I had only just got my useless body to stand when I heard the heavy steps above, followed by the rattle of locks at the top of the stairs.
A gasp from Hailey alerted me the sounds had awoken her too and I looked over in her direction hurriedly.
“Stay there Hailey. If I tell you to run, you head for the stairs and just go! Get far away from here and do not stop until you’re safe.” I whispered frantically.
“Go Kiddo! Fucking run and don’t stop!” Chris’ face popped into my head, an image of him straddling the body of The Shadow, laying hit after hit into his face as he yelled for me to flee. I could feel my fear and terror as I had hidden in a corner, watching the scene unfold. I felt the hope that Chris had been right, that we would get out of there.
The door opening and light illuminating the room dragged me from the uninvited memory and back into my terrifying present. I shook off the remnants of the flashback and made my brain focus on the sound of thunderous footsteps down the wooden stairs. He was coming and I had to be ready.
I gripped my sock weapon tight in my hand and held it behind my back, both of my hands trembling badly as I clasped them together. He had fed us once since we had been there, a single bowl of the unidentifiable slop I knew only too well. I had given it to Hailey and she had scarfed it down, clearly having not eaten for days. She needed it more desperately than me, but I was feeling the effects of not eating for so long, my body weak and shaky, my stomach cramped and painful with hunger. We were likely both dehydrated too, having only had one bottle of water between us in the days I had been there. I had tried to ration it out for us both, but we needed more desperately.
I must have let my mind wander too much in my hazy state, because the next thing I knew The Shadow was opposite me, that sick smug smile on his face, his eyes filled with evil promises of pain, illuminated by the lantern he carried as usual.
I had to fight hard to hold back my cry of fear at the shock of him sneaking up on me. Instead I glared at him hard, building up my own confidence that I would get Hailey and I out of there that day, no matter what. For me, for Hailey, for our families and for my guys- we were both going home. I was going to feel the four men I loved holding me tight again, and nothing, especially not the monster of my nightmares, was going to stop me.
Remembering what Kyle had taught me, I knew my best chance of landing the head blow I needed to take him down long enough for us to run was to hit him while he was distracted going for me.
“Back for more, you sick fuck?” I growled. My voice was a rough rasp and pretty weak, but I pushed it as loud as I could.
He hadn’t got away from his last two beatings unscated. He had a black eye from me punching his nose and the day before I had scraped my nails down his right cheek, leaving some deep gouges. I had also hit and kicked him like hell and knew he must be pretty bruised too.
His smile dropped and his face filled with rage. I knew what was coming before he even raised his fist. When he was angry he always went for a face punch. A quick fire way to make me more submissive for him, but I was ready this time, and as he moved sluggishly to hit me, I danced away from him and took my opportunity to swing my weapon at him while he was unsuspecting.
The first blow landed harder than I expected across the back of his head. The impact was agony on my body and I cried out, but forced myself to stay upright as The Shadow stumbled forward, looking a little dazed. Taking advantage of the moment I swung again and landed another hit hard to his right temple. I was shocked when he went down to his knees, grabbing his head as blood trickled down behind his ear. He looked up at me, his face filled with shock and pain. He hadn’t expected me to fight back.
“Hailey! Go now! Run!” I yelled as I hit out again. I landed two more blows on his head, neither quite as hard as the first two, since I could barely breathe through the pain, but adrenaline helped and I hit hard enough for him to fall to the ground groaning.
Hailey shot past me, little more than a blur and I heard her on the stairs, her little feet tapping as she moved as fast as she could.
I looked to The Shadow, looking pretty pathetic and out of it as he lay sprawled on the ground before me. He was down, but for how long I didn’t know. I had to move!
Another hit of terror induced adrenaline fueled me up the stairs and I slammed the door closed behind me, shutting my torturer in the Darkness. There were three padlocks on the door and I took the time to latch one across and attempted to lock it, but the padlocks were number combinations and wouldn’t click shut. I thought about trying to barricade the door
