The Radius | Book 2 | Living In The Radius

by Muga, D. M.

  He creeps around, through the kitchen, and into the den that’s on the other side of the stairs, and opposite of the living room that the Deputy and Ben Reilly are in. Once he’s next to the stairs, he listens to the two men blabbering about how they think Richard ran away.

  These guys really are fucking idiots.

  He then walks back into the living room and puts the barrel of his revolver to Ben’s head.

  “Ben Reilly, you son of a bitch!” He shouts at the man on the floor.

  “Shit!” Ben blurts out.

  He smiles and replies. “I knew I should have killed you that night on the road. You are just like the late Sheriff. You just can’t let things be. It got him killed and looks like it did the same thing to you.”

  He chuckles lightly at how things kept turning in his favor. “With the Sheriff’s gun, I might add.”

  Richard grins, and squeezes the grip on the 357 revolver.

  This is my new world… not yours.

  Richard pulls the trigger.

  ::Click::

  Shit! How many shots was that earlier!? Shit!

  Before he can think to reload, his vision goes blurry. He feels a sudden burst of warmth on his chest and begins to feel very cold. He tries to speak but cannot.

  His vision begins to fade, and he begins to notice a thick taste of copper in his mouth.

  The next thing he knows, he’s looking at Ben Reilly and his fallen Deputy friend from a side angle.

  Am I laying down? Why’s it so cold? What the fuck happened? What did I fucking miss?

  Richard tries to turn these thoughts into words, but all that comes are gargles and inaudible sounds.

  He blinks once, and his vision becomes so blurry he can barely make out the figures in front of him. He blinks again and the blurry world around him goes white, a blinding white.

  7

  Holly Clark

  Holly awakens in her very large bed and looks to her side, finding herself alone in the bed and the bedroom.

  Good, he’s not here. Which means he’s already up and about. He’ll probably be back later for more. He always wants more…

  Holly tries to brush the thoughts of last night away from her mind and decides to take a shower. No matter how many showers she has taken since the start of this new world, she can never seem to feel clean. Nonetheless, she walks across the room and heads to the bathroom.

  Once the water’s heated up, she steps into the shower to try and find a moment of peace in her new reality. Unfortunately, as it is with most people, her mind starts to wander while she’s trying to rinse herself clean. Her mind wanders to what her life was and what it now has become.

  Holly Clark had it all, and everything was working in her favor, that was until May 19th, 2023. She didn't realize how much her life had changed because of the Blue Hole Radius until the following day, when Richard Clark arrived.

  Prior to the Blue Hole Radius, she was going to school for Business Administration, while her fiancé, Roger Stevens, was working at Chino, as a Corrections Officer. Roger and Holly had been together for close to four years now, and he had just proposed earlier this year. Their plan was a late summer wedding at the beach. But all of those plans were gone now. Along with their plans to go to Yosemite National Park for her Birthday, which was yesterday.

  Instead, she spent her 26th birthday shopping in a dystopian future at a makeshift marketplace, because of some Blue Hole Radius, with her capturer masquerading as her fiancé. Her big day was topped off with another murder, by Richard... followed up with his daily rape of her.

  Falling asleep last night, she cried, for the first time in a couple weeks, and thought to herself, happy birthday Holly… this may be your last one.

  Richard Clark had taken so much from her. She was not sure anymore on what to think of him exactly. In the beginning she hated him but was too afraid to do anything. Roger was gone and the whole world was gone along with him. No one was coming to protect her. No one was coming to save her.

  It took a few days... after that morning that Richard showed up in her bedroom, her and Roger’s bedroom, in Roger’s uniform and proceeded to rape her. It took a few days... of him forcing her to travel with and having his way with her, daily. It took a few days... for her to come to the realization that this may be her life now. It took her close to a week to start to see Richard Clark, Richard Stevens as he referred to himself, as her capturer, her rapist, and her protector.

