Helpless
(Chapter One: Terror In The Night)
Olivia was sound asleep as she felt a cold hand clamp tightly around her mouth. She attempted to scream as she kicked and fought the attacker in the darkness, but her fear wouldn't allow anymore than a muffled whimper to escape her lips. His other arm closed tight against her waist holding down her arms as he dragged her from the chair she had fallen asleep in earlier in the evening. She felt the power of the strangers arms as he dragged her into the closet closing the door behind them as he burrowed his way behind long winter coats and hanging clothes. By now she wasn't even trying to scream anymore, only listening to the sounds that filled the lower level of the house. A scream and crying, then a loud thud. She felt the warm tears as they rolled down her cheeks.
"Liv," she heard Elliot's voice whisper in the darkness. "It's just me." He loosened his hand from over her mouth as he felt the wetness of her tears between his fingers.
"Elliot," she whispered turning her head to look at him in the dark, "what's going on?"
"I heard a noise and went to check it out. There are men in the house. I got downstairs and saw them walking around trashing the place. There was blood everywhere. Kate's mother was dead, they cut her up. Her father was beaten and covered in blood. I watched them shoot Max. And Kate…. Olivia, I think Kate's dead. I was too late to help them. I didn't bring my gun and my phone is in the car. I came back here to try and get to you before they did. We have to get out of here."
Olivia curled her knees to her chest and trembled in fear. She could feel the tears flooding her eyes once more. They were unarmed and trapped here in the closet, while her friends laid dead or dying downstairs. Kate was Olivia's college roommate and one of her closest friends. She and Max were supposed to be married in two days and Olivia was Kate's maid of honor. She and Elliot had flown in from New York the day before for the rehearsal and were staying here at Kate's parents house in guest rooms until the wedding. Unfortunately, neither of them had brought their weapons with them.
"Where is your phone?" Elliot whispered to her.
The dark and tiny space was quiet.
"Liv," he said cupping her face in his hands to look into her eyes, "your phone?"
She gasped for air and her stomach felt sick. She had never felt so helpless in her life. "My purse is downstairs," she whispered through her tears.
Elliot let go of her for a second and moved toward the front of the closet to push the door open just a bit and scan the room for a phone. He spotted the phone jack on the wall under the neatly made bed and followed the cord with his eyes along the wall and behind the nightstand on the other side of the room.
"There is a phone on the table across the room," he whispered to her.
Elliot leaned forward to crawl out of the closet in an attempt to reach the phone. He was only about a foot out of the closet when the hall light came on and he heard the men talking as they came up the steps. He dashed back into his hiding place, pulling the door shut and huddling with Olivia in a dark corner behind some boxes and coats.
Olivia began to shake and tremble, terrified as she cried and whimpered gasping for breath.
"Shhh, they might not even know we are here." Elliot pulled her tight against him as he held her in the dark. "Your bed is still made and I hadn't gone to bed yet. They picked us up at the airport, so there is no car. If we can wait it out in here until they leave, then we can go for help."
Just then someone kicked the bedroom door oven and Elliot threw his hand over her mouth once more. Olivia curled up into a tight ball and closed her eyes tight leaning in to him as the light came on and shadows passed the closet door. She whimpered softly as she trembled and Elliot could feel her tears as they began to soak through his shirt.
He held his hand tight over her mouth and tucked his chin against the top of her head as he combed his fingers in her hair in an attempt to comfort her. Elliot watched the tiny beam of light that spilled in through the bottom of the closet door as the shadows moved back and forth past it searching the room.
"There is nothing in here," one man said to the other. "Come on, let's just get the hell out of here," he said to his partner.
The closet door flew open and Elliot held her as tight as he could against him as a hand reached in and pulled the chain turning on the light. He covered Olivia's eyes with his hand and pressed the side of her face against his chest. Olivia closed her eyes and tried to focus her attention on the only safety she knew at the moment. She listened to the racing thump of Elliot's heartbeat against her ear and tried to block everything else out. The man reached up and thrashed the clothing and coats around in the closet then slammed the door shut again.
Olivia whimpered against his chest and gasped for air as the bedroom door closed and the footsteps moved back downstairs. Elliot raised her up and stared into her eyes.
"It's okay, it's okay," he said softly as he kissed her forehead. "I'm going to get us out of here."
