Bedrock
Authors: Britney King
Bedrock
Britney King
Bedrock
Britney King
Amazon Edition
Copyright © 2013 By Britney King
Cover Image by LEGSTORE
Cover Design by Pixel Pixie Design
Formatting and Copy Editing by Theresa Wegand
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This e-book is licensed for your
personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other
people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please
purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and
did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please
purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
To Nannie
with Love.
Sometimes you have to look back in order to move
forward. Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where that is the
only
thing
you can do, which is exactly what Addison Greyer knew had to be done when she
awoke in a hazy fog with something warm and wet trickling down her head. She
was disoriented and weak.
Where was she?
Before her brain could grasp the answer, she felt herself slip
back into sleep. She willed herself to wake up, to open her eyes, but it was of
no use. She went in and out several times before finally awaking to what
sounded like the clanking of chains.
What were those crazy boys doing now?
And why was she asleep?
Her head hurt, badly. There was that sound again.
Ok, wake up,
damn it.
Finally, her eyes opened, though just barely. She saw a blurry
figure standing a few feet in front of her but was still too disoriented to
determine whom it was. The metallic smell of blood overwhelmed her. She could
taste it.
Was she dreaming? Was she dead?
She felt the cold of the
concrete below her. Her head felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds, but
she forced herself to lift it. She wiggled her toes. She wasn’t dead. Again, she
heard the clanking of the chains, which made her head throb worse, and then a
male voice. “Wake up,” it demanded.
Who was he?
Addie thought, before she felt herself start
slipping again. Suddenly she was jolted awake by something slashing her skin.
That did it. She opened her eyes just as the leather whip slashed again.
“Wake up, we have to talk.” The voice commanded.
Oh my God. How did I get here?
Addie woke up to her very own version of hell. Looking around the
room, she saw that it resembled a dungeon, the kind you might see on TV. The
only lighting was a bulb hanging in the far corner of the room. It was cold,
dark, and damp. There was a chain around her neck and shackles on both her
hands and feet, and she was naked. Scared and alone, she had no idea where she
was or knowledge of how she had gotten there. Addie stared at the man with her
big blue eyes, vaguely recognizing him, though she couldn’t put a name to the
face. Her head was still too foggy.
Where were her boys? Shit! Fuck. Where
were her kids?
She started to sob.
The whip struck her again. She didn’t care. She couldn’t make the
sobs quit coming. Struck again and again, she tried to make herself as small as
possible. As she crawled into a ball, she felt a tugging on the chain around
her neck. She was choking. She couldn’t breathe. She was going to pass out and
was powerless to stop it.
The deep voice spoke again. “Look, bitch, we can do this the easy
way or the hard way. It’s your choice. I actually prefer the hard way, so keep
it up, if you like. Next, come the shocks.”
I’m going to die. Oh God. No, not like this, please. Please, not
like this. Ok. Ok, think. Think. Just do what he says. But what does he want?
It took her everything she had to try and pull herself up to a sitting
position. Doing the best she could, she propped herself up against the back
wall of the cage. She needed to put as much distance as she could between them.
Look him in the eye.
She wasn’t sure where that thought came from.
Perhaps it was some sort of unspoken rule, her survival instincts kicking in.
“Good girl. Goooood girl.” He slurred.
The man sat in a chair opposite the cage and stared at her. Addie
didn’t say anything. She just stared back, refusing to take her eyes from his,
her mind running a thousand miles a minute. The two of them stayed there that
way for what seemed like forever. It could have been minutes or hours, Addie
wasn’t sure. Finally, he got up from the chair and ascended what sounded like
stairs that were just beyond her line of sight.
He was gone
.
But when was he coming back?
She felt
herself slipping back into the fog, and she didn’t fight it. She was so tired,
so weak, and she was bleeding. The fog seemed like the only respite she had. It
beckoned her. And since he was gone now, she welcomed it.
Addie dreamed she was sitting on the swing watching the
boys play with Max. They would run, and he would chase after them. They were
laughing, and she could feel the warm sunshine across her face. She felt the
breeze blow across her skin. Suddenly, she heard the sound of opera. Why in the
world did the sounds of the opera fill her backyard? Suddenly Addie felt her
arms and her legs being pulled in opposite directions. Hard. She opened her
eyes. She could see that she was being stretched out from opposite ends. It
hurt although for some reason the pain was dull—below the surface as though she
were barely feeling it. She felt the sting of the whip across her belly followed
shortly by the warm blood dripping from where the leather met her skin. That
hurt. Ok, she felt that. But why? Addie thought. Why is he doing this? Why me?
“Didn’t I tell you to wake up?” he said. “You disobeyed me. Are
you ever going to learn your lesson?”
Addie stared blankly. She did not take her eyes from his.
“You aren’t allowed to sleep.” The man said.
“If I find you sleeping again, the punishment is going to be
worse than a whipping. Do you understand?”
Addie said nothing. She saw his hand that contained the whip
rise. She shut her eyes just before it struck her across her thighs. It was the
sound of the leather hitting her skin that made Addie jolt, made her stomach
want to empty its contents. She opened her eyes, continuing to stare in to his.
They were brown, so brown it was hard to distinguish whether there was any
color at all. They were vacant. Dark, empty. Almost inhuman.
