Jodi kept Amy tied to the bedpost in the small RV. Jodi burned her. Jodi was the one who refused to return her phone. Jodi provided a steady stream of men and took their money for the pleasure of having sex with Amy. Jodi stuck the needle in her arm to ensure ‘lights out’ after the last client used her each evening.
Amy silently vowed that if she ever got out of this alive, she’d make sure the police knew the vile things Jodi had done. She’d make sure they held the bitch accountable. She wanted Jodi to suffer as much as she had.
Alec, still unobserved, followed the threesome to the RV. Jodi had planned the first client’s appearance after she and Ty had smoked a rock and ‘chilled’ for a while. She didn’t want to be bothered yet, looking forward to the rush she’d experience from the first hit as the rock cocaine filled her lungs.
After she’d secured Amy to the bed and administered a small dose to sedate her, she joined Ty in the tiny kitchen area to get started. It was the highlight of their day.
Jodi took a syringe, inserted it into the vial and then sprayed the liquid ketamine across a small plate. Several ten second blasts in the microwave turned the liquid into chalk. When it was ready, she scraped the chalky substance into a pile before adding Nestle Strawberry mix. Cutting out several lines, she snorted the sweet powdery dust first and then let Ty have his turn.
Ahh, k-hole.
Jodi’s eyes glazed over. Smiling, she leaned against the chair’s backrest as the pleasure rushed through her body. Ty reacted the same.
Twenty minutes later, several customers gathered near the RV. None was brave enough to knock on the door when they noticed Alec walk up. With his short hair and strong body, he looked like an undercover cop.
“The police will arrive shortly. You probably don’t want to stick around,” Alec advised, causing the men to scurry away.
Then, Alec opened the door. His entrance caught the pair completely off guard, but neither one reacted quickly. In fact, already stoned, they barely moved or acknowledged the intruder’s presence.
Alec stepped into the kitchen in his human form, and Jodi lazily said, “Not now. Come back in a twenty minutes.”
When he spied Amy, unconscious and restrained on the bed, his anger quickly ensured the transformation. His demon persona suddenly filled the cramped, small room. Annoyed that his head hit the seven-foot ceiling, the monster ripped a wide gash in the overhead tiles to make room for his bulk.
Jodi was the first to see him, but she couldn’t believe her eyes. A huge devil stood before her. Although mesmerized, she was also terrified. Jodi wasn’t even aware of the physiological response to the terror she felt, and unable to hold her water, urine spilled out across the vinyl padded chair seat and onto the floor.
Did someone cut the ketamine? Even as the thought passed slowly through her mind, she knew that was impossible. She and Ty had stolen the sealed pallet of vials directly from a Veterinarian’s office on the outskirts of town. No hands had touched it except hers. Still, she considered that there was something in the vial besides horse tranquilizer. She hadn’t wanted to trip, only to relax. That wasn’t going to happen now. Something terrible and beyond belief was in the room with them.
“What do you want?” she hoarsely croaked, still deep in the ketaspin.
The demon’s response was a roar of thunder that rattled what few dishes were in the cupboards and shook the walls of the makeshift home. The loud noise got Ty’s attention briefly, but he thought he was hallucinating. Was this image merely a side effect of the drug? Although rare, it had happened before.
Usually, the high transported him to other places where he didn’t have to think or feel. The disassociation effect was the reason most addicts were dependent on their drug of choice. The desire to escape reality was the prominent, urgent craving pursued – even if it only lasted a short while.
Both Ty and Jodi fell into that category. Neither wanted to face the harsh realities of their past or present circumstances. They didn’t want to think about the things they had done. This escape was the only thing that mattered.
“Wassup,” Ty mumbled, but reluctant to be pulled back to the present, he didn’t really care.
“Ty, for chrissakes, don’t you see it?” Jodi gritted out as she reached across the table to grab him by the sleeve. She found flesh under the fabric and pinched down hard.
