MR. H.

by Samantha Hart

  “Now that I know how you like to be treated, we can make this work, we can go back to being happy again.” He said, appearing happily deranged.

  “Yes, whatever you want.” I said, “Just please let me go.”

  “Come on, we are going for a drive.” He gripped a firm hold of my arm as he led me out the door, “Don’t make a single noise or I’ll shoot you right here in the street.” He said, revealing a pistol in his back pocket as he walked me to my car, shoving me into the passenger seat.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked as he climbed up into the driver’s seat.

  “Because I love you, that’s why. You and I are meant to be together. Now shut up, and listen to me.” He scowled, “I’ve read your little story Hannah, I know who you really are now, just a dirty slut who wants to be slapped about and used as a sex toy, I can give you exactly what you want. And more”

  That’s what he’s being doing in my apartment? Reading my work? Fuck.

  “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong!” I said, “None of that is real, it’s fiction!”

  “Stop lying, you’re only making this worse for yourself. I know what your beloved Mr. H is like, I’ve heard all about him.” Jason grinned, “You see, I have this friend, and she’s been helping me to execute plan ‘get Hannah back’ she also knew Callan very well.”

  Suddenly, I had an awful realisation. Is this why no-one can find Mr. H?

  “Where’s Callan? And where the fuck are you taking me?” I asked, and that same hostile laughter that sent shivers up my spine earlier was back, confirming my fears, he had done something with Mr. H, but what? If the pistol in his pocket was anything to go by, Mr. H could be in big trouble, just like I had a feeling I was.

  We drove for a little while, maybe twenty minutes, it was getting late in the afternoon and the sky was becoming dark by the time we finally pulled off onto a long dirt track and into what appeared to be an old dilapidated warehouse.

  Jason got out of the car, but not before reminding me with his gun pointed in my direction, to be on my best behaviour. I wasn’t sure how much more of this my heart could handle, it was beating so rapidly that I was sure it could give up at any moment.

  As he walked around to my door, I considered all the ways I could overpower him and make a run for it, but, even if I did manage to kick him hard enough to take him down, I was going to struggle to get away with my hands tied.

  Being dragged out of the car, I fell down onto the dusty floor, before being yanked back up and told to get the fuck up and walk. With a pistol shoved in my back, he led me down the back of the building, to a scummy old office. There was no light, no chair, nothing, just a tiny, filthy room, that would’ve only been just big enough for a desk and chair, and judging by the stench, could’ve already been used as a crime scene.

  One final push from behind, insured I was far enough into the room before the door slammed shut and locked behind me, taking the miniscule amount of light with it. Pure, terrifying, darkness.

  “Let me out of here!” I screamed. “Jason! Don’t leave me in here! Please!” I was petrified, this was the kind of thing that happens in movies. Not to real people. Not to me.

  Seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours, hours perched painfully in the corner of a dark dingy room the size of a large closet, with aching arms from being forced behind my back for so long, and wrists that felt sliced up by the restraint. I was so tired, all the screaming and banging had taken it out of me, but I couldn’t dare close my eyes, who knew what would happen to me if I fell asleep in here.

  The distant sound of birds chirping was the first sign that it was morning, and that I had made it through the night. Alive. I tried to tell myself if he was going to kill me, he would’ve done it by now, and I hoped that with the approaching daylight, someone might find me trapped in here.

  The sound of a key jostling in the door bolted me upright. Was this going to be the end? Is this really how I was going to die?

  “Get up.” Jason said, grabbing me by my jacket and pulling me out the door to an awaiting wooden chair set up in the middle of the empty warehouse.

  Forcefully, he pushed me down onto the chair, promptly prying my legs apart and using duct tape to secure my ankles to the chair legs. I was thankful of my choice of jeans yesterday. Next, he snipped the cable tie, releasing my hands from behind my back, but they weren’t free for long, just long enough to shake them out and get some feeling back. This time, they were taped together and allowed to rest on my lap, which, all things considered, was much more comfortable.

