When Ava woke up she felt as though her head was fit to burst. Pressure and pain were building and bouncing off every inch of her skull. She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was blurred, her eyes stuck together. Her throat felt dry, breathing stale air as she attempted to speak, but only a slight moan escaped her vocal chords.
Her hands reached out; fingers extended as she attempted to feel her surroundings. All she grasped was dirt. She felt cold, confused and alone. As she came to, she felt arms around her. They weren't encircling her to trap her or cause her pain. They were helping her sit up and comforting her. Then, she heard a familiar voice.
"Here, drink this. You'll feel better if you do." He said
"Henry?" She asked, still groggy.
She shot straight up. There was an unmistakable look of terror in her eyes Ava scurried as far from him as she could. Looking like a wounded animal attempting to avoid its greatest predator. Her hands shaking along with the rest of her body. She grabbed her legs and curled into a ball, arms over her head.
He stood up, frightened by the severity of her reaction. His standing only increased her fear as she held onto her knees even tighter. Crouching down to her level, but maintiaing a comfortable distanace, he slowly reached a hand out and approached her with care and caution.
"Hey, hey calm down. I wasn't the one who brought you here. I'm in the same situation as you. I woke just a little while ago. I found a pitcher of water and two glasses over by the door, I thought you might be thirsty when you woke up. I was going to wake you when I got up, but you looked like you needed the rest," he spoke quickly, awkwardly stumbling over his own words.
Still unsure, and trying to comprehend the situation, she remained in a defensive position until she saw the calm and kind look in his eyes. She didn't completely let down her gaurd at the sight, but slowly she began to feel more at ease.
Relaxing a bit more, she touched her head instinctively from the glaring migraine she was experiencing. She winced as she rubbed her temples and her fingers grazed over a large gash. She removed her hand and examined the blood on her fingertips. It was mingled with dirt from the floor and the sweat from her brow.
"Careful, that looks painful. I was going to clean it off, but you were out cold from whatever the hell was used to keep us unconscious. The drug should be out of our systems soon, but you'll probably remain groggy for a while. At least that's how I felt. Anyway, I didn't want to... touch your wound until you woke up. But, I checked in on you a couple times to make sure you were alive . If you want me to clean the cut, I can do it now."
She obliged and moved closer. He took off his dark blue hoodie and ripped a piece of the worn down fabric. Dousing it in the water, he gently dabbed at the wound until the dried blood was gone and no dirt was visible. He then wiped at the fresh blood until, he was confident the bleeding would stop. She winced at the stinging that occurred every time the cloth came into contact.
"Where are we?" She asked, shakily.
Her eyes examined the room. Grey cinder-block walls with reddish brown dirt in every crevice. The floor was composed of the same dirt, but dry and dust-like. There was no furniture, nothing on the walls. In the top right corner was a small barred window, the only source of light at the moment. There was a bare light bulb hanging off of the ceiling, but it remained off; no light switch in sight.
"I don't know. It looks like an old cellar. From the smell of fertilizer I'd say maybe it's on or near a farm." He said, still paying attention to her injury.
"The closest farm to my house is nearly fifteen miles away, and this isn't it. It's darker here, colder." She said.
"Looks like you might need stitches, not that there are any here." He said.
"We need to get out of here. We have to go. My mom, my mom will be so worried and she doesn't have anyone, she...We need to go...." She said rapidly, as she felt as though every wall was moving towards her rapidly. All at once she lost her ability to breathe.
"Ava, there is no getting out of here. I've tried everything." His comment replaced her fear with anger. She didn't like being told no.
"Well we need to try again, we can't just sit here." She said determined, but Henry could see the tears forming and her breath increasing. Â She got up and started banging on the large metal door.
"Hey! Let us out!" She shouted, banging her already bruised hands with immense force until they went numb. Feeling rapidly returned when her hand stuck an open nail in the door frame and punctured her skin. She barely winced and continued with her efforts. What started as slow drops, soon became a steady flow of blood reaching down to her forearm.
Henry grabbed both wrists and shook her to get her attention, showing complete indifference to the fact that his hands were now coated in her blood as well.
"Ava, Ava stop. Snap out of it. You're only hurting yourself. I don't think anyone is here. I heard a truck start and leave a little while ago. There is no breaking down that door either, it's damn solid. And breaking your hands isn't going to help." He released her hands after wiping the blood off.
