I would not allow myself to cry in front of Paul, or any of them for that matter. They were not worth my tears, and I would be damned if I let any of them see that I was absolutely broken inside. I was hanging on by a thread, and that was the hope that I would one day get to see my father’s face again, to hear him laugh once more.
I had dug my grave so deep with both Amy and Mark, that there was zero chance of reconciliation and sure as hell no chance of them trying to help me- not that Amy ever did.
He pushed me into the room and shackled my arm.
This time, both Tara and Kim were wide awake, and staring at Paul most likely trying to figure out what his next plan would be.
Don’t worry girls. They all want to hurt me now.
I knew that the next time one of them came down here, it would be to hurt me. I needed to mentally prepare myself for that and create a new plan.
I knew I couldn’t rely on them to get me out, but instead myself. I would take whatever they wanted to do with me in stride, and not mouth off. I had to let them think they had won, and that I had accepted my role as their prisoner.
Not that I would ever be okay with playing house with sociopaths.
Paul turned to leave, but then did a three sixty and crouched down next to me, keeping a distance of course.
“If you want to survive here, you keep your head down, mouth shut. Got it?”
His voice lacked anger or malice but was firm. He meant what he said. What I couldn’t figure out is if it was said to help me, or to warn me.
He headed outside, and I could hear him locking the doors.
“What happened Katie? Tara and I woke up and you were gone?” Kim had a single tear rolling down her cheek, and I knew she was scared. I was too.
“Mark tried to let me out, and I turned on him by attacking him with a rock. I made it all the way to the gate before George got me…”
“Who is George?” Tara meekly spoke, and I was taken aback given that she rarely said anything.
“Their gate attendant.”
Both girls let out a whoosh, and I knew what they were thinking. It was exactly the same thing that flew through my head, as I saw whose arm was holding mine. We’re screwed, because we don’t have a single person on this property who would help us.
“We have to do something. We need a plan.” Kim looked around, waiting for confirmation from either Tara or myself.
“I’m in,” I said without an ounce of hesitation. If we were able to put our brains together, I knew we would be able to come up with a plan that had the potential to be solid enough to spring all of us from here.
“Don’t you get it? There is no “out of here”. This is it. Anna never got to leave, and neither will we. They will use us until we’re not needed, and then it’s light out.”
Was Tara actually right?
I knew Tara had spent more time down here than myself or Kim combined. But how could she lose every shred of hope that there is a chance we can get out of here? Maybe any she had was lost when they killed Anna right in front of us. Whatever Tara’s reasons were, while they were understandable, needed to be changed.
This plan, whatever it may be, would only work if all three of us worked together. There were five of them including George, and three of us. The odds were already pretty bad, and our chances slim. Our chances would be absolutely obliterated if Tara refused.
“Tara, we really need you on board.” I attempted to plead with her, but it looked like it was useless.
“On board with what? Do you even have a plan Katie?”
“Well, not yet. But we just need time.”
“Time for them to kill us. You’re not getting it. I can’t listen to this anymore. I need to go to sleep.”
Leaving us with that, Tara laid down facing away from us.
We needed her help.
Kim looked at me, shrugged, and followed suit by laying down on the ground. I knew I should probably get some sleep too, as I was suddenly overcome with exhaustion, but I was also simultaneously wide awake.
I laid down and forced myself to close my eyes at a half assed attempt at sleep. With my eyes closed, I still found myself facing the same horrors I had whilst awake.
My head was a constant loop of tonight’s antics- Amy seeing me, spitting in her face, Mark’s visit, realizing I had a shot of getting out, hitting him…
…and George grabbing me. In a way, it was good knowing where he now stands in terms of my disappearance. He was on their side and would definitely not hesitate to halt my escape efforts again. This run in tonight offered me a chance at thinking smarter.
Next time, I would run the other way. The woods were thick behind their home, but it would allow me the chance to have plenty of coverage should I need to hide and find my way to an open road before George, or anyone else saw me.
Now the only issue was trying to get out again.
There was no doubt that these psychos would be amping up appearances down here, and I was sure that skeevy George was doing a perimeter check right now to ensure that the little captives were right where they needed to be.
I couldn’t wait to see this family in handcuffs. Being prisoners… like me.
My eyes fluttered back open, as I found myself unable to keep them closed anymore. The room was now pitch black, and I realized that the small little light on the wall was time sensitive. It was either that, or they were controlling when it went on and off. Given that there were no windows down here, it could get kind of dark like all the time.
Somehow, the light went off right when it was about time to go to sleep, I’m assuming. I don’t really have a keen sense of time down here anyways.
I stared up at what I assumed to be the ceiling in absolute shock. These past few days have been such an absolute whirlwind, that I found myself unable to properly process all the emotions going through my mind.
Perhaps that was a good thing, as it allowed me to focus on anything other than my dad. The feeling of captivity, of having no idea what happened next, possessing zero control, it was the worst torture of all.