Jodi’s shrill voice, the sting in his arm, and the sight of a devil standing before him, brought Ty around. Even though he couldn’t easily move – his legs felt like melted butter – he also knew that he and Jodi couldn’t be sharing a hallucination. Something else must be going on. Still, he barely budged or blinked as he observed the monster with blazing red skin and searing red eyes He’d snorted the strawberry-k deeply and greedily; his body had paid the price and was now numb.
For Jodi, the horrible eyes of the demon captivated her. Those terrible red eyes seemed to stare straight through her, summing up her entire life along with the many evil deeds she’d done to innocent victims. All of it, every wicked thing, sharply slapped her in the face—and it stung.
Jodi had never believed in God. She’d often professed, “I don’t have time for Him when He doesn’t have time for me.” However, what she experienced now could’ve easily been called ‘Judgment Day’ by a more rational and astute mind.
The massive body, at least eight feet tall, seemed to fill the entire kitchen. The huge red-eyed devil with sharp fangs and snarling face leaned in closer. Jodi felt the hot, fiery breath against her skin.
In true trepidation and fear, she tried to gather the courage to stand and run. Even though her knees knocked together in undisguised fright, she managed to get out of the chair. She didn’t get very far though. There wasn’t anywhere to run or time to escape. As she turned, hoping to hide in the bedroom, scorching-hot hands reached for her. She cried out in pain, remembering the hot coals she had applied with relish to each and every captive as punishment.
“I was hurt too! My life was terrible,” Jodi cried out defensively. “My own mother didn’t even love me. She gave me away when I was only an infant. No one ever loved me,” Jodi continued to rant as clawed hands pulled her back into the room and forced her to sit once again.
“You think the hardships of your life are an excuse to harm others?” the red-fiend roared. The sound of mighty voices was like thunderous waves slamming into her face. She thought she would drown from the onslaught. Jodi flinched and leaned back further away from him, wishing desperately that she could escape. She glanced over at Ty, but he was useless. Frozen to his chair, he wasn’t going to do anything to defend either of them.
The excuses Jodi spouted only riled the demon more. He’d heard it all before. Everyone wanted to blame someone else for the choices they had made. It was universal. Rather than accept responsibility for their own actions – priests, pedophiles, and abusers from every walk of life – blamed someone else or some event that had caused their evil actions. They might as well have said, ‘The devil made me do it!’ It was the same rationale.
Alec knew there had always been a choice, a turning point where they could decide to hurt others or not. They were all given the opportunity to either stop their cruelty to others or become an abuser. Free will was a powerful thing and Jodi had misused hers.
Jodi heard the roar of mighty vengeance in that voice and it nearly scared her to death right then. Her heart pounded rapidly and erratically, causing her to think it would stutter to a stop at any moment. This huge demon had come to punish her and there wasn’t any excuse plausible enough to stop him. Spellbound, she watched as one blazing hand reached out and two claws went up Ty’s nose, ripping the nostrils from his face. Blood spurted, running down his chin, and Ty finally reacted with some degree of emotion worthy of the situation.
“Arrghhh! Arrghhh! What the fuck!” Ty ground out as he jumped to his feet, arms flexed and rolling his chest, ready for a fight. The pain had caused a burst of adrenaline to tear through his body. When the ‘fight o
r flight” reaction finally kicked in, he was no longer docile and inert, but his reaction was too little, too late.
Ty quickly realized his nose was gone, and with amazement, he reached up to touch where it had once been. Next, he looked at his blood-soaked hands as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He seemed unaware of the demon although it stood only a few inches away. The protection mechanism of his mind blocked out the image, hiding from the monster. He turned to look at his reflection in the windowpane.
“My nose! My goddamn nose is gone, Jodi!” Ty screamed out in shock and horror. He turned an accusing glare on his partner, blaming her for the development, but his eyes were wide with fear while nausea rushed through his shaky, trembling body.
