by Capps, Bonny
He shakes his head slowly as he begins cutting, “You know that I can’t do that, Amelia.”
“Stop!” I plead between sobs, “Please, stop.”
Kat is pulling against her restraints at the incision grows, her body trembling wildly as pain claims her; sobbing and screaming all at once.
Gabe reaches in to retrieve the bloody bundle as Kat’s body stills.
Theo releases me and I fall to the floor. I watch as Gabe holds the baby in his arms. His eyes fill with tears as he gently rocks the now screeching baby.
“It’s a boy.” He whispers as he makes his way over to me and kneels down next to my trembling body, “Our son.”
He smiles at me as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened. Like a proud dad embracing fatherhood. It’s the smile that I had always craved to see. His handsome features displaying absolute happiness – yet it is the most disgusting thing that I have ever seen. I absolutely hate him more than I ever thought possible in this moment. That sincere smile triggers another promise to myself – rediscovering the determination that I’d thought that I lost so long ago.
My spirit bucks within me like a wild mustang that’s been captured and then once again freed.
Chapter Sixty-Five: Gabe
I SMILE AT MY REFLECTION in the mirror.
Happiness.
Family.
I never thought it possible for me.
I step out of the bathroom as I slip on my leather jacket. Amelia sits with Gabriel on the windowsill. He’s 3 months old now, a smiling bundle of joy. He looks just like his father – a spitting image.
I walk over and kiss Amelia on the top of the head before doing the same to Gabriel. She looks up at me nervously before her gaze meets the window once more.
“I’ve got a few errands to run. I’ll be back in a few.” I say as I walk into the hall, nodding at Esmerelda and offering a bright smile. She looks perplexed as she raises an eyebrow.
“What? Can’t a man have a good day?” I ask and she mumbles some shit in Spanish.
I step outside and something catches my eye. I kneel down and pick it up. It’s a photo. Not just any photo. It’s me disposing of the bodies.
My eyes travel around the area, and I see yet another. There’s a trail of them. I follow it into the clearing of the woods.
I stop when I hear a muffled groan in the distance along with the flowing water from the stream.
I continue to follow the trail of photos cautiously.
I see a familiar form hanging from the tree. His feet barely touch the crate below him, and a chain is cinched around his neck. I make out the face of the person. It can’t be.
“What the fuck? Tony?”
His eyes meet mine as he wiggles around uncomfortably.
“Hello, Gabe.” I hear from behind me. When I turn, all goes black.
Chapter Sixty-Six: Amelia
I HEAR A KNOCK on the door and look up to see Esmerelda peeking through.
“I take baby. You rest.” She says with her broken English.
I nod, smiling as I walk to her and hand her Gabriel.
“Is Gabe back yet?” I ask and she shakes her head.
I retreat from the room. It looks beautiful outside. I’d like some fresh air, so I grab my coat from the hanger and slip it on.
I open the door and stop in my tracks when I see a single red rose on top of a note. I look around and see no one. I kneel down and retrieve the rose, holding it to my nose and inhaling the sweet scent.
I hesitantly pick up the note and slowly unfold it. I gasp and the rose drops from my fingers as I observe the writing.
Meet me at our place.
I look around once more and see that the town car is still in the drive. Gabe hadn’t left? Is this a trick? I contemplate whether or not I should bite the bait. This will surely end with a hook in my mouth once more as Gabe reels me in for more punishment.
But, what if this is Able, what if he’s come back?
Gabe doesn’t know about our place. He can’t, unless one of us actually told him, and that would never happen.
I shake off the doubt and hurriedly make my way to the clearing in the woods.
This feels all too familiar as I trek through the path that brought me so much serenity, the path where I fell in love. The path where I was reminded that love is possible, even under the darkest circumstances.
My heart soars when I see the man that stole my heart away. He’s leaning against a tree, his strong arms crossed over his chest with that mischievous smile that I fell so deeply in love with.
“Able?” I croak as I stop in my tracks. I want to pinch myself, my angel, my warrior. He’s close enough to touch yet I can’t bring myself to believe that he’s real, not after all this time.
He approaches me and wraps me in the safety of his arms, “I’m here baby.”
I pull away and look into his eyes, “Why?”
He smiles slyly as he takes my hand in his, “Come with me. I’ll show you.”
We walk in silence to the stream that is steadily thawing as spring once again claims it.
I stop when I see them, the two men that destroyed my life.
Hands bound behind them, a chain around their necks. Their feet tap around wildly to keep balanced on the crates below them; to keep them from being strangled by the chain. They are both bloodied and bruised. They are gagged and their faces swollen. They have about five feet between them.
I look into Able’s stormy eyes, he’s been watching my reaction, “What is this?”
He tilts his head to the side as he cups my cheeks, “Deliverance. Freedom. For you Amelia.”
I inhale deeply as he leads me closer to them. He stops me so that I’m facing them. I divert my eyes when Gabe’s gaze finds mine. Able gently lifts my chin, “Amelia, watch.”
Then he approaches my father first, untying the binds behind him after removing the gag from his mouth. He does the same to Gabe before handing them each a machete.