He moved to the closet door and pushed it open again. He slowly made his way toward the bed.
"Elliot," Olivia cried softly behind him, "please don't leave me."
He turned around and reached back for her hand, slipping his fingers between hers and leading her to him in the darkness. She pushed the closet door slowly shut with her foot as they crawled across the carpet careful not to make a sound. They made their way around the foot of the bed to the nightstand on the other side. Olivia closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall as Elliot reached to the table and picked up the phone. But there was nothing, no dial tone or any sound at all.
"They must have cut the line to the house," he said setting it back down. Elliot raised up to look out the bedroom window. It was too far down to jump and there was nothing to climb down on, they would have to wait this out. He leaned back against the wall and looked over at Olivia.
He reached up and cupped his hand against the side of her face. She was crying again and if it wouldn't scare her more, he would probably do the same. His eyes scanned over her body trembling in the dark. Their eyes had adjusted to the shadows enough by now that they could see each other pretty well. He reached up and brushed some hair from her eyes and smoothed away a tear.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly as he dragged his hand over a red mark on her arm that he had made when he pulled her from the chair. He moved his hand over the light blue satin knee length night gown she wore and stopped it at a small mark just below her knee on the outside of her left leg. It was a carpet burn from where he dragged her into the closet and she struggled with him.
"I'm just scared, El. I'm not hurt," she replied softly.
Elliot raised his arm offering her sanctuary and she curled in against him again. He held her for a moment and placed a soft kiss against her forehead.
"I am so sorry, Liv."
She tipped her head back and looked into his eyes.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I blew everything out of proportion. I guess I kind of freaked out."
"Yeah, just a little."
They were referring to the night before when somehow he had ended up in her bed. And for the first time in all of their years as friends and partners, they had finally given in to temptation. After a few glasses of wine at dinner, Elliot had come down the hall to talk to her. Neither of them was quite sure how it had even started, but it was a night of passion and amazing sex. But when they woke up together the next morning and awkwardness set in Olivia had pretty much avoided him the rest of the day. When he tried to speak to her she snapped at him about boundaries and how they never should have let it happen. Now as they sat here together in the dark, unsure if they would even see tomorrow, there were no regrets.
Elliot raised his head at attention.
"What?" She whispered.
"I heard a noise."
Olivia bit her bottom lip in anticipation as her eyes widened and the fear crept through her body once more. Elliot took her wrist in his hand and pulled her to him. They listened for a moment and heard another thump then the hall light came on again.
"Under the bed," Elliot demanded pushing her across the carpet, the two of them barely darting under in time.
The light in the bedroom turned on again as three pairs of feet entered this time. The two bad men pushed a battered and bleeding man, Kate's father, into the room demanding he lead them to the safe.
Elliot pressed his forehead to Olivia's as she stared into his eyes and a tear rolled across her nose. He brushed his thumb over it and softly brushed his lips against hers. Her big brown eyes stared into his.
"I love you," he mouthed breathlessly as the men tossed things from the closet across the room.
"I love you," she mouthed back to him without blinking.
Elliot raised his hand and tangled it in her hair. He pulled her in against him as tight as he could and kissed the top of her head. He could feel her heart pounding wildly against his chest. She was so scared.
Olivia turned her head to look out from under the bed as the boxes they had just been hiding behind were tossed across the floor.
"What is the combination?" One man demanded.
Kate's father rambled off some numbers.
"You open it." The man pushed him in to the back of the closet where they had just been hiding. A few moments later they heard the creek of the heavy metal door opening and they pushed him back out of the closet. As they did he fell across the bed causing the bedsprings to lower touching them. He stood up and as he did, one of the men shot him.
Elliot and Olivia watched from under the bed as Kate's father fell on his stomach on the carpet. He laid for a moment staring under the bed at them, he even attempted to reach out to them as if asking for help. But he died only moments later, his eyes still opened and fixed on them. Olivia's eyes filled with tears once more and she felt Elliot pull her in against his chest. She rolled to face him and buried her face in his chest.
Elliot held her for what seemed like days, tucked quietly under that bed as the two men took money and jewels and bonds out of the safe and piled them onto the bed. Sometimes he had to check Olivia to see if she was even breathing because she was so still and quiet.
