Katie cupped a hand over her mouth to
stifle the sob that threatened to escape. She slowly sat up and let
the pain settle before she wobbled to a standing position. She
looked around for her clothes and found them in a pile next to the
mattress. While slipping on her underclothes, she noticed the dried
blood stains on her legs and mattress. Silent tears spilled down
her cheeks and her chest heaved violently as she held back the sobs
that threatened to give her away. Katie quietly dressed and stood
to sneak out of hell.
Where’s Ally? Did she
leave me here, or is she looking for me? How could she let Garrison
do this? Did he hurt her too?
Katie tried
to remember what happened last night as they arrived at the
apartment. The last thing she remembered was parking, but couldn’t
remember getting out of the car. Looking over each of the men
sleeping, Katie wondered how she could make it through the front
door without waking them. She looked down the hall and knew she
should look for Ally before leaving, but the desperation to escape
was overpowering.
I’ll come back for you,
Ally. I’ll get the police and come back for you.
Each step she took seemed
to last five minutes. Being very careful not to make any noise,
Katie reached the front door and slowly unlocked the deadbolt. She
held her hand over the lock as her fingers slowly turned it to the
left.
Just a little more—I’m almost out,
and then I can run as fast as I can for help.
Katie exhaled slowly as she felt the lock give and put her
right hand over the knob. Slowly, she turned the knob all the way
to the left and pulled the door toward her.
Click-click-click,
she heard the
hinges of the door creak with every move. She decided to just go
for it and make one quick movement before fleeing out the door and
making a run for it.
As she stepped out into the sunlight
and readied her feet for the fastest run ever, she was jerked
backwards by the swift and painful pull of her hair. “Where do you
think you’re going, princess?” The man with the goatee still had
her by the hair as he turned her to face him, flashing the most
evil grin Katie ever witnessed.
Katie couldn’t speak, her eyes were
wide with terror and she felt her legs start to tremble. She wanted
to scream for Ally, but was frozen in fear. Her chance to escape
was fleeting, and desperation took over. “Please, let me go. I
don’t want this.”
Garrison handed her a cup. “Here,
drink this.”
Katie looked at the man she had
trusted for the last four days. He promised to take care of her and
Ally, finding them jobs and take them away from the hell they were
living in. Instead, he took her further into the pit. With all the
hatred she could muster, she looked directly in his eyes, “You’re a
pig from hell!”
Katie braced herself as Garrison
lunged toward her, threatening to hit her, but he stopped short and
laughed.
“
Where’s Ally?” Katie
asked.
“
She’s in the back
bedroom. I’ll take you to her if you’ll stop being such a bitch and
have a drink.”
“
No. Just take me to her,
or I’ll start screaming.”
“
You start screaming and
you’ll find yourself in a really bad situation, princess.” Garrison
stepped close, grabbing Katie’s cheeks between his fingers. “You
think you had it bad back home? You haven’t seen nuthin’. Now, take
this drink, or James will hold you down and I’ll pour it
in.”
Katie glanced at the man with the
goatee, assuming it was James, and took the drink, which turned out
to be orange juice. She let the cool liquid coat her throat and
quench the scorched, dry burning.
“
Good girl,” Garrison said
as he led Katie down the hall toward Ally.
“
Ally!” Katie cried and
wrapped her arms around Ally’s neck. She seemed happy about
something—too happy to know about what happened the night before.
“Ally, are you okay? We need to get out of here. I want to go
home.”
Ally sat up and smiled. She seemed to
be drugged and her speech was slurred. “No, Katie, we’re staying
here. We’ll have to do some things we don’t want to do, but we can
make a lot of money—enough money to put you through medical
school.” She stroked Katie’s hair and smiled before falling back
onto her pillow. “Trust me, Katie, and do what you’re
told.”
Katie couldn’t believe what she had
just heard. How could Ally do this to her? She trusted Ally with
her life, looked up to her as a big sister . . . how could she
betray her like this?
Katie rubbed her temples
and tried to remember any clues from the night before. Did the
apartments have other tenants or was it abandoned? From the inside
it looked like it hadn’t been occupied in years.
