by Baxter, Cole
Ruby was out of control. If she was mad before, now she'd become ten times worse. Her mood changed by the hour and as of late, she kept accusing Mary of wanting to leave her. Which was true.
They were playing cards, in the middle of a game, when Ruby started attacking her for no apparent reason.
All Mary said was, "It's your turn to pick a card." There might have been a small sigh involved at the end . . . it was barely audible.
Sadly, Ruby heard it and started picking on Mary immediately. "I can see you are quite bored of spending time with me," she said, taking a sip from her drink.
A couple of days back, Mary had the idea of getting Ruby completely drunk to escape. Here she was, still waiting for that to happen.
"I love playing cards," Mary instantly replied, as always, sticking to the truth as much as possible.
"I can see it in your eyes," Ruby insisted. "You want to leave me."
Of course, I want to leave you. You’re a raging lunatic. "Ruby, calm down. I'm here with you."
"But you don't want to be."
When she was right, she was right. "Aren't we having a nice time playing cards?"
"I thought we were, but apparently, I’m the only one," she whined.
"Can we resume? I really want to play," Mary tried again.
Ruby's eyes flashed with anger. "Lies!" she shouted. "All lies!" She stood up and flung the cards into the air. They fell like rain all over the place. It was almost pretty.
"You are no friend at all," Ruby accused, pacing about.
"Ruby, we’re the best of friends. Now tell me what got you so upset. Did something happen?" Mary faked concern. Mary could guess what was happening with Ruby and was glad.
"You," Ruby screeched, pointing a finger at her. "You did this."
Mary knew that look very well and started to be afraid. "I'm very sorry, Ruby, if anything I did upset you. I didn't mean it. I only wish to make you happy."
Ruby scoffed, clearly not buying it. "You're always lying to me."
Mary, be better, she urged herself. "How about I make it up to you for ruining our favorite game?" Mary asked, holding her breath while waiting for Ruby to take the bait. There was a fifty-fifty chance Mary would get thrown into her room, and possibly beaten down as well.
"How?" Ruby asked.
Mary forced herself to remain calm, to not show her relief. "I can make you your favorite cup of coffee? Oh, and we have those biscuits you bought us. They would go well with the coffee."
Ruby looked at her, quite perplexed. It was clear that she still wanted to argue, so Mary sweetened the deal.
"Did you once tell me that a famous cook named a pastry after you?" she inquired, hoping that would do the trick. Ruby loved to speak about herself, and despite her current state, the temptation was just too great.
"It was a French pastry chef," Ruby corrected just like Mary knew she would.
They started walking toward the kitchen as Ruby launched into a story Mary had heard about a hundred times. The story that was probably just a figment of her deranged mind. At the moment, Mary didn't care since she’d dodged a bullet.
"Can my coffee have extra cinnamon?" Ruby interrupted herself to ask.
"Of course." Mary forced herself to smile.
"This small snack was an excellent idea, Mary," she said. "You take such good care of me."
"What are friends for?"
"And I'm sorry for making such a mess with the cards. Sometimes, I can be really clumsy," Ruby explained, already rewriting history like she always did. Mary got used to that and played along.
"Never mind that." Mary waved as if it was of no importance. "I'll clean everything up later."
"You’re my hero."
And you’re my jailer.
"I don't know what I would do without you."
To that, Mary simply smiled again. Mary knew exactly what she would do without Ruby. As Ruby returned to the story, Mary made coffee.
She learned that it worked best if she treated Ruby like a child. When she had a fit, it was crucial to distract her with something else. If Mary managed to switch Ruby's focus to something else, something about herself, of course, then she was golden. It didn't work every time but often enough for Mary to put in an effort.
And she understood Ruby's anger, that was growing each day, perfectly. Mary was certain it had something to do with Shannon and the fact that Norman still couldn't find her. That was a logical conclusion since Shannon wasn't there with them, which was a true blessing as far as Mary was concerned.
