She missed the twins so much it physically hurt. Alexander was out there somewhere, possibly with someone else. She was now an ex. She never thought she’d be an ex to Alexander. An ex-girlfriend. An ex-lover. An ex-friend. But that vision unveiling a naked Alexander with Miriam, who had admitted being his girlfriend, truthful or not, now seemed real, very real, even though she did see him suffering. Sad. Heartbroken. She had no idea how long ago that had happened. Her visions didn’t necessarily happen in sequential order. The romantic in her thought maybe he’d mourn their relationship, possibly even worry about her, but now he had moved on. If he hadn’t been dating that Miriam person before she’d gone missing, he was most likely dating her now. Could she really blame him? How long could he be expected to wait for her? It had been over half a year. Seven long months.
Well, that’s bullshit, she thought to herself. For Alexander, I’d wait forever.
She sighed. The tears seemed to be never-ending. Between the physical and emotional pain, she didn’t know how long she would last. She didn’t know how long she’d have it in her to survive. She knew she was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to fight, but the pain was too much. It was utterly unbearable.
She remembered all the times Paul had come to her room to help her, risked his life for her. Then she remembered him lying dead on the floor upstairs. Paul Black. She’d survive for Paul, who had given his life to help her. She owed it to him to escape, to let the world know what had happened in Wonderland, what Josef and Rocco had done to countless children. Wait. There was something else: the way Josef was determined to find out what she knew about their wealth struck her as something important that could possibly change things. Leverage.
Paul. Beautifully misguided, heroic Paul. He was dead. That’s the last thought she had before Ogre-man picked her up none-too-gently and unceremoniously walked her out the room and back into the white room, the surgically clean and pristine white dungeon that now smelled of bleach and cleaners. Any sign of her blood had been wiped clean. As soon as she saw the spiral staircase and plastic ties, which someone had exchanged with the painful twine, her instinct to fight, because flight didn’t seem to be an option, kicked in. Jill began kicking her legs, but Ogre-man just held her tighter as he made his way across the room. “No. No! Please!’ She punched and kicked, but he didn’t so much as flinch. The man was made of steel. She continued flailing and then remembered something she’d once seen on television. Talking was sometimes helpful. Having your captor know you are human could possibly tug at his heartstrings. “W-what’s your name?” she asked, but Ogre-man said nothing. “Y-you don’t have to do this, you know.” She continued speaking even though she was panting. The crack in her lip had begun to bleed again, and her cheek from the new assault was now throbbing against her already injured-shut eye. “My name is Jill. Jillian Stone. I’m in law school,” she rambled. Something had to click. He would surely be affected by something. Anything. “I-I don’t want to die. Please. Look.” She held out her wrists to Ogre-man to show him the raw skin, but he didn’t look. Instead, he forcefully grabbed her hands and tucked them behind her back. She yelped with pain. He pushed her down on the floor, crouched down behind her, and began using plastic ties to tie her up. The twine had been bad, but the plastic ties, if possible, were even worse. They dug into her skin. Ogre-man was a soldier following orders. Unwavering. Robotic. “Are you listening to me? Hello! Please. Please, sir. Don’t do this.” She continued to cry, scream, and beg. When she was secured in the same painful position she had been that morning, he stood up and left the room. It was as simple as that. There was not one word, no eye contact, nothing. He was a complete robot.
One thing Jill discovered during the time, time which she lost track of, was that a person just didn’t run out of tears or pain. She’d seen in movies and read it in books how pain morphs into numbness and you just stop feeling. How many times had she heard those words? Well, she discovered that it was all complete and utter bullshit. The pain never stopped. It never dulled, not the emotional pain and definitely not the physical pain. Her eye felt as if it would pop out of its socket any moment. Her jaw hurt so bad that she was scared she’d never be able to open it again. Her raw wrists hurt so much that she thought at some point the plastic would completely eat away at her skin and through her bones and her nerves and her wrists would just fall right off. It was a welcome feeling at the moment. She’d be handless, but free.
