The Iron Room

by Sarah Himebauch

  Dad.

  Oh god. My dad. He had probably already noticed that I was missing, and I was sure the Puntzer family did an excellent job of convincing him I was never here. I hoped he could see through their act, but I knew that was next to impossible. How many times had I been in this house lately, not knowing what was going on in this room? How many times had they tried to call for help to no avail? I felt sick to my stomach with anger, frustration, and fear.

  “Overthinking won’t get you anywhere.” Anna spoke, eyes clearly fixated on me.

  “I can’t help it. I was close with this family. I just can’t believe it,” I mournfully sobbed, fully caught up in my overwhelming emotions.

  My heart lurched in my chest. I know these girls probably thought I was naïve, and I probably was too. I was thinking about my dad. He and I lost so much when my mom passed unexpectedly, but we were finally starting to repair. We were starting to heal- together. This would ruin him. I thought of him and knew it would keep me strong.

  I don’t want to die here.

  “We need to get out of here.” I turned towards the girls, hoping they knew of some way to get out. I didn’t see any exits beside the large door with chains, but maybe they knew something I didn’t.

  “Nope, no chance. The only way out is through those doors, and they’re locked.” Tara looked defeated, and so did Anna who agreed with her by shaking her head.

  These girls had fully given up. They simply laid down their arms and accepted that they just might die in this place, at the hands of this family. I understood, but I wouldn’t accept it. This would not be the place I died. I just needed to figure out how.

  I figured everyone was out of the house given it was a Monday. Apparently the Puntzer’s are all about appearances, so I knew they would be at work and school putting on a great facade.

  The chain fastened around my ankle was long. I started crawling towards the door just to see how far I could get. I was able to get within four feet of it. Not close enough. Maybe it was close enough to hurt whoever came through the door next. I didn’t care who it was.

  I looked around but knew there was nothing here. They had carefully made sure that they didn’t leave… oh I don’t know- a knife or anything sitting around. Smart family.

  I thought of screaming, but Anna and Tara deduced that the room was soundproof. I figured it was true given that I had never heard them. Plus, they said that Sharon threatened to cut their tongues if they screamed. Lovely.

  What about George?

  Oh shit, I almost forgot about George. He was the Puntzer’s gate attendant. He had to have seen them bring my car in last night with no sign of me, right? I hoped he did. They made all their workers sign NDA’s. Amy had drunkenly admitted it to me at a party last year, but I thought nothing of it at the time. If he had seen something, he would forego the agreement, wouldn’t he?

  Just then I heard the door unlocking. Oh god. Then, I heard the now familiar sound of the clanking chains. The door swung open wide, and Paul stepped in- anger plastered all over his face. He took one look at me and turned away suddenly. An emotion was obvious on his face- but passed as soon as it came. Sadness? Anger? I had no clue anymore.

  Instead of me, he set his sights on Anna and marched towards her angrily.

  “Stand up. Now.”

  Anna scrambled up and stood up straighter. I had never thought of Paul as being a scary man. He was always a good father to Amy and Mark and had always found ways to make me laugh when I was down about my mom. I didn’t recognize the man standing in front of me, and I was scared too.

  He unlocked her wrist chain and bent down to attach it to her ankle instead when he dropped back. She had hit him. She started for the stairs and was soon out of sight. She didn’t hit Paul hard enough because he stood up and stormed off to find her.

  He had left the keys behind, but they were far from me. I looked at Tara who had also noticed the keys.

  “Grab them!”

  Tara bent down and went to reach for the keys when Paul came storming back in. He was followed by a sobbing Anna who was being held at gunpoint by Sharon. Oh god. Don’t hurt her.

  “I told you what would happen if you tried to run again Anna. Not very good, is it?”

  “No… I’m sorry.” Anna pleaded with the both of them, tears running down her cheeks. I couldn’t let this happen.

  “Stop!” Both Paul and Sharon turned towards me, laughed, and faced Anna again.