Think, Katie
! And then
her mind started to get fuzzy. The squishy feeling that she had
experienced the previous night started to sweep through her limbs
again.
“
You drugged the juice . .
.” She slurred. Katie concentrated all of her fear, anger, and the
confusion over Ally’s treachery into her core and flew into James.
She envisioned smashing his nose with her fists and ripping that
smug goatee right off of his face, and did manage to get one weak
punch into his stomach before Garrison grabbed her from behind,
holding her arms down at her sides. Katie never saw James’s fist
coming at her, she only felt the excruciating pain that brought
dancing white specs to her eyes. Instinctively, she held her hand
over her nose and felt the warm, sticky liquid spilling between her
fingers.
She felt every punch inflicted on her
body as she lay in a small heap on the coarse beige carpet. Each
sob racked her body with agonizing pain. She realized she would
never escape—medical school was not in her future. She was in hell
all over again and would remain there until she had the courage to
take her own life.
She felt someone slide their hands
under her and lift her up, then tossing her onto the mattress where
her nightmare had begun. “Why are you doing this to me?” Katie
cried. Her words slurred along at the same pace as the drugs that
coursed through her veins.
***
Katie was aware of at least five days
passing, but it could have been more. As she lay on the mattress
feigning unconsciousness, she planned her escape and let her mind
fill with an uncontrollable loathing. Three things she knew for
certain. One, she would hate Ally with every fiber of her being
until the day she died. Two, you couldn’t die from being raped
repeatedly . . . no matter how desperately you begged for death.
And three, she would do whatever she needed to do—use anyone she
could—to escape.
A cell phone buzzed behind her and she
strained to listen, remembering to control her breathing to
maintain her ruse.
James answered, “Speak to me.” After a
pause, he said, “Good. I’ll be in touch.”
Katie wasn’t certain, but she assumed
he hung up and dialed someone new. When he spoke again, his tone
was more authoritative. “I need you in Casa Grande, Arizona . . .
yes . . . and don’t screw it up. If the cops . . . you better.” He
slammed his phone shut and opened the door to the refrigerator.
Katie heard the air pressure release from a fresh beer and James’s
throat taking the liquid down in gulps. She remained still and
processed what she had gathered from his one-sided phone
conversation.
James was the man in charge and
Garrison and Chase were his goons. They never collected more than
one girl from the same town for some reason. She supposed that was
the reason Garrison was worried the night they left
Texas.
James finally slipped out of the
apartment, leaving the girls with Chase. Chase Morris seemed to be
the mellower one of the group. Katie hadn’t heard him speak more
than a sentence or two. As soon as she heard the door shut, she
opened her eyes and studied the stocky fellow. His thick greasy
hair sat atop his head, like a mop dipped in mud.
How will I get past him?
Think! I’ve got to get him out of this room, so I can get through
the front door.
“Um, can I take a shower?
I’m feeling really grungy.”
“
I’m not supposed to take
my eyes off of you,” Chase answered flatly. “Sorry, no shower until
they get back.”
“
You don’t have to take
your eyes off of me,” she thought it through before she said it.
“Do you want to come with me?” Katie tried to give a flirtatious
smile, and hoped he couldn’t see her lips quivering. She tried to
hold his gaze, but the awkwardness was too much, so she looked down
at her foot tapping nervously.
Chase grinned widely and stood. “You
don’t have to ask me twice.” He gestured toward the hall,
encouraging her to lead the way.
Katie’s insides were
shaking, like she had guzzled three energy drinks. She feared she
would vomit and mess up her spur of the moment plan.
This has to work. Calm down—focus and don’t screw
it up!
Katie remembered all the
times she and Ally pretended to be famous actresses playing a
difficult part. She swallowed hard, took in a deep breath, and took
on the role of her favorite soap opera character. After turning on
the shower, she laid her hand on Chase’s chest. Knowing that she
needed to gain his trust, she tried to be sexy and slide her hand
around, but instead it mimicked someone rubbing sunscreen over a
T-shirt. He must not have cared as he pulled her in and hungrily
explored her mouth with his tongue. Katie grimaced as she tasted
the mix of beer and tobacco, wondering if he had ever used a
toothbrush. She reminded herself,
I am
Claire De Luna from Sands of Time.