The little bit of light that penetrated from the sliver underneath the door and through the black-out curtains slowly faded until it was pitch black. Sleep wouldn’t come. She prayed that she would just fall into unconsciousness. A coma. Anything. But it was just conscious pain.
And then a miracle happened.
Or a dream.
Or a vision.
She wasn’t sure.
A noise came from the door. She scooted back as far as her restrained wrists allowed. Jill brought her knees up to her chin, the beat of her heart thrashing in her ears. If only she could wish herself invisible. The noise came closer. Footsteps?
Then a mumbled voice.
And then Heaven.
***
“Jillian?” he whispered so low she struggled to hear. Then the warmest, strongest, most familiar hands cupped her face. She smelled his soapy scent.
Alexander.
Definitely a dream.
It was too dark, and one eye was out of order, so all she saw was the familiar form and heard the familiar voice. “Love?” he asked.
“X-Xander,” she croaked.
“Oh God, baby.” He held out a little LED light.
The dam broke, and she began to sob uncontrollably. Her entire body shook.
“You have to keep quiet, okay?” he whispered. She nodded as he held the light to her. She saw his beautiful face immediately cringe, and she felt his body tense. She must have looked as bad as she felt.
“Fuck. Fuck. Jill, baby, fuck.” He used the back of his hand to lightly caress her bruised cheek, but even the feather-light touch hurt. She didn’t think she’d ever see him again. It was all too much, and everything that was her just plummeted. Her body continued to shake. She was still tied, and her body sagged forward. “No, love. No. We have to get you out of here. No crying. Okay? No crying. You have to get a handle on things so we can get you out. I need you to be strong for me. You listening, Jill? I need you to be strong, love.”
She gasped a few times and nodded.
Alexander forced a smile. “That’s my girl. Come on, let’s get you the fuck out of here.” He moved behind her, causing her an immediate sense of loss. Even though he was right there, it still felt like a dream. Something cold, possibly a knife, brushed her skin for half a second, and then her hands were free, but bringing her arms forward, or moving at all for that matter after being in the same position for so long, seemed an impossible feat.
“Let’s go.” He stood up first and held his hand out for her as he looked back towards the door. When she didn’t immediately follow, he said, “Hurry, baby. We have to go.”
Using all her effort, she tried to stand but couldn’t. She felt him move down to her level. “You can’t, can you?” She still didn’t say anything, not because she didn’t want to but because it hurt to speak.
In one swoop, he picked her up and set her on her feet. She wavered for a few seconds, but he held her forearms until she felt steady. This was not a dream. He was really there. She was being rescued. Then the tears started again.
“No. No. No. Pull yourself together. We have to get out of here now. You can cry all you want when we’re out. I’ll sit by you and hold you for as long as you need, but, Jill, not now. Now we have to leave.”
“O-Okay.” He released his grip, and she immediately grabbed onto his shirt, terrified of losing him again.
“I’m not going to leave you. I swear. But I can’t carry you out of here. There’s too many small spaces we have to crawl in and out of to get to my bike. You have to stay close t
o me and follow me, okay?”
She nodded.
“You can do this, Jill,” he said as he gently took her hand and guided her to the door with his small flashlight.
“Wait!” she whisper-yelled. “Paul. Murdered. Dead.” It hurt too much to say full sentences. But he’d get the gist.
“Fuck,” he drawled out in a whisper. “I figured something happened when he didn’t call me back.”
“Rocco. Dead. Too.” She said, breathless.
“Good.” He answered and began to walk, but Jill stayed put.
“Wait. Saving me. Paul was trying to save me. Can’t let you—”
He placed his hands on her shoulder. “Listen to me. I’ll be fine. I’m going to get you out of here. Paul gave me the layout of this place. We’ve been in contact for the last month. I can get you out, Jill.”
“Wonderland.”
“Huh?”
“This place. He calls it Wonderland. I’m Alice. I can’t get out.”