  “Knees.” Sharon instructed Anna, and she willingly obliged.

  Oh my god. They’re really going to kill her.

  Sharon aimed the barrel executioner style, and with a single round, Anna was gone. A strangled sob escaped Tara’s lips, and I felt myself break. I had just watched someone get murdered. Any one of us could be next. Sharon had gotten blood on her shirt and looked disgusted when she noticed the tiny red flecks.

  “Clean this shit up and bury the bitch.” Sharon spoke to her husband, turned around, and started a brisk walk up the stairs.

  Holy shit.

  I couldn’t stare at Anna’s lifeless body any longer. I forced myself to turn around. I was visibly shaking, and I didn’t want to give these sickos any more satisfaction. I could hear as Paul scrubbed the floor, and the repetitive water pour. I could count at least ten more posts on my half of the never-ending room. Ten more victims? I hoped not.

  After what seemed like hours on end of cleaning, the smell of bleach hit my nostrils and I heard a zip, and then small thuds as what I assumed to be Paul taking Anna up the stairs. I don’t care why they did this, or what Anna had done- she didn’t deserve this. Tara didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve this. If they thought I was on a war path before, they had another thing coming.

  I didn’t grow up with the Sheriff as my father to be left with no skills. I knew how to mentally break and manipulate someone. After today, I wouldn’t view these people as my family and that included Amy. They were my captors, and I would view them as such. That was my little secret though. I knew there was one set of heart strings in particular that I could pray on, and that was Amy’s.

  Let’s hope this works.

  “Tara are you okay?”

  She didn’t answer but continued crying. In school, I don’t think the girls ever knew each other particularly well, but you bond fast in a place like this, and it had been just them for so long. That coupled with the newfound sense of fear that Paul and Sharon placed in both of us when they murdered Anna right in front of our eyes.

  I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. I saw that they had lost all sense of hope in getting out of here, and rather than accept it- I built them up to think we could escape. Anna died trying to get out of here, and I feared more than anything that would be my exact same fate.

  You know they would kill you, with no hesitation.

  I knew that, and I needed to accept it.

  I had no concept of time down here and felt like I was going crazy trying to figure out what time it is. There were no windows to provide outside light, and there wasn’t even a clock. These people thrived on making their victims suffer. It was eerily quiet down here, and that was only broken by the soft sobs of Tara. No light beside the small dim one, and no noise.

  Dad, where are you?

  How long would it be till I was found? It was the waiting game that was tearing me apart. Waiting for Amy to come in and hurt me, or Paul to make me undress or even Sharon to come down and put a bullet between my eyes. Mark was the catalyst in all this, and his family thrived on it.

  Just then, I heard the door once more.

  Please be Amy. Please be Amy.

  No such luck. It was Mark. He looked and me and made a beeline. He knelt down beside me, and took my hands into his, staring at me with tear brimmed eyes.

  Oh, the sociopath has feelings. Go figure.

  “Katie, you have to know that I never wanted this. You gave me no choice.”

  “Is this a sick joke Mark? There was always a choice. You could hav
e chosen not to kidnap and torture girls. Your parents could have chosen to not be fucking psychopaths, and don’t even get me started on Amy. You guys are sick. I can’t even look at you.” I forced myself to turn away.

  Mark dropped my hands and stood up. His mood had done a clear 360 and he was now staring at me with cold eyes, and a hard demeanor.

  “So be it.” Mark then turned and walked out of the room, locking it as he went.

  Nothing more came for a few hours, and I patiently waited to see if Amy would visit. Better yet, where was dinner? Did they plan to starve us to death?

  The conversation was dismal, and it only made me feel more alone in here. I spoke too soon, because the door unlocked and Paul came down with a tray full of what looked to be bread, and deli meat.

  He grabbed a paper plate, grabbed a generous handle of what they called food, and set it in front of me. He did the same for Tara but with a smaller amount, and a rough toss of her plate on the floor in front of her.

