by R. J. Parker
She heard the door bang against the wall behind them as he entered the stairwell.
‘Quickly, Mamma!’ Maisie screamed in her ear.
Lily pumped her feet. She was almost at the top of the flight. But she couldn’t maintain this pace. Maybe she could repeat what she’d done upstairs and try to bind the doors shut again. But there was going to be only seconds to do that.
Heavy breathing echoed off the wall beside her. It was his. He was probably taking the stairs two at a time.
A set of double doors hove into view and as she reached the landing, she decided they were a better option than trying to climb further.
But they both swung outwards and a woman stepped through them. Her arm extended and she was holding something in her hand.
Lily recognised it was a Taser just before she dropped to the tiles with Maisie.
Chapter 65
Lily opened her eyes and focussed on a dried-out earwig curled up in the tufts of dust on the grey carpet. Momentarily she didn’t know who she was let alone where she was lying. Then it all came back like she’d been jabbed with the Taster again and she suddenly drew breath and her body spasmed.
Maisie.
As her body tensed, she realised her wrists were tightly bound behind her back. Her ankles were as well. Her eyes darted around looking for her daughter. She was facing a panel of pulpwood. Her heart accelerated and the blood pumped around her restraints. Looked like she was back outside the shell of their prison.
She rolled away from the panel, grunting as she rocked her body and landed on her injured side. Now she could see along the damp carpet to the office’s maze. There was nobody else around. No sign of the man or woman. She recalled her repeatedly jabbing Lily with her Taser until she’d passed out. Where was Maisie?
She struggled in vain against her bonds, but the ropes bit into her flesh as she tried to free herself. ‘Maisie?’ she croaked. How long had she been unconscious? ‘Maisie!’ her voice escaped this time and echoed around the office. Now they would know she was awake. She didn’t care. ‘Maisie!’
Soft footfalls.
But Lily couldn’t tell which direction they were coming from. She attempted to sit up, but her limbs felt sluggish. How many times had she been shocked? She remembered how the woman had knelt and held the Taser hard against her chest.
Now she could feel the footsteps vibrating through the side of her face. She had to get up. But Lily couldn’t rally herself.
‘If I piss blood next time I go to the bathroom, Maisie will be the first to know about it.’
The man’s whispered voice came from behind her, and as she tried to turn, she felt his hand heavy on the side of her head. It jammed her face hard against the damp carpet, so her teeth were cutting into the side of her cheek. ‘Where is she?’ But her words were misshapen by the pressure.
‘Ssshhh. You’ve got to keep quiet now. Looks like your little walkabout has attracted some unwanted attention. Somebody’s paying us a visit. For real this time.’ He increased the pressure on her face.
Lily could feel her pulse surging through the ear he was flattening. ‘I want to see Maisie.’ She growled through her gritted teeth.
‘What did I just say? Another word and you’ll never see her again.’
A door slammed but it sounded far away.
But Lily felt the man’s arm go rigid.
‘Not a peep,’ he whispered close to her ear.
They both listened for further noise.
Lily wondered how near the door had been. Same floor?
Nothing.
But someone else was in the building. Somebody who had been able to get in because of the smashed front entrance, or had someone seen what had happened on the rubble and called the police?
‘Ssshhh.’
Lily felt his hand lift away and then something solid take its place. As it crushed her she realised it was his kneecap. He was kneeling on her head.
‘I’ll break your skull and then Maisie’s.’
Was this the last chance she thought she’d never have? Should she cry for help? But if the woman who had tasered her was with Maisie she couldn’t risk it. But what would happen as soon as this person left, another punishment? Would she find herself sealed back inside the prison and never see Maisie again?
Footsteps hastening along a corridor and then slowing.
The man put more of his weight on his knee and Lily’s skull as a warning.
The footfalls stopped.
All Lily could hear was the clamour of her own circulation.
After several minutes of silence, the man eased the pressure. ‘They’re still nearby.’ He kept his voice low. ‘Best to stay put.’
