Thank you thank you again to all you readers and reviewers. Each alert and review make me giddy. I had hoped to respond to more of you individually, but I'm still pretty sick. This chapter took up most of my "awake in between cold medications" time. : ) And also, thanks for the well wishes, I'm glad my illness made someone happy! (And Naoemms for the virtual soup, haha. ) Skins isn't mine, yadda, yadda.
Turning Slowly: Chapter Ten
Naomi and I had been sitting tied to our chairs, a mere five feet apart from each other for at least two hours now. The sun had broken through the morning fog, and was now heavily beating down on us. It wasn't too hot, in three months time it was now early September, but it was hot enough to be uncomfortable. I could feel my skin tightening after little to no sun exposure for such a long period of time.
I looked up at Naomi, noting her pink cheeks, realizing she was growing as uncomfortable as I was. We were literally sitting ducks. We had no idea what was coming next. Neither of us had uttered a word since we heard the numerous bangs coming from the inside of the van. I had no clue what they could be doing in there, and I really didn't want to know. This time, the unknown was the bigger comfort.
I mentally scanned over my body. I felt enormously greasy. Back where we previously had been kept, there was a large sink basin, with wash cloths provided. It was no shower, but I never felt dirty. Especially considering there was nothing to do to get dirty. But now, a few days and a hole in the ground later, I was covered head to toe in grime. I could only imagine how shoddy I looked.
My body lightly ached. I realized, perhaps, I might still possibly be sick. I had a fever right before we moved locations, and have been in a considerable amount of shock since. It's possibly my body "forgot" it was sick, due to the trauma of it all. My nose still ached. I was sure it wasn't broken, but it was a little bit swollen, and most definitely bruised. Although, Naomi hadn't mentioned anything. Then again, she didn't strike me as the kind of person to dwell on those sorts of things.
Physically, I was alright. I could be in much worse shape. Mentally though, I knew I was losing it. I hadn't realized how huge of a hold I had on my family. I had been hanging on by two mere threads: Naomi and my family. It hurt me beyond words that my parents had seemingly given up. A small part of me wondered if Katie had given up as easily. We never really got on too well, but she was my twin. We were once completely together, and I'd like to think that maybe she would instinctively know if I was alive or not. Sort of like Naomi's mum, only with "twin intuition."
The sound of the van doors opening abruptly stopped my thinking. The two figures jumped out, sans their large jackets, but their masks were still in place. I briefly wondered why they were wearing them. Naomi knew them by name, or had at least recognized one of the voices by name. Were they only trying to hide their identity from me? A sudden ripple of fear ran through me.
Naomi was expendable. Or so she had told me. If she was expendable, then it wouldn't matter if she had seen them, would it? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I noticed both men were carrying the growingly familiar white cloths. My eyes grew wide and I instantly saw Naomi's do the same. I shrank into my chair.
"No, please!" Naomi called out frantically, clearly just as scared as I was at the probability of being drugged again.
They continued to walk forward.
"We won't do anything, say anything. You can blind fold us, gag us, but please, just don't drug us again," she rushed out.
The taller man continued, but the shorter one slowed a bit, reaching out his arm to slow the taller guy. He pulled him back and whispered in his ear, peering over to us, and then whispered some more.
"Alright, I don't see any harm in that. Fitch's nose bled last time we did this anyways," the short guy said after a few minutes. What? My nose bled? I guess that would explain the dull pain in it since this all started.
The short guy nodded toward the van, and the taller guy took off.
"We're going to blind fold you. We don't have any gags, but fuck me if I'm not determined to make some if I hear one peep out of you two during the ride," the short guy ordered.
I nodded quickly, seeing Naomi do the same. I felt myself break out in a light sweat. I think it was out of relief. Darkness would be my constant again, but I would at least have my mind with me. It was an enormous relief.
Within minutes, the taller guy returned with two large black knit hats, and two brown paper bags. The fear returned to my system, and I forced myself to meet Naomi's gaze. I found her eyes already set hard on mine.