  “Enjoy.” He turned and stalked off, but to my surprise didn’t lock the door.

  Instead I heard two sets of footsteps. Amy and Mark walked in the room holding a girl I recognized from school. Kim Meyers. She was out cold, but my suspicions told me Mark used his handy dandy syringe.

  They brought her over to the post next to mine, rather than Anna’s old post. Amy grabbed chains and locked the girl’s wrist to the post.

  Without another word, the two walked over to the door. Before they left, Amy turned around and looked at both Tara and me.

  “Enjoy your new houseguest.”

  14

  Amy

  Sheriff Johnson looked mad. Really mad. I knew Mark would leave some evidence that would get all of us caught. He was the idiot of the family… clearly. I knew better than to confess before I knew what Sheriff Johnson knew, so I played dumb.

  “I have no clue Mr. Johnson. I wish I did,” and I broke out into a very real sob. This whole situation really sucked.

  “Does Katie have a boyfriend? You can tell me the truth. If she ran off with some boy, I would want to know now.” He looked at me, hope clear in his eyes. Oh, I could use this.

  “Well, she did tell me about some boy she had met, but I don’t know if they were that serious for her to run away…”

  “Thank you, Amy for your honesty. You will notify me if she gets in contact with you?”

  “Of course, Sheriff. Please find her.” I reached out and hugged him tightly.

  And the Emmy goes to…

  Sheriff Johnson returned a squeeze, and I saw him wipe a tear out of his eye. Part of me felt bad, but I also knew what I needed to do. I needed to protect my family, so I couldn’t waste time caring about him or his.

  I stepped out of the office, and ran straight into Mark, who had looked like he saw a ghost.

  “What did they say? Do they know?” Mark’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head. This kid did not know how to handle situations without going into a stress case. He would be the death of this family.

  “No, Mark. But they will if you act like this. Chill out.”

  I grabbed his arm, hard, and pulled him away from the still open door. He would get us all caught if he didn’t keep a cool head. Katie was tearing him apart, which was ironic, given that he was the one who decided that she was a liability, and then took care of said liability all on his own without any consultation from the rest of the family.

  I wanted to protect Katie as much as the next person, she was my best friend. Blood was thicker than water, and I wouldn’t let our friendship deter my judgement any longer. She was our victim. That was all she would be to me from now on. If I let my feelings get the best of me, then this whole scheme would fall to shit. My family had too much to lose.

  “Mark, I need to go to class. You need to go and act normal. We will talk after school.” I pushed him towards his class, and turned to walk towards mine before he could get another word in. He was driving me crazy.

  Something needs to be done about Mark.

  I couldn’t hurt my brother though. I just wish he was able to have more of a clear head, like the rest of us. Didn’t he understand that the whole family would be implicated? In court, they don’t give out medals or no prison time for the family members who are “less guilty”. I don’t know what he was hoping to accomplish.

  I knew that rumor of Katie’s disappearance was spreading through school, and had reached the ears of every student, teacher, and worker in this damn place.

  It was only a matter of time before I was hit with the tough questions. I needed to be prepared to answer them.

  No, I didn’t see Katie last night. I wish I did.

  Showtime.

  I walked into the Chemistry class and was met with a room full of stares. Some were comforting, some were empathetic, and some were curious. I don’t know which of those felt like the worst.

  Mr. Aryn started off his boring class with a lecture on the weekend. He droned on and on about the dangers of drug and alcohol use…

  You forgot kidnapping.

  He then got straight to the point and asked everyone to pass their papers forward. We all did so, like clockwork, and then started our remaining thirty-minute lecture on atoms and bonding. Funny. He starts the lesson on the subject he just required us to have knowledge on. School was useless.

  I have never been so grateful to hear the bell ring. One girl in particular never tore her eyes off of me for a second- Kim Meyers.

  She had always been nosy, but today she took on a whole new level. I decided to finally give her “the look” and she turned away, obviously embarrassed and very red faced.

