‘Yes, I’ll try.’
‘Good girl, now put this on and I’m going to pop to the bathroom.’
Casey leant on the sink in the bathroom fighting back her own tears; there was no way she could let Emmie see her like this. She wouldn’t let herself think about what lay ahead. Emmie had told her more about the party and as much as going to this one might be their chance to escape, it could also quite easily be their undoing.
‘Casey, we’re waiting for you.’
Oscar’s voice boomed menacingly and Casey quickly splashed water on her face. Her face still hurt, as did her hand, and as she looked in the mirror, she saw the dark circles under her eyes. Not for the first time, she closed her eyes and said a prayer.
As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Oscar’s men with some drugs paraphernalia in their hands. Oscar saw Casey looking at it and he spoke with a mocking grin on his face to her and Emmie.
‘None for you girls I’m afraid. I want you to be able to feel every moment of your time here.’
The back of the van was as uncomfortable and cold as it’d been the first time round but the difference this time was most of the women now knew what was in store for them. Emmie gripped tightly on to Casey’s good hand; the sense of terror was almost palpable.
‘Oh isn’t this sweet; holding hands like little fucking Bo-Peep.’
Casey cut her eye at Oscar as he leaned over the front seat and tapped her on her knee. During her dark heavy drinking days she’d come across and slept with a lot of men, but she’d never met anyone who’d exuded anywhere near as much evil as Oscar Harding did.
The women sat on the metal floor of the van, huddled up to give each other comfort and warmth, tightly packed together with their heads down in their laps to stop the cold air hitting their faces.
Casey was shivering and she couldn’t stop her whole body trembling however hard she tried; she’d never felt so cold in her life.
‘Get ready ladies.’
Oscar spoke as the van slowed down, running over rough ground, swaying the women from side to side.
‘You okay, Emmie?’ Casey whispered.
Before Emmie could answer, Casey felt a hard swipe to her head and she shrank back in pain as she realised Oscar had hit out at her.
‘Don’t take the piss, Casey. No talking and no fucking stirring the ranks.’
Casey said nothing and waited for the back doors to be opened by the driver. She scrambled out of the van stumbling on the impractical shoes Oscar had given her to wear. Her dress was short and flimsy and the breeze of the night whipped up the bottom of her hem, exposing her thighs to the freezing night’s temperatures.
Casey glanced at the other women standing in similar dresses and as much as they were cold too, Casey could see the distant look in their eyes from being drugged up on heroin.
There was part of Casey which envied their continual drugged-up state, being numb to the horror of the reality around them, but she also knew there was no likelihood of any of them escaping if they were stoned.
The path was dark and the wind howled round the tops of the trees as the rain beat down on the twisted branches. It was pitch black apart from the moon which was beginning to diminish behind the hazy night clouds and only the light from the torch guided them through the woods. Casey shuddered from the bitter air.
It took ten minutes of unbearable cold and wet for the group to arrive at the sprawling estate.
‘Is this the same place you were before, Em?’
‘No, it’s not. I’m scared, Casey.’
‘I know sweetheart, but just do as they say and you’ll be fine. I promise.’
Casey had no idea if Emmie would be fine but empty words were all she had to give her. They walked a bit further to a large gravel drive full of cars and smartly-dressed people milling about, and waited for Oscar to make a call.
A few minutes later a man dressed entirely in black and wearing a white mask came over to them.
‘Glad to see you made it, Oscar.’
‘My word is my honour, especially as you crossed my palm with gold.’
Oscar laughed loudly as Jason Hedley stared at him with hatred behind his mask.
Vaughn parked his car down the long country lane and turned off the lights and engine. It was freezing cold and looking out into the dark black void of the night brought home the enormity of the situation they were in.
‘Are you ready?’
Vaughn shuffled round to face Josh wearing a white mask. The person who’d called with the details had instructed him to be clothed in all black and to wear a half mask which had to be white.
‘Yes, I’m ready as I can be. I’ll call you when I’m in there; and Vaughn, remember what I said. If Emmie and Casey are there we call the police.’