I didn't see any fear in her eyes, but I saw massive determination. It provided a brief comfort before I was consumed in darkness again. I felt the knit hat placed over my head, and pulled down below my chin. I could still see light through the tiny holes, but even that luxury disappeared when I heard the brown paper bag being placed over the knit hat on my head.
It was hard to breath, but not impossible. I willed myself to keep my breathing even. I felt the rope around my arms loosen, but it wasn't completely removed. Two rough hands pulled me to my feet and began guiding me somewhere. Presumably to the van.
"Step up," I heard the short guy said. Fumbling around, I lifted my leg until I felt it hit the edge of what I'm assuming was the back of the van.
I heard him give the same direction to Naomi. I lifted myself into the van as best I could with my arms still tied behind my back. A hand shoved me hard into my back and I fell forward, slamming hard into the metal bottom of the van, wincing.
I felt Naomi's body tumble in on top of me and the door slam shut.
"Shit, sorry," Naomi said, and she tried to rock her body off of mine. Her voice sounded mere inches from my ear.
"It's not like you shoved yourself onto me," I said, trying to help her ease her body off of me.
Eventually she was able to roll her body off of mine. The engine of the van roared to life and began moving.
"Emily," Naomi whispered.
"What," I whispered back.
"Can you sit up?"
I wiggled around and kicked my feet a bit, realizing I had the space to move and possibly sit myself up.
"I think so."
"Try and sit up, see if you can find and lean against my back. But be quiet."
I nodded, as if Naomi could see me and began to quietly move myself around.
It took some fumbling, and a few misses, but eventually I was able to hoist myself to a sitting position. I could hear Naomi doing the same. I lifted my hands tied behind my back, trying to find anything. I few scoots to the left later, I found Naomi's arm. She immediately moved herself and gripped my hands, pressing her back against mine. She swallowed loudly, letting out a breath.
"Okay listen, I need you to be brave."
"What?" I asked, a little more loudly than I should have, but the tone in her voice shook me.
"I need you to let me see if I can get the rope off your hands," she said.
"What? Are you nuts?" I whispered back.
"Emily, we aren't in our safe rooms anymore. We're in real danger here. They're fucking with us, and it's time we fuck with them. Do you trust me?"
"Yes," I said, not missing a beat.
"We should be driving for a while. We have time. If we can get these ropes and masks off, if the car slows enough we can jump out. Then run."
I ran through her impromptu plan in my head. Sure, if we were both in our best condition, we could probably easily out run these guys, given a little bit of a lead. But I was very weak and Naomi's ribs were battered. Even if we flawlessly exited the moving vehicle, it would be a long shot to assume we would be able to out run them for more than a little bit. Not to mention, we didn't know where we were. What if there wasn't anything around? We could only out run them for so long. Especially after not eating for two or three days.
"Do you think we can outrun them?" I asked, voicing my doubts out loud. I heard Naomi sigh.
"No, but what you said earlier really rattled me. We can't just sit here like waiting ducks, waiting for the danger to catch up to us. I refuse to let this be it. I refuse to let this be it with out trying."
The sudden tone change in her voice scared me.
"You act as if we're doing to die."
"I'm in danger, Emily. Me. My priorities are a bit different then yours."
"I already told you I'm not going to..."
"I know," she interrupted me. "I know you will do everything in your power. But what if it's not enough? I need to try something else. I've promised I'd protect you, and I will. If you come with me, if you trust me and help me, I'll protect you. Please, give this a try."
"Is this about your mum?" I asked, the thought occurring to me. Naomi loosened her grip on my fingers, letting out a deep breath. It took her a few seconds to respond.
"I've been horrible to her," she said. "Such a stupid teenager. Took advantage. I need to get out, apologize, see her face again. Anything. I can't die with the guilt of knowing that after i've treated her so horribly, she's still putting everything into looking for me."
I felt two strong emotions surge through me. Painful sadness at Naomi's admission. Even through our quiet whispers, I could hear the honest devastation in her voice. And I also felt a sharp pang in my own heart, that my own mother, after treating me like an insubordinate extra child for years, had given up all hope on me surviving.
"Okay," I said, not even close to being able to resist her.
"Yeah?" she said, sounding suddenly more hopeful.
