by Ian Dawson
He paused. Took a deep breath. Continued onward. The one thing he hadn’t thought of, and which occurred to him now, was the possibility that the pole went through the roof. If that was the case he was definitely screwed.
His toes hit the ceiling of the shed. It was the moment of truth. He figured he had to be at least eight feet off the floor, a drop he had zero interest in making ever. He moved his hands up, up, up, and felt the tip of the tetherball pole with his fingers.
He almost yelled he was so excited. Instead, he moved his hands up and over as carefully as he could in order to maintain his grip. Once he had a strong hold on the pole, he let his feet swing back toward him, then proceeded to slide down the pole to the shed floor.
Daniel stood in the center of the small wooden room and looked around. The only door to the outside was locked. He knelt down awkwardly and pulled the rug away from the center of the shed’s floor.
A trapdoor!
He knelt down and in the moonlight that streamed through the spaces between the wooden walls he saw a silver padlock and a metal bracket screwed into the door to hold it closed.
He had no other choice: he had to open the trapdoor by any means necessary.
Before he began his new project, Daniel unwrapped the duct tape from his bare legs. The adhesive held fast to the hair on his legs and his skin, but the pain was tolerable compared to what Austin and James had subjected him to. Besides, he figured, at least this pain meant some sense of freedom once it was over.
Daniel gripped and twisted the padlock in his hands, trying his best to rip the lock from its resting place. It held fast. He took a moment to think. The lock is made of metal. The trapdoor is made of wood. Wood is weaker than metal. What if...
He had an idea. If he could get his fingers in between the slats of the trapdoor and work one of the boards loose, maybe he could use it to pry up the other boards and help get him inside. From what he could see in the moonlight the shed’s wood was old and worn. If it were brand new he’d be out of luck. But old wood...
He felt around the boards of the trapdoor and slid all of his fingers into one of the spaces. Using the duct tape to help avoid splinters he pulled the board upward. The lock and hinges held fast, but he noticed that one of the boards that made up the trap door was loose. Loose enough? He focused his energy on the removal of that one board.
He started to rock it back and forth. He could hear the nails scraping against the wood as they made their journey out. He paused briefly to listen for any signs that the boys were returning. All he could hear were the chirping of crickets and the croaking of frogs in the distance.
Finally, the two nails on the side next to the hinges were free. He pushed up on the freed board and heard the other end by the lock break and splinter. With one final push, Daniel snapped off the board, leaving a small piece anchored to the lock.
Now he had a weapon: a board with two nails jutting from one end. He placed it on the ground beside him, nail side down, and began to work on loosening the next board. He figured he’d need to take at least three boards off in order to have enough room to squeeze into the hole, and hopefully, he thought, to find a way out.
He wedged his makeshift weapon – the board with two nails at the end – under the next piece of wood on the trapdoor and used it as leverage to pry it loose. It was much easier than the first one since he hadn’t had to use his fingers.
One to go. Using the same method, Daniel pried loose the final piece of wood he needed to remove, tossed it aside and looked down into the pitch-black hole.
His eyes had adjusted enough from being in the shed that he could make out the faint outline of what looked like a ladder plunging into the darkness.
He took hold of his weapon, swung his legs down into the hole, and prayed the ladder led somewhere safe.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
It took all of Kyle’s might to stay silent as he heard the scene unfolding between the three arguing men. Daniel was so close, but Kyle was powerless at the moment to do anything about it. At least he now knew his best friend was being held in the shed outside.
He knew the older man had gone inside and one of the boys had followed. He knew that the one boy the older man was yelling at – Austin – had returned and tossed something heavy on the couch. But what about the third guy?
Kyle poked his head out from the side of the couch with caution. He could hear banging around inside the house along with arguing. The boy he had followed to the house was now inside; his back to the door leading to the garage. Kyle also noticed the back door was open.
Kyle crawled out of his hiding place toward the open back door just as the Rottweiler entered. “Shit,” Kyle said under his breath. This was all he needed.
Then again, maybe it was exactly what he needed: a distraction.
Kyle poked his head over the back of the couch and saw a bloody hammer on the middle cushion. The dog had to belong to the older guy who clearly must be dead or badly injured at this point, Kyle figured. If he could get the dog to run and find the guy...
Kyle grabbed the hammer, motioned the dog over, and had him sniff the bloody hammer. “Go find your owner,” Kyle whispered in the dog’s ear. “Go find him.” The dog sniffed the air and charged into the house. He could hear the dog barking inside.
The boy in black rushed into the garage and slammed the back door shut. Before he turned around, Kyle dove in front of the couch and rolled beneath the coffee table.
“Stupid dog!” the older boy yelled. “James. You get him?” he called out.
“Yeah,” the other boy said as he entered the garage. “I locked him in your uncle’s room.”
“Guess he’ll have plenty to eat in there.” The boy in black laughed, but stopped short.
“What is it, Austin?” James said.
Kyle tried to make a break for it, but someone had a death grip on his ankle. The coffee table suddenly flipped off of him, his only protection now gone. Austin released his grip on Kyle’s ankle and stood over him.