However, since her captor became increasingly more demanding, not to mention unpredictably cruel, Mary was completely emotionally and at times physically drained. She counted hours each day for those precious hours of sleep when she could escape while succumbing to oblivion. Unfortunately, at times, her nightmares loved to torment her with recapitulations of her day. Like she needed a rerun to that. Mary longed for real rest and peace.
How about eternal peace? came a sudden thought, and she banished it immediately. No matter what, she was not suicidal and would never again be suicidal. Mary wouldn't give Ruby that much power over her. She will not win. Mary was adamant.
Mary went to bed that night way past midnight because Ruby demanded that they watch some stupid movie together and drink cocoa but then got fidgety all of a sudden and sent Mary to bed.
Mary didn't question the sudden change of heart, yet maybe she should. At the moment, she was too preoccupied with her plan of convincing Ruby to let her go outside.
Maybe we could go butterfly catching? her sleepy mind offered. It was a stupid, crazy idea. Ruby loved butterflies so there was a possibility that it could work.
Camping under the stars? Planting a tree of friendship? So I can bury her underneath it, Mary added and yawned. Perhaps she should abort this mission for now since she was dead tired and each idea was crazier than the next. Ruby's crazy is starting to rub off on me.
Mary couldn't be happier when she crawled to the bed, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, and it was a dreamless affair at that. She was propelled back into consciousness by a loud scream. Not her own. For some reason, Ruby was angry.
"No!" Ruby screamed from the top of her lungs. The potency of it shook the entire house.
Mary jumped out of bed and went to her listening place, although at this point, she shouldn't have bothered.
"Calm down, you'll upset your friend," Norman mocked, and Mary instantly swallowed hard upon hearing his voice.
He's back. Does that mean Shannon is here too? She started to panic.
"Don't speak to me in such a manner, you cretin!" Ruby was beyond herself, showering Norman with all kinds of insults, and Mary just hoped her fury would stay focused on him. She didn't want Ruby to come upstairs and unleash all her frustrations onto Mary. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Right back at you, you old hag."
There was a slap, which Mary presumed meant Ruby had hit Norman. His next words confirmed as much.
"Be careful or I might hit you back," he warned.
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Ruby asked out of nowhere, as though returning to the previous conversation Mary wasn't privy to.
"I think that was pretty self-explanatory," he deadpanned.
"Don't you dare be cheeky with me. I won't tolerate failure. Find her. I want my friend here," Ruby ranted.
"And I told you there's nothing I can do at this point. She ran and hid well."
Mary cheered. Good for Shannon. She just hoped Shannon wouldn't slip up. She needed to stay safe, hidden, and away from this madhouse.
"Try harder then!"
"I want to give up the search."
There was a crash as though Ruby threw something against a wall. "That is not an option," she seethed.
"Listen to what I'm saying," he argued. "The broad smelled that something fishy was going on and bailed. She's out of our reach."
And she is going to stay that way, Mary added, if only to h
erself.
"No," Ruby replied sternly. "You will not give up. I need her here."
"Damn it, Ruby, don't be stubborn about this," he tried to reason with her.
Mary snorted. Good luck with that.
"I want my friend here. I want her here now."
"You already have your friend here. Play with her. Besides, there have been too many women. We're going to get caught," he warned. "Is that what you want?"
What? Mary was instantly on high alert. What did he mean by that? Although it was pretty self-explanatory.
If they did this many times in the past, then where were all the women? Mary swallowed hard, not really wanting to contemplate such things.
Because the most obvious answer was coincidentally the most terrifying one. They were all dead. Oh, God. Stop it and focus, she snapped at herself.
Was there a possibility that they were here, inside the house? Mary always suspected there was a chance Ruby had done something like this before, but now she had proof.
Please have mercy on their souls.
And then something else occurred to her. If they were not dead, she forced herself to think, then where were they? And how many women were trapped inside the house? Where? In the other locked rooms? No, they can't be, Mary pondered. She would have heard them by now.