"Okay, yeah. I'll try, for you," I said. She gripped my fingers tightly again before letting go. I felt her fingers feel around my hands, and the rope surrounding them. After a minute or so, I felt her begin to pick at something.
I heard a grunt of frustration, more pulling, and another grunt. Then, I was shocked to feel the ropes loosen.
"Holy shit," I whispered. I fumbled the rest of the rope off and immediately brought my arms up, quietly removing the paper bag and knit hat off of my face, sucking in a deep breath.
The back of the van was clad with shelves on the sides. Clear buckets lined the shelves and were loaded with numerous items. I could see different ropes, knives nuts and bolts with in the buckets.
"Emily," Naomi's harsh whisper broke my concentration. I quietly shifted around and began pulling at the knots securing Naomi's hands. I managed to loosen them, and while she worked the rest of the rope off, I carefully removed the paper bag and knit hat from her head. I watched her suck in a deep breath as her blond hair fell back down over her face.
She brought her hands up and brushed her hair away from her eyes, shooting me a wry smile.
Her eyes left mine almost immediately and focused on the clear window leading to the front seat where the men were sat. It was small, about a half a foot wide and long. But all it would take was one glance through the window to blow our entire plan. We had to act fast.
"Put the paper bag back on, and sit back against me. We'll wait until the van slows," she instructed.
The last thing I wanted to do was put the bag back on my head, but I knew Naomi's plan was our only current option. I retrieved my bag and placed it back over my head, hesitantly sitting back. Naomi's back flattened against mine.
And we waited. Waiting wasn't even close to a new emotion for either of us. We've been waiting for three months. Waiting to live, waiting to die. Waiting for answers I'm scared we'll never get.
We sat for exactly 24 minutes. I know because I counted to sixty 24 times. In fact, I was so deep into my counting concentration I almost missed the distinct sound of the van slowing. Naomi nudged my back.
"We're slowing," Naomi said. My heart instantly began beating faster. This was it.
The van turned slowly, feeling our bodies shift with the turn. The van corrected out of the turn.
"Now," Naomi said.
My arms whipped up and pulled off my brown paper bag. Naomi was already two steps ahead of me and was working against the back door.
It swung open making a slamming sound as it opened completely. I had taken that into consideration.
"Fuck, move!" I said, pushing my body against Naomi's. I instantly heard voices from the front of the van.
Naomi leaped out of the van, and I didn't even had time to think before I hurdled my body out after hers.
My feet hit the pavement hard and I stumbled forward quite a few steps before I got my footing. I felt Naomi grab under my arm and pull me upright, forcing me into a run.
We took off. My mind numb, my body pummeling faster. My lungs were on fire as my feet, unfamiliar with such extraneous movement, fought against it.
I heard the van screech to a halt and two doors slam shut. Feet pounded hard behind us.
"STOP!" I heard one of the men scream.
I willed my feet to move faster and I saw Naomi chance a glance behind her. Her face was laced with pain. I noticed her hand was gripping her ribs.
The pounding feet behind us got louder. I could hear their breathing, and it was more ragged then ours. I felt a small hint of hope. Maybe we could out run them.
I focused on what was out ahead of me, and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. There was absolutely nothing in front of us. Nothing. Nothing but a rolling road on rolling hills of green. Not even a country house. Not even a random sheep. Nothing. Where the fuck were we?
Naomi slowed her stride next to me, and my protective side flew into gear again. My mind whirled into action.
I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around. The men were no more than twenty feet behind us, and they stopped as abruptly as I did. I heard Naomi stumble to a stop behind me.
"It's your turn to talk," I said, making my voice as hard as it would allow.
Both men were leaning over, trying to catch their breath. They looked up at us after hearing my words.
"We're clearly in better shape. We could out run you. We might be able to do it," I said, not at all sure of what was flying out of my mouth. The taller man started walking toward me. I began walking backwards at the same pace.
I reached Naomi and gripped her forearm tugging her with me.
"You've got no where to run," the taller guy explained calmly.
"Eventually we'll get somewhere."
"I doubt that," he said, his continued calmness grating at my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
"What if we agree to go back with you, in exchange for some answers."
