A Vulnerable Broken Mind (14 page)

“Apparently Hunt has been questioned and arrested before for kidnapping and rape. However, there has never been enough evidence to hold him and Hunt has used his financial power to cover up any possible wrongdoing. He also used that power to manipulate a certain police officer.”

John knew who Morrison was talking about. “How did he manage to manipulate Sparks?”

“Sparks was a very green police officer but he also had a reputation for bending the rules,” Morrison explained. “Someone like Sparks was exactly what Hunt needed. Not only would he have a police officer to cover up his tracks but he could also use his power and seniority to turn him into his puppet.

              “I tried to warn Tony not to trust Sparks but he was still too young to understand. He went mad looking for Mary. Then he went missing. I knew how bogus that overseas story was. They forced her to tell that story.”

              “Have you ever found out how he really died?” John asked.

              “No, I never have and I wasn’t about to bother Mary about it. She had been through enough,” Morrison said but John didn’t go any further. He hated hearing the story the first time and didn’t want to repeat it.

              Morrison then made a sudden right turn onto a dirt road. The trees, which were thick, came to a sudden end as the SUV turned onto a gravel road that was surrounded by rocks. John then looked forward to see a big river at the end of the rocks.

              He could see the water but because of the darkness, he could not see anything else besides the rocks in front of him.

              The SUV left the gravel road and then slid onto the sand. The SUV was strong enough to drive right through it. As they got closer to the water, John realized one flaw. “How are we supposed to get the boat into the water from here?” He asked.

              “You see that dashboard in front of you?” Morrison asked and John nodded. “I would grab onto that if I were you.” John put his hands on the dashboard just in time as Morrison turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, sending the SUV into a violent turnaround. Because they were in sand, it felt like the SUV was going to tip over. John could feel the weight of the trailer shifting from the back of the SUV as well.

              However, it was soon over with and the boat was near the water. Morrison looked at John after it was all over. “Does that answer your question?” He then stepped out of the SUV. Once John was over the shock, he stepped out of the SUV as well. The sound of the river filled his ears as soon as he opened the door.

              John looked around but couldn’t see much beyond the water. It was so dark out that he couldn’t even see the trail they had taken to get to this spot. He could only see a few rocks, courtesy of the SUV’s headlights. However, not seeing the entire location didn’t raise his confidence. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

              Morrison then went back into the SUV for a second and pulled out a huge flashlight. He pointed it to the left of the truck and a turned it on. In the distance was a dock of some kind. He then panned the light up to reveal Hunt’s black SUV sitting on top of it. While the dock was a vague  shape, the SUV shone brightly in the light.

              “There’s only one dock on this side of the river and one man owns it,” Morrison explained. “That man is Ralph Hunt.”

              “No one else uses it?” John asked.

              “He doesn’t allow anyone to use it. The rest of us have to take off from where we are right now,” Morrison responded. He walked up to the trailer and hit a button from his side. The trailer began to raise from one side, tipping the boat’s rear to the water. Once it was high enough, Morrison hit another switch and the boat released and slid into the water.

              John couldn’t help but stare at the contraption in amazement. But his amazement didn’t last long, as Morrison walked to his side. “It’s time,” he said. This statement brought John back to reality. “Now, there’s a few things we have to go over to make sure that this goes smoothly.”

              John could only nod his head. His nerves rose, even before Morrison began to go over the details.

              “The house is about a ten minute boat ride from here,” Morrison explained. “When we approach the house, I’ll drop you off and wait in the distance for you to come out.” John nodded at this. “If you at any point want to turn back, let me know.” He walked back to the front of the SUV on the passenger’s side. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out something.

              Morrison walked back up to John, handing him a pistol. “Take this, it’s fully loaded.” John hesitated to take the gun; he had only used a gun once in his life. “Believe me, you’re going to need this,” Morrison said grimly. John slowly took the gun out of Morrison’s hand. “I’m going to be honest with you, you might have to use that. If you do use it, don’t be afraid to kill the person you shoot.”

              John then looked at the gun. He had never killed anybody in his entire life. While he was angry and wanted Amber back, he still hoped the gun would not come into play. He didn’t know if he would have the nerve to actually pull the trigger when the time came to do so.

Morrison put a hand on John’s shoulder. John then looked into his eyes. “Don’t be afraid,” Morrison said. “They are responsible for all of your misery. They deserve to die more deaths than just one.” All John could do was nod once more because he couldn’t find any words to say. “Let’s get on the boat.”

              Both John and Morrison got into the boat. John wasn’t a man that got seasick but he was already feeling sick. He didn’t feel any better as Morrison started the engine to the boat. The boat was small; it had only two seats and was barely wide enough for John and Morrison to fit in. This ride was not going to be comfortable from any perspective.

Chapter 9: The Death He Requested For

“Open your eyes,” a soft and soothing voice said. Amber opened her eyes and was greeted by the little girl. They were standing in a hallway that was brightly lit with blue walls to the left and right. To the left, were three doors. One door was at the very end of the hall.

              The hall was at least thirty feet long and had a red and black rug that ran through the entire length of the hallway.

              After looking around, Amber realized that she was clothed. She looked down to see a red dress and black shoes covering her body. “Where are we?” She asked.

              “We’re in the house that you have been trapped in tonight,” the little girl explained.