  Over time, she learned how to better talk to him, and not be in tears. She learned how to make sure that he didn't get angry with her, as to not make matters worse. Each time he had his way with her, she became a little more numb. She had learned how to push her mind and thoughts somewhere else, while her body suffered his wrath.

  Sure, she was disgusted with herself for going along with him, and slowly stopping to fight back. But what was she supposed to do? The world was in chaos and he killed anything that displeased him or didn't fit into his new world, as he would refer to it.

  She had been there for seven of his murders, and he boasted about countless others. Holly was unsure of when she started to see him as both evil and her protector. Nonetheless, she had found that’s how she viewed him now.

  That was until she started to think she was pregnant and found out what he thought about that situation. These were the main concerns she had now. There was no denying it. She knew in her gut that she was pregnant. The morning sickness was a key indicator and there were other big signs as well. Like her missing her period last month, and her breasts feeling very tender and swollen.

  She was pregnant and was no longer just thinking about her own survival. Now there was her unborn baby to think about.

  She also felt in her gut that Richard would never let her baby live. Her baby didn't fit into his new world, whether it was his baby or not. She knew in her saddened heart that it was most likely Richard’s and not Roger’s baby. They had talked about starting to try, and she had just gone off her birth control, but the timeline wouldn’t match up for it being Roger’s baby.

  To add to the evidence that it was Richard’s, was the sheer numbers... the massive amount of times that he had raped her. The odds of the baby being Roger’s didn’t fit the timeline or the amount of sex that was had. The baby was Richard’s and he surely still would not want her baby to be a part of his new world.

  She was unsure if she could go on living like this. He had taken away so much from her. How could she let him take her baby too? She had begun to entertain the idea of suicide in the last few days.

  I would at least take those things away from him… my body and his ability to kill me. She thinks to herself in the hot water of the shower.

  Holly sobs lightly in the shower, realizing just how many times that he had raped her, how many times that she had let him rape her.

  She begins to think of different ways to end her life, to end her suffering. She thought of poison, but if Richard found out, he might have thought she was trying to poison him. Plus, she really didn’t have a clue on how to effectively poison herself, and all of the house-held chemicals sounded extremely painful. She had heard that the wrists only hurt for a minute and then it was over.

  Before she can contemplate it anymore, the shower curtain is ripped open and she’s startled to see Richard standing there grinning at her.

  Before she can react, she’s ripped from the shower and he doesn’t even allow her to dry off.

  She knows exactly what he wants. She doesn’t fight back, and allows herself to be thrown onto the bed.

  While Richard forces himself onto her, she drifts away in her mind.

  She thinks of a lake, similar to the one they were at yesterday. She imagines that her baby has grown into a toddler and that she’s walking him along the shore of the lake. She’s not sure why she automatically thinks that her baby is a boy, but it feels right.

  She smiles inside of her head, thinking about how beautiful her baby boy is. She thinks of all the things she w
ill teach him, and all of the things that she won’t. Richard isn’t there in her imagined lakeside walk with her son. It’s simply her and her son, whom she will raise to be a much better person than his father, and a much stronger person than his mother.

  Her dreamlike illusional escape starts to drift away as she notices that Richard’s no longer atop of her. She feels him spit on her and say, “Best go take another shower, sweet thing… then come downstairs, because we need to have a talk.”

  She hears him laugh and her vision starts to come fully back to the bedroom that she was just raped in, once again. She notices him walk out of the room, and she just lies there for a moment, remembering the dreamlike escape that her subconscious had allowed her to go to.

  Maybe I can reason with him. I’ve been able to before. Maybe he’ll listen this time. Maybe he’ll change his mind… Maybe I can change his mind. Because I don't think I can go on without this baby. I don’t think I can go on without my son, even if HE is the father.

  With her newfound goal and resolution, she heads back to the shower, which was still running. She proceeds to rinse herself off, not truly feeling clean, and then she gets dressed for the day.