“What the fuck is this?” Gabe sneers as he looks down at the weapon.
Able ignores him as he returns back to my side, “You both have destroyed lives, too many lives to count – including Amelia’s. Today is a day of retribution. You will both pay for your wrong doings.”
“Retribution?” Gabe scoffs, “Fuck off.”
Able continues, “A fight to the death. Whoever survives will be set free.”
Gabe chuckles but stops when my father abruptly swings the machete at him, spreading a gash across Gabe’s chest. Gabe looks from his wound to my father deviously. Then blood goes flying as they each desperately swing at each other.
The machetes are relentless as they cut through the skin. Muscle exposing itself, and it’s then that I turn to Able, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in his chest. They seem to go for some time, then all goes silent and it’s only the shallow breathing of one man that I hear.
I look up at Able before turning my eyes back to the grotesque scene. My father’s lifeless body hangs with the machete abandoned on the cold ground below him.
Gabe though, unsurprisingly survived; his hand still gripping the machete. Every inch of his body is covered in blood. His mangled flesh exposing blood and muscle.
“Drop it.” Able says dryly, and Gabe does.
I feel a gentle push on the small of my back as I walk over to Gabe. His green eyes narrow, though they are not filled with the darkness. They remind me of a frightened, wounded animal.
I look up at him, reaching towards him and cupping his bloodied cheeks, “You almost destroyed me.”
He blinks a couple of times, as if he’s trying to stay conscious.
“You took everything.” I say, the last word coming out like a sob.
He struggles to keep his balance on the crate as he responds, “I won, free me. You proved your point.”
I smile weakly, “You mean how you freed Kat? Just like you promised?”
He shakes his head, “I-I had to. Please, Amelia. I l
o-”
I press my finger over his lips, “No, Gabe. You didn’t have to, just like you didn’t have to do those terrible things to all of those people… to me.”
“Able, tie his hands.” I say flatly. Able appears behind him and swiftly does so.
“Do you remember that night? When you put me in the bull’s belly? I thought I was going to die. You made me think that that would be my fate, and for hours I sat in there, soiling myself and shaking to the point that I thought my skin would fall off.”
Gabe glares at me as I continue, “The fear you provoked in me was unimaginable. I’ll never forget it. Just like I’ll never forget how you raped me, or how you killed Kat. I’ll never forgive you.”
“You wouldn’t.” He grits out.
A grim smile stretches across my face as I nod slowly, “I will.”
A dark chuckle escapes him as Able unclips the chain from around the tree branch and drags Gabe off of the crate. Gabe stumbles, his knees hit the earth as he bows his head, and his contempt filled eyes never leaving mine.
“Crawl behind me, slave.” I growl as Able hands me the chain which is still cinched around Gabe’s neck. I pull and yank relentlessly until we escape the confines of the woods. The bull still sits proud next to the house, in the same place that I spent that fateful night.
I stop and turn to Gabe who is still on his knees. He’s lost a lot of blood, so he’s incredibly weak, too weak to fight.
“Amelia.” He rasps, “Please, don’t do this. I’ll let you go. I’ll let you go.”
I shake my head as I kneel down. I’m eye level to him as I grasp his hair and pull his head back, “How many times did I beg, Gabe. You are mine now. I own you.” I release him and nod to Able, who grasps Gabe from under the arms and pulls him to the bull.
“You’ll regret this!” He exclaims as Able forces him inside of the belly of the bull. The door clangs shut before it is latched.
Able walks around the side of the house and produces a gas can. He soaks the wood below and we stand shoulder to shoulder as we stare at the bull. Gabe is banging against the hollow walls, his screams of defiance never faltering. I click the lighter repeatedly, just as he did to me, igniting more fear than I ever thought possible.
“Do you want me to do it?” Able whispers.
I shake my head slowly, “No. I need to do this.”
And with that I kneel down, taking a dry leaf and igniting it.
“Goodbye, Gabe.” I whisper before throwing the leaf onto the wood. It ignites automatically, and soon after the bull’s screams drown out Gabe’s as the smoke billows from its nostrils, clouding the sky.
We stand together until the fire dies out and the screams cease along with the smoke.
Able rests a hand on my shoulder. “You’re free, Amelia.”
The tears spring to my eyes as I rest my hand over his.
I’m free.
Epilogue
“Dubbed “The House of Horrors”, Gabriel Thibault is thought to have brutally murdered hundreds of people as a hired hitman.”
. . .
“How does this guy get off with killing all of these people? How did such atrocities play out right under our noses?”
. . .
“Bodies have been located throughout the Appalachian Mountains surrounding the Thibault home.”
. . .
“A room containing all types of torture devices has been discovered inside of a secret room within Mr. Thibault’s study.”
. . .
“More than fifty people have been connected with Gabriel Thibault, all are facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder. Including Mayor Tony Bellarose.”
. . .
“I’ll tell you, the medical examiner is having a hell of a time identifying these body parts which have been scattered throughout the property.”
. . .
“Gabriel Thibault is a man who can disappear without a trace, and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
. . .