Knowing who put me here was worse.
I rolled my head over and noticed a small red down on the wall. Better yet, it was a red dot coming out of the wall. A camera.
They were watching us.
20
Amy
Seems to me like it turned out to be quite the night yesterday after I turned in. I was woken up by the sounds coming from downstairs. Apparently, Mark had snuck out to be with Katie, better yet, to release her.
I don’t know what the hell was going through his head. In what way did he think that this could help us? Katie would without a doubt run straight to her dad and uncover all the secrets she thinks she knows about us.
Funny thing is that she doesn’t know half of what she thinks she does. She knows what we allow her to know.
I had hoped there was some chance at reconciliation between my best friend and I, but the spit I got in my face last night proved otherwise. That was fine. Now, I could focus on what we needed to do without my judgement clouding my mind. As of right now, there was not a single girl in the Iron Room that I cared about. They were all the same. Business.
Weirdly enough, the oddest thing of last night’s spectacle was the fact that George helped out. I knew he signed an NDA drafted by my parents, but I was sure that “retrieving kidnap victims” wasn’t a separate clause. I still didn’t know if he knew fully about what was going on or felt the need to help out last night.
Whatever George’s reasons were, my parents were keeping their mouths shut regarding the whole situation which was fine by me. The less I knew the better. My parents thrived on secrets, and sometimes I felt best to leave it up to them. I was stressed out enough with all that was on my plate.
I had to go to school today and face the mob. There would without a doubt be a ton of questions, weird stares, and people wondering why Mark and I left early yesterday. I reminded myself that I was supposed to be the grieving best friend.
/> Keep your head down and look sad. Easy.
I dressed in my best attire, as I always did. No outfit was complete without bold jewelry, so I decided to wear my dangly diamond earrings today. Over the top? Probably. Did I care? No.
Most people decided to drown their sorrows with food or booze. Me? I always opted for an overdose of fashion.
After I was ready, I headed downstairs for the mandatory family breakfast. I could breathe easy knowing I wouldn’t be the subject of Mom and Dad’s persecution, today at least.
Usually I would wait with Mark, and we would go down together. Today, I was a little upset with him and his stupidity that was causing issues for us. We would crumble if one of us started to make mistakes. Making them accidentally was one thing, but deliberately? Come on Mark.
Walking into the dining room brought me a weird sense of dread. Mom and Dad were already at the table, looking terse and the mood was tense. Mark looked down and ate his food, no words being said.
Maybe McDonalds would be a better option today.
“Amy. So nice of you to join us. Take a seat.” My mom motioned to the last open seat, and I cautiously took it. She was eerily calm.
“I wanted to talk to everyone about last night. Mark made a grave mistake that could have proved quite disastrous for all of us. He knows he made a mistake, and from now on, we will only go into the room in pairs. That way there will be no “helping” these girls. Am I clear?”
We all nodded in agreement. My mom meant business, and we knew that. I only hoped that Mark was serious and truly meant what he said when he told my mother that he realized last night was a mistake. Next time, we wouldn’t be so lucky.
Thank god for George.
My mother continued,
“Now, both you and Mark need to go to school today. Look sad. Be believable, and for the love of God, do not take any girls today. That girl suspected you guys. You need to be a lot more careful, lay low, and especially keep a low profile. Most everyone will think you’re grieving. But Katie and Kim are not the only students trying to investigate.”
With that being said, I excused myself and went to grab my book bag, and phone. I waited by the front door for Mark to finish his breakfast, so he could take me to school. I didn’t need to be late.
Time passed slowly, but finally Mark was at the door, keys in hand.
“We have to talk,” Mark said as he opened the front door.
“No kidding.”
I went outside and headed to the passenger side of his car as he locked the front door.
He pressed the unlock button on his remote, and I climbed in. I don’t know what else he felt that he could tell me. I knew all I wanted to know. He risked everything we have built, and the freedom of this family over a stupid little crush. She was my best friend, and even I wasn’t thick enough to believe that she wouldn’t screw us over.
I buckled my seat belt as Mark stepped into the car. He started it and threw the car into reverse before finally speaking.
“I’m sorry Amy. I know I made a mistake.”
“Do you though? You could have destroyed our family if she actually got away. I know you feel guilty for taking her in the first place, and I don’t know if it’s the room, the situation or if Katie was always this way, but she’s changed. She doesn’t care about us, Mark. We cannot care about her.”
“I know that now.”
He rubbed the back of his head, clearly still sore. Katie has a better arm on her than I thought.
“There’s something else Ames.”
“And that is?”
“She saw the camera.” Mark looked nervous, and his knuckles grew white as we grabbed the steering wheel that much harder.
“How do you know?”
“I was watching the footage from last night, and she turned and looked directly at it. The sensor light was off, so I assume it was the bright red light that tipped her off.”
I considered the new information carefully, only to realize it wasn’t that much of a big deal. So, Katie knew about the camera… who cares?