  What happened after I was sufficiently bound, in retrospect, I should’ve seen coming, but just like with Jason, I ignored all the warnings, like a complete naïve fool.

  “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” A female voice said, as I watched the slinky figure appear out of the darkness, and when she was finally visible, and recognisable, I knew I really was in a huge amount of trouble.

  “I just don’t see what you all see in this girl.” Rachel said, delicately caressing down my face before swinging hard with an open palm and making direct contact with my cheek. I’d never been slapped across the face before, and this was with some serious force, it almost dazed me a little, and it definitely caught me by surprise. I was still recovering from the first impact when the second came, causing my eyes to water.

  “Fuck you.” I said, if she was going to hurt me, she may as well have a reason.

  “No, fuck you, you greedy little whore. First you take Callan, then Katie wants you too, and then as a last straw, you pry Pete away from me.” Rachel said, appearing to believe her own words, “Well now, it’s my turn to take Callan from you.” And with that parting comment, the open palm, turned into a securely closed fist which came hurtling toward my face with great speed.

  The swelling was instant, I could feel my eye puffing up and throbbing as I watched her walk back off into the dark.

  “What does she mean? Take him away?” I asked a quietened Jason, Rachel seemed to be the one in charge here.

  “That doesn’t matter Hannah, you’re mine now, not his.” He said, picking up the chair and carrying me back into my dark desolate cell. “Be a good, quiet girl in here for a little while, and I might even reward you with some water later on.”

  “No, no, don’t leave me in here again, please!” I begged, but it was a waste of breath, Jason chuckled to himself as he locked the door.

  Being locked away behind the door, away from a psychotic Jason and a monstrous Rachel, was both relieving and unnerving. I was glad to be away from them, but I knew it was only a matter of time before they trudged me back out.

  My overactive mind decided I needed to use the time I had wisely, and I started to make a survival plan. It went against everything I wanted to do, but I needed to do exactly as Jason said, I needed to convince him that I wanted to be with him, that I loved and missed him too. The only way I could see myself getting out of here alive, was with him.

  Not a single noise left my dry lips, I stayed deadly silent, I desperately wanted to earn that water, even if it was only a sip.

  The bonus side effect of staying so quiet was that I could now hear the majority of what was going on, both inside the warehouse and out.

  Two voices, one male and one female, I could only guess it was Rachel and Jason, were arguing outside, Callan’s name was one of the only words I could pick up. Once the voices had subsided, I heard the distinct beep my car makes when being unlocked, before hearing it speed off down the dirt road.

  Not even two minutes passed after hearing my car disappear before the door unlocked in front of me, and in walked a frantic looking Jason carrying a bottle of water.

  “Small sips.” He said, “There, that’s my good girl.” He stroked my hair, and I shuddered internally, praying he would get his hands off me, but knowing there wasn’t a thing I could do about it if I wanted to survive this.

  “Thank you Sir.” I said, hoping it would spark his intere
st, which luckily, it did. A broad smile spread across his face, producing a view of his gorgeous dimples for the first time, almost making me forget the situation I was in. And who this man was now.

  “If I leave you with this water, do you promise to behave?”

  “Yes Sir.” I said, nodding.

  “Don’t drink it all at once, that’s your daily quota.” Daily. Quota. How fucking long did he plan on keeping me in here?

  “Please don’t close the door. I’m afraid of the dark.” I said as he went to leave. Jason looked back at me, he even appeared a little remorseful this time, but he closed and locked the door regardless of my pleas.

  My rumbling stomach was starting to sound like a creature from the jungle, the only thing I’d eaten in the last two days was the bagel Mr. H had left me yesterday morning before he disappeared. I would’ve killed for another one of those bagels, ok bad choice of wording, although, this was beginning to feel like a very morbid situation.

  Without Mr. H out looking for me, without Jade wondering where I am, without parents who live in the same city, nobody would ever know I was missing, and now that I’d helped put Mr Bernard away, the publishing company would just assume that’s why I’m M.I.A and not doing my social media promos. I was fucked. No-one was going to come looking for me if no-one knew I needed saving.