The man was tallish, about 6’2”, if she had to guess, with light
brown hair that was thinning. Slightly overweight, he wore dark jeans and a
sweater and looked to be in his late 30s or early 40s. His features were sharp,
prominent. There was scarring on his face.
“Now, Mrs. Greyer, when I speak to you, you respond.”
Ok, so he knew who she was. This was not some sort of mistake.
But she was gagged. How could she respond?
Addie nodded.
“That a girl. I always knew you were a quick learner.”
Ok, so he knew her, but how?
Think.
She studied her surroundings. The room was dark, damp,
and cold, and the walls were made of stone. The smell alone overwhelmed her
senses. It was pungent, with a variety of aroma. A mixture of urine and alcohol
stood out most.
Likely a basement. Maybe an old warehouse.
Suspended in the air, naked, tired, and weak, all she could think
about was closing her eyes and pretending she were somewhere else. Anything to
escape this hell, where she was bound and gagged, suspended in the air, and locked
in a cage. Yet, she never took her eyes off his, knowing better. She watched
him as he toyed with his whips and spikes, his tools of the trade. This was a
form of intimidation, Addie knew.
But how? How did she know this?
“I know you’re probably thirsty. Hungry. But since you haven’t
learned to follow the rules, you get nothing.”
Addie nodded.
After maybe an hour or so of tinkering, he turned and walked up
the dark stairs. It may have been an hour or mere minutes. Addie couldn’t be
sure. She had no concept of time. She had no idea what day it was or whether it
was day or night. Worse yet, she wasn’t sure how long she had even been here.
It was with this thought that the tears came again. Addie didn’t sob this time.
She was much too weak. Instead, silent tears ran down her checks, falling on to
her bare breasts. She tried her best to fight off sleep. When she caught
herself dozing off, she recalled a memory of her boys and replayed it over and
over in her mind in order to keep herself alert. Addie knew she had to get
through this, knew that she needed to stay alert if she wanted to get out
alive. She had to get out alive. There was no other option. Her family needed
her. Her children needed her.
Throughout the time that the man was away, Addie dozed on and
off. When she allowed herself to close her eyes, she made sure her sleep was
light, just as in the early days when her boys were first born and she felt
that she had to stay awake to check on them, to make sure they were still
breathing.
After what felt like hours, she heard the door creak. Her heart
raced as she listened to his footsteps on the stairs. Her stomach churned,
unsure of what to expect. When the man saw that she was awake, he chuckled. Though
Addie still couldn’t put a name to his face, this time he looked more familiar.
As he walked towards her, she noticed a glass in his hand, yet she didn’t take
her eyes from his. The closer he got, the more Addie squirmed. She didn’t want
to have this reaction, but it was somehow innate. Her body was deceiving her,
as her brain screamed at her to be still and remain calm.
He walked over to her and held a straw to her lips. “There.
There. Easy does it.” Trailing his cold hand down her cheek, he whispered, “I’m
going to remove this gag. Don’t bother screaming. No one will hear you.” Addie
tensed. “If we don’t get some water in you, I’ll have gone to all this trouble
for nothing.” He ripped off the duct tape. “Now, be a good girl and take a
drink.”
She did as he said, looking him in the eye. She took a sip and
kept drinking, realizing just how dry her throat was. Choking, she sucked the
water down. “Ok, I think that’s enough,” he said, replacing her gag.
He took a step back and walked around her. “You look so
beautiful. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen anything more beautiful in my
life.” Eventually, he shut the door to the cage and sat in a metal folding
chair just outside it. He unbuckled his belt and removed it, placing it at his
feet. Her pulse quickened as Addie continued to meet his gaze. As he undid his
pants, Addie noticed he was erect. “It’s my turn to give you a show,” he said
as he began stroking himself. It took everything she had not to look away.
Swallowing hard, she willed herself not to be sick. It seemed to go on forever
as the man stared a hole through her with his dark, empty eyes.
When he was finally finished, he stood, picked up his belt, and
unlocked the door to the cage. The hairs on the back of her neck stood as he
walked around her. He circled slowly a few times and then finally paused behind
her. She heard him raise the belt as she prepared for the blow she knew was
coming. The belt struck across her rear, forcing all the air from her lungs.
She gasped. He struck her once, twice, three times until she lost count, each
blow worse than the last. Addie hung her head. She couldn’t help herself.
“You’re a bad girl, watching me like that. You should be ashamed,”
he said, exiting the cage, placing the lock back on the door.
After dressing, he walked towards the dark corner. Addie flinched
when she heard the cranking sound. She stiffened as she felt herself lower.
Slowly she was descending towards the cold concrete beneath her. She sighed at
how good it felt against her wounded backside. The man turned and walked up the
dark stairs without looking back.
As Addie lay there on the cold, hard pavement, wounded and
bleeding, she began to think back, trying to recall the events of her life and
how she could have possibly ended up here. She began drifting, unaware of
whether she was dreaming or awake. It all seemed the same as the images came; a
movie of her life began playing before her. It was so colorful, so vibrant, that
she wondered if she was dying.
Isn’t that what everyone said happened before
death?
Yet, she watched, mesmerized, hoping it was answers that were coming
and not death, as she feared.