There was nothing she could do about it, and any information she learned down there about us would only die with her later on.
You’re not thinking of killing her.
Of course, I’m not thinking about it. But it is a very viable possibility. If Katie continues the way she is, trying to hurt us and get out then it was inevitable. I didn’t try to look too much into the future, but where did this whole charade end? Maybe in a few years when Mark and I were at college, my parents would stop. Surely Katie’s future didn’t have a promising end or guarantee at this point in time.
“Maybe she will act accordingly now, knowing her actions are on film.”
The rest of the ride was silence. Mark may say that he is on board with everything but adding Katie to the mix has put a chink in his armor. It is destroying him, and as long as I wasn’t around when he blew up, all would be fine. He would be okay… I knew he would.
Mark was a truly complex personality. He wore his heart on his sleeve, but if you disrespected or ignored that, he turned lethal. I guess our entire family was like that. We were all able to put on a good front. But our actions and intentions were almost always sinister.
You’re completely fucked up.
We arrived at school and I felt the familiar sense of dread begin to trickle in. Mark and I went our separate ways as soon as he parked. We both just needed some time to ourselves to process everything and do some reflecting. Mark and I had always been really close, so I knew exactly what was going through his head right now. He was struggling, but he had before, and he always came out on top. I had faith that my brother would continue to do the right thing for our family.
I had faith in him… always.
I knew Kim’s mom had to realize she was missing. Yet, nobody had said anything so I knew I would hear about it today. There was no trace. We made sure of that when we destroyed her phone. I did note that Sheriff Johnson’s car was in the parking lot, so he would surely be making his rounds to see all the teachers and talk to them. Hopefully a correlation between the time she went missing, and Mark and I’s sudden absence wouldn’t be drawn up.
Chemistry time. I took my seat and waited for Mr. Aryn to start his lecture about… chemistry stuff. I tuned out in the class and will be the first to admit that I used the internet to help cheat my way through his long homework assignment last night. I knew that Chemistry wasn’t my strong suit, and that was okay with me.
My passion was writing, and anything in the English department. I just needed to fake it until I made it… “it” being my diploma.
Per usual, Mr. Aryn had us pass our previous night’s homework up towards the front, as he collected all of them and slid it into a folder labeled “Period One”. He then turned on the overhead projector with his book under it.
We continued the rest of the class period doing group reading. My group was okay, and I could hardly call it group work considering the fact that we all read silently, and then completed the in-class questions on our own.
Better for me anyways, I hate small talk.
The bell rang, and I was already on my feet heading out the door. Mr. Aryn had let us know that since it was his anniversary today, that he would share the love with no homework.
Gee, thanks.
I was in the hallway, and like expected, everyone was in small groups huddled, probably talking about Kim, nonetheless.
We did you a favor! She was a nosy wannabe who had zero social skills.
I headed into my next class, Calculus. The class itself was not that bad if not for my idiot seat partner.
Johnny.
He was sitting in his seat, actually looking smug. I had no clue what he was feeling so smug about, but I have no doubt that he was about to let me know.
I sat in my seat and he turned to look at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Johnny laughed, and turned back to face the front of the room where the teacher had
started her lesson. I threw my attention fully into the lesson plan and was completing some bookwork and problems when she came by my seat, and gave her approval letting me know I was indeed on the right track.
At least something in my life is going good for me.
I could feel Johnny’s eyes on me, and I was trying my hardest to avoid giving him the satisfaction of me looking. I continued to do my work dutifully until I couldn’t take it any longer.
“Seriously Johnny. What the hell is your deal?”
“Did you know that I am a great voice impersonator?” He laughed.
“No, nor do I care. Your point?”
“My point Amy, is that it was so easy to call the phone company and convince them I was Sheriff Johnson wanting to see Katie’s phone records…”
My throat went dry, but I kept my cool.
“…and imagine my surprise when your brother was supposed to meet her in a dark park at eleven at night. In fact, I will place all my bets that he was the last person to see her.”
21
Mark
I don’t know what was so important to tell me, that I needed to be late to my third period class. But here I was, waiting for Amy by the bleachers. Our parents had been pretty clear this morning in making sure we both knew to act as normal as possible.
I looked to my left and saw Amy approaching. She looked panicked, and the worry began to set in. If something was really wrong, I would want to know.
“Ames, are you okay?”
“No.” Amy handed me a paper, and I wasn’t sure what exactly it was supposed to be. It seemed like a bill from a phone company, but I flipped to the backside and saw that it was the past few messages between Katie and I where we clearly discussed a plan to meet that night.
Holy shit.
“Where did you get this?” I prayed to God that my sister got it herself, and that someone didn’t dig this up.
“Johnny Antin.”
Johnny Antin? That freaking creep? Why would he ever go to such lengths to find Katie’s phone records? Was he searching for the girls too? Did he show this to anyone else? Was he threatening to tell? Did he always suspect me, or did this start it?
The Iron Room Page 10