by Sam Crescent
No, he wasn’t going to think about that. Nipping his thoughts in the bud, he ran a hand down his face, and stared across the room. Silence fell between them.
He glanced toward her only to find her nibbling on her lip, clearly worried.
“We’re going to get out of this,” he said.
“You don’t know that. For all you know we could be kept here to starve to death. We’re both going to die,” she said.
“No, we’re not. You’ve got to believe we’re going to get free. It’s what I’m doing. Freedom is what I’m aiming for.”
“Have you always been this optimistic?”
“Nope. I guess being trapped in a room with you is helping me to see clearly.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but they both froze.
“No, please. No more. I can’t take it. Please, stop.”
The feminine scream stopped outside of their room.
Something was thrown against their door, and the screams kept coming until all of a sudden, silence.
Noah stared at the door, and it was only when Skye gripped his arm that he looked to where she was pointing.
Blood seeped under the door.
She covered her mouth, and tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, my God, they just killed her,” she said, whispering the words.
Noah pulled her close, holding her, feeling her body as it shook against him.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Even as he spoke, he knew he was talking bullshit. How could he promise that? They were never getting out of here. Never ever. Their life was fucking ending here.
Chapter Two
Noah held her until she fell asleep, and they both woke up leaning in some form against the wall.
They jerked apart when the door opened.
Skye cried out as she was dragged to the bed and pulled down. In the next second, her wrists were secured to the bed, and she tried to tug on them.
“You can keep struggling, babe. It’s not going to help. These are designed to keep you all locked up and at our mercy.”
She whimpered as he gripped her ass, squeezing it.
Lifting up, she watched as Noah was left chained to the wall. Turning her head, she saw what they were doing.
“We had a little problem yesterday. One of our guests didn’t wish to earn her keep. When you disobey our rules, you’ll learn there are consequences.”
“You killed her?” Noah asked.
“I don’t believe in keeping people who don’t work well. She had every opportunity to earn her stay here, and instead, she chose to be difficult. Learn from her mistake.”
Skye couldn’t stop the tears from coming as she saw another woman having to clean up the mess.
She had a collar wrapped around her neck, but it scared Skye because the woman was naked, covered in bruises. The woman was so thin as well, so frail. Her eyes looked vacant.
Had she been here long? Could she help them?
There was no way this woman would ever be able to help them. She couldn’t even help herself.
Just as the woman put the mop back into her bucket, the sound of a whip cutting through the air and hitting flesh, followed by her scream, terrified Skye. They were hurting this woman, and there was nothing she or Noah could do about it. Over and over, they made her clean up as they hurt her.
The man behind her continued to squeeze Skye’s ass.
“You see what they’re doing to her? Once she’s done cleaning up their mess, they’re going to use her. One of them using her pussy and then her ass, or both at the same time. She’s nothing more than a hole to be used. I look forward to seeing how many ways we can use you.”
With that, the mess was cleaned up, and Skye’s cuffs were removed. They were all gone before she could even rush for the door.
Wiping away the tears and snot, she wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging her body close.
“Skye,” Noah said.
“Did you see what they were doing?”
“Yes. Did he touch you?”
She nodded her head, unable to form the words.
“Son of a bitch. I’m so sorry, Skye.”
“It’s fine.” Her stomach chose that moment to growl, and for some reason, she found that oddly amusing. Even at a time like this, her body still wanted food.
“Do you think they’re going to starve us to death so we look like that woman?”
“It looked to me like she’d been here a long time,” he said.
“That doesn’t make it easy for us. It means we’re screwed. You know that, right? We’re here, and now we’ve got to wait until an opportunity opens up to get out. I’m not leaving you chained to that wall.”
“Skye, if an opportunity opens up, you get the hell out of here. You understand me? You get the hell out, and you don’t stop until you’re back home. You tell the cops with your parents, and you get them to come and get me.”
“They’d hurt you even more,” Skye said. “You know that. They’d punish you because of me.”
“We don’t know that. We don’t know anything.”
She pressed her hands against her face and tried to stop sobbing. Nothing was helping. The tears kept coming.
“Damn it, Skye. I can’t help you over there. Come here.”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’re falling apart.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“We’re not going to get very far if you keep on lying to yourself and to me. Come on. I’m right here.”
She sniffled and slowly crawled off the bed, onto the floor, and over to him. Once she was close enough, he pulled her into his arms, holding her.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.”
“It’s still kind of crazy for me to think I’m being hugged and consoled by the one and only Noah King, football player.”
“Well, I’m getting comfort from you. The smartest girl in school, no boyfriend either. Always focused on college and the future.”
“You make me sound so boring.”
“Not boring at all. Focused.”
“You’re focused.”
