Sordida

by Jason Andrews

  There was a rustle of the bag, Amercia heard someone removing clothing from the wardrobe.

  “Fucking hell look at this cheap shit,” Tonya said to the male in the room, “looks like its straight out of an eighties jumble sale. His wife swans around in utter luxury, and he wants to dress her over there in this bloody crap.”

  “What happened to Jake by the way, why did I have to be involved last minute?” the male replied, “It was bad enough when Angie got dragged out the back door kicking and screaming, that was bad enough. Still not got over the experience of it.”

  “He hasn’t got the balls. He delivered Amercia to us but is jeopardising everything by getting too emotionally involved. It’s ok for him to take the money, but this one has got to him, Tim’s downstairs right now putting him straight. Making sure that mouth of his is kept shut.”

  “Ah, he’ll no doubt get the kicking of his life, Tonya. You can’t have feelings for the escorts we trap in this business; I see the money and nothing else. I don’t want to know anything else either about these people. They’re nothing to me.”

  “You just as well go back downstairs and let Tim know she is out for the count, but I’ll get her dressed and ready. All they must do is sit her in the wheelchair, whisk her out into the taxi and nobody will suspect a thing. Once I’ve done this, I’ll pop out for a cigarette, when she’s gone tonight I’ll give the room a quick once over as some of the members have it booked out tomorrow for a gangbang. I’m not expecting to see Jake again though; I did tell Tim I had my doubts about him. He needs to get rid of him by whatever means necessary.”

  Amercia heard the door shut; then she listened to Tonya whistling a tune as the bag continued to rustle. Aware it was just the two of them, the time for action was now. With nothing to lose, Amercia coughed to signal she had just woken up.

  Amercia urinated heavily over herself and the bed; its putrid stench turned her stomach. The mix of drugs with the dehydration had a nasty effect on her, unable to hold it, Amercia relieved herself with no choice. Amercia coughed until she was nearly sick, the combination of all her actions would leave Tonya with no alternative than to clean her up. It was her only possible attempt for freedom. She heard the footsteps, the mumblings of her groaning. Tonya removed the blindfold.

  “Fucking bitch, you could have waited. What a fucking state, I must get you to the bathroom now to sort yourself out. Fucking pissing all over yourself like that.”

  Amercia stared at her without showing her emotions, still playing the part of the drowsy unsure victim, she rolled her eyes. Tonya whipped off the tape from her mouth, at last, she could breathe normally again.

  “Bathroom,” Amercia mumbled, pretending there was a struggle to get her words out due to being intoxicated, “help me to the bathroom. Please, Sarah.”

  “Who the fuck is Sarah? you’re still off your fucking head, aren’t you?”

  Amercia gave a pleading stare, their eyes locked, she needed to get up and into the bathroom. With limited time, a plan of escape was soon coming together, but she had to act fast before anyone else returned to the room. Despite being chained to the bed with her feet tied together, Tonya on her own was in a more vulnerable position than she realised.

  “You’re going to need a shower, and then you’re going to get dressed. I don’t have much time as it is. I really could have done without this. We need to get a move on.”

  Taking a quick glance to the left, then to the right, Amercia spotted her clutch bag strap hanging out of the wardrobe; the door was open slightly. My keys are in there, she thought to herself, I’ve got to get a move on alright. She continued to mumble without making any sense as a tactical decoy. Tonya uncuffed her but put her weight down on her just in the same way as she had done before, nothing that Amercia wasn’t expecting. With less pressure on her wrists, she heard the click of her bones, then a sudden pain in her stomach as she faced the decision to act now or hold her nerve.

  “Right, get those legs up and head to the bathroom,” Tonya demanded, “shuffle like before, we’ll get you cleaned up in no time.”

  Amercia didn’t move, another intentional ploy. Tonya keeping her grip on Amercia’s wrists was fast losing her patience.

  “Move. Fucking get up, I mean it.”

  Amercia, expecting a slap in the face remained in the same position. She mumbled under her breath, giving an indication she was not able to do so due to being drugged.

