I have no idea what time it was or how much time had passed when I woke up. My arms had gone numb and I tried to move them, but they wouldn’t respond. The room was dull. It smelt damp. I searched for Robin and Mark; they were huddled together in the corner.
I felt the blood flowing through my arms, pins, and needles shot through them, but I fought against it. I felt something rough digging into the flesh of my wrist, burning and tight. I was tied up.
I hadn’t realised that Mark and Robin were too until that moment. Robins face was dirty. She had a bruise forming just under her eye. And I could see the trail her tears had left along her skin.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Basement I think.”
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know. I woke just as they were putting us in here and they haven’t been back down since.”
“Baby are you ok?” I said making my voice as gentle and as reassuring as I could. She didn’t reply.
“She hasn’t spoken since we came down here.” Said Mark.
I used my feet to try and drag myself along the floor. Thank god, I wasn’t tied to anything. It was hard enough moving with my arms tied behind my back though and I landed on my side a couple of times as I bottom shuffled over to her.
I reached her and rested my head against her shoulder. “It’ll be ok. I promise baby.” I said.
“Can you untie me if we lean back to back?” I asked Mark.
“I’m not sure. My hands are hurt I think they broke one of my hands.”
“Can you try?”
He nodded and we moved round resting our backs against each other. I made sure I was facing Robin so I could keep eye contact with her.
I felt Mark tugging at the ropes around my wrists. The material dug in deeper and I tried not to cry out for Robin’s sake.
I could hear Mark trying to keep his pain to a minimum; it must have hurt like hell.
“I can’t do it.” He said and he sound like he was crying. I could feel his body shaking against mine.
“Mark?”
“Yeah.”
“Give it a few minutes then try again ok?”
He hummed his reply as if he was trying to talk while biting down. I had never in my life wanted to hold both of them so much. If I could just make it all right and take this all away, I would.
I felt Mark start on my ropes again; he made sharp grunts through his teeth as he tugged harder this time. My left hand came loose and I managed to pull it though the gap. I spun round and threw my arms around him. Kissing him.
“Help Robin.” He said turning to me. “Untie her first.”
I pulled her round, her body felt heavy, and her shoulders sagging. “Come on baby, you have to keep fighting. I need your help; I can’t get to your hands properly.”
“Robin?” called Mark “Robin look at me” he moved him self in front of her and bent forward so that he could see her face.
“What do you say that when we get out of here I take you, mummy, and Bexley somewhere nice? You could even have a pool all to your self just like the one at my house. What do you think?”
She didn’t respond to him, but she did raise her face up to look at him. I smiled to encourage him to carry on.
“We could go somewhere that was nice and hot, where the sun shines all day long.”
She muttered something, but neither of us could make it out.
“Sorry Robin I didn’t hear you.” He said.
“I want somewhere with snow.” She replied louder this time.
He laughed. “Ok if you want snow then we shall have snow, but you won’t be able to have an outdoor pool, it’ll be too cold.”
“I can have an indoor one instead.”
I tugged hard on her rope as she got carried away in Marks promise. She stopped and yelped as I hurt her, but the rope came off. Her tiny wrists were covered in welts from the pressure of the ropes. They would pay for that.
She cried as her arms came free and Mark and I both moved towards her. She put her arms round his neck and I held them both as she cried. Her tiny body rocked with sobs and I held tighter until she calmed down.
It didn’t take as long to get Marks ropes off. They came off a little easier than I anticipated. He cradled his hand in the crook of his arm. It was defiantly broken.
“What now?” I asked. “Do we just head for the door up there?”
“I don’t know. Wait here and I’ll go and see if I can hear anything.”
I sat Robin on my knee as Mark crawled up the stone steps towards the door of the next floor. I rocked her back and forth, while I cradled her and ran my hands through her hair.
“Anything?” I asked as he returned.
“I can hear a television that’s it.” He said.
“Do we try?”
“We have no choice.”
“I’ll go first.”
“I should…”
“No.” I said before he could protest any further. “You’ve been shot and Robin can’t do it. Watch me and wait, I’ll wave when the coast is clear.”
I climbed the steps as quietly as I could and opened the door just enough to see out. Ethan was sat with his back to me. The was he was sat on one of the big soft chairs. Judging by the way his head was leaning I imagined he was asleep. The television was on in front of him, but there was no one else around so he must have fallen asleep watching it.
I waved down to them and Mark made a move forward, but Robin curled her legs up to her self and shook her head. “Come on Robin.” I heard Mark whisper. “We have to go.”
She just kept rocking and shaking her head refusing to move. Mark looked up and me and shrugged his shoulders not sure what he should do.