“Who the hell do we have here?” Austin said, grabbing Kyle by the arm and yanking him to his feet. “Looks like contestant number three has come to play with us.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
Daniel made his way down the metal ladder, one rung at a time, not sure how far down it went. He counted the rungs. Five.
He stepped down onto the ground; the smell of soil and the stench of rotten meat and dried blood filled his nostrils. His stomach lurched, but he was able to control the inevitable vomiting for now. It was time to explore. He readied the board with two nails in his hand the best he could with his zip-tied hands. He was able to hold it like a baseball bat, which was actually ideal.
Before him was a long, dark tunnel. He had no clue where it led but was pretty sure it had to lead up to the house. With his luck that’s exactly where it would lead. His head scraped the top of the tunnel so he had to hunch over just a little, but he was thankful he didn’t have to crawl on his hand and knees.
The piece of wood scraped against the side of the tunnel as it suddenly narrowed. The sound stopped. He waved the board in front of him, then to the side. It seemed like an open space was to his left. He took a step to the left and was met with a sudden steep incline that caused him to lose his balance.
He fell sideways, rolled, and landed on some sort of carpet. His weapon somewhere in the room. He clamored to his feet, careful not to stand too fast for fear of smacking his head. He backed against a wall, his head hitting something made of metal and glass. A light?
He turned around and felt around in the darkness. His hands connected with a power cord. He followed the cord up to the light and felt around. A switch.
“Please work. Please work. Please work,” he whispered to himself. He flicked the switch and the small fluorescent lamp buzzed and flickered to life. It was the first time all evening he had smiled.
&
nbsp; He turned around and his smile quickly evaporated. Before him was a room filled with the hides of what looked like dog and cats. Some were tacked to the wall, others on the wooden workbench beside him.
If these two are willing to kill pets, what’s going to happen to me? Relieved not to see any human skins, he searched around for his weapon, which he found on the floor near a pile of rusty tools.
Tools. Sharp tools. He carefully sifted through and found a hatchet. It was rusted and covered in blood, but still looked sharp. An excellent way to cut through the zip-ties and free his hands.
He paused for a moment and listened. He heard nothing. He hopped up on the workbench and squeezed the hatchet’s blade between his knees. He began to scrape one of the zip-ties across the blade, slow at first, then picking up speed. But he didn’t want to go too fast and have it cut through the ties and him as well. That would just cause more problems.
He diligently worked until the zip-tie snapped apart and his wrist was free. He opened his legs and let the hatchet drop to the floor. His legs were free. His hands were free.
Now it was time for Daniel Robinson to find freedom. But there was one more thing he had to do before he moved forward. He had to pee. Badly. He had been able to control the urge up until now, but the newfound freedom of his hands, his feet, and his discovery of the tunnel made his bladder want to be free from its contents.
He pulled down the front of his boxers and took a piss all over the pile of rusted, bloody tools in the corner of the room. The whole experience felt amazing to him.
When he finished, he surveyed the room and found a half-full pack of water under the workbench. Daniel raised the first bottle to his lips as if he were on autopilot and closed his eyes. It was the best water ever, as far as he was concerned. He felt the cool liquid charge down his throat with each swallow; some of it dribbling onto his chin, neck, and chest. He didn’t care. It had been hours since he had had anything to drink.
After consuming three of the bottles, he picked up the hatchet - a much better weapon than the piece of wood - and poked his head out into the tunnel. A few more feet down he spied another room on the opposite side.
The light was just enough to get him down the tunnel and to the next room, but darkness soon consumed him once more. He ran his hands along the wall until he came across another cord. He switched on the light and looked around.
The sight was horrifying. Dried blood and guts were on almost every surface. The stench was strong, overpowering, and nauseating. Sharp, blood-covered tools were on the floor and workbench along with dozens of cigarette butts.
That’s when Daniel heard a small whimper and cry from behind the workbench.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
“Who the hell are you?” Austin spat as he slammed Kyle up against the garage wall. The weight of the boy in black pressed hard against his body. Kyle could barely breathe. Was the guy trying to crush him to death?
“You have my friend,” Kyle said with some effort. “I want him back.”
The older boy laughed. “Which one? I’ve got two you might be interested in.”
Two? What the hell was wrong with these a-holes?
Kyle could smell the beer, cigarettes, sweat, and dish soap on the boy’s body. Austin’s shirt was moist with sweat. Kyle knew he had to get out of this if he wanted Daniel and himself to have a fighting chance.
And now, with the knowledge of another victim, he knew he couldn’t let it end this way.
He shot a quick glance at the red-haired boy in the sunglasses who didn’t seem to be interested in being a part of what was going on. Kyle hoped that truly was the case as he made his next move.
With all the strength he could muster, Kyle bit down as hard as he could on Austin’s forearm. The boy let out a scream and started hitting Kyle in the side of the head, which caused him to clamp down even harder. Blood began to flow. The sickening copper taste caused Kyle to release his jaw and shove the older boy backward. Austin turned and dove toward the couch. “Where the hell’s the hammer?”
Adrenaline pumping, Kyle made a mad dash for the back door and ran like he had never ran before.
“Stop him!” Austin yelled to the other boy in the sunglasses.