Lily thought he’d been talking to her, but a dull click after he’d spoken told her he was on a walkie-talkie. If they were jamming phone signals in the immediate vicinity, she figured that was why.
He stood, his boots creaking, and she lifted her mouth from the filthy carpet and took a breath.
‘I don’t like this.’ His walkie-talkie clicked again. ‘I’m going to take a look. They might have entered the stairwell.’
‘Be careful,’ came the woman’s dried-out reply.
‘I’ll keep you posted. Just keep the girl quiet.’
Lily felt a surge of relief. It sounded like Maisie was OK.
‘Lily’s not going to make a sound because she knows what’ll happen to Maisie if she does,’ he said slightly louder for her benefit. ‘I don’t see any police cars down there, so it could just be private security keeping up appearances. If—’
Lily tried to turn in his direction as his sentence was cut off by a soft slap. She could hear his boots creaking.
Thud.
Sounded like he’d fallen to the floor.
Another thump behind her.
‘Lily.’ A familiar voice said.
A hand was on her shoulder, pulling her towards the voice.
The man squinting down at her in concern was the last face she expected to see.
It was Ewan.
Chapter 66
‘Jesus, Lil.’ Ewan’s expression was horrified.
But Lily was too stunned to respond.
‘Is there anyone else around?’ he whispered and started untying the ropes binding her hands.
She nodded quickly.
‘Where?’ His eyes flitted about them.
‘There’s a woman.’ She turned her head to where the man was lying motionless.
‘He’s out cold.’ Ewan assured her. ‘Where’s Maisie?’
A hundred questions begged to be asked but, right now, that was the only important one. ‘With her. I think they’re somewhere upstairs.’
His fingers dug into her wrist as he tried to free the knots. ‘Are you OK?’
She nodded again. ‘Are you alone?’
‘I tried to call the police, but I can’t get any reception.’
‘They jam the phone signal when they need to.’
‘Who are they?’
‘I don’t know.’ Lily attempted to sit up, but her muscles still felt weak.
‘Is Maisie OK?’
Lily felt the rope loosen slightly and tensed her arms, but she still couldn’t release them.
‘Just hold still.’ He picked at the knots.
‘How did you find us?’ She had to ask.
‘Paulette called me. Told me you’d both vanished. I drove down but the police seemed to think you were both hiding from me. I watched the house. Saw a woman let herself in.’
Lily wondered if that was the occasion that they’d picked up Maisie’s prescription medication.
‘I thought it might be a neighbour watering your plants, but then she took off in a car. I followed her but I lost her a few streets from here. I told the police, but they seemed more suspicious of me. I’ve been scouring the area since and spotted this guy threatening you and Maisie before he took you both in here.’
‘Hurry.’ Again, Lily tried to part her hands, but they were still held
tight. Ewan’s sudden appearance seemed too good to be true. ‘Try your phone again.’
Ewan took it out and dialled. ‘Still the same.’ He dumped the phone on the carpet and Lily could see ‘No Signal’ in the display. ‘Just … keep still.’ He yanked on another knot.
‘Come back,’ a gruff female voice said.
Ewan and Lily froze. They both turned to where the man lay.
His walkie-talkie briefly hissed and clicked.
‘That’s how they’re communicating.’
Ewan stood and approached the prostrate figure.
Even though the ropes felt looser, Lily’s wrists were still tied. ‘Wait.’
‘It’s OK. I hit him with half a house brick. The one he made you drop.’ Ewan picked the weapon up from the floor.
Lily could see dark blood on one edge of it.
Ewan took a few paces towards the man and then knelt beside him.
Lily continued to squirm against the ropes. ‘Stay away from him. Get me free first.’
But Ewan reached inside the man’s brown leather jacket and pulled the squat walkie-talkie from an inside pocket.
‘Come back,’ the woman repeated.
