by L Chapman
I am greeted by bright light. I turn around slowly, seeing a black figure. I take small, cautious steps towards it.
“Karen Walker, what the hell are you doing with my daughter?!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Hello, Megan,” Karen says. ”I bet you didn’t think you would see me again.” That’s right. I haven’t seen her in months, not since the first time I came down here. I haven’t even heard Mark say anything about her.
I walk closer towards her, gradually taking one small step at a time. Looking down at the floor, all I can see is glass. What has happened here? Where is Lucy? I can’t see her anyway; it’s too dark. I can’t see any signs of a baby.
“Karen, where is Lucy?” I ask, trying to keep my composure.
Karen seemed like a nice girl. What the hell is going on?
“Give John the money!” she yells.
I turn around slightly, grabbing hold of a wooden panel to steady myself. I reach out with the bag, giving it to John. He takes it, pulling it close to his chest.
“I’m done with you now, John. Go! Don’t ever speak of this.”
“What?” I shout, swiftly turning my head towards Karen. “Why is he going?” I ask. I need to keep calm, but I don’t think I can. Where is Lucy? Why is Karen letting John go? I need answers, and I need them now.
“I don’t want John. I want Mark,” she says, seizing my wrist and dragging me into the room.
“Ouch!” I yelp.
“Oh, grow up, you silly fucking slut!” she yells, pushing me against the wall.
I stand there, not showing fear. “Where is Lucy?” I question boldly.
“Over there,” she says, not moving.
“Can I have my daughter, please?” I ask.
“No, you will do what I want. You will get Mark to come here and then I will let both you and Lucy go!” she roars with the smell of garlic spouting from her mouth as she spits at me.
“Why do you want Mark?” I probe.
“He needs to be punished.”
“Why?”
“Stop with the stupid questions, you fucking bitch.”
“Okay.” I reach down for my mobile, pulling it out. After I unlock it, I see unread messages, including one from Mark. I take a deep breath. I can’t read it. As my hands tremble terribly, I find Mark’s name in my contacts and press the Call button.
“Mark! Don’t say anything. Just do as I ask, please.” I pause. “Come alone to West Park and cross over the road towards the row of houses. They are the ones set back on the way to the lake. Go to the third one. It has a black door. Come inside and walk upstairs.” I take another deep breath to control my nerves. “No one can come with you, and I mean no one.”
I hang up before he has a chance to say anything else. I can’t talk to him any longer.
“He is on his way,” I state. “Can I see Lucy now?”
“Come,” she states in a firm voice. I follow her across the large room that only has a couple of chairs in it and nothing else. The windows are covered in what looks to be black bin bags with slight openings in them, letting the light seep through them. I keep blinking, as the light is so bright that it’s hurting my eyes. “There,” she says, pointing down to the floor. “Sit.” I do as she asks. Karen slowly opens the bin bags further, letting the light shine directly into the room. I look to my side where she stands to see that she is wearing a very short black dress, so short I can see that she isn’t wearing any underwear. Her feet are bare with only the black dust from the floor covering them.
“Lucy?”
“Stay there. I will get her for you.” She turns, walking along the window and then turns back around with a little box in front of her, kicking it towards me. “There.”
I look inside the box to see Lucy still as anything could ever be with a newspaper covering her body. The box is so tiny; she is squished in it. Tears roll down my face. My baby. I slowly lift her out of the box. Her arms and legs are so floppy; she is completely limp.
“What have you done to my baby?!” I yell.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I said what have you done to my baby?” I continue sitting there, yelling at Karen. She just stands there, motionless. The stupid cow has done something to my baby. I place Lucy on the floor, ensuring that she is breathing. There is only a slight movement in her chest, and the colour in her lips is a dull blue.
“What have you done?” I yell again, jumping up to my feet and leaving Lucy on the floor. I storm right up to Karen, squaring up eye-to-eye with her. “Are you fucking deaf?” I push her backwards against the wall. “What have you done?” I continue to shout. “Answer me, bitch!”
“It’s just sleeping tablets and some Class A,” she says, pushing me backwards with such force that I end up on my back on the floor.
“You know she could die because of what you did.” I pause. “Can I leave with Lucy now?”
“No.”
I turn over onto my knees and crawl to my daughter. I sit there, rubbing her chest. “Lucy, I love you. Mummy will get you out of here. You will be okay, baby girl.” I begin singing to her. The sound of my voice should keep her going. I need to get us out of here. “Karen? Why do you want Mark?” I ask.
“He has to pay,” she states, walking towards me.
“For what?” I question. Why am I here?
“Oh, he knows what.”
“Will you tell me?” I ask. I really need to know and keeping her talking means she can’t hurt Lucy or me anymore. I hope.
“Call him!” she yells.
“Okay.” I quickly take out my mobile, finding Mark’s contact information and pressing the picture of him holding Lucy under a tree during our first visit to West Park. He sat there for ages telling her different stories about fairies dancing around the magic tree. It was absolutely perfect. I felt so blessed, not only with an incredible baby girl, but also with an amazing man.
“Mark, where are you?” I ask. “Hurry, please.” I turn to Karen. “He is in the park now,” I inform her.