  Bitch.

  I hurried over to my next class- Calculus. That class wouldn’t be half bad if it wasn’t for my god-awful citizen hero seat partner- Johnny. Last time we spoke was the first day of school, and he very blatantly expressed his desire to “find” those girls, and that he was already looking. Yeah, good luck buddy.

  The investigating didn’t fare well for Katie.

  I took my seat in the back, and Johnny wasn’t there yet. I breathed a sigh of relief, and said a silent prayer wishing with all my might that he was out sick for the day. I looked up towards the door as I heard a commotion. It was him. He walked right into the edge of the door, quickly recovered himself, and made a beeline for his seat next to mine. His hair was messy, and not in the cute way. His eyes were bloodshot, and if my sense of smell was correct- he was completely drunk.

  Drunk on the second day of school. Bold. He turned my way and stared at me. It wasn’t a casual few second stare, but rather an intense “this is weird now” stare.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Your best friend is missing, and you look like you are completely fine. Weird.” He looked me up and down, taking in every inch of me, studying me. That sounded a little like an accusation to me, so it was time to shut that shit down.

  “Do you know how hard it is for me? I waited and waited last night and this morning for my friend to never show up, only to realize she was missing. She was supposed to be with me last night. I could have protected her. You have no idea how that feels, do you?” I looked directly at Johnny, my eyes filling with tears.

  He must have bought it because he simply turned away and opened his book. Was that why he was drunk today? I knew the town was upset about the disappearances of Tara and Anna, but they didn’t get sloshed over it. Maybe his little investigation had hit a dead end, and drinking his sorrows away was his choice of moving on.

  I wouldn’t get involved in his self-destruction regardless. That was his cross to bear. Mine was trying to keep the three girls in our room, in our room. No one could ever find out about them. It was Monday, which meant it was Anna’s day.

  I was glad. She had been very smart with her mouth lately, and I have all this pent-up energy and stress I was just dying to get out.

  I spent the rest of the class in a comfortable silence, relishing the moments I didn’t have to hear Johnny
’s droning on about his work. Thankfully, he seemed pretty shut down after my verbal smackdown.

  The bell rang, and I heard the familiar chirp of my phone. It was a group message to Mark and myself from my mom. It was only two words.

  Mom: Anna’s dead.

  15

  Mark

  I re-read the text my mother sent over and over. People were rushing by me, desperate to get to their next class. I couldn’t focus. I was in my own little bubble, and I could hear my blood rushing in my ears.

  Anna was dead.

  My mother didn’t give any specifics and kept it short and sweet. I knew she was still mad about Katie, and now I was mad at her. I don’t know who killed Anna, but it was either my mother or my father. Neither of those options were acceptable to me. Anna was one of our better victims and taking her out was a bad choice.

  I wanted to punch something. I must have been standing in the middle of the hallway because people were bumping into me left and right. One girl in particular practically knocked me on my ass.

  “Watch it!” I turned to say to the girl who hit me, and realized it was nosy ass Kim Meyers.

  Nobody liked Kim, and for good reason. She always seemed to be in the background, watching, and observing. I always had a bad feeling about her. Now she was in my way, and I wasn’t having a good day.

  “You watch it. You are the one standing in the hallway like some freak!” She practically spit the words at me, her voice dripping with venom.

  Bad move.

  Kim should consider herself very lucky that I was pressed for time, and not in my right mindset today. I needed to find Amy. This little bitch Kim could wait until later.

  I pushed past Kim, practically knocking her to the ground. She opened her mouth to speak, but I gave her a look that shut her up instantly. Do not mess with me today.

  I maintained a fast pace as I searched the hallways for Amy. She had to be freaking out too. I know that my mother wouldn’t kill without reason. It is much harder to dump and properly dispose of a body, than it is to keep them hidden. I would rather keep these girls forever than risk trying to bury a body undetected.