The demon leaned towards Ty and the longtime addict finally realized that the hallucination was real. “There’s a devil standing here, Jodi! Can you see it? He’s here in all his fucking, blazing glory. See it Jodi?” Ty looked at Jodi in amazement. From the look on her face, he understood it wasn’t a shared hallucination; it was a mutual and very real experience. “My nose is gone. How did it get gone?”
“Don’t blame me, blame him,” Jodi gnashed out a response, still trying to place blame elsewhere.
“Blame yourselves!” The devil retorted as one sharply tipped finger sliced through her jugular. The defiance she’d felt only moments earlier turned to dread as blood spewed across the cabinet doors and walls. Jodi, not ready to die, put her hands to her throat, trying to staunch the flow, but she couldn’t stop it. It was too deep, too precise and too penetrating. The life force drained from her body as the demon turned his attention back to Ty.
The RV rocked crazily back and forth, bouncing on its rubber tires, as the monster unleashed his full rage and vengeance on Jodi’s partner. Amy wasn’t the first young girl they had ensnared in their sex-trafficking scheme, the evidence was everywhere and it disturbed Alec greatly as he picked up the spiritual turbulence left behind – anguish, despair, suffering. All of it was there and he felt all of it. There was nothing he could do for the others, but he’d make sure Amy was the last victim. Red-eyes flashed fiercely as a monstrous red hand squeezed the life from Ty’s scrawny throat.
One anxious client, looking to get laid before heading home, approached the RV. When he heard the terrified screams from within, he quickly ran away. He didn’t call the police because he couldn’t admit his own involvement, but he did stop long enough to caution potential customers, “You don’t want to get involved with that RV or the people in it. Stay away until they’ve worked out their disagreements. Sounds terrible.”
The crowd Jodi had attracted dispersed and found other places to go.
Chapter 26
After Jodi and Ty were dead, Alec moved into the small, compact bedroom to check on Amy. He closed the accordion style door between the two rooms to block out the sight of ghastly slain bodies. Now, no longer a demon; Alec was a compassion-filled man. The young girl had suffered immeasurably while under their control. She was still dazed from the drug Jodi had administered earlier, and when she heard footsteps approach, she held up her hands in protest, to ward off the newest john.
“No! No-no-no!” Amy moaned.
“Shush-shush-shush,” Alec whispered to calm her. “I’m not here to abuse you. I have come to free you, dear Amy.” As he said the words, his angelic persona took over and brilliant light filled every inch of the RV.
“What?” she choked out confused and disoriented. She shielded her eyes from the bright, blinding light that suddenly appeared in the tight, confined space. The voice she heard was that of a man, but it held a soothing, musical quality. Did she dare hope that he would free her?
She’d begged many men to help her and her pleas had been ignored. Would this man really help her escape? What made him different? What made him want to help when no one else would? All the rest had only wanted to use her. Amy heard Jodi taunting her again, “No one cares!” Still, she hoped. She wanted to believe, but could she?
Unconscious, Amy had missed the punishment of her captors. She was unaware of what had transpired. She had never awakened when Ty’s terrified screams filled the small space. If she’d heard anything at all, she’d thought it was only a nightmare. She’d had plenty of those during the last several weeks. Alec knew it was a blessing that she hadn’t witnessed the murders.
“Jodi and Ty are dead, Amy. They won’t hurt you anymore or sell you to lascivious, greedy men who only want to use you. You’re free now.”
“Really?” she hopefully asked, still holding her hands up against the light. It was so bright that she couldn’t make out the man who spoke to her. However, she recognized the compassion and love evident in his voice.
“Yes really. Use this phone to call the police and then call your mother,” Alec said as he handed her the burner phone his grandfather had urged him to buy. “Tell the police that you’re locked inside an RV located in a parking lot just off Conti, near Cathedral Square.” He released the restraints that had bound her for many days now. “Let them know that you were kidnapped and have been held captive all this time by two addicts. Tell them you need medical attention. Tell them everything, Amy. Don’t be afraid to tell them everything.”
