Author's Note: If you like this story, you have MonkeeMidgie to thank for pushing me to write this. I've been thinking about it for a while, but wasn't sure I wanted to do 4 stories at once. You'll have to bear with me; I'll post as often as I can, but yes, I have 4 stories going at once...anyway, rated M for violence, language, and adult themes.
Chapter 1: A Terrifying Encounter
Mike finished loading up the bright red Monkeemobile with half a dozen boxes. The whole block had decided to go through their stuff and box up whatever they weren't using as far as clothes or toys so they could be donated to a nearby church. The boys didn't have much they could give away, but they boxed up what they could and had even gotten people to donate while performing at the train station. Mike and Micky had volunteered the night before to drive the boxes over to the church once everything was gathered up.
"You ready, Mike?" Micky asked hopping in the passenger seat.
"Let's go," Mike answered with a smile. The two waved at their neighbors as well as Peter and Davy before taking off towards the church. It took nearly an hour to get to the church and when they pulled up, the pastor was already outside waiting for them. Mike and Micky carried the boxes inside the church and waited for a moment to make sure the pastor had everything under control. When they made to leave, Mike noticed Micky staring at a building behind the church.
"You ok?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, just...that building gives me the creeps," Micky answered.
"That's a hospital," the pastor said. "It gives most people that feeling. We do a lot of work over there."
"Why does a hospital give people a creepy feeling?" Mike asked feeling a slight shudder himself.
"It's a psychiatric hospital," the pastor answered. "The patients there are very sick. Most are there for the rest of their lives. There's a wing for the criminally insane, even. But most people aren't creeped out by the hospital unless they know what it is though. It's interesting you would be before learning of it."
"Yeah, well, let's just go home," Micky said shuddering again a little. Mike nodded and turned his back to the creepy building in the background of the church. Once he got behind the driver's seat the pastor waved goodbye at them.
"Thank you boys for the donations!" he smiled. "It will really help a lot of people."
"No problem," Mike smiled as they drove away. "It's our pleasure!" Mike watched in the rearview mirror as the pastor made sure they made it out of the driveway before turning back toward the church. Mike looked over and noticed that Micky was still staring at the hospital. Micky shivered again and pulled his jacket closer to him.
"Stop looking at it if it freaks you out that much," Mike chuckled a little.
"Can't help it," Micky mumbled. "There's something off about that place."
"It's a mental hospital, Micky," Mike said pulling up to a stop sign in a four way intersection. "The pastor even said they house the criminally insane. People who murder other people and try and say they did it because their mommies and daddies hit them."
"I see where you stand on that subject," Micky chuckled.
"What, criminally insane people?" Mike asked. "Well, yeah. I mean, sure some of them probably have a few screws loose and need help, but I'm sorry, a lot of people come from broken and messed up homes and don't go out and kill other people. It's a load of crock. Just another way for people to avoid taking responsibility for their actions."
"Very eloquent," Micky laughed. "Are you going to sit here all night?"
"Oh, right," Mike answered not realizing he was still sitting at the stop sign. Mike moved his foot to the accelerator and started to move the car forward through the stop sign.
"Wait, stop!" Micky exclaimed suddenly reaching out to grab his arm.
"What?" Mike asked putting his foot back on the brake.
"Didn't you hear that?" Micky asked.
"Hear what?" Mike asked. Then he heard it; the sound of a woman crying in the distance.
"That," Micky said getting out of the car.
"Micky, wait," Mike said throwing the car in park and following him. On one side of the road was a clearing but on the other, the side Micky entered, was the start of an orange grove. Mike followed Micky carefully through the trees as they listened for the woman. Mike heard it again and as much as he wanted to get back to the car, he couldn't ignore a woman in need of help so he pulled Micky's arm toward the sound. The sound of the woman crying grew louder ever so slowly as they grew nearer to her. Finally after a few minutes, Mike could barely make out the shape of a woman leaning against a tree and crying. She had her back to them so didn't see them approach, but when she heard the snap of a twig Mike stepped on, she turned. Her eyes grew wide with fear and she tried to scramble away. Instead, she collapsed on the ground only inches from where she'd been sitting.