1 Year Later
I lay on the plush carpet of my grandmother’s living room watching the blinds sway with each breath of air from the surrounding windows. Finding solace in my grandmother’s home as I once did when I was a child.
The specks of dust are swirling gracefully each time the wind kisses them.
“Du?” Gabriel says as he sits before the blinds, reaching out to touch the particles.
I smile as I crawl over to him, “Yes, that’s right. Dust.”
A big smile spreads across his face as he claps his tiny hands. Green eyes, the same ones that I’d become so accustomed to stare back at me. Though, these are not full of contempt, they’re full of happiness. He’s a beautiful baby. He looks just like his father.
In the past year, my name has been plastered all over the news stations.
“The Woman Who Survived Hell”
I did survive the unthinkable. But I didn’t do it alone. If not for Able, I still would have been there.
Gabe was disposed of in a way that he will never be found. People assume that he’d been afraid that he’d been figured out, and he vanished. He would be capable of doing so with his wealth. My father’s name was tainted when his secrets were exposed. His body has yet to be found.
My mother didn’t want to believe it. She eventually had to though. The evidence was there, and I testified against him. She resented me at first, but she’s coming around.
The prosecuting attorneys originally tried to paint me as a conspirator in Gabe’s crimes. However, there was no evidence that supported that. To my surprise, people began to come forward. Including Esmerelda, Benedict and even Dr. Kerr. Their testimonies supported the fact that I was in fact a captive.
I tried to locate Kat’s parents to tell them about what happened, but unfortunately they both passed. Once her body was located, we held a small funeral for her.
I sold Gabe’s estate, with the exception of the land where my son is buried. I still visit him every weekend, placing flowers and stuffed animals around his little grave.
Gabe’s home has since been turned into a museum. Thousands of tourists have already flocked to it over the past year. I’ve not stepped foot in that place since we escaped. It’s a chapter that I want to forget. Reliving the events in court were enough to make me seek out countless hours of therapy.
Everyone assumed that Gabriel was mine and Gabe’s son, and I kept it that way. Dr. Kerr and the staff each gave me their word that they would not disclose otherwise. I promised Kat that I would love him as my own, and I do. I love him with every beat of my heart. He’s a constant reminder that beauty can be found in the darkest of days.
I’m twenty-one now, and in my short life I’ve lived through more than I’d ever thought possible. I met people that I would have never met otherwise, I found a strength within myself that I didn’t realize would ever exist.
I thought that my life had ended when Gabe took me, when my father allowed it, when Gabe raped me, and when I lost the baby.
Life didn’t end though. Once I survived one horrible thing, I moved on to the next, and I kept doing that until I was finally freed after almost two years in captivity.
“Hon, Able’s here.” My grandmother says with a huge smile plastered on her face.
Since my escape, Gabriel and I have been staying with her on the ranch. That is therapy in itself. Waking to the rooster every morning, taking little Gabriel out to walk the property and feed the chickens.
“Alright,” I say, eyeing her suspiciously, “Let me get Gabriel’s things together.”
She waves her hands around dismissively, “No need, he’ll be staying with GG.”
“Okay…” I say.
Able peeks in with a bright smile on his face, “You ready beautiful.”
I walk towards him cautiously, “Sure, but can someone tell me why you two are acting so weird?”
Able walks to me and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the front door, “I don’t know what you’re talking abou
t.”
I laugh as I swing my purse over my shoulder. I look over my shoulder to my grandma June as she holds Gabriel, holding his arm up and making him wave, “Say bye bye, momma.”
He smiles, “Buh momma.”
“Bye baby.” I whisper before Able yanks me out the front door.
He opens the passenger door to his truck and helps me in.
Once he gets into the driver’s seat, I look towards him with a raised eyebrow, “Okay, what is going on.”
He turns on the stereo and shakes his head, “Calm down, sugar. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”
I shake my head as I lean back in the seat, smiling as we begin making our way down the long driveway.
We’ve been dating since my escape. He’s an amazing man, and incredibly sweet and patient with me.
He’s stopped doing his “odd jobs” and now works in construction.
After about twenty minutes or so we pull into a long driveway with a cute, white picket fence surrounding it.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Oh, I just wanted to show you a house I’ve been working on.”
Once it comes into view, my breath catches in my throat. It’s absolutely adorable and looks like a manor. The brown crisscross siding against the white makes me think of Germany, as does the steeped roof. It has vines growing up the sides and the rounded front door reminds me of a fairytale.
“Wow.” I murmur as I look up at it through the windshield.
Able parks and looks over at me, “Wait until you see the inside.”
I nod as he runs over to my side and opens the door for me. He grasps my hand and leads me to the front door.
My eyes travel around the interior. It’s cozy and whimsical, reminding me of a hobbit house. Well, a hobbit house big enough for normal sized people that is.
“This place is amazing, Able.” I whisper.
“Wait till you see the bedroom.” He says excitedly as he drags me upstairs.
My breath catches in my throat when I see a small round table dressed in a white tablecloth. A small votive candle sits in the middle of the table accompanying the low lighting of the many other candles throughout the room.