  Having my arms free from behind my back for the first time since my capture gave me enough of a sense of security to allow me to fall asleep, even if it was only in five minute spurts, waking up in a state of sheer panic each time.

  Waking up the last time, wasn’t due to my own inner noise disrupting me, it was due to the same two voices arguing again, this time right outside my cell door.

  “I never said you could give her water already!” Rachel said, “When was that in the plan? I know you love her, but she needs to suffer for what she’s done.”

  “I’m sorry.” A sullen sounding Jason replied, “Is he in the car?”

  “Yes, in the back, he’s still out cold…”

  The voices starting trailing off after that, I assumed they must have been walking away, I also assumed the he they referred to, had to be Mr. H. I just had to hope and pray that he would be okay, and that Rachel cared for him too much to hurt him.

  As I strained to hear any remaining hints of conversation, I noticed there seemed to be some form of commotion going on outside. And it was getting closer.

  “WHERE IS SHE?” I heard clear as day, and I recognised Mr. H’s voice instantly.

  “I’M IN HERE” I yelled back as loudly as my tired lungs could bare, not realising the chaos it would cause.

  I could hear the scuffling of a fight happening right outside the door, the thudding sound of punches being landed echoed throughout the old building, and the grunting and swearing proved it was definitely two large men.

  The sounds I heard next will be extremely hard to remove from my memory, the unmistakable noise of a gun being cocked, followed by a disturbing, brief discussion.

  “Put the gun down Jason.” Rachel said, “This was not part of our plan either.”

  “He deserves it. Look at the smug bastard. She’s mine now.” He taunted, and it sounded as though Mr. H lunged in his direction, “Get back! I’ll shoot!” Jason yelled.

  “No!” Rachel said, “Do you really think Hannah will want you if you shoot him?”

  “Hannah doesn’t get a choice.” Jason said as he pulled the trigger, resulting in the loudest echoing gunshot I’ve ever heard, causing my body to tense.

  Rachel released a blood curdling scream, before turning on Jason.

  “No, no, Rachel, what are you doing?” Jason said, “Put the gun down.”

  “You shot the love of my life, you selfish son of a bitch.” The dark tone of her voice was spine tingling, she was out for revenge, and I was trembling in fear, I would be next.

  At this point, the same awful sound as before rang throughout the building, leading me to believe Rachel’s gun was locked, loaded and ready to fire.

  “No Rachel, no, please don’t shoot.” Jason begged, and before he had even finished saying the word shoot, gunshots were being fired. One, two, three, of them, all in a row, it was a sickening sound and hearing his body hit the floor almost made me vomit.

  I was holding my breath, expecting the door to come swinging open, I was sure this was it for me, my eyes were closed tight, my head in my hands, my wonderful boyfriend had been shot and was probably dead. All because of me.

  Hurried, scampering footsteps were rushing around the warehouse, all I could hear was fuck, fuck, fuck, as Rachel tried to figure out her next move, and honestly, her next move surprised me, it sounded as though she went rushing toward Mr. H, followed by an extremely panicked phone call;

  “Ambulance, please, hurry, someone’s been shot, actually make that two people, and I think at least one of them are dead.” I heard Rachel straining to get it out, she was distraught. “Please, hurry.”

  Too afraid to make a sound, I bawled silently behind my locked door, terrified that if she heard me, there would be three gunshot victims by the time the paramedics arrived.

  Sirens could be heard off in the distance, leading me to believe we weren’t that far away from civilisation, the screeching getting louder as they closed in on us, the closer they got, the more hope I had for survival, although I had no idea what Rachel’s plan was when they finally entered the building, after all, she was one of the gunmen, not to mention she was heavily involved in the planning of my kidnapping and currently my only captor.

  As the sirens grew louder, it became more difficult to hear anything else, I was sure I could vaguely hear Rachel still talking to Mr. H, which was the only thing giving me any hope that he was still alive.