For two hours they hid under the bed until Elliot heard the front door slam and a car pull out of the drive way. He brushed his hand over Olivia's cheek as she opened her eyes to look into his.
"I think they're gone," he said softly.
She stared nervously into his eyes, too afraid to move. Elliot tried to back out from under the bed but some of the boxes they had tossed out had wedged between the bed and the wall.
"We're going to have to go out your way," he whispered as he kissed her lips softly. "I'm right behind you."
"Okay," Olivia whispered with and nodded.
She rolled back over to face the dead man. She curled into a fetal position and crawled through a small space careful not to touch the body. She moved back and reached for Elliot's hand to held him out as well.
Elliot stood up and quickly took the lead. He locked his fingers in hers and walked slowly toward the door.
"Wait," Olivia said turning to reach the folded up pair of blue jeans she had taken off earlier in the night from behind the chair. She stepped into them and scanned the room for her shirt. But things had been strewn all over when the men were tossing the closet and she couldn't find it. She tucked her gown into her jeans, that would have to do for now.
Elliot leaned against the wall and opened the door just enough to peer down the hallway. It was clear, so he locked his fingers in hers and slipped out closing the door softly behind them again. They tip toed softly down the hall and descended the stair case. They walked out across the dining room floor as quietly as they could. Elliot cut through the kitchen to go out the back door, it was the closest exit as he remembered and he just wanted to get them out of the house.
But laying in the kitchen floor in a pool of blood was Kate.
"No," Olivia cried as she dropped to her knees and brushed Kate's blonde hair back from her face. She had been beaten up and stabbed and was covered in blood. She also had a gash on her forehead that was probably responsible for most of the blood. "Kate," Olivia whispered softly as she felt for a pulse. She lowered her face into her hands and began to cry again.
"She's gone, Liv." Elliot helped her to her feet. She now had Kate's blood on her in places and she looked so tired and afraid. He had to get her out of here.
"She is still warm, Elliot."
"Honey, we have to get out of here. Where did you leave your purse?"
"On the counter by the coffee pot."
Elliot lead her back around the counter toward the door. But her purse had been dumped and her things scattered across the floor and they took her wallet with the cash and credit cards. The cell phone smashed in the floor in front of them.
"Come on," Elliot said pulling her toward the door. "We'll go to a neighbor's and call the police."
Olivia nodded and he lead her out the door and across the yard. They ran for the cars, but all of the tires had been cut and Elliot's phone was missing.
"We're going to have to walk."
"Where, Elliot? We are six miles from the main road and probably at least ten from the nearest neighbor."
"We don't have much of a choice, Liv."
Just then headlights turned into the driveway as a truck pulled up toward the house. Elliot and Olivia ran around to the side of the house. Elliot somehow ended up across the yard from her. He leaned against the back side of a small shed and watch Olivia as she hid against the back side of the house.
"I'm telling you, the chick on the drivers license isn't the one from the house. Chicks don't leave their purses at other people's houses. If her bag was there, she had to be there."
Olivia gulped as the two men walked up the steps and back into the house. She listened as the screen door slammed then looked up at Elliot and motioned for their truck. She creeped out from beside the house and past the steps.
"Olivia no," Elliot whispered as loud as he could.
But she didn't listen. She walked slowly across the driveway, the rocks digging in to her bare feet and watched as a light came on upstairs. She moved a little more quickly over and peered inside the truck, but the keys were gone and there was no cell phone in there either. She heard the screen door slam again and Elliot watched helplessly as one of the men approached the truck.
Olivia managed to make her way around to the back side of a barn. She slipped back around to the side facing Elliot and waved to get his attention as the man went back into the house again.
"We have to get out of her now," Elliot said as he joined her behind the barn.
"I thought maybe they had keys or a cell phone or something."
She panted for a moment in the summer night heat as she looked around debating the best escape route. She walked over and climbed between the rows of a barbed wire fence and stared down a steep hill.
"Elliot look," she whispered pointing down the hill at a flickering light. "Do you think it's a house?"
Elliot looked back over hi shoulder watching the shadows of the two men as they searched the house for Olivia.
"Whatever it is, it's our best bet."
He climbed under the fence and they made their way slowly down the hill through the woods in the dark. When they reached the bottom they realized that the light was on the runway of a small private airport on the other side of a field. They walked toward it hoping to find someone, anyone who could help them.