  “I haven’t got time for this. Get the fuck up off this bed because being covered in your fucking piss is vile and I need to get you clean.”

  Amercia still refused to move. Tonya let go of one of her wrists, giving Amercia an idea whether to strike now or still hold her nerve. Deciding to keep her nerve, she didn’t move a muscle. Tonya using one hand pulled Amercia forward to drag her to the edge of the bed, using another hand she pulled her legs to the side of the bed and edged them over the end. Amercia kept her body limp to fool Tonya into thinking she was unable to retaliate at any given moment; the plan was working well.

  “I need to piss again. I’m going to piss.”

  “Fuck it, get up now, will you. Get up and shuffle to the bathroom.”

  Amercia didn’t respond; she faked a deadweight that made Tonya struggle to hold her without feeling threatened. The smell of urine was vile; it clung to the back of her throat. This time Tonya changed her position, she let go of both hands, Amercia made them flop to her waist as Tonya then proceeded to pull her up with both arms to her feet. Amercia stood, but Tonya held on to her waist, using her strength to push her forward.

  “Try anything, and I’ll knock you clean out. You can’t go any fucking where with your legs tied.”

  Amercia didn’t reply but weakly shuffled more forward giving the impression she wouldn’t be able to fight her way out of any situation. It took a few minutes to get to the bathroom.

  “I’m going to get you in the bath, Amercia. You can sit in there, and I’ll shower you.”

  Tonya pushed Amercia into the bathtub, a manoeuvre where she was toppled into it head first until she was bent over followed by a lift of her cable-tied legs over the edge. Amercia now sat in the empty bath with her knees bent, and her head leant forward. Appearing too weak to move, Tonya trusted her enough to leave the bathroom for just a short moment.

  “Going to put the cuffs on you while you’re in the bath because I haven’t got time to call for help, and I forget that my fucking mobile signal doesn’t work in here. Don’t you even dare move.”

  Amercia took her chance, she crossed the shower curtain to conceal herself, and although her legs were tied tightly together, she was quickly able to get to her feet. The adrenaline in her body gave her the edge she needed. A combined feeling of excitement, nervousness and sheer rage, she only had one shot upon Tonya’s return. In the few seconds that Tonya left the room, the whole idea came into effect in her head, Amercia now had to live out this moment, it was the only hope of escaping. Come on Tonya, open the damn curtain. I’m ready.

  “Why have you crossed the shower curtain?” Tonya asked, sounding annoyed as she entered the bathroom again, “it’s not like I haven’t seen a pussy before. I’ve been working for Sordida for more years than you can barely imagine?”

  Tonya pulled back the shower curtain, in the blink of an eye, Amercia lunged forward with the shower cord in her hands that Tonya foolishly left free. Wrapping it tightly around her neck, Amercia pulled so tight to the point that her life depended on it. Screaming with rage, panic and the intense need to defend herself, she put every ounce of inner strength into taking the breath out of Tonya.

  “Die you fucking cunt,” Amercia screeched, “die you fucking freak. Fucking nut job.”

  Tonya used her elbows to defend herself by violently smashing them into Amercia’s ribs. The adrenaline was so intense that Amercia felt no pain, tears were streaming down her reddened face, but the only thought on her mind was her freedom. Tonya went down like a sack of
potatoes having gasped for air, she then let go of the cord allowing Tonya to hit the floor. Heavy breathing, yet consumed by a flurry of intense emotions, she had to break free.

  Amercia was not a born killer, never in her life had she been intentionally violent or assaulted anyone except for the occasional instance where she stood up to a few bullies at school. She looked at her hands; they were uncontrollably shaking. Still worried about the time and that Tim or any other Sordida crony could come in any minute, the clock for her freedom was still ticking. I’ve fucking killed her, she thought, I’ve killed her. Using her arms to hold onto the bath while moving her legs to get over it, she managed to get out. Amercia couldn’t move her legs due to the cable ties being so tight she knew that even her hands couldn’t remove them; they needed cutting somehow. Tonya appeared lifeless on the floor, the diamond style encrusted handcuffs beside her, it was now or never. Her rib cage was in agony from where Tonya had tried to defend herself.