As he darted from the garage and into the backyard, Kyle ran toward the shed in the back right corner. The yard was an ocean of dirt piles, weeds, and dog poop.
He made it to the shed door, but a padlock prevented his entry. He pounded on the shed door. “Daniel! Daniel! It’s me, Kyle!”
“Hey!” he heard white polo shirt yell. He was getting closer.
“I’ll come back with help. Trust me,” Kyle said as he sprinted the length of the chain-link fence that lined the perimeter of the yard, narrowly avoiding a pile of bricks near the back section of the fence. Was there a way out? He had to find one fast. One guy he could outrun for now. But if that Austin came out…
That’s when he realized what he would have to do. He leaped onto the chain-link fence and started to climb as fast as he could. He swung his legs over and dropped hard onto the other side, hearing a pop as his right wrist hit the ground as he landed.
The boy in the sunglasses slammed against the chain-link as Kyle scrambled to his feet. The red-haired boy started to climb.
Kyle moved back from the fence, a piercing pain shot through his wrist and up his arm. He felt dizzy.
The older boy with the sunglasses lunged at the chain-link fence and quickly clambered to the top. He swung one leg over to Kyle’s side.
Without thinking, Kyle leapt toward the older boy’s foot, untied the boy’s shoelace and tied it in a triple knot onto the fence. The pain from his injured wrist was excruciating, but Kyle knew he had to do something.
“What are you doing?” the boy asked from above.
“Evening the odds,” Kyle responded. He watched as the boy struggled to get his shoe loose, then attempt to take it off. No luck. “Tell me how I can get my friend out of there.”
“Screw you,” the boy replied.
“Wrong answer.” Kyle jumped up onto the boy and with all his weight pulled the boy over the fence. The boy dropped, his head missing the ground by inches thanks to his triple-knotted shoelace.
“Help me! You don’t understand. I have to help Austin. He’ll kill me if I don’t.”
Kyle almost felt bad for the boy whose sunglasses had slid onto his forehead. He saw the scars on his face and one of his eyes was like a white marble. But he had to remind himself that he and this Austin jerk had his friend trapped in that shed. “Where’s the key to the shed?”
“Austin has it. Let me go and I’ll help you.”
Kyle was getting frustrated. Should he get James to help him? Or was the boy just playing a game to gain his trust and sympathy? He couldn’t take the risk. But he had to get Daniel out of there.
Kyle ran away as fast as he could. The moonlight shrouded by the thick growth of trees above. He had to get help. Or die trying.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Daniel froze. Was it some poor animal that Austin had taken down here to torture? He was afraid to get bit or scratched on top of everything else, but he couldn’t just leave whatever it was down here. It just wasn’t right.
He heard it again. A whimper. But it didn’t sound like an animal now. It sounded like a person. A kid?
Daniel moved toward the source of the sound behind the workbench. He took a deep breath, then moved around to the back.
It was a young boy. Couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. His sister’s age. A wave of nausea twisted his stomach. Bile rose into his throat. His face burned hot.
As the boy looked up and the light hit his face, he squinted and turned his head away. His mouth was covered in duct tape.
He was blonde, skinny, and wore only a pair of tan cargo shorts that were very soiled with dirt and Daniel didn’t want to know w
hat else. The smell gave him some idea, but if he thought about it much more he knew he would throw up.
He noticed what looked like small burn marks on the boy’s legs and arms and immediately thought of Austin and his cigarettes. Was this what those two monsters had planned for him next?
He scanned the boy’s face once more and realized he had seen him before. But where? The image flashed into Daniel’s mind: the missing boy from the news. “You’re Colby Emerson,” Daniel said in a low voice, breaking the silence. The boy’s eyes met Daniel’s, Colby nodded.
Colby had no shoes or socks. His hands were tied with the same type of zip-ties used on Daniel. His, however, were threaded through an eyebolt embedded in a cinderblock.
“It’s okay,” Daniel said, trying to make himself believe it as well. “I’m not going to hurt you. They kidnapped me, too. But I’m going to get us both out of here. I promise.”
He could see tears in Colby’s eyes. Three days of hell with these two scumbags. He didn’t even want to think about what other nightmares this poor kid had endured…and survived. All Daniel knew was that this all stopped tonight.
Daniel moved his hands toward Colby’s face. Colby recoiled, the weight of the cinderblock preventing much of a retreat.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Daniel said, his heart racing. The boy was clearly terrified and with what had been happening to him he probably didn’t trust anyone he had come into contact with since he was taken from Caldwell Park. “Can I take the tape off your mouth?”
Colby stared at him, clearly skeptical of who he was. After a few seconds, the boy nodded slowly. Daniel moved his hands toward the boy’s face once more. With his fingertips, he pinched the corner of the tape and peeled it back as slow as he could. The boy winced.
“If it starts to hurt, tilt your head to one side and I’ll stop,” Daniel said. He was afraid that he would peel the kid’s skin off along with the tape. That was one thing he didn’t want to do. It was a slow process. He saw Colby’s skin fight against the removal of the sticky duct tape. The adhesive residue clung to the boy’s face but the tape itself was coming off. Slowly but surely.