"If they're gone then this is when we have to try and get out. Quickly, before he comes back." She said frantically.She ran over to where the window was but was too short to reach.
"Here give me a boost." She demanded
"It's not going to...."
"Give me a boost. This could be our only shot, are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there?" He shrugged and walked over.
Getting down on all fours, he allowed her to step on his back. When both hands could reach the bars, she tried everything. She pulled, she pushed, she banged, but nothing would loosen the bars over the windows. Feeling defeated she plopped down on the dirt ground and allowed for a few tears to release.
"How are you so calm?" She asked simply.
"When I first woke up I was freaking out too, but I've tried everything. And crying isn't going to solve the situation. We need to remain calm."
"We need to make a plan. There are two of us, and so far I've only seen one of them. If we both fight, and fight like hell we can get out of here." She said courageously.
"He came in here to check on us before he left. I tried that, it didn't exactly work out in my favor." He lifted his shirt to reveal a bruise that expanded over his rib cage. The border was an angry red while towards the middle, black, blue and purple met and swirled along his pale skin.
"Then what do you suggest." She asked impatiently.
"I suggest we don't do anything stupid. Right now whoever the hell has us is pretty keen on keeping us alive, but that could change. We need to be smart about this. Keep our mouths shut and our eyes open. When there's an opportunity, we'll take it, but we'll most likely only get one shot. We have to make it count." As he finished speaking, Ava nodded.
She knew that he was right. There was a silence. Neither knew how to fill it, but then Henry started to speak again.
"Maybe he's getting his ransom demands out, to your family or to my...." He started.
But she shook her head and interrupted.
"My mom doesn't have any money. Even if there are ransom demands she wouldn't be able to meet them."
"Then maybe someone has noticed we've gone. The police could be working on finding us." He said
"Maybe" She said bleakly, knowing that probably wasn't the case.
"Come on, why don't you drink some water and rest a little." She nodded and took the glass, drinking all the contents quickly as if she hadn't had water in years.
"Why are you being so nice? I never see you hanging around other people or going to parties or games. You avoid people like they're the plague. You always made it seem like you hate everyone." She said with a slight smile.
"I do hate everyone, but you've never given me a reason to hate you. You're different," The two shared a glance, only for a moment she could see a light in his eyes.
With the excitement of the past few hours and the residual effects of the drugs they had both been given, sleep came quick and mercifully.
When Henry woke up, it was pitch black. His pupils were large and searching the room to no avail. A few hours must've passed. He realized quickly that he did not wake up of his own volition. He was pulled from the blissful rest by a scraping noise accompanied by light tapping and heavy breathing. Every few seconds a profanity would be muttered out of frustration, but he couldn't tell from which direction it originated. He looked around, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness. Barely visible, he saw a form crouched on their knees in front of the door.
"Ava?" He called out.
"Shhhh." She replied.
"Ava what are you....." He stopped talking when he heard a loud clicking noise and saw a small amount of light filter in through the now opened door.
Ava started laughing as to thank God for the apparent miracle that had just occurred. Henry chuckled quietly and asked:
"Ava how did you do that?"She lifted up her hand to show him.
"Hair pin. I've been trying for the past three hours. I didn't think it'd actually work." She laughed
"Let's go. Before they find out I got the door open." Henry nodded and got up quickly.
The two opened the large, heavy door all the way and were faced with a dark, dimly lit, wooden staircase. They slowly walked up it, as not to alert anyone of their presence. Once at the top of the stairs, Ava looked into the hall and saw it. The front door. The way out. Tantalizingly close, but still a long hallway needed to be crossed.
"Come on!" She whispered.
She was acknowledged by Henry with a nod. They sneakily made their way to the door. Once outside, Ava realized she was indeed on a farm. She stood on an old wooden porch, warped in many spots. She did not recognize her surroundings, all she could see was the farm. There were no neighbors, only a large field of corn. Then she looked directly to her left to see the old red pickup truck.
"Over there!" She pointed to the truck.
Running blindly in the dark she thankfully made her way to the truck but couldn't open the door.
"Henry, it's locked. We'll have to break the window and try to hot wire...." She turned around to face him, but no one was there.
"Henry?....Henry?" She called out, trying not to be too loud. She started to panic.