  The tyre noise along the dirt track was the first indication that help had arrived, followed by footsteps, lots and lots of footsteps, the dirt and stones crunching under each and every step as the police and medics readied themselves outside.

  “He’s in here, help, quickly, please! There’s so much blood!” Rachel yelled, she had clearly heard the commotion outside too.

  From what I could decipher from all the noise, the police were entering the building first, their loud, crunchy footsteps echoing throughout the hollow warehouse.

  “Step away from the victim Ma’am, lay down, face on the floor, hands behind your head, now, move!” A senior sounding officer demanded, followed by, “She’s down, go, go, go, someone get the paramedics in here urgently.”

  The tell-tale sound of the handcuffs being tightened around Rachel’s wrists fuelled my courage, it was finally my time to speak up, but just as I was about to open my mouth, I heard, “There’s no pulse. Cover this one, immediately.”

  “No!” I screamed, bursting into tears, howling, “He can’t be dead!”

  “There’s somebody behind the door.” I could hear people talking amongst themselves, “The door’s locked. Is there anyone in here?” A voice called out.

  “Help me, please.” I choked out, barely able to control my breathing, I felt as though my body was shutting down.

  “Cover yourself if you can, move as far back as you can.” An officer called through the door, “We’re coming in now.”

  Bang, Bang, Bang, it only took three huge blows to my locked cell door for it to come flying open, pieces of wood and hinges came flying through the air, revealing my heavily armoured saviours. They were definitely coming in prepared.

  “Paramedics!” One officer yelled, and I think I must have passed out after that, I don’t know if it was the lack of food, water, or just the panic attack induced hyperventilation over the fact I thought I’d heard Mr. H being pronounced dead.

  The back of an ambulance wasn’t a place I was familiar with, so, upon startling awake en-route to the hospital, I was immediately very disorientated, I had no idea what was happening, or where I was, all I knew was that I needed to know Mr. H was okay.

  “Is he really dead?” Were the first words to co
me flying out of my mouth, but to my horror, no-one could give me a straight answer, “The gunshot victim, Callan Hart!” I said firmly, “Is he okay? I need to know.” Panic flooded back through my exhausted body.

  “Ma’am, I’m sure our colleagues are doing all they can for him, just like we want to do for you, please, lay down. You will know more at the hospital.” I noticed as the paramedic was speaking to me, she was also emptying a vile of something into my I.V line, and then my eyes closed firmly again before I could respond.

  Re-opening my eyes revealed I was now in a hospital bed, in what appeared to be the Emergency department, thankfully, I guessed that meant I was okay, I hadn’t been rushed off anywhere, I wasn’t full of tubes or attached to any big machines. But that’s not what I cared most about right this moment. Mr. H.

  “Oh you’re awake, excellent.” My nurse said, “We’ve run all your bloods, the doctor’s checked your injuries, everything seems fine. You’re one lucky girl.”

  “When can I leave? I need to check on Callan, I need to know he’s alive.”

  “Slow down, the doctor needs to talk to you first before you’re discharged.” The nurse said, resting her hand on my shoulder to gently ease me back down onto the bed, “Let me go check up on Mr Hart for you, I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait.” I said, with tears already forming, “Does that mean he’s alive?”

  She nodded, “He was being wheeled in for emergency surgery when I last saw him, he’s fighting hard for you Hannah, stay strong for him.”

  The tears I’d been holding back came flooding out, both relief that he was alive and a gut wrenching feeling of worry consumed me, I needed this man more than I cared to admit, he had to be okay, our life together hadn’t even started yet.

  Sudden pangs of panic overcame me when I realised what had happened the the last time I was at this hospital. Jade. But this time, I was alone, and it felt like the world was caving in on me.

  “Hannah,” My nurse said, poking her head in the door, “Callan is still in surgery, I spoke briefly with one of the surgical team members, they said he’s doing well. Shouldn’t be too much longer.” Her smile was genuine and warming, “Oh, and there’s three people waiting to see you, can I send them in?”