  I'm sure of it. I can change his mind. I mean… I have to… she thinks to herself as she walks downstairs and into the kitchen.

  “Hello there, pretty lady.” Richard says, grinning at her.

  “I see, you got all cleaned up again. Good job.” Richard smirks at her.

  “Thank you, Richard.” She replies to him. “I just came down here for some food. Then I was going to take a nap.”

  Now is not the time. He seems too sharp, right now. Like he’s the Wolf and I'm Little Red Riding Hood. I have to catch him off guard… when he wants me again.

  “Not feeling well are we?” Richard asks her.

  “Why don’t you hold off on lunch. Take a seat and let’s have ourselves a chat about your sickness.” He adds, as she nears the refrigerator.

  She looks at him, fearful of his tone.

  What’s he thinking? He sounds too calm. Even for him...

  She hesitates and freezes, stopping on her path to the refrigerator.

  “I said! Sit down Holly!” Richard bellows at her.

  She flinches.

  Oh no… he wants to talk about the baby now.

  She slowly walks over to the dining room table.

  “We have avoided the elephant in the room long enough. Or should I say the baby in the womb…” Richard quips at her.

  She looks away from him and diverts her eyes to the table, looking down in front of her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Richard. I just have a stomach bug. I’ll be fine in a few days…”

  “Bull-fucking-shit, Holly.” Richard exclaims. “You are pregnant, and you know how I feel about that.”

  She shakes her head. “No!”

  Richard nods his head. “Yes, Holly… you are.”

  She begins to sob lightly. After a few moments she looks up at him with tears running down her face. “So that’s it then. You’re going to kill me now?” She says, crying softly.

  Richard laughs and then smiles, which shuts her up and she goes silent. “Of course not pretty lady. You are a keeper… it’s just that baby that needs to go!”

  Her eyes go wide. “What?! No!”

  He nods, “Yes, Holly. It'll be simple. We’ll just have to starve you for a week, and you should miscarry. If that little baby has nothing to eat, it will just wither away.” He smiles at her.

  Her eyes go wider. “What?! NO! I won’t let you!”

  He can’t do this! I won’t let him! He can’t take my baby! She thinks loudly in her head.

  She hears him laugh at her. “You! You won’t let me!? That’s rich, bitch! I’ll chain you to the fucking bed if I have to! Feed you water and nothing else! Well… maybe I'll feed you something else.”

  Her eyes begin to fill up with tears, but they don’t feel like tears of fear to her, more like tears of anger.

  “NO! I won’t let you Richard! You’ve taken everything else! You won’t take my baby!” She shouts at him.

  I have that knife upstairs, for my wrists! Go Holly! Go now! She thinks, as she bolts out of her seat and up toward the master bedroom.

  She hears him behind her, “Where the fuck do you think you are going, Holly?!” He then laughs. “You try to run away and run your dumbass upstairs!”

  He then shouts at her, “Looks to me like you want to get chained up to the bed right fucking now!”

  She rushes to the room and grabs the kitchen knife from in between the mattress and the box spring.

  I won’t let you Richard! Not this time!

  He walks into the room and sees her holding the knife toward him. “Just what the fuck are you going to do with that!?”

  Her mind starts to panic, but she holds her ground.

  “You stay right there, Richard! Don’t come any closer! I won’t let you hurt my baby!” She shouts at him.

  He laughs at her and before she knows it, the knife’s knocked from her hand.

  What?! What happened?! Why couldn't I move!? Why couldn’t I do it?!

  She then feels the crisp hot feeling of him smacking her across her face.

  She can vaguely hear him laugh as her vision blurs.

  “I’m starting to think that maybe you aren’t a keeper, Holly.” He snickers at her.

  Her eyes go wide as he grabs her by the slams and throws her against the wall.

  Oh no! I missed my chance! She thinks in panic.