"I don't think you're in the position to be making deals little girl," he said.
"No, she's right. We'll stop this right now if you shed some light on what the fuck is going on," Naomi said, her voice strong. Her ribs must have improved slightly.
I noticed the shorter guy had began following our little parade. Naomi and I walking slowly backward, the two men approaching us just as slowly. A twisted duel, if you will.
"As I said, there is no where to go. So you mine as well stop this stupid little charade and come back here."
"Or what?" Naomi challenged, and I felt my throat constrict at her braveness. "We know we're still stuck with you. We get it now. What we're trying to say is that we won't make you chase us around these hills for a while if you give us some answers. Right here, right now."
"Hold up," the shorter guy called out, causing the taller guy to slow. I tightened my grip on Naomi's arm. "You want answers."
We both nodded our heads.
"That's all?"
"For now," Naomi said.
"We can cut a different deal for answers. We have no problem chasing you around this country side. Our jobs and livelihood depend on you two, don't doubt our priorities. But if it's answers you want, we can work something out."
I got a sour taste in my mouth at the cocky tone in his voice. The last inklings of bravery floating through my veins dissipating at the speed of light.
"What sort of deal?" I asked.
"Naomi," the shorter one called out. Only he wasn't calling her name, he was stating her name.
"Me?" Naomi asked, sounding a bit startled.
"For every question you ask, something happens to Naomi," the short guy said, sounding immensely proud.
My head whipped around to meet Naomi's glance. Fear evident in both of our faces.
"Wh..what?" I asked, my voice catching.
"You ask a question, something happens to Naomi," the taller guy explained slowly, as if talking to a preschool classroom. He began walking slowly to us. Out of instinct, I began moving backwards again, only to be stopped by Naomi.
"Like what?" Naomi asked. The taller man reached us, standing a mere foot away.
Before I could even react he brought his hand down hard onto Naomi's face, smacking her swiftly. I stumbled away in shock, watching Naomi crumble to the floor from the impact. I immediately moved forward to her, but the taller guy lifted his arm, indicating I stand still.
Feeling pure dread, I froze on the spot.
"Like that," he said calmly. "Talk about it amongst yourselves and get back to me."
He walked away from us, and stood next to the shorter guy about 15 feet away from us.
I flew down to Naomi, turning her head to face me. A hand print clear as day on her face.
"Are you okay?" I asked, cradling her head in my hands. She nodded and used me as a prop to help herself up.
"I can handle it," Naomi said.
"He obviously smacked every ounce of sense out of you if you think we're going to consider that," I argued, appalled at the thought of actually agreeing to it.
"We can't run," Naomi said, sounding ashamed. "I can't out run them with my ribs. I know that now. But I have a high thresh hold for pain otherwise..."
"Naomi, please, no, we're not considering this," I said, feeling tears spring into my eyes. Fear and anguish making me emotional.
"We don't have to do it for long. We can get in a few good questions before I'm seriously hurt," she insisted.
"No," I said, firmly.
"Yes, Emily. It's our only shot. Answers lead to solutions. It's natural science."
"I don't think...I can't," I said, feeling my voice break up. "I can't watch them hurt you."
Naomi's hard gaze softened.
"I know, but we have to buy ourselves time. That's got to be our new motivation. If they give us answers and we abide by their rules, we can stall them. Find time to figure something out."
"Two questions," I said, almost not believing I was agreeing to this, but once again, Naomi was spot on with her logic. "Three at most, but that's it."
"We'll see about that," Naomi said.
She stood up, pulling me with her.
"We'll do it," she called out, the men's heads snapping to us at her words. It was obvious they didn't expect us to agree. I realized perhaps that was a very good thing. They would be going into this as amateurs too.
"Alright," the shorter guy called out, immediately tugging the taller guy down to whisper more words at him.
My hand instinctively reached out to clutch a few of Naomi's fingers I found during my fumble.
"Be brave, be brave, be brave, be brave," I chanted to myself quiet as a mouse.
"I'm trying," Naomi said.
She paused briefly.
"Unless you're talking about yourself," she said.
I didn't have an answer, because...I had absolutely no fucking clue.