“No. That’s bullshit. I don’t believe that.”
“Not bullshit. I’ve tried. I can’t. You’ll get hurt. Leave and call police.”
“I have Jill. So many times. They won’t come here and accuse Rocco.” When she didn’t budge, he crouched down. “Listen to me. Paul told me you were ready. He told me, babe. You’re ready. Even before Rocco’s death, you were already remembering. Whatever shit he had you believing, wipe it out of your mind. Think. Concentrate. You can do this, Jill. I’m not leaving without you, so you better try, damn it. You better fucking try,” his voice cracked. “I’m not living one single second without you, so start meditating or concentrating or whatever the fuck because you are getting out of here. Tonight.”
She nodded, anxiously. “O-okay. Give me a second.” Even though Rocco was dead and she could now remember everything, she wasn’t sure she could leave. She was uncertain whether the hold that kept her in Wonderland died with Rocco. She still hadn’t seen Alexander’s face. She closed her eyes and steadied her breath. His firm hands remained on her shoulders, patiently waiting, all the while both knowing that time was of the essence. She focused. She visualized Helen’s maternal embrace, the twins running along the beach and climbing trees on Onion Island, the powdery beach sand tickling her toes, and Helen writing in her journals, laughing at some funny quip. Then she was able to see herself walk out of Wonderland. Jill pictured herself as she hopped on the back of Alexander’s bike. She saw Oliver’s warm smile as she walked into the apartment. She smelled Heather’s tofu stir-fry and felt her sweet hug. Alexander’s soft lips and wet tongue moved against her luscious lips as she got into his bed and slept away the nightmare while he held her all night. She felt it. She felt him, and, as if he could read her mind, he bent down and brushed his lips gently against hers. At that moment, she knew she could do this. With him, she could do anything.
“I’m ready.”
“I’ve missed you so much, Jill.” He kissed her again quickly but with such heartfelt emotion that she felt it all the way to her toes.
“If I struggle, if I get confused, you remind me, okay? Remind me I’ve been here seven months. Remind me that you missed me. Remind me that I love you, and I will come back to you.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Alexander slowly and quietly opened the door. The hallway was dark, but not as dark as the white dungeon. The floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the back of the house let the moonlight in just enough that she wasn’t moving blindly. She could see enough, even with one good eye. The house was so quiet it was unnerving. Even though they were being quiet, she felt as if they were two noisy bulls stomping their way around a china shop. Alexander kept her behind him as he quietly walked down the hall to another room, a very familiar room. He opened the door and shut it behind them. They were now in her room. All business, Alexander continued to pull her until they were by the window, the window Paul had come in and out of numerous times, probably at this same time in the night. Or maybe it was early morning; she wasn’t sure.
Alexander picked up a stool by the bed and moved it in front of the window. He obviously had a plan. He then carefully opened the window and looked out before nodding. “Okay. The coast is clear. Let’s go.”
Alexander helped her up on the stool, and Jill looked through the open window and down. “Go? Like how? Jump? We must be three stories up. I’ll kill myself.”
“See that ledge?” He pointed to a small crevice that was possibly a windowsill. “Jump there first, and then you can make a final jump down.”
Was he out of his mind?
She didn’t look at him as he spoke. She continued looking at the so-called ledge. Well if Paul’s and Alexander’s big feet fit on the ledge, her smaller ones most certainly would.
“I know it looks scary, but I assure the alternative is worse.”
The alternative. Staying captive. No thank you! Jump six feet onto a tiny ‘ledge’? No problem. No problem at all. Her entire body still ached, but she had to do this. One tippy-toed foot stood on the stool as she began to move the other one through the window. “Shit. Wait.” She brought the foot back, jumped off the stool, and painfully ran towards her bed.
“Jill. We don’t have time. I could only deactivate the alarm for thirty minutes. It will activate again in about seven minutes.”