Vaughn nodded, watching Josh as he opened the car door and walked into the dark of the night.
The man led the women down the stone-tiled corridor, Casey and Emmie following behind. It was cold in the house and they could see their breath, but it was far warmer than outside. The corridors were lit with large black candles; ornate rugs decorated one side of the wall and gilt-framed paintings of Cartwright’s countryside hung on the other.
They walked through a large room with furniture covered in dust sheets which led into a small room with a small barred window.
Jason studied the girls and walked up to Emmie, who was shaking from the cold, as well as through fear. He took hold of her golden hair and ran it through his fingers before he stroked her face with his hand. He spoke through his mask to Oscar.
‘Bit of a change of plan. I’ll take these ladies to their rooms, and I want you to stay here.’
Oscar was about to argue but he guessed this was Jason’s way of showing him he was still pissed off for having to pay out of his arse for the girls. If it made him feel better to make him sit in a cold bare pantry room, so be it. He had big enough balls to take it; after all it was him who was laughing all the way to the bank.
‘No problem. I’ll make myself comfortable.’
Oscar gave a tight smirk as Jason led the girls out of the room.
The house gave the impression of being made up of long dark corridors and corners and their footsteps echoed along the stone walls as they walked. Jason stopped at a carved oak door and knocked. It was opened by a person wearing a mask. Emmie screamed then tried to stifle the high-pitched noise escaping from her mouth by clamping her hands over her face.
Casey closed her eyes as Jason handed over the first woman to the group of people waiting in the darkened bedroom clad in their sinister disguises. Ljena’s drugged-out silence gave way to screams of terror as she was forcibly pulled into the room by the perverted men and women waiting to act out their twisted fantasies on her.
Emmie started to cry along with the other women and Casey would’ve been happy to join them in their tears if it wasn’t for the fact her mind was racing with panic. She hadn’t expected the house to be so impenetrable. The windows were small and barred, the stone walls were thick and the doors were heavy and dense. With each passing moment, Casey thought it was less and less likely they would ever be able to escape.
Eventually only Emmie and Casey were left, and Jason led them to a white wooden door. It was opened by a tall man who took one look at Emmie and reached for her, but Jason stopped him.
‘Not her; she’s mine.’
He pushed Casey forward and she turned to Emmie, who had a look of terror on her face that mirrored how Casey was feeling. Emmie reached to hold Casey’s hand and started begging.
‘Please Casey, please, you promised me you wouldn’t leave me. Please don’t leave me, don’t let them take me!’
The words Emmie screamed out were profound; evocative of Casey’s feelings from the past and mixing with the terror of the present. She tried to reassure Emmie but she was unable to speak, traumatised by Emmie’s screams as the door shut behind her.
Josh heard the scream coming from somewhere in the house above the scream of the woman in the room he was standing in. He didn’t want to watch as the man next to him – who’d introduced himself as Pete as if they were at the regatta in Henley – undressed the woman, who was begging them in broken English to stop.
He slipped out of the room and into the candlelit corridor. He’d lost his bearings as he’d come in; they’d been led up so many staircases and round so many corners and through different doors, he didn’t know if he was at the front or the back of the house.
They’d been instructed by the masked guide not to leave their rooms, but it was the only way to try and see if Emmie and Casey were in the house. Besides, he felt sick at what he’d just seen. He couldn’t stand there and watch the woman being violated and do nothing.
Josh walked slowly down the corridor, pushing himself into the shadows, hoping not to be seen. There were several doors leading off the walkway but as he couldn’t hear any noise coming from behind them he decided to keep on going. Part of him hoped to find Casey and Emmie and the other part hoped they weren’t here; he couldn’t bear to see them in such horrific circumstances.
He knew what Oscar looked like, he’d seen the police photos; but he suspected he’d also be wearing a mask to mix in with the sinister perverted clones. Luckily no one knew him, so if Josh did bump into anyone, as far as they were concerned he was just Kelvin Armstrong.
