‘I like you too Portia, I always have.’ Caroline smiled and kissed her again.
‘Do you trust me?’
‘I do, I always have.’
‘Good,’ Portia had kissed her again and slipped Caroline’s cloth belt from her waist. As they kissed she had placed Caroline’s hands behind her back and tied them gently but firmly. Caroline had broken the kiss and looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
‘Will you kneel down for me Caroline?’
‘It’s dirty.’
‘I’ll buy you some new tights.’
‘They’re stockings.’ Caroline whispered and Portia felt her stomach and heart flip. Caroline had seen the effect that this had on Portia and smiled, even now, years later Portia recognised that the expression was guileless and free from malice or manipulation and that had given her enough impetus to hate Caroline for just long enough.
Caroline had knelt down, uncaring of the mud and water that seeped around her legs and Portia had slipped her skirt off. Caroline giggled as she saw that Portia was wearing no underwear.
‘I think I love you Portia,’ she had said before moving her head forwards. Portia found her world shifting and spinning as Caroline’s mouth met her pubic mound and as the girl began to weave her spell, Portia pulled a loose brick from the wall of the tunnel, she had placed it there earlier and as she approached what would be her first and best true climax, she raised the brick above her head and smashed the top of Caroline’s skull into splintered shards. The noise, a quiet little grunt of surprise and pain that the girl had made was the only thing that had ever haunted Portia’s nights.
She had backed away as the girl had fallen into the mud. After a moment, she had pulled her skirt back on and leant against the wall. As she had looked at Caroline’s body, she fought against the tears that had unexpectedly begun to well in her eyes. She needed to make this look like something that it hadn’t been. She quickly removed Caroline’s stockings, her hands fighting against the urge to linger against the still warm flesh. She used one to bind the ankles together and as she moved to Caroline’s head she saw that the girl’s eyes had opened and were staring at her in the dark.
‘Poooorrtattaaaa,waaaaaht’vvey’donnee?’ Caroline said, her voice sounding thick and broken. She tried to move but Portia realised that even if she had been totally unencumbered, she would not have been able to move very far. Portia felt panic well in her throat and chest, She grabbed Caroline’s head, noticing the way the girl’s eyes lolled in her head and tied the stocking in her mouth as tightly as she could. Once this had been done, she pushed the girls face into the mud and water, holding it under as Caroline started to squirm and then thrash as she tried to save herself. There were things that she did to the corpse that even now she didn’t want to think of as it gave her clarity as to who exactly she was in life.
She had run from the tunnel that night and had waited as calmly as she could until the corpse was discovered. It had been a long few days but the inevitable happened and Portia had wept and cried with her classmates.
She had never been suspected. It seemed that the death had been so violent and horrifying that no-one would even consider that a fifteen year old girl could have done it.
Although she was not someone that was prone to introspection in anyway, she regretted having killed Caroline. She knew that the girl would never have said anything and that they could have had a secret life for a few years but she had made her decision and made a point of never (hardly ever) looking back. On the rare occasions that she did, she wondered what Caroline would have been doing now – if she had lived.
If she hadn’t been murdered.
YYY
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
‘Are you hungry?’ David’s voice brought her back to the reality of the immobility and chains.
‘A little,’ Portia looked at him as much as her restraints would allow and David nodded.
‘If I get you out of these chains will you behave?’
‘I’m not Katie, you’re in charge.’
‘I am.’ David’s voice didn’t sound convinced. ‘I am going to unchain you so that I can move you to a chair. I will tie you up again but at least that way you won’t choke to death.’
‘Does it make a difference how I die?’
‘It makes a huge difference.’
He moved over and st
arted unlocking the padlocks that held her bonds – the relief as they started to come loose was almost unbearable.
‘Where is Katie?’
‘She is being taught a lesson, a valuable one.’
‘Is she being murdered?’
‘No, not yet,’ David admitted and then glanced at Portia. ‘You must hate me?’
‘I do,’ Portia said in an honest, quiet voice. ‘Is there any reason why I shouldn’t?’
‘No, of course you should.’ He paused and gazed at her breasts for a second. ‘I hate myself at times.’ He shook his head a little as if regretting what he said and continued to loosen the chains that bound her.
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why do you hate yourself?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Of course it matters,’ she looked at him and he returned her gaze. ‘If you hate yourself because of what you’re doing to me then you can let me go.’
‘How can I let you go? You’ve seen my face! You’ve seen both of our faces!’
‘What if I did something that meant that I couldn’t tell?’
David stopped and stood straight, he regarded her with a gaze that had enough intensity to let her know that he fully understood what she was saying. ‘Don’t Portia!’
‘Why not? I don’t want to die David; I’m not ready to die.’
‘It would be better that you died than living with what we have done!’ He muttered and then went back to releasing the chains. Portia stretched, arching her back in a deliberately exaggerated motion that was designed with a specific outcome in mind and from the look on his face it seemed that the movement worked. He turned away for a second.
‘David – I can help you. Keep me tied up and I can talk to her, calm her down, tell her we’ll escape and then when the time is right I can help you.’ She paused. ‘Both of you.’
The Scarlet Anniversary Page 9
