Jeromes POV:
Days passed and I grew more and more hopeless. We were no closer to getting the mask. I kept Rufus updated but the guilt was beginning to eat away at me both towards Poppy and towards Sibuna. Alfie in particular and me were getting really close again and it felt so good to be trusted that time and time again I was so tempted to tell him what was going on. But something always stopped me. I couldn't get the sound of her screams out of my head.
I was sitting on my bed before breakfast when my phone beeped. "I'm getting impatient. You better have made progress by tonight or else!" from Rufus. I gulped then gritted my teeth. There was no chance of us getting the mask tonight, it was time for action. I went into the kitchen and found Vera. "Hey Vera, my uncle just text and says me aunts got really ill, something about a heart attack. Do you think I could have the day off to visit her please?" I put on my most suck up voice but Vera didn't seem suspicious. "Ok Jerome, just remember to sign out and catch up on any work you miss.
Vera's POV:
Clearly Jerome doesn't realise that I'm Rufus associate. And I don't think he's going to visit his aunt at all. I walked into the hall and found my phone in my bag. I dialled Rufus number.
Jeromes POV:
I cycled to the heath were I saw Rufus meeting Jasper the other night and realised that I didn't have a clue where he was keeping Poppy but I decided to start with the barn he kept Trudy in, just in case. On arrival it looked just as we left it, the front door smashed in but someone, Rufus had tried to salvage the doll house. I had a poke around and found a locked cupboard. I pulled my emergency bobby pin from my pocket (not that I usually carry girls hair accessories around) and picked the lock. There wasn't a lot inside except a little address book. I flicked through and found out the back the address of this place and two others underneath both within 10 miles of here. Quickly I copied them down, replaced the book, grabbed my bike and sped off. The first address was a little dilapidated barn with a big padlock on the door. Rufus was no where to be seen so I hid my bike and crept up and picked the lock. Poppy's phone was on a table and I grinned when I saw it. This had to be the place. There was another door. I yanked open the door, surprised that it was unlocked.
"Hello Jerome." Said a cruel voice. Rufus was inside. I gasped and backed up wandering how he knew I was coming "I—I was just-" "You were just trying to look for Poppy. You're clearly very loyal to your sister but also very stupid. When you told Vera that rubbish about you're aunt she thought it was very suspicious and warned me in case you had had a stupid idea about trying to rescue Poppy which you clearly had. I figured you would turn up here first so I moved where I was keeping her earlier than came back here to wait for you, one step ahead as always." He grinned evilly. Now you've wasted valuable time today and I've been very disappointed that you're not much closer to finding the mask than Victor is but I'm going to let you go back to the house and you're going to focus ALL your attention on the mask from now on. Is that clear?" "Please, just let Poppy go! Don't hurt her. She's just a kid, she's got nothing to do with this!" I begged desperately. "Actually she has plenty to do with this and because of your actions today, its your fault that I'm going to hurt her. Now off you go."
Poppy's POV:
Rufus came in this morning and dragged me out to the van. We drove for ages before arriving at a little cottage. He threw me into the cellar. "You better hope that your brother isn't doing something really stupid," he snarled and left. What did that mean? Jerome wasn't always the smartest but what could be really stupid? I noticed that in the transfer, the knots on my wrists had come a bit lose. I struggled for a bit and eventually my hands came free. I untied the gag and started to look for a way out the cellar. About an hour later I was working on undoing the last screw on the tiny window with a bit of wood as a makeshift screw driver. I learnt this trick off Jerome. The window came lose and I began to squeeze through but suddenly I was yanked back inside. Rufus looked livid. "Close but not close enough" he growled throwing me on the floor. "Your brother is going to regret trying to rescue you. But not as much as you are you little brat!" he roared.
He picked me up and threw me against the wall then turned around and switched on a video camera. My body was still aching from the last beating, the bruises still hadn't healed. Jerome had heard that one and apparently he was going to see this he picked up a whip from inside a bag and began beating me. I collapsed in agony and curled up in a ball trying to protect my head and face but it was no use. The blows were constant and relentless, cutting me everywhere. My body ached everywhere and the pain was fresh and pounding with each new blow. At last he stopped. I could feel blood dripping down my body from several different places. I blacked out.
When I came round he had tied me to a chair by my wrists, ankles and waist. This was ten times worse than last time. Rufus had the camera pointed at my face. "Do you want o send your brother a message?" he jeered. I felt helpless and my whole body pounded. "Please!" I gasped.