He came to a door with noise coming from behind it and he turned the doorknob and pushed, bracing himself for what was on the other side. He saw a young woman surrounded by a group of people in masks the same as his. Josh could see she was as helpless and as fearful as the woman he’d left with Pete, but she wasn’t Casey and she wasn’t Emmie and he needed to find them. He shut the door quickly, praying he could come back with some help.
There was a set of stairs at the far end of the second corridor leading down to the basement and Josh slowly walked down them, feeling the mouldy air attacking his lungs. The floor was slippery and Josh stepped carefully, putting his hand out to steady himself against the freezing cold wall.
His senses were on heightened alert as he moved further into the darkness.
There was a noise to the left of him and he froze, not wanting to make a sound. Even though it was cold, beads of sweat made their way down his masked forehead and his breathing was staggered as he stood motionless against the wall. He heard the noise again and slowly crept along to the end of the dark corridor, his heart pounding. Josh shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
Slowly, he leaned his head round the corner.
‘Oh my god.’
He saw Emmie, naked, tied against the wall and he ran across to her; he could tell she was going to scream but he pushed his hand hard against her mouth and tore off his mask with the other.
‘Don’t say a word, Emmie; I’m here to help you. My name’s Josh.’
The panic in her eyes told him she didn’t believe him and probably thought it was part of the same sick game.
‘I’m Casey’s husband and a friend of Vaughn’s.’
He spoke quietly and quickly as he fumbled with the leather ties binding her arms and legs to the metal rings on the wall. He finished untying her foot and hurriedly took off his black jacket and put it round her shoulders. She was trembling and seemed rooted to the spot but he needed to get her to move, fast.
‘Emmie, we’ve got to get out of here.’
She didn’t respond and he shook her gently and then held her close to him in a warm embrace.
‘Emmie, is Casey here?’
She nodded and Josh started to guide her towards the stairs of the cellar.
‘I’ll go and find her, do you know the way out?’
‘Going somewhere?’
Josh looked up and saw a man walking down the stairs. He couldn’t see his face but he recognised his voice; it was Jason.
‘Fuck.’
His phone said no signal and Vaughn couldn’t help but think Josh had tried to call. His thoughts were speeding off at all different angles and he wasn’t sure what to do. If he left the car and they came back, what then? If he went to the house, he might easily be spotted. He couldn’t help thinking Josh had been right when he’d said it was a stupid idea to come out here on their own. The fucked-up thing about it was now that he was ready to call the police, he didn’t even have a signal to do it.
Five more minutes. He’d give him five more and if Josh hadn’t come back then, he’d go and look for him. Vaughn didn’t know if it was the absolute darkness which was making him nervous or the fact he didn’t know what was happening, but he felt more anxious than he’d ever been in his life.
The time went by and Vaughn left the keys in the ignition, deciding it was unlikely the car would get nicked; but if Josh did come back with the girls and he needed to get away in a hurry, the car would be waiting for him.
He didn’t have a torch, only his cigarette lighter, and he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going. They’d driven past the gates of the vast driveway leading to the house the party was being held at but he didn’t want to go the front way; he’d be seen by security and stopped straight away.
The brambles caught on his jeans and Vaughn found himself stumbling over the twisted roots of the trees sticking out of the muddy ground. The rain was coming down harder and it was bitter as the wind cut into his face. He pulled out his mobile from his pocket, but it still showed no signal and Vaughn swore out loud as his foot caught in some ivy root, sending him headlong onto the ground.
Oscar was getting restless in the room and tried to call Billy to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep in the car. He sighed when he saw there was no signal on his phone. That was another problem with being in the countryside; you couldn’t ever get a signal when you needed it. Another reason for him to hate poxy fucking rural areas. He stood up and decided to have a look round the house. He didn’t care what Jason had said; if he wanted to leave the room, he would. No one told Oscar Harding what to do, least of all a man who looked like he’d nicked his teeth from the nearest race horse.
Emmie screamed as Jason walked down the stairs and ran behind Josh who pushed her to one side.