“On football and getting laid. I don’t have the kind of focus you have. I only care about two things.”
She held her hand up. “I don’t need to hear you tell me about them.”
“You’re such a prude.”
“I’m not a prude. I just think the less we talk about ourselves the better.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. What if they’re watching us now?” she asked.
“I don’t see a camera.”
“Neither do I, but they’ve got to be able to know what we’re doing or what we’re saying, right?”
“I guess.” He shrugged.
“I’m scared.”
“Me too.”
“What do you think they’re going to do to us?” she asked.
“I don’t have a clue. I don’t even want to think about it. Let’s just focus on the fact we’re alive right now, and not worry about what it to come.”
“Okay.”
She stayed in his lap. Neither of them spoke for so long. Time became of no consequence to them.
“Do you think they’re looking for us?” she asked.
“My dad is probably throwing together a search party for his boy. He couldn’t imagine me running off.”
“Would you even want to?” she asked, looking up at him. She was still in his lap, and much to her dislike, she found herself oddly comforted by his touch.
“Sometimes I want to run from the expectations.”
“Expectations?”
“Being a star football player is not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“It’s not?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Don’t sound so shocked.”
“Is this where you tell me how deep and meaningful everything is, from your life to your experience?”
“Don’t laugh.”
“Sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’
t laugh.” There were a million reasons why she shouldn’t be laughing, their current predicament being one of them. “Okay, tell me, hotshot, what’s it really like?”
“You really want to know?”
“I’ve got no place to be. I’m all yours.” For the foreseeable future. She didn’t want to be so negative for him and kept the last part to herself.
“I have to win.”
“Isn’t that the whole point of football?”
“Exactly. I’m the captain. The one in charge. The guys look to me to win. To do something about it, to make a change. When I first started, there was none of this responsibility. It was just me, the team, and the ball. Nothing else.”
“And now it’s not even that.”
“No. It’s all about the winning. I lose a game, I’m the one the coach comes to about what went wrong.”
“You’re a team.”
“I’m the captain. It all comes down to me. If my game is off, the entire team is off.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t believe that.”
“What’s so hard to believe?”
“You’re just one guy. The whole point of playing is being part of a team. You shouldn’t have all that on your shoulders. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the last person you should listen to seeing as I don’t do anything about sports, but you’re a team, and there’s no ‘I’ in team.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy, Noah. You’re not every single player on that team. You don’t pass to just yourself, or chase after the ball.”
“You’ve never been to a single game, have you?”
“None,” she said, laughing.
“You know, in my world that makes you a crazy person.”
“In my world your obsession with football says you need to go and get your head examined.” She reached out, ruffling his head. “You need to start using that brain for good, not for running.”
“You’re funny, Skye.”
“Always.”
They pulled apart as the door to their cell was opened. The three men were back. Skye moved beside Noah as they put their food in front of them and left.
Not a word was spoken.
Noah’s was on his lap, and hers was on the floor.
“It looks like vomit,” she said, whispering.
“Just eat it. We need to keep up our strength.”
Noah picked up his spoon and started to eat the thick, vomit-like soup.
Skye struggled. She wondered what they’d put into it, but seeing as Noah was finishing it with gusto, she finished off her plate as well.
The men arrived thirty minutes later, took the empty plates, and left.
She watched them go. The door slammed closed, the lock clicking into place.
“I guess we’re not going to starve to death.”
“No, and I’ve got a plan.” Noah’s smiling face freaked her out a little.
“A plan?”
“They’re going to feed us, right? I’m going to get my strength back, and then, we’re out of here, Skye. You and me, together. Agree with me on this. We’re here together, we’ll get out together.”
She stared at his hand. His optimism was effective.
Shaking his hand, she hoped they were not being too prematurely happy about this.
****
Noah assumed the days passed. With no window in sight and only the one meal a day, it was hard to know what was happening, or at least, he assumed it was one meal a day. There seemed to be a pretty long gap between each portion of food.
They’d enjoyed six meals so far.
If that was one meal a day, then he was starting to feel like crap. He didn’t want to scare Skye though.
His plan of eating everything, and being able to fight his way out, was probably a bit too premature.
Instead of getting his strength, he could barely hold up the cuffs, he was so exhausted. The men came and went out of the room regularly. They were there like clockwork to help him use the bathroom. Skye was always forced onto the bed as he did this.
Each time, he truly believed he’d overpower them. Only, he could only about handle getting his dick out of his pants.
He pretended well for Skye, and she didn’t question him.
He kept a smile on his face, and not showing how he was freaking out seemed to be working so far.
One day at a time, if it was even a day.
“Do you find the passage of time confusing?” he asked.