“Good.” She walks over to the other side of the room, hitting the switch to turn off the lights.
I sit there in pure darkness. I quickly take off my jacket, placing it in my arm to wrap Lucy. I slowly pick her up, holding her in the crook of my arm and pulling my jacket around her. I restart rubbing her chest. I keep placing my hand over her mouth at a distance, feeling her inhale and exhale. “I love you, Lucy.”
“Megan!” I hear Mark yell as he runs up the stairs, knocking against things as he makes his way closer to us. "Ouch!"
I watch Karen’s shadow walk into the doorway. "You will pay, Mark!” she screams. Her shadow disappears, and I hear a large thud, like someone has fallen. There are no sounds from Mark. Oh, no! What has she done?
Karen’s shadow then disappears.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I sit there with my back against the wall, motionless. I hear nothing, just silence. The type of silence that feels eerie, making me look around the room all the time. I feel like there is someone or something watching me. Where has she gone? What has she done with Mark? I need to get out of here and find him.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly stand up from the floor, leaning my back on the empty wall as I stand. I keep a tight hold on Lucy, pulling her even closer to my chest and wrapping my arms around her back to keep her supported. I’m hoping my jacket will keep her warm, because she feels cold to me. This can’t be a good sign. I can’t let anything else happen to her; it’s my job as a mum to protect her in every way I can. I’m never going to let her out of my sight again. I can’t.
I deftly take small steps towards the door, looking at the floor as I walk. I don't want to step on whatever is on the floor. Due to the darkness, I can’t quite make out what everything on the floor is, but I can see some things that look like screws from a toolbox and little gaps in the hardwood. I just hope I don’t hear any creaks in it. I don’t want Karen to see me or hear me. I need to get out. Once I’m out, I
can call for help. I take another small step and lean forward a little bit, seeing a shadow on the stairs. Who is it? What is it? I’m not even sure it looks like a person. Is it my mind playing tricks on me?
I carefully take another step towards the door, taking a deep breath as I close the distance. I can do this. I have to do this; I keep this mantra on replay in my mind. My daughter’s life is in danger. I pull Lucy even closer to my chest. As I exhale, I place a little butterfly kiss on her forehead. “I will get you out of here, Lucy. You are my world. I love you.”
I lift my head, straightening my back. I walk out of the room hastily, taking a sharp turn onto the landing where there is some light creeping through the windows. The shadow is gone.
“Megan!” Karen yells, but I don’t respond. I can’t. I don’t want her to find me. There is a long pause. “Megan, I can see you,” she says, pronouncing each word slowly while coming out from behind a corner and straight towards me.
“You have Mark. You don’t need me,” I state as I stand there holding my ground. I enclose my arms further over Lucy, trying to protect her from Karen as much as I can.
“I haven’t finished with you yet,” she says calmly as she walks towards me, placing her hands on my shoulders and directing me backwards back into the room.
I can't believe how unsafe I feel. I would walk back in myself, but I don’t have a clue what is going on.
“Stay in here. I will be back,” she says, pushing me backwards even more. I wobble a bit, taking a step back onto an unsteady floorboard that breaks, causing me to fall down. Ouch! That really hurt. I shake my shoulders. I'm extremely lucky that I managed to keep a grip on Lucy. I refuse to let any more harm come to her.
Karen storms out of the room, her feet banging against the floorboards as she exits. I can still hear her loud feet shuffling in the next room. What is she doing? I move Lucy from my chest, positioning her back in the crook of my arm. Her breathing doesn’t seem to be getting any better at all, and her face is getting paler. I’m losing my daughter. My eyes well up with tears again, but I can’t cry, though. I need to be strong for Lucy. I need to get us out of here.
I lower Lucy down onto the floor, leaving her lying on my jacket. I look over my shoulder in the faint light to see what looks like blood coming from it. No wonder it was hurting so much. I gradually move my hand down it, feeling sharp edges, almost like glass and the warmth of blood trickling down my fingers. That bitch has hurt me again.
"Megan!" Karen yells as she storms into the room, dragging something behind her along the floor.
I quickly pick up Lucy. "Yes."
"Put her in that box!" she bellows, kicking the box towards me.
"She has a name." I slowly move towards the same box that Lucy had been in when I found her.
"Put the fucking, stupid baby in the fucking box right now, you deaf fucking cow!”
I speed up, doing what she asked. She is seriously mad. I gently place Lucy into the box. "I love you, Lucy," I whisper into her ear.
"Get here now, you slut!" Karen shouts.
I sluggishly rise from the floor as agonizing pain shoots through my shoulder. I look down at the floor and see shards of glass with blood on them. How did I not notice them before?
Chapter Twenty-Five
"You stay there, you stupid bitch!" she howls as I sit there on my knees, listening. I’m so scared. What is going on? What has she done with Mark? I can’t see what she has behind her. Is it a person? I’m lost in my thoughts when she begins to talk again. “Give me the box!” she yells.
“Why? Lucy is okay there,” I state. I can’t give her Lucy. I just can’t.
“Give me the box, or I will kill her,” she commands in a forceful voice.