“Am I really free?” she fearfully asked, afraid to get her hopes up and then discover it was a lie. Jodi had promised many times that she would allow Amy to call her mother if she didn’t fight the next trick, but she had always lied. The previously suppressed bitterness rose in her mouth now as she thought about the hateful bitch. Unable to stop it, the vomit spewed from her mouth. She self-consciously wiped away the dregs with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry,” she apologized in a meek voice.
“You have no need to feel remorse. And, to answer your question, yes you are free from you captors, Amy. Now, repeat what I just told you about your location. You must tell the police exactly where you are so they can find you.”
“I’m in an RV off Claiborne Street near Cathedral Square,” she repeated obediently.
“That’s good.”
“Will you stay with me?” she tearfully asked as she looked longingly into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. She didn’t want him to leave. His were the first kind emotions she’d felt in some time. She needed desperately to feel that acceptance right then. “Just until the police get here…I mean, what if one of the men Jodi solicited gets here first…I can’t face another customer right now. Please don’t leave me to that.”
“You’ll never have to face a customer again. When I leave, you’ll lock the door behind me. No one will get in until the police arrive. You’ll see the flashing lights outside the windows. You must open the door for them, but you won’t open it for anyone else. Do you understand?” Alec replied.
“Yes, I understand. Who killed Jodi and Ty? Was it one of the men? They were never very selective. Money was all they cared about, not character. How did you get here?” Amy asked the questions in rapid succession as the drug began to wear off and her thought processes returned.
“I have to leave, Amy. As I leave, lock the door and then call the police. Tell them where you are. Then, call your mother and let her know what happened to you. Can you do that, Amy?”
“I’ll do that, but my life will never be normal again. How will it? I have experienced horrible things…disgusting things were done to me and I will never be the same. Nothing will ever be the same. My mother might hate me when she finds out what happened to me. She’ll be disgusted to know that I was sold to men for sex like a piece of meat. It will destroy her. I’d rather die than see the look on her face when she finds out what happened to me,” she whispered as hot tears stung her eyes.
“Amy, this was not your fault. Ty and Jodi held many girls captive and sold them. They’d been doing this for a long time. It had nothing to do with you. They did these things to pay for their addiction, but they will never do it again. No other young girls will ever suffer such abuse at their hands again. Trust me.”
“But, it w
as my fault,” Amy suddenly wailed. “I was a fool and stupid. I went on a date with a boy that I didn’t really know. I never knew what a bastard he was, and then, I demanded that he let me out of the car on a deserted highway. If I hadn’t done that, none of this would’ve happened. I was an idiot and put myself in danger. My mother taught me better, but I didn’t listen. My actions were rash and it allowed Jodi and Ty to find me…to enslave me. I have no one to blame except myself.” The tears fell like rain and Alec felt deep empathy for her.
“It was not your fault, Amy. Regardless of what you believe, it wasn’t your fault. Yes, you made some poor choices that night, but you are not responsible for the perverse actions of two addicts or the men they attracted to use you. Your mother will understand. Mothers are like that. You mustn’t fear what hasn’t even happened yet. Give your mother a chance, Amy. Her love and compassion might surprise you.”
“Do you really think she can forgive me?” she asked looking deeply into Alec’s eyes.
“It is my belief that mothers are made of love, compassion, and forgiveness. So yes, I believe that she’ll be so relieved you’re alive and returned to her that she will only do what is necessary to help you overcome this. What comes next is more important. Will you allow this to destroy you or will you put the wisdom you’ve gathered to good use?”
“You make it sound so easy. I bet most people would disagree with you,” Amy sobbed.
“I’m not saying it is easy; I am saying that it can be done. People in general can overcome tremendous odds. To do so, they must look for the good even in horrible situations. For example, Jodi and Ty didn’t kill you. You’re neither broken nor dead. Your wounds will heal. Focus on the positive and look as this experience from that perspective.”
Port City (An Alec Winters Series Book 3) Page 11