Ewan looked pensively at the walkie-talkie. ‘What should we do?’
Lily managed to sit up and felt dizzy. ‘If he doesn’t respond soon, she’ll know something’s wrong.’
‘Gabriel?’ There was a trace of concern in the woman’s voice.
Lily and Ewan both fixed on the man. So now they had a name.
‘Move away from him,’ Lily cautioned.
Ewan got to his feet.
‘You might need to find something to cut these.’
But Ewan walked by her and pointed to the door. ‘Is that the way up?’
‘You’re not going up there without me.’
‘There’s no time.’ He brandished the walkie-talkie. ‘If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to take her by surprise.’
Lily felt a fresh surge of panic. She couldn’t be left helpless. Couldn’t suddenly allow Ewan to be responsible for the situation. ‘Finish untying me.’
He briefly hesitated but shook his head. ‘Maisie needs me.’
Lily wanted to yell at him, but realised he was right.
His attention returned to Gabriel. ‘I could move you somewhere. Hide you.’
‘No. Go,’ she immediately replied.
He nodded and headed for the swing doors.
Lily watched him cautiously and quietly open one of them and slip through. Her gaze shot back to Gabriel, but his eyes were firmly closed. She twisted her wrists against her restraints, but with her hands and feet still secured she realised that Maisie’s safety now depended entirely on Ewan.
When the door banged open again, she turned in time to see Ewan stagger back through it. He loped towards Lily, dropped to one knee then pitched flat on his face.
The woman entered swiftly behind him and jabbed the Taser repeatedly into his back.
Chapter 67
‘Enough!’
The woman looked up at Lily as if surprised by her presence. She’d shocked Ewan for the fifth time and his body had stopped convulsing.
‘He’s unconscious now! You’ll kill him!’
The woman jolted him with the Taser again and he didn’t respond.
‘Please!’ Lily begged.
She narrowed her eyes at Lily and then swung her gaze to Gabriel. ‘What did you do?’
Lily shook her head. ‘I couldn’t do anything.’
The woman stood. She was wearing grey sweatpants and a matching top that was flecked with white paint and a pair of boots that looked a couple of sizes too big for her. Her shoulder-length grey hair was lank and dishevelled, and her pinched features seemed stranded in the middle of her straight-jawed face. Dark pinhole eyes swivelled back to Lily. ‘What did your husband do?’ she dryly asked, as if she resented being made to again.
‘Just knocked him out.’
The woman glowered at Lily and then pulled a length of rope out of her sweatpants pocket. She firmly bound Ewan’s hands.
‘Where’s Maisie?’
The woman ignored her as she efficiently stuck to her task and then tied his ankles.
‘Please.’ As Lily watched her, she guessed she’d been responsible for her bonds.
The woman crossed the carpet and knelt by Gabriel. ‘What about my son?’ She examined the wound to his head. ‘Gabriel?’ She put her hand to his shoulder and gently shook him, but he didn’t stir.
‘Your son? Is he OK?’
The woman briefly regarded her with scorn. ‘Your concern isn’t going to score you any brownie points. Or Maisie.’
‘Ewan’s called the police. This is over. Just tell me where she is. The three of us will walk out of here. Give you time to leave with Gabriel. We can send the police elsewhere.’
The woman’s expression didn’t alter.
‘I mean it. Just tell me where Maisie is.’
The woman put her fingers to Gabriel’s neck. ‘You were warned. Knew what your punishment would be. Just like I was.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘My punishments …’ Suddenly the woman’s eyes seemed to be fixed on whatever time she’d been subjected to them. ‘There was no leniency for me like there has been for you.’ She raised an eyebrow at Lily.
Lily knew she had to tread carefully. ‘I don’t know what it is you’ve been through.’ She tried to flex her wrists behind her back again, but they still cut into her skin. ‘What led you to do this. But it’s not too late. Nobody’s been harmed yet.’
The woman snorted and gestured at Gabriel. ‘Nobody?’