“I just . . .” She lifted her mattress and pulled out her journal. “I just have to get this. Okay, let’s go.” She tucked the small journal in the waistband of her yoga pants that were hidden by her long t-shirt. Once again, she got into position and slowly went through the window. Both her feet were on the foot-long windowsill. Her back was flush against the window. It had been days since she’d smelled the fresh air. She took a deep breath. “You right behind me?”
“Of course, love. I’m right here, always, right here. As soon as you jump to the ledge and then to the ground, I’ll follow.”
“Promise?”
“I promise, Jill.”
“I love you, Alexander.”
“I love you too. Now jump.” She did. It was like a long, painful, scary game of hopscotch. Hop to the ledge, not enough time to keep balance, so hop right down to the floor. Because of the distance and her already injured body, it was far from graceful, and she landed on her already injured hands and knees. Before she had a chance to get up, Alexander was already there helping her up.
“You okay?” he asked as he carried her to her feet. She nodded because this was not the moment to tell him she thought her already raw left wrist was now probably broken.
Alexander pulled her quickly against the house and led her to the edge. “You have to hurry. The alarm will reset soon.”
“But we’re already out of the house.”
“There are motion sensors everywhere. We have to move, okay?” He didn’t give her time to answer. He pulled her behind him, running quietly. She followed.
And then came the pain. Something yanked her back by the hair so painfully hard that her hand detached from Alexander’s grasp and her neck snapped back.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?” An all-too-familiar voice came out of the shadows, accompanied by Ogre-man, who held Jill by the hair.
“You must be Josef,” said Alexander. “Who the fuck are you?” Alexander asked Ogre-man, who incidentally didn’t reply.
“I told you I’d kill him if you didn’t cooperate. Looks like I’ll kill him anyway,” Josef said.
“No. Please. No!” Jill cried. “Let him go. I’ll do whatever it takes. Please.”
“Hmmm. This may be easier than I thought,” Josef said.
Alexander took a step forward. “Let her go right now! You’ll regret it. I promise you. If you hurt her, you will never see the light of day again.”
“No. Stop. Alexander, stop. Josef, please. He’s just trying to protect me. He doesn’t know anything. Just let him go. Alexander, shut up. Don’t say anything else. Stop antagonizing him. Josef, please, just let him go.”
“It isn’
t a threat. Let her the fuck go. Now,” Alexander barked.
Slowly, as if this were a normal everyday occurrence, Josef sauntered towards Alexander and stood right next to him. “Do not presume to think I am stupid. I know that I am nothing but an old man to you. I know I would never win a physical fight against you. I know that. But he will.” Josef pointed to Ogre-man. “He’ll kill you like this.” Josef snapped his fingers. “He won’t flinch. He won’t hesitate. All I have to do is say the words. And when he finishes killing you, he’ll kill her. So . . .” Josef, hands casually intertwined behind his back, strolled slowly around Alexander. Alexander’s eyes never wavered. They were glued to Jill. “This is how this is going to work. You don’t want her to die. She doesn’t want you to die. A love story. How very romantic.” Josef clapped his hands and smiled. “You will sacrifice your lives for each other. I know you will. I can see it in your eyes. Both of you. And that is your downfall.”
Josef looked over at Jill, who was still being held up by her hair about six feet away from him and Alexander. “Tell me what you know about the plane, Jillian, about my finances.” Jill noticed a change in Alexander’s face. Son of a bitch! Alexander knew. Somehow he knew what the lunatic wanted to know. Josef was interrogating the wrong person. If Josef knew that Alexander knew this information, he’d undoubtedly kill him. He was out to kill whoever knew. That was the plan. That had been the plan all along. When she didn’t answer, Ogre-man pulled her head back by her hair and backhanded her across the face.
“I fucking warned you, you son of a bitch!” Alexander lunged forward. Ogre-man, to keep balance, released Jill. The two men rolled around the floor. Ogre-man was taller and stronger than Alexander, but he wasn’t as angry. He didn’t have as much invested in the fight.
Seeing Black Page 24