I slid back down the stairs to Mark and Robin. “Baby?” I said. “We have to leave.”
Her eyes met mine, but they were wide with fear. Her dirty face was wet from crying. There was no way I was going to get her to move.
“Can we carry her?” I said turning to mark.
“I don’t think so. I have a busted leg and she doesn’t look like she’ll move.” He said.
“I don’t know what to do Mark. We have to leave now. I can only see Ethan and he looks like he is asleep.”
“You go, get help, and come back for us.”
“But what if.”
His jaw set and he looked me firmly in the eyes. “I will protect her with my life. Nothing will happen to her.”
“But what about you.”
“Think of Robin. You have to get help.”
I nodded, I couldn’t talk if I did I would cry. The thought of leaving her or him made me ache with fear and dread. If Ethan killed both of them I don’t know what I would do, but I had to try I had to go and get help otherwise we were all going to die. I had no doubt about that, I just didn’t understand why we were still alive and why my escape seemed so easy. Maybe this was part of their game, but sod it I was going to try.
I put my arms around Robin and kissed the top of her head. The rocking stopped for a moment and she let me hold her, but she still clung onto her knees. “I’ll come back for you baby.” I promised. “You stay here with Mark. I won’t be long.”
She didn’t move, didn’t let me know if she had heard me, I hoped she did. I leant over to Mark and kissed him gently, his lips were cold and chapped. “I’ll look after her.” He said as I pulled away. “You just make sure you come back for us.”
“Nothing will keep me away.” I said. I got up and swallowed my nerves. Now was not the time for fear.
I took one last look at Mark and Robin as I reached the top of the stairs. He had his arms round her holding her to him, she didn’t even look up.
I blew them a kiss and Mark smiled at me.
Getting out of the room was easy and thankfully, the door didn’t make a sound as I shut it behind me. Ethan was still sat in the same position as he had been before and to get out I was going to have to crawl in front of him. He was blocking the only path I had to the front door of the house.
I moved slowly. I could hear my own heat beat in my ears as I crawled on my hands and knees towards him.
His gun was resting on the arm of the chair, his fingers gently over the top of it. I crawled closer and knelt up. I stared at his face. I still couldn’t believe it was him doing all this. He was my uncle. The person I had been brought up with. The person that shared many evenings with my daughters teaching her the latest computer game and making fun of me because I couldn’t even switch one on.
I bit down on my bottom lip as it began to quiver, using the back of my hand I wiped the tears away that had already fallen. He was not my uncle anymore. He was nothing more than a cold-blooded killer and I would not grieve for him.
I reached my hand up and touched the cold metal of the gun. Wrapping my fingers around the nozzle, I pulled gently all the time keeping my eyes on Ethan’s face. My heart almost stopped as the gun slipped easily from under his fingers, He didn’t even flinch.
I tucked it into the back of my jeans. There was no way I could crawl quietly with it in my hand; the clunking of it on the polished floor would have made an almighty noise.
I crawled passed Ethan the door was only feet away from me. This was too easy. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up waiting for something to happen, but it didn’t and I reached the door quickly. The key was in the lock. I turned it and ducked down, as the mechanical click seemed to echo around the room. I glanced over at Ethan, but was just as he had been moments before. I let out the breath I didn’t realise I had been holding and eased the door open.
The cold air hit my face like a sharp slap. I closed the door and moved out of view before standing and filling my lungs with the fresh air.
Half standing half crouching I looked out into the world before me. Trees stood proudly reaching up into the star lit sky. The lake that held the front of the house lapped gently against the bank, the sound would have been calming on any other night, tonight it just help to hide the sound of my footsteps as I got off the porch and stood on the leaves and twigs that covered the ground like a blanket.
Apart from the main room where Ethan was, the rest of the house was in darkness, partially swallowed up by the forest that surrounded it. I quickly made sure that the windows were clear before running awkwardly in my bent position into the mouth of the woods.
I stopped by the old large back, its skin peeling off where it looked to have been scared by something sharp.
“Going somewhere?”
I stood ridged as I heard the voice. Taking cover behind the old tree. I couldn’t see anyone. Strange shadows danced around in corners, but none of them advanced towards me.
“I said are you going somewhere?” repeated the voice this time behind me. I spun on the spot hoping to catch a glimpse of who ever owned the voice, but just think black night greeted me.
“B******s to this.” I said to my self and sprang my self from the tree, running forward and aiming for the forest. Melody stepped out in front of me and I stopped dead, almost slipping on the damp leaves that were scattered on the ground.