              Amber looked around the place. It was way too pleasant to be the hell she had been stuck in for so many hours. She knew the horror that hid behind its walls.

              “Follow me,” The girl said and she walked down the hall and towards the door at the end. When they got there, she opened the door which appeared to lead to a set of stairs. The girl indicated for Amber to go through. Amber walked through the door and down the stairs. A door was open at the bottom. There was no light in the stairwell itself but the light coming from the door helped her see.

              As they went down, a faint whimper could be heard. A woman was crying from the room below. The further they went down, the louder it became. The sound, while not loud, was damaging to Amber’s heart.

              Once she was at the bottom of the stairs, she turned left to walk into the room. The small room sent shivers up her body. She stopped at the doorway and looked in. She knew the room as soon as she laid eyes on it and she hated it. It was the room where those men had trapped her.

              She closed her eyes and almost every bit of pain and misery she had experienced flashed through her brain in that one second. She almost went into tears just thinking about it. Her mental pain from all of it felt equal to her physical pain.

              She felt a little nudge on her back from the little girl. “It’s okay, nothing will happen to you now,” she said softly.

              Amber stepped slowly into the room. When she walked in, she was greeted by more whimpering. She looked to her right towards the sound and stared at a young, slim, brunette woman. Like Amber had been, she was on her knees, blindfolded, chained and completely stripped of clothing. Had it not been for her hair, Amber might have thought it was herself that she was staring at.

              As Amber looked at her, the little girl walked around to stand next to the woman. “This is Mary Stanton,” she explained.

              “Why is she here?” Amber asked trying to keep from crying at the sight.

              “She was here for the same reason you’ve been here,” the girl replied. The girl looked and sounded young but spoke as if she were an adult. “She’s here to be a slave for them. She moved to town with her husband and daughter. Nothing was the same after that. He captured both her and her daughter, Jennifer.”

              “How long has she been here…Carol?” Amber asked, finally remembering the little girl’s name.

              “She was here a total of two months,” Carol replied. “We’re here on her fourth day.” Once she said that, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Both Mary and Amber went stiff and stayed silent. The steps got closer and soon someone entered the room. Amber went wide eyed and white and backed up into the nearest corner as the man wearing the blue-haired clown mask entered the room.

              “Don’t worry,” Carol said immediately. “He can’t see or touch you right now.” This did not eliminate Amber’s fear of him.

              It was at this moment that she realized that he was not alone. Holding him by the right hand was a little girl. With a strong resemblance and long brown hair like Mary; Amber knew that it was Mary’s daughter, Jennifer. She was also blindfolded. She couldn’t have been any older than five.

              Amber had never seen such a horrifying sight in her life. She had to watch as this little girl was brought into the same room where her mother was being raped and tortured. This man didn’t care how far he went.

              “Say hello to mommy, Jennifer,” the man said harshly. Mary began to whimper again. “I told you…” he said, now talking to Mary.”…if you continued to defy me, I would make you cooperate some way and somehow. It wasn’t very hard to find your little girl at her preschool. She’s just as beautiful as you. However, I wonder if she’s more cooperative, though,” he said with a little laugh.

              “NO,” Mary shouted. “You leave her alone, you bastard!”

              “If you want me to leave her alone, then you are going to do what I say,” the man shouted. “Or else, little Jennifer is going to be turned into a woman very early.”

              “NO,” Mary shouted again and Jennifer had her head down and was crying her eyes out.

              “Then do what I say! Do you understand?” The man shouted.

              Mary broke into tears but had no choice but to answer. “Yes,” she responded. “Just leave my daughter alone.”

              “Good girl.” He then reached to grab Mary’s blindfold and pulled it off with force. “Look at me, bitch.” Mary put her head up to look into the eyes of the man in the clown mask. “Now, look at your daughter.”

              Mary turned her head to look at Jennifer. “Jennifer?” she said.

              “Mommy,” Jennifer gasped.

              “Shut up bitch,” the man shouted but not at Mary; he shouted at Jennifer. He then turned to Mary again. “I warn you now, whore, if you disobey me once, I won’t take it out on you. I’ll take it out on her. I suggest you think about that. You better rest up because you’re in for a long night.”

              He then placed the blindfold over the now speechless and distraught Mary. He grabbed Jennifer roughly by the arm and dragged her out of the room. Mary was left to cry and suffer through her tragic decision, alone.

              Suddenly, the scene began to change. They remained in the room but Mary was no longer chained. She looked almost, if not completely dead. She lay motionless on the floor.

              Her body had been ravaged and ripped apart. Gashes were all over her body and on her left shoulder down to her chest was a horrible burn that looked fresh. All of the skin had nearly been burned off on that part of her body.

              Amber felt horrible for Mary. She wanted to kneel down to console her but knew that she couldn’t. “Oh my God, he did all of this to her?” She asked.

              “This is his version of fun,” Carol replied. “Mary did whatever he wanted to protect her daughter. Little did she know that he didn’t live up to his word.”

              Amber looked at Carol in disbelief. “What’s happened to her?”

              Carol then put her head down. She clearly did not want to answer. This alone told Amber the answer and her eyes welled up with tears. “How did she die?” She asked.

              Carol began to cry as well. “She died from a disease that he gave to her,” Amber wanted to throw up. “The entire time that Mary suffered to save her, she was actually dying upstairs and she had no idea that it was happening.”