  ::Ding Dong::

  With her vision going blurry, again, and her breath gone, she can hear him say something but can’t make out what it is. The next thing she knows, she’s on her knees gasping for air. Her mind races in hazy confusion, not registering that someone’s at the front door.

  She hears his distant voice say “Stay the fuck here, Holly… and think about our conversation. Don’t make a fucking sound and you better be in a better mood when I get back. Or we’ll pick up where we left off…”

  What’s going on?! My throat’s on fire! I can’t breathe without it hurting.

  She sees a blurry vision of Richard leave the bedroom.

  She then hears the doorbell ring.

  ::Ding Dong::

  “Is someone here? Help me! Help me, please!” She tries to shout, but nothing comes out.

  My throat’s still on fire. He was really going to kill me. That was it!

  After a few moments, she can start to feel her legs again, and she pulls herself up with the assistance of the nearby dresser. She then stumbles over to the bed, searching for the knife.

  ::Ding Dong::

  There it is! She thinks, as she grabs it and stumbles to the doorway of the master bedroom.

  She peeks her head outside the doorway and doesn’t see anyone. But she can hear voices coming from down the hall and down the stairs.

  “Help me!” She tries to yell, but still no words are coming out of her mouth.

  No one’s coming to save you, Holly. No one has come yet, and no one will ever come. Once he’s done talking to or killing whoever is downstairs, he will come back to finish you off… Holly thinks to herself.

  She tries to steady herself, listening to what’s going on downstairs, to decide how much time she actually has.

  She hears Richard's voice. “But yeah, Sheriff Patterson came by for dinner around sunset. I want to say he left around 11:00 PM or so. To be honest, it’s a tad bit fuzzy. We had a few beers with dinner and sat on the back porch for a while.”

  She then hears another voice respond to Richard. “Sounds like the good old Sheriff. That is a very nice HD500 Ruger 357 you got there. And it’s nice to keep it in your family over the years.”

  What are they talking about? Are they looking for the Sheriff that Richard killed last night? The Sheriff that he killed, and I helped clean up? Holly thinks to herself.

  Not right now, Holly... Focus! They may be able to help you. They are looking for the
Sheriff and they obviously figured out to come here. Maybe I will be able to escape this hell. Holly begins to hope as she thinks and listens to the conversation going on downstairs.

  Richard replies to the other voice. “Thanks, Deputy Bradley. I sure think so. It’s Deputy Bradley, right? Jim Bradley’s twin?” Then Richard adds, “And I believe you are Ben Reilly, correct? I didn’t think you were a cop though. Deputized recently then, I take it?” Richard laughs lightly.

  She hears mumbling, so she walks into the upstairs hallway, closer to the edge of the stairs, to get a better listen.

  She then hears the other voice say, “That’s exactly the point. This guy is not who he says he is, and something’s way off. The Sheriff does not drink that much. Only a beer here and there. And I'm pretty damn sure that the Ruger GP100 357 is Sheriff’s Patterson’s. His story is bullshit for sure.”

  What’s he talking about and is he talking to Richard? She questions.

  She hears another voice respond, “So, let’s arrest him.”

  Her eyes go wide.

  Yes! This is my chance! Arrest his crazy ass! She thinks loudly in her head, but still cannot manage words.

  She then hears the other voice reply, “The plan was to get information and come back with the cavalry if we had to. Now we know we need to come back with the cavalry. We need to play this smart, Ben. No reason for more loss of life.”

  “Fine…” The second voice says. “Let’s go then.” He adds.

  “Oh no! Don’t leave! I will likely be dead by the time you come back!” She tries to shout, but nothing comes out.

  “Tea first. As not to let him catch on. Then we’ll leave.” The first voice responds.

  Oh! Thank God! They aren’t leaving yet! I still have a chance! She thinks and sighs in relief.

  She then hears Richard shout, “You fucktards need to learn how to fucking whisper better!” Followed with his laughter, his sinister laughter.