Micky let out a startled gasp as he rushed toward her ripping his jacket off. Mike stood frozen for a second unable to really believe what he was seeing. The woman looked young, around 20 or so, with long blonde hair that was dirty and disheveled. And she was naked and covered in little cuts that looked fresh. Micky sank to his knees and threw his jacket over the woman, though she tried to squirm away even more. She seemed incredibly terrified and as weak as she seemed wanted desperately to get away from them.
"It's ok," Micky said softly. "We're not going to hurt you. You're ok now." The woman looked at Micky and seemed to relax a little bit, but Mike wasn't sure if it was because she looked so weak or because she somehow suddenly felt like she could trust him.
"They're after me," she whispered. "They'll find me!"
"Who?" Mike asked kneeling next to them. She jerked back a little, but Micky placed both hands firmly on her shoulders.
"It's ok," Micky repeated. "We aren't going to let anyone hurt you. You're ok."
"We can take you back to our car and get you someplace safe," Mike said. She looked at Mike for a little while, then seemed to relax a little again.
"I twisted my ankle," she said. Her voice even sounded weak. "I ran as fast as I could and tripped."
"It's ok," Micky said. "I can carry you."
"What's your name?" Mike asked as Micky reached under her to lift her off the ground. She looked emaciated so it wasn't that hard for Micky; Mike guessed she was maybe 50 or 60 pounds.
"Sarah," she answered softly wrapping her arms around Micky's neck. Mike shifted the jacket a little so it continued to cover her and keep her warm.
"Hi, Sarah," Mike said. "I'm Mike and this is Micky. Our car is just right up the road. We can take you to a hospital and get you help."
"No!" she exclaimed so forcefully and suddenly that it startled Mike. Her face was blanketed in a mask of pure terror and she squirmed to try to get out of Micky's grip again, but he just held her tighter. "No hospitals! No! They'll find me!"
"Sarah, you're hurt bad," Mike tried reasoning with her. "You need help. They're not going to find you. You'll be safe in a hospital."
"No!" she exclaimed again and tried to fight harder.
"Ok!" Micky said roughly. "Ok, we get it. No hospital. We'll take you home."
"No hospital," she repeated calming down a little. She wasn't fighting Micky, but she still looked terrified.
"No hospitals," Micky said softly.
"Micky," Mike started to argue; the woman looked incredibly sick.
"No hospitals," Micky said again but more firmly. "I promise." Mike sighed and followed Micky back to the car. When they came near the road, Mike held out his hand to stop Micky for a moment so he could look at the road to make sure there was no one watching them. If people really were looking for her, he didn't want them to see Mike and Micky carrying her to their car. When he was satisfied that no one else was on the road, he waved them out to the car. Micky quickly crossed the road to their car and climbed into the backseat with her. Mike started the car and pulled out of the intersection. As much as he wanted to take this woman to a hospital, he drove the car towards their beach house checking the rearview mirror periodically.
Mike's heart was pounding the whole drive home. The woman had clearly been tortured and had made an escape and if it hadn't been for them finding her, who knew if she'd have been found by someone else. She could very well have died out in the darkness or been found by the people who had hurt her; the people she was so afraid were going to find her. Sometime on the ride home, Sarah had buried her face against Micky's shoulder with her arms still tightly clinging to his neck. Mike wasn't sure if she had passed out or not, but he couldn't hear her crying anymore. When they finally got home, Mike jumped out to open the car and front doors for Micky so he could more easily carry her inside. Peter and Davy were sitting at the table playing a game of checkers, but when they saw Micky and Mike walk in with this woman, they jumped up from the table in shock.
"Bedroom door," Micky said nodding toward the bedroom on the bottom floor that was currently shared by Davy and Peter.