She whipped her head around at the slightest noise. Unsure where Henry was and if he had left voluntarily or if he had been caught. She turned around to the truck and attempted to locate the lock on its door. She took her hair pin out again and frantically attempted to pick the lock. She felt as though she almost had it, but then a branch broke and she jumped, dropping the pin on the ground.
Unable to see much of anything in the pitch dark, she knelt down and felt on the ground for the pin. She then heard footsteps. Someone began whistling an unfamiliar tune, as if to tease her. She stood up slowly, already knowing what was about to happen. Facing the truck, she cried.
"Please. Please just let us go." She pleaded.
She heard a spine chilling chuckle directly behind her, and then he spoke.
"No."
With that she decided she had nothing left to lose.
She bolted as quick as she could, into the field. Corn stalks enveloped her as she ran, swatting them frantically out of her face. He was getting closer, she knew it. The darkness helped cover her, but it also made it more difficult to find her way. As she was running, and her foot caught on a large divot in the ground.
"Ah." She yelled as she twisted her ankle.
She could already feel her ankle swelling and burning with each step. Now slowed by her injury, she limped aimlessly as fast as she was able. Her adrenaline was enough to distract her from the full extent of the pain. Finally she found it; the road. No cars were on it, it looked almost abandoned. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she fell to her knees.
"No" She cried as she lost what little hope she had left. Suddenly lights appeared and were getting closer to her as she stood. It was a car. She sighed with relief and started to wave her arms.
"Hey! Over here!" She yelled.
The car was getting closer. She tried to get it's attention again.
"Hey! Please help me! Over he....." Suddenly a strong hand covered her mouth.
She released a muffled scream and drove her elbow into his ribs as hard as she possibly could. He screamed and his grip lessened enough for her to be able to break it. She started to run again. She made it out into the road, only to see that the car had passed. It's lights were dimming with growing distance.
"Wait! Please don't leave! Help!" She fell to her knees and sobbed. Henry's words replayed in her head. One chance, and she messed it up. With a loud bang her world went dark. She felt pain, and then nothing.
When she woke again she felt dizzy, like she could feel the full force of earth's rotation. As she came to she called out.
"Henry?"There was no response. She opened her eyes and felt the cold metal of the chair she was sitting in.
Her own arms were tied to those of the chair. Her legs were tied just the same. She was hardly able to move. She looked around, now once again surrounded by the cold, grey cinder-block walls; right where she started, but this time tied up and alone. Out of nowwhere heard someone coming down the steps. The door creaked as it opened, and revealed the man. Still he wore his mask, and still she was unable to distinguish much of his features. He was tall and thin. His dark clothing seemed to wear him rather than the other way around. He walked gingerly, but with purpose. She could tell he was injured, but she hadn't remembered doing too much damage to him.
The man never looked her in the eyes, almost as if he were ashamed.
"Where is Henry?" She asked.
"I've separated you two...for now. Someone has to pay for your foolishness." His voice was deep, it almost didn't sound real.
"He had nothing to do with it. He only followed me, if anyone deserves to be punished it's me." She exclaimed.
"While I agree with you, I feel that hurting you will not fully get my message across."
"Please, don't hurt him. He didn't do anything!" She begged.
He didn't reply. He simply walked out the door and up the stairs, closing it and locking it soundly. She closed her eyes as a few tears managed to escape.
Suddenly she heard. It was Henry. His gut wrenching screams echoing restlessly off of every surface.
"Stop it! Please! Just stop it!" She yelled out, but it was futile.
She tightened her eyes closed and wished for the screaming to stop, but it wouldn't. His agonized pleads continued and made her feel sick to her stomach. Had she eaten anything in the last day or two she would have vomited it up immediately, but thankfully, her stomach was empty. She winced at the thought of what he was doing to Henry, and wished she could take his place in that moment.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She whispered through her sobs.
His cries would be ingrained in her memory, haunting her long after this was over. Time felt as though it had ceased, the world's rotation had come to a halt, this 'punishment' seemed endless. Suddenly the screaming stopped, and for a moment she cried even more, believing that perhaps his body could no longer take the torture and simply gave up. She sobbed until her eyes could no longer remain open, and she drifted back to sleep. Back to where she could pretend this was all just the nightmare of a young girl.