Mary thought they were all alone in this house. What if she was wrong? Dread washed over her. Ruby did disappear at times, sending Mary away to have some quiet time. Was she visiting others? Oh, Lord, give me strength.
"I already told you what I want." Ruby's words snapped her back to here and now. "So leave now and don't bother coming back without Shannon. I want my friend here with me and that’s final."
"Noted," he replied simply.
Mary heard him banging the door on his way out and really hoped he would never return.
On tiptoes, Mary went to bed, praying Ruby wouldn't pay her a visit that night. She didn't come, thankfully. In a way, that felt even worse because Mary couldn't help wondering about certain things.
Why didn't Ruby come to see me?
Did that mean she went to see somebody else? And that was a really troubling thought.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mary was sure almost an entire week passed since Norman and Ruby had that shouting match, and as promised, he didn't return. Mary hoped that meant not only that he couldn't find Shannon but also that he’d stopped trying to. He told Ruby he wanted to quit, and perhaps he did. Norman's absence didn't mean things were better inside the house. Not by a long shot. Ruby became impossible.
Mary was asleep, enjoying rare moments without nightmares when Ruby barged inside her room, screaming like a banshee from Hell, which immediately woke Mary up. She didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong or get out of bed before Ruby started hitting her with a big whip.
"Bad friend, horrible friend."
It hurt like nothing before. Mary joined in on the chorus of screams. She instinctively curled up into a ball, protecting all her vital parts.
"Please, Ruby, stop," she begged.
Despite the searing pain, her mind raced, trying to figure out what she did wrong. She needed to know what brought this kind of punishment onto her. The woman is crazy. That was reason enough.
"You ruined everything!" Ruby screamed, changing her tune for a bit. "You ruined everything." It was like she was stuck inside some kind of a loop.
"I didn't do anything," Mary defended herself, knowing fully well that her words were meaningless. "Please stop."
She cried out in pain when Ruby hit her particularly hard.
"You did this," Ruby insisted. "You're a bad friend."
"What did I do?" Mary asked in exasperation. If she knew what Ruby was referring to, then maybe she could defend herself. Not that Ruby was in a particularly reasonable state of mind. Mary started to fear that Ruby would actually kill her this time. No, every part of her bruised body argued.
Ruby stopped for the briefest of moments to switch hands. "You turned my Shannon against me," she accused, almost sobbing. "And now she's gone."
Gone as in escaped, or gone as in dead? Mary wished to ask for clarification and held her tongue.
"And I want her here," she whined like a petulant child.
Mary sent up a silent prayer, thankful for the fact that Shannon had still managed to elude the pair. The notion that Shannon was out there, free, was what gave Mary the strength to rebel. She wasn't going to take this abuse any longer.
"None of this is my fault," she screamed back. The strength of her voice was so great that Ruby stopped whipping her for a moment, clearly startled.
Mary used that opportunity to roll out of Ruby's reach and slowly, wincing, got up to her feet. She completely ignored the pain as she stood up for herself. "Stop punishing me for something that I didn't do."
Ruby looked at her with so much hate that in any other circumstances Mary would cower in fear. She was beyond that now. Ruby advanced toward her and started swinging as though to resume her punishment.
On, no, you won't.
Mary managed to grab hold of the whip, and for a moment, they wrestled for it, yet as it turned out, Mary was more determined and with a sharp jerk pulled it out of Ruby's hand.
With a battle cry of victory, she snapped the whip in two and threw it in the corner of the room. Ruby screamed in outrage because Mary had dared to ruin her weapon.
"What are you going to do now?" Mary taunted.
Ruby recoiled. It was clear there was something she wished to say. Mary was just faster.