"What happened!?" Davy exclaimed as Mike ran to open the door for them.
"I'm taking over your room for the night," Micky said. "Hope you don't mind."
"No," Peter said adamantly. "What happened though? Who is that?"
"We found her near the church," Mike explained.
"Why not take her to a hosp-" Davy started. Mike quickly slapped a hand over Davy's mouth before he could finish the word; he didn't want Sarah to flip out again in case she was still conscious.
"Don't say that," Mike said as they followed Micky into the room. "She doesn't want to go there. She's afraid the people who hurt her will find her there."
"What happened to her?" Peter asked looking as though he were about ready to cry for the woman. Mike had a thought as to what had happened to the woman, but didn't want to share it with Peter and Davy. They didn't need to know that evil like that really existed in the world.
"I don't know," Mike lied as Micky carefully set her on the bed nearest the door. Sarah started getting upset again and clung to Micky tighter.
"Ok, I'm not going anywhere, but you have to let go of me so I can put you on the bed," Micky said softly. "I'll stay right here as long as you want me to, but you have to let go. You're in my house. You're safe."
"Don't leave," Sarah whispered weakly.
"I won't," Micky said as she finally let go of him allowing him to set her down softly on the bed.
"Davy, can you get some soup or something warmed up for her?" Mike instructed. "Peter, go get a glass of water and the first aid kit." Davy and Peter nodded before turning to leave as Micky started covering her up with the sheet on the bed. Mike took Micky's coat off her as soon as Micky had her sufficiently covered and set it on the floor; it had several blood spots all over it.
"Micky, she's bleeding bad," Mike said softly trying not to alarm her.
"I know," Micky answered. Peter rushed back into the room with the water and a box of first aid supplies they usually kept under the bathroom sink. They usually got into trouble themselves or were otherwise accident prone, so Mike had taken the liberty to make sure they were always stocked on bandages and other needs in case one of them hurt themselves. Davy followed behind with a large bowl full of water and a handful of of towels and washcloths.
"I figured you could use these to help clean her up," Davy said setting the bowl of water carefully on the nightstand and handing the towels to Mike.
"Thanks, Davy," Mike said. Sarah seemed to notice Davy and Peter for the first time and squirmed away towards Micky and started crying again.
"Calm down, Sarah," Micky said softly. "It's ok; these are my friends Davy and Peter. They're going to help you, too. I promise you as long as I'm here, no one will hurt you again. You're safe with me. Just relax. You can trust me." Sarah looked between Micky then Davy and Peter quickly before relaxing yet again.
"I...uh...I brought you some water," Peter said tentatively holding the glass out to her. Mike knew how weak Sarah must have been, so he took the glass of water from Peter and carefully brought it to Sarah's lips.
"Drink slowly," Mike said as he helped lift her head a little toward the glass. She seemed to want to gulp the water down, but lacked the energy; which was fine as far as Mike was concerned. She was more than likely extremely dehydrated and he knew from being raised in the deserts of Texas that when you got dehydrated, it would shock your system to drink too much water at once.
"Sarah, is it ok if I take a look at your wounds?" Micky asked. Sarah nodded and rested her head back down on the pillow. Mike carefully moved to pull the sheet down just enough to see some of the cuts on her shoulders, but she immediately flinched away.
"Mike, why don't you take Davy and Peter out to check on her soup?" Micky said. Though it was phrased like a question, Mike knew it wasn't. For a moment he thought about insisting he stay and help, but he knew after what she'd been through having that many males around her would be too overwhelming for her. And for some reason he didn't understand, she seemed to trust Micky with everything she had left. He wasn't going to question that too much, however since he knew how hard it was for someone to trust someone else after being kidnapped and tortured. So instead he just nodded and stood up.
"Is there anyone we can call for you, Sarah?" Mike asked before he left.
"No," Sarah answered. "I don't have anyone."