  Tonya was still breathing; her chest was slowly moving up, down, then back up, then down again. Amercia watched for a few seconds to comprehend her next move. Relieved that she hadn’t killed her, but the red marks around her neck from the shower cord had drawn blood. She dragged Tonya towards the bathroom sink, placed one hand into the cuffs while chaining the other to the waste pipe under the sink. Knowing it was only a temporary measure as with continued force it could easily break, Tonya hadn’t yet resumed consciousness.

  Amercia hopped into the bedroom, knowing that with the visible cameras in this part of the room, time was of the essence; she tugged hard on the door handle, but it was locked. She looked around; the place was empty except for the bag of clothes, her clutch bag, and the red dress that was cut up at Sordida. The tape was on the vanity unit; she grabbed it then headed back into the bathroom. Tonya started to cough as she was coming around from her ordeal of being choked, but Amercia dropped to her knees and ripped open the tape, tearing a small piece off she placed it over Tonya’s mouth.

  “How the fuck does that feel?” Amercia asked, “now it’s your fucking turn isn’t it?”

  Amercia took the end of the tape and wrapped more of it around Tonya’s mouth only this time continuing to wrap it around her head, in a fast motion round and round; she found it difficult to stop. Tonya’s whole lower face was covered in tape, unable to speak; the fear was evident in Tonya’s eyes.

  Still aware that her feet were tied together, Amercia searched Tonya’s pockets for her cigarettes because she thought, who would have cigarettes on them without a lighter? Tonya tried to put up a struggle but was affected by her ordeal; blood was dripping down her neck. The fast-paced action of Amercia’s attack left her badly shaken; she could have died.

  “Where are they?” Amercia asked Tonya as she placed a hand in her trouser pockets, “must be a lighter in there, surely?”

  She found them, the packet of cigarettes was half full where the lighter sat inside the small cardboard box. With a few flicks of the flint, the flame lit, and she used the lighter to burn the plastic cable ties from her feet leaving them on the bathroom floor. Amercia no longer restricted in her movement just had minutes now to think about escaping the room, then the hotel itself. The key card must be inside her clothing somewhere? She wondered I didn’t see it anywhere? Tonya didn’t move but sat shaking as Amercia patted her body, there was no key card in any of her pockets. Now confused, how did she get inside the room? Amercia asked herself, how did she plan on getting out? Shit, fucking hell, he must be watching the bedroom waiting for her to appear?

  Running into the bedroom again, Amercia took off her wet underwear and put on the brown rancid corduroy trousers because they were the closest item of clothing to her. Rummaging into the bag was a white cotton top, she threw it on and grabbed her clutch bag. Looking into the bag while panicking, shaking, feeling rushed she saw everything was still there inside as she left it, purse, phone, keys if she ever was to escape. The safe was in the wardrobe; she keyed in one, four, six and nine just as she had remembered for the duration of thinking about it since being chained to bed in-between bouts of drowsiness, it beeped to signal it was unlocked. Without wasting time, Amercia saw just a small carrier bag, unsure of its content, if it was the money or something else she bundled it into her clutch bag and threw it over her shoulder. Not even money was crucial to her right now; her escape was the only priority. Survival instincts now kicked into force.

  “Open the fucking door,” she screamed, “someone, please open the fucking door. Help, please help me.”

  Amercia banged on the door with her fists hoping someone from the other side of it could hear her. She had only spent a minute thumping the door, but this was already a minute wasted. Feeling the pressure before Tim would return laden with drugs to ship her off to Egypt, no one from the other side of the door showed any signs of support. With the mindset of being in fight or flight mode, Amercia turned to face the room instead of the door, think, fucking think about it, she thought to herself, the answer is in here somewhere, in the event of an emergency how do people get out of here? The answer came into her head immediately as she looked up at the ceiling.