"You know what?" Mary started advancing toward Ruby ever so slightly. "I did tell Shannon everything I know about you," she yelled, letting all her anger, panic, frustrations, and despair pour out of her. "And if she managed to escape thanks to that, then good for her because you are a toxic nut who kidnaps, imprisons, and torments people. You're a murderer and you not only belong in jail but in Hell too," Mary concluded, breathing really hard.
Her whole back burned from the wounds Ruby had inflicted on her, yet at the moment, she didn't care. Ruby snapped her head as though she hit her. It was obvious she couldn't believe Mary had just uttered those words.
Better believe it. She'd suppressed her true self, her true feelings for too long trying to be a perfect plaything for Ruby, all because she needed to get out of there, except enough was enough. At this point, Mary really didn't care anymore if she lived or died.
"I am sick and tired of you and this place. You disgust me. I regret ever helping you on that subway train." Good deeds really don't go unpunished.
"You will never find Shannon because she is just too smart for you." Mary decided to taunt her just a little bit more. "And it's just a matter of time before the police find us, and then it will be game over." She intentionally used Norman's words, and by the look Ruby gave her, she knew it too.
And then it was time for the final blow. "I would rather spend an eternity with Nick than another second here with you, you crazy bitch."
And then it dawned on her, all the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together. She was looking at things from the wrong angle the whole time. It was not a coincidence that Nick was followed around by Norman. It was clear that Ruby had ordered him to do something like that because Mary was tied to him in a way and Ruby had a problem with that. Her plaything couldn't be married. It was a nuisance. In her troubled mind, she was just getting rid of the competition.
Oh, no . . .
Ruby sent Norman to kill Nick. Tortured and murdered. The detective's words came back to her.
"You killed Nick," Mary said in a much calmer way, and Ruby started to laugh.
"Took you long enough to figure that out," Ruby managed to say between the cackles.
Mary would be horrified by her words and behavior in any other circumstance. As it turned out, she'd already reached her limit of horror a long time ago.
Mary shrugged. "What can I say? I was a little preoccupied with all the crazy." She gestured around them.
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She was glad the masks were finally gone. There was no pretense anymore, just them, airing everything out in the open.
Ruby stopped laughing at that, which in return made Mary smile like Cheshire Cat. She was glad she’d managed to ruin Ruby's mood. This place, this damn house and her captor were turning Mary into something she wasn't, a monster in her own right, but she didn't care. Not at this moment, at least. She wanted to hurt Ruby as much as possible.
"You ungrateful brat," Ruby spat in return. "Instead of speaking to me in such a manner, you should be thanking me for getting rid of that pest for you."
Me, ungrateful? Me, a brat? It was funny how her brain latched onto unimportant things. "Oh, please, don't act like you give a shit about me. Everything you ever did, you did it because of yourself. Nick hurt you, so you hurt him back, tenfold." It was as simple as that.
Mary wasn't about to divulge all the details she now understood. How Ruby had let him hurt her because she had some larger scheme in mind. Like kidnapping Mary and bringing her here, to play with.
Ruby looked at her incredulously. "I have never been this insulted in my entire life," she announced in her usual theatrical manner.
Mary felt like rolling her eyes and then realized she could. She did.
"Stick around then, because I believe I'm on a roll."
"Have you completely lost your mind?" Ruby asked her in all seriousness.
That made Mary laugh even harder. Possibly. "That's rich coming from you because you invented the role of crazy," Mary snapped back. "You know what, maybe I have lost my mind, and who could blame me?" Being stuck in that house with Ruby would drive anyone mad. Mary was impressed that this hadn't happened sooner.
"I want you to apologize to me right now," Ruby announced. "And beg for my forgiveness."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. I'm done with all this shit," Mary replied instantly. She couldn't explain exactly what had happened. Maybe she reached some kind of a plateau and all her fears, panic, and dread simply . . . well, not vanished because she could still feel all those emotions. They just took a back seat. Something else was driving this bus now. "Do whatever you want to me, but I'm not going back to pretending so you can fuel all your delusions and ego."