“Yes. I don’t even know if it’s day or night.” She rolled over. Even though there was a bed across the small room, she always slept beside him or in his lap. Their body heat provided them warmth. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. Day, I guess. I don’t know.”
“Is that because we’re awake?”
“Yeah.”
“I hate not knowing. I miss seeing the sun,” she said.
“Me too. I miss going for a run.”
“I don’t miss that,” she said, with a wrinkle of her nose, which he found really cute. There was a lot about her he was finding incredibly cute.
As he stroked a finger down her face, she smiled.
“What do you miss?” he asked.
“You want to talk about it?”
“It’ll get us ready for when we get the hell out of here. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Okay, fine.” She sat up. “I miss my shower,” she said. “I would really like to get washed.”
They both smelled from lack of washing.
“Agreed. I’m never skipping a shower when we get out of here.”
“Never again. I miss my mom’s cooking. I mean, she was bad at a lot of things. She overcooked vegetables all the time, and burned meat. Her job at the hospital was always on her mind, but she tried. When it was family time, without fail, there would be a meal there for all of us to try and enjoy.”
“Your mother sounds amazing.” He knew she was a florist, and her father was a paralegal in town. Neither of them earned a lot of money.
His own family wasn’t particularly wealthy, but compared to Skye’s, they were.
“I miss my books.”
“Studying?” he asked.
“No. My reading books. I’d love to be reading while we wait to know what is going to happen, you know? It’s probably stupid. I don’t know.”
“I don’t think it’s stupid, Skye. It’s actually, really, incredibly brave.” He cupped her cheek, stroking the delicate flesh. Even though they hadn’t washed, she felt soft to the touch.
They once again jerked back as the door was pulled open.
Each time the bolt opened, it always sent an echo around the room, like a reminder of what was about to happen. Their reality always messed with them.
For a short time, while they were alone, he could imagine they were on some weird camping trip. Only, he’d lost a bet, and Skye had been thrown in there to keep him company. Each time the bolt moved and the door opened, his reality was thrown right back into his face. There was no getting out of here, not for them.
“Well, well, well, isn’t it a little too cozy in here for you two lovebirds?” the accent guy asked.
“Why don’t you let us go?” Noah asked.
“Such a tough guy, aren’t you?” Accent guy laughed. “Come at me, tough guy. Come and get me.”
They both knew he couldn’t. It didn’t matter how much food he ate, it wasn’t enough. Skye had offered to give him her portion of food, but it wouldn’t help. He needed her to keep her strength up too.
“What do you want?”
“Not you.” Accent guy grabbed a chair, pulling it up to the center of the room.
Noah held Skye’s hand, feeling her tremble as the man looked at them. “So, we’ve been watching things for a long time, and now, I want to have some questions asked. Are you two dating?”
“No,” they both said at the same time.
“So what were you doing alone that day?”
Noah turn
ed to Skye.
“He asked me there. It was to do about his homework.”
“You’re his tutor?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, so that explains a few things.” Accent guy winked. “You’ve got to love how interesting this has played out. Just so you know, big guy, it was her we were after.”
“Me?” Skye asked.
“Yes, and now we’re about to find out if my suspicions are correct. Not a lot of young girls are virgins nowadays. They give it up for any dick that tells them they’re pretty.”
Noah couldn’t stop them as they grabbed at Skye. She was pulled away from him and thrown onto the bed. He felt sick to his stomach.
“Let her go.”
“No can do. We need to know the answer here, and the only way to do that, is for this to very much happen.”
Noah pulled on his chains, getting to his feet, and Skye was tied to the bed. They pulled off her pants, and two men held her legs open.
“Let her go. Please, just let her go.”
Skye’s screams filled the air.
An older man, someone Noah didn’t recognize, came into the room. He had a large black bag, and he watched as he pulled on some white gloves.
“You know all women are sluts nowadays. I don’t even know why you want me here,” he said.
“Just do as you’re told, Doc,” Accent guy said.
Noah kept on trying to get out of the chains, to get to Skye, to stop them from touching her. There was no use in doing that. He didn’t have any strength.
Skye kept on screaming, wriggling on the bed.
“You’re a good little one. She’s going to make us a fortune,” one of the guys said.
Noah didn’t know any of their names.
The doctor approached the bed, and Noah could do nothing but wait.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” the doctor said. “You’re right. You got yourself a virgin there.” The doctor removed his gloves. “I’ll take my payment in the usual way.”
Just as quickly as the men moved in, they were gone, filtering out of the room as if they hadn’t just turned their world upside down. Skye’s panties were around her ankles, as were her jeans.
“I almost forgot,” Accent guy said. “Don’t fuck her, boy, otherwise, you’ll be in trouble.”
Much to Noah’s surprise, the cuffs were removed from his wrists.