  “Fire,” she said aloud, “the fire alarm will trip the electric door, it’s my only option.”

  Amercia dragged the sheet into the centre of the bed, placed the lighter over it and set the sheet alight. Although the urine had soaked some parts of it, the edge of the sheet burned, but it was slow. The scent of urine and the burning sheet was utter putrid, but she waved it lit into the air to allow the smoke to gather into the fire alarm. It had taken only seconds, the sprinklers came flooding down into the bedroom covering her in water, the metal clunk of the door triggered, and the fire alarm screeched loudly into her ears. She dropped the sheet, ran towards the door and cried as her hand pulled down the handle to tug it open. Freedom at last, but through this twenty-four-hour ordeal, Amercia had finally managed to escape room two-three-two.

  Aware that she couldn’t trust anyone because Tim could be nearby, or another Sordida member, or even worse, the client who had bought her that she had never seen face-to-face. Amercia without hesitating, stepped out into the hallway with no shoes on she further ran down in a hurry to the stairs. Having been here before, she was aware of the floor layout, but the fire alarm was still whirring loudly into all areas around her, and random people were starting to leave their rooms behind her. Not willing to look behind, she carried on in a rush, selfishly pushing past others on her way. Seconds felt like minutes with every step she took closer to her escape route.

  “Fire, fire,” Amercia screamed, she spotted another fire alarm in the stairway, “fire, run.”

  Her mind was still all over the place, she had escaped the bedroom having strangled Tonya to a near death state, but it always felt like half the battle as she had yet to step outdoors into an area of safety. As Amercia nervously rummaged through her bag to grab her mobile phone with the intention of calling the police, it wouldn’t switch on due to the battery running down low. Fucking hell, she thought, while running down the stairs, fuck, fuck, fuck. Amercia saw crowds of people running towards her as the alarm was still pounding. She ran through them, no one was in an orderly fashion, but was unable to see Tim or Jake in her sight. The fire exit to the hotel was just a few meters ahead, Amercia dashed for it with her life. Everyone around her seemed to have the same panic on their faces with the search for an exit. She ran out onto the car park along with a crowd of many others, the stones embedding themselves into her bare feet, but she was free.

  Taking in deep breaths of the outside air, it was dark, but she kept running not able to stop. Cars, trees, the moon, go to the fields, she identified to herself as she kept running, now limping with the pain in her ribs, as she stumbled barefoot into the road, someone please save me. Fearful for her life, Amercia continued to run towards the direction of the path with the mindset that everyone behind her was a potential danger. Spotting a few trees near a field at the top
of a hill, she made a limping dash. However, the shock of the events was starting to take its toll on her. Crying with relief, Amercia sat down on the damp grass, leant back against the tree, in the distance she could see the flashing lights as the fire-brigade were heading closer into view. It’s over; it’s genuinely fucking done with, she thought to herself in an emotional state. Peering into the clutch bag, she took out the contents she stole from the hotel safe, placed a hand inside the bag and pulled out its contents. Dropping five large bundles of bank notes to the ground, she put a hand over her chest. She had to look at them twice to see if they were real. Twenty-five-thousand pounds had landed by her feet. The trauma, the turmoil, the games, the chasing, the oddities she witnessed. Everything over the past few weeks came to this point in time, was it fucking worth it, she wondered, still gasping for air, trying to contain her shock as tears streamed down her face. What a fucking journey. I must take this money and run. Fuck knows where, but I’ll never look back.

  Twenty-Two

  T

  he sprinkler had managed to dampen the flames on the charred bed within room two-three-two. Tim stood staring into the mirror with the door closed behind him, confident his deputy manager could deal with the guests who all assembled outside, he could hear the fire-engine pulling up closer to the entrance. Matt stood by the bathroom door watching Tonya plead for help with her eyes as she needed uncuffing from the sink.

  “How the fuck did she manage to escape, taking the money and leaving Tonya chained to the sink waste pipe? Where’s Jake?” Tim asked, looking at Matt who was rubbing his knuckles, “did you sort him out or what?”