Lily’s gaze flitted to Ewan. He still hadn’t moved and, even if he did, he was now incapable of helping her. ‘I give you my word.’
‘Little girls shouldn’t be subjected to such things.’ The woman stood and folded her arms.
Lily was sure the comment was loaded. ‘Yes … and I need to take Maisie away from this place right now. She’s already been traumatised enough.’
‘It’s only been a handful of days,’ the woman said with disdain. ‘You have no concept of trauma.’
‘I’m a mother like you.’ But Lily was sure appealing to that part of her was going to be futile.
The woman’s contemptuous reaction confirmed it.
‘So the one thing you’ll understand is that I don’t care about any of this. Of what you’ve done. All that’s vital to me is getting Maisie to a safe place.’
‘You didn’t feel safe in there?’ The woman gestured to the shell of the prison.
‘Of course not.’ Lily felt the ropes burn her wrists as she stealthily worked them behind her back.
‘Try three hundred and fourteen days.’
Lily had known the number was significant. ‘You endured what we did for that long?’ That had to be it.
The woman shook her head. ‘“Endured”.’ She briefly glanced at Ewan and made sure he was still out. ‘You haven’t even begun to endure.’
Cold rippled through Lily. These weren’t the words of someone who believed the police were coming. She intended to put Lily and Maisie back inside the prison to exact whatever punishment she felt they deserved.
‘You’re to have your full term, like I did.’
‘Why are you doing this?’
‘Exactly the same question I asked myself for all that time. Over and over, wondering what wrong I’d done. I never had that answered. Not when I was held or when I was released. Only much later when I found out for myself.’
‘If it’s not money—’
‘You know it isn’t that. It certainly wasn’t for him when he locked me away. I was only a teenager. Still a child.’
‘Who locked you away?’ Lily had to keep her engaged, keep her talking while she tried to get loose.
‘And I was alone. To begin with anyway. Alone but not.’
Lily shook her head. She had to humour her.
‘And even though the rol
es have been reversed, nothing’s changed. I still feel alone, even with Gabriel beside me instead of inside me.’
Even though she’d managed to slip her thumb under the rope, and they felt suddenly slacker, Lily’s hands halted. ‘Who locked you away?’
‘Your father. And not once in those three hundred and fourteen days, did he ever have the balls to show himself.’
Chapter 68
The woman only briefly allowed Lily’s confusion to register. ‘I was his pet subject. Although for all that time I didn’t know I was. I actually met him a whole two years before I was imprisoned. I was fourteen then.’ She paused.
Lily blinked, her words struggling to register.
‘He’d helped me then. Called me Jack because he knew I hated Jacqueline. I scarcely spoke to him in those early sessions, but he made me trust him. As a teenager I was an extreme agoraphobic. Left an abusive upbringing and been shunted from care home to care home. That’s what kickstarted my condition. When I found a safe place, I was scared of leaving, terrified of what lay outside it and the thought of never being able to get back inside. Your father became my therapist.’
‘You were treated by my father?’ But Lily knew her incredulity wasn’t about to change the answer.
‘Doctor Samuel Croft. He told me I was making progress. That was before I woke up imprisoned in my bedroom. The small living quarters I had at the care home had no windows. He’d insisted on that. So initially I believed I was still there. That the people looking after me had locked me in and it was them piping gas into the vents and entering the room when I was knocked out and harming me.’
Lily opened her mouth, but no words came.
‘But anything seemed better than the alternative, being outside of it. Even when I’d worked out that I was living in a replica room as part of an experiment, I still didn’t want to leave. I was given opportunities to escape and I never took them. Whatever happened to me when I was unconscious, whatever punishments were dispensed, I still didn’t want to go outside.’
‘Lies.’ Lily was focussed on her lips, as if doing so would betray her deceit.
‘He wanted to push me, to see what I would endure to avoid walking out of the door. I don’t know at what point he lost sight of that.’
