Saving Rachel

get out of here,” she says. I know Rachel can’t hear me so I mouth the words, “Are you okay?” “Why can’t I hear you?” she says. I glance at Karen. “Who are you talking to?” she says. “Can you hear me, Sam?” I nod. Rachel says, “Who the fuck are you talking to?”

I sigh. The voice was right. It is interesting.

Karen says, “Sam, look at me. Are you okay?”

I mouth, “I’m fi ne. Are you okay?” “I can’t hear you, Sam. I’m scared. What’s happening?” I shake my head while mouthing the words, “I don’t know.” “Sam?” she says. “Can you still hear me?” “Yes.” “I love you.” I bite my lip. “Do you love me?” I nod. “Yes.” Rachel says, “Sam, look at me. What’s going on? Who are you talking to?” I gesture toward my ears to imply I can no longer hear her. My captor’s voice says, “Chicken shit.” I say, “No kidding.” In my cell, Rachel’s and Karen’s voices suddenly go mute. The voice says, “Sam, we’ve shown good faith. Now it’s your turn.” “What do you mean?” “We’ve proven to you that Rachel is alive and unharmed. And we’ve shown you Karen as a bonus.” “So what?” I say. “You said you’d give me proof that you’ll let us go.” “That’s not quite what I said. But let’s not split hairs. We’re still willing to let you go if you enter the codes.” “What about Rachel and Karen?” “We have plans for all of you,” the voice says. “But those plans depend entirely on your cooperation.” “What kind of plans?” I say. “For now, we’re going to play a little game,” the voice says. “We’ll start by having you turn on your computer.”

I pause a minute. The voice says, “We’re not kidding around, Sam. Just power up your computer and look at the screen. The rest is up to you.”

I sit on the floor and put the computer in my lap. I glance at the two girls and see their mouths moving a hundred miles an hour. I can tell they’re both asking me over and over if I can hear them. Jesus, you’d think they’d get a clue. No, I can’t fucking hear you! I say in my head.

I power up the computer. Moments later, I hear the familiar tune that tells me it’s ready. A screen appears with the numbers one through eighteen, one under the other. To the right of each number, there are sixteen white boxes and a larger yellow box. I’m supposed to put the codes in the boxes. I wonder what the yellow boxes are for.

Ah, I realize. The names. I instantly start typing on the keypad, trying to find a way to get online. But I can’t even get beyond this screen. “Your computer is locked,” the voice says. “I’m not going to give you the codes,” I say. “You might want to reconsider.” “Why’s that?”

“Because if you don’t give us at least one of the codes in the next sixty seconds, we’re going to remove the girls’ covers, turn on their speakers, and tell each of them what you’ve been up to with the other.” “They’re going to find out anyway,” I say. “It’s just a matter of time.” “Is that your final answer?” the voice asks. I lean to my right and look at Creed’s truck. “He’s not going anywhere,” the voice says. “Okay,” I say. “Good choice. Now enter a code.” “No,” I say. “I meant okay, you can remove the tarps and tell the girls what I’ve been up to.” I think I hear the voice sigh. “It’s your funeral,” he says. The lights go out.

Chapter 22

When the lights come on, the tarps have been removed. Now I can see both cages, both girls, and they can see each other. They stare at each other and then at me. The voice says, “They can see each other, but we haven’t turned on their speakers yet. It’s not too late, Sam. Karen doesn’t know you’re married, and Rachel doesn’t know you’re cheating. Type in a code, and we’ll tell them a story to get you off the hook.”

I look at the girls. Each of them saw me talking to someone else. Now they know it was the other girl.

“Fuck it,” I say. “I’m toast.”

“Very well,” the voice says. “But rest assured, you will give us the codes. And soon.”

“We’ll see.”

“We will indeed.”

The girls’ mikes and speakers are activated, as are mine. We can all hear each other. Rachel starts things off. “Who are you?” she says to Karen. To me, she says, “You know her? Who is she?”

Karen says, “Sam, I don’t understand. Please tell me what’s going on. I love you, Sam.”

I sigh, thinking, Oh shit!

Rachel says, “You what? What the fuck did you just say?”

Karen says, “Sam, who is this woman?”

“She’s—”

“I’m his wife!” Rachel says. “And you—what?—you love him? You’re fucking my husband?”

Karen starts to say something to Rachel, changes her mind, and looks at me. She’s frightened and confused. “Sam,” she says. “Please. It’s not true. It can’t be true.”

I grimace at Karen to show how pained I am to have to reveal it to her this way, in this setting. It’s a sincere look. I’m honestly in pain over this. But of course, she is too, and her pain is ten times greater.

“You’re married?” she says.

When I fail to answer, Karen bursts into tears. She covers her face with her hands and sobs. Her shoulders and upper body shake and heave. “No!” she cries. “Oh God, no!” Then she says, “Why? Oh my God, Sam. Why?”

“Why?” Rachel sneers. “He probably likes fucking you, that’s why.” She narrows her eyes and looks at me. “Don’t you, Sam?”

I give my wife an angry look. “What’s that?” Rachel says. “You do like fucking her? Or you don’t? Which is it?” Karen lowers her hands slightly and looks up at me. Apparently, this is something she would like to hear. “Yes,” I say. “Yes?” Rachel says. “Yes, what?” “I like fucking her.” “You’re a lying, cheating bastard!” Rachel hisses. “Sam,” Karen says. “Please. I love you. Tell me that what we have is real.”

I look at Rachel. She says, “I can’t believe you’ve been fucking this piece-of-shit whore.