Katie clumsily pulled off his shirt
and began unbuttoning his jeans. In a matter of minutes she had him
undressed and raring to go.
“
I knew you’d come
around.” He grinned, unbuttoning her jeans. “A body like this was
made for sex.”
“
Mmm hmm.” Katie’s smile
was weak and pathetic, as she tried not to cry. Letting her eyes
fall on his arousal, her breath caught as a wave of panic invaded
her chest.
I’ve got to get out of
here!
“Hold that thought.” She pretended
to be breathless with desire. “Make sure the water is hot while I
grab a couple of towels.”
Katie turned to go and waited for
Chase to grab her arm. Her eyebrows creased, waiting for the
impending failure of her plan. She made it out into the hall,
opened and shut a closet door, and yelled out, “Here I come. I hope
you’re ready.” As soon as she got the last word out, she ran to the
door leading out of the apartment, toward any chance of freedom.
She managed to twist the lock on the doorknob and reached for the
bolt lock when she saw Chase running towards her. Deep-frenzied
rage was portrayed on his face—and if he reached her, she was sure
he would kill her.
Katie jerked open the door
and convinced her wobbly legs to move forward. She felt like she
was stuck in a dream and had to command each leg to take a step
forward.
Right leg—go! Left leg—go!
She felt herself being tugged back toward the
door, but jerked herself loose, taking off running as fast as she
could without looking back. She felt sure he wouldn’t chase her
into the street naked, but the past week’s events proved her
rationale was flimsy.
When she couldn’t run any farther,
Katie found refuge at a boarded up gas station. She found a
bathroom attached to the back of the building and was relieved to
find it unlocked. The water was turned off, but at least she was
hidden from the world and could gather her breath along with her
thoughts.
Staring at her reflection
in the mirror, she reminded herself,
I
will survive this. You just wait and see. This is not the end of
me.
Katie held tightly to the rim of the
porcelain sink fighting the black cloud of despair threatening to
take over. She slowly slid to the floor, hugged her knees to her
chest, letting the air-sucking sobs flow out of her until her tear
ducts ran dry and hiccups took over. She was too tired to
contemplate what her next move would be, so she fell asleep on the
dirty floor of the bathroom.
Twenty
Nearby sirens startled
Katie out of her deep sleep. The room had grown dark and it took
her a few minutes to remember where she was. Courage abandoned her
temporarily as she hugged her knees to her chest, seeking comfort.
After her eyes adjusted to the small room, she stood and peered out
into the warm, dark air. Braving the empty parking lot, Katie
wandered into a new neighborhood still under construction. The only
light came from an almost full moon. She looked around at the
cookie-cutter homes absent of life and light, and noticed there
weren’t any cars in the driveways or on the street. She broke into
a home that was almost finished and spent a few hours thinking of
her next move. She was frightened, lonely, and her stomach panged
with hunger while she sat in front of the empty stone fireplace
pretending to warm her hands.
I’ll worry
about what to do next tomorrow. For now, I’m thankful to be alive
and free.
Over the next few days,
Katie found enough food to keep her alive, pocketing half-eaten
packages of peanut butter crackers or a few French fries that had
been tossed in the trash bins, and she only traveled around at
night. Her mind wandered to Ally and the others. She thought about
making an anonymous call to the police, but didn’t know where to go
or who to turn to for help.
What would I
say? “Hey, my sister and I were kidnapped by some guys—well, not
kidnapped really—we ran away from our foster home and agreed to go
with these strangers. But when they raped us, I escaped. Yes, I
left my sister there—she was cool with the whole thing. I wasn’t.
I’d rather live in an abandoned house, while I slowly starve to
death, than go back to that hell.” I have to figure something else
out.
Katie’s mind raced trying to find a
solution.