“Don’t hurt her. Kill me instead. She is an innocent baby. Just let her go, please,” I beg, slowly standing up.
“The. Box. Now.”
I bend down, picking up the box and placing both of my arms underneath it. I don’t want it to break, but it feels like it might. It’s covered in rips, and the bottom of it feels damp on my bare arm. I’m glad I used my jacket around her. I just wish it was a bigger box. A tear rolls down my face as I stand in front of Karen.
“Place it down there,” she says evenly, pointing to the floor at the other side of her.
Bending down, I’m able to see what it is that she has hidden behind her. It is a person, but it’s too dark to see their face.
“Get over here now!” she yells.
I quickly move to where she wants me to go. I stand there, watching while she drags the body behind her. It is catapulting up and down over the many cracks in the floor. That has got to hurt. She walks past me and drops the body at my feet.
“Stay,” she instructs before walking hastily out of the room.
I bend down, gently rolling the body onto its back. “Mark,” I say, shaking his shoulders. “Come on, Mark.” I whisper. I can’t have her find me talking to him.
“Right, you help me get him on this chair,” she calls, storming through the door and dragging a chair behind her. She reaches to close the door, causing the room to go dark again.
I stand there immobile. Why? What is she going to do to him? I really need to get us all out of here. I can’t cope with losing Lucy or Mark. “Come on, you stupid bitch,” she says, grabbing hold of Mark’s wrist.
I lower myself, placing one arm under his and my other around his back. I don’t want to hurt him, but I best do as she asks. I need help. I wonder if I can ring Luke, if he will try to get some help. I need her to leave the room again. I have a silly password on my mobile, so that’s going to be a massive problem since I can’t have her see the light from it as I put in the number.
“Lift on three?” I suggest.
“No, fucking drag him, you stupid cunt!” she shouts.
“One… Two… Three,” I say, but luckily she doesn’t move him on three. Instead, she pulls his arm up in the air, and I manage to get him into the chair as safely as I can, although it really hurts me doing it.
“Mark, wake up now,” she states before slapping him across the face with such force that he flops off the chair. “Help me get him up,” she adds.
I continue to do as she asks because I think it has now become the better option. If I work with her, hopefully, we will all get out alive.
I watch as Karen reaches over to a bag that I had noticed earlier. I can’t see much of the bag to see the style or what’s inside it, but I had managed to figure out it was a bag.
“Time to be tied up, Mark,” she bellows as she walks behind the chair, pulling his arms behind him. I stand there in shock. I can’t get the words out of my mouth. I just can’t. “Right,” she says before storming back over to the bag with her back towards me. I quickly pull out my mobile, entering the four-digit code and finding Luke’s name. I press Call before sliding the mobile back into my pocket. I just hope this works. “One last job for you, Megan. Then, you and your stupid baby can go free,” she states, walking over to me. “Shoot him. I want the bastard dead.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Oi, I told you to shoot him,” she says, glaring at me and reaching behind her back to pull out a gun from the top of her trousers. She waves the handgun towards me.
“Why? What has he done?” I ask. I need to know why. I am not going to harm him; he is my baby. My world. I can’t do it.
“He knows what he did,” she says.
“Mark, what did you do?” I ask.
“Mmm…” Mark grunts.
“Mark, please wake up!” I yell with tears rolling down my face. I need him to wake up. Karen grabs hold of my wrist, turning my hand over and slamming the gun into my palm. I have never held a gun before or even seen one in person. I have seen them on television programs before, but this is different. This one is real. It can really hurt someone. I don’t have a clue how to use it, and I don’t want to know.
“Do it!” she yells, clearly annoyed.
“I can’t. He hasn�
��t done anything wrong in my eyes,” I state.
“He has. My sister is in prison because of him. If he had just given her the money, everything would be fine,” she says, trying to remain calm.
“We can sort this out like adults.”
“Adults? I don’t think so. Shoot him!” she screams. There is a slight pause before she speaks again. “Megan, shoot Mark, or I will shoot Lucy!”
Those last words numb me, and I suddenly feel something rising in my throat. I turn around quickly and throw up. I can’t do this. I just can’t. I won’t. Tears pour from my eyes.
“Megan, get on with the job,” she says, grabbing my hair and pulling it back.
“Do it, Megan.” I hear Mark suddenly say. I spin myself fully around.
“Mark, I can’t,” I state.
“Do … it…I… love… you,” he says, all broken up. What has she done to him? He seems out of it.
“Just fucking do it!” Karen yells.
“I have never held a gun before. I don’t know how to shoot.”
“Just point and pull that,” she explains, attempting to show me the trigger. The light is too dim for me to see.
“I can’t.”
“This might help then.” She storms over to the wall near Lucy, switching on the light. I close my eyes, rubbing them because the light is so bright. I slowly open them and instantly wish I hadn’t. I place my hand over my mouth. I thought the smell in this room was bad enough, but seeing Mark makes everything suddenly worse.
“Now shoot!” she roars.
“No!” I shout back. “Look at the mess of him and the mess in the room. It’s not right at all. If you want money, I will get you some. Just leave Mark alone.”