Privacy

The attic smelled mostly like cedar but there was an odd musty aroma to it too. The floor was wood and the planks were uneven, Willie could feel the boards and nail heads poking up on his bare feet. He walked, rotating slowly, looking at each one of the beams; they were all the same. His head was spinning as he walked around them and he was only half listening to Barnabas talk to him. He felt his chest tighten as he inspected the posts. His breathing grew quick and he found it difficult to swallow. He could feel the terror building and fought back against the sour knot that was threatening to make its escape.

"Willie, do you know what these are?" It pounded the side of one of the pillars.

They were square posts about a foot wide and there was a metal cuff on one side of the post and then another on the opposite side. What the hell…shit...no… As Willie walked around the posts his fingers touched the cuffs and he tried to swallow the lump that was growing in his throat.

There was a lever at the base of the post and a piece of leather that was attached and hanging a few feet from the ground on one side of the wooden beam. What the hell…t-this cant be! What the hell are these?

"Willie when my family and I first lived in this house we had many servants; servants who were obedient and understood their place. Not like you. Nothing like you! They were obedient Willie because they understood that they would be physically punished if they weren't. It was a common practice then and it is a pity that it is not a common practice now. When servants would steal or disobey it was acceptable to punish them."

Willie lifted one of the leather belts that hung from one of the posts. It was a simple belt but the edges on it were rough and the leather was old and cracking. He could hear Barnabas continue to talk but it was as if he were a thousand miles away.

"Most punishments were done in public in the very park that your Ms. Chilton finds so lovely in the center of town."

Willie stood and looked at It at the mention of her name and began to pace almost as if he were lost among the posts. The weight of his situation was setting in fully…his error, his stupid forgetfulness, it was going to cost him more than he bargained for.

"Take your shirt off Willie." Willie's eyes filled with fear, the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place for him. He knew what the posts were for. God help me. He took his shirt off and dropped it on the floor. Do it or it will kill her. Don't argue…that was the deal… For her… For her…

His skin instantly chilled and he stood there trembling in the warm glow of the oil lamps. It was cold in the attic and he realized that he could see his breath.

"Stand in front of one of the posts Willie and place your hands in the cuffs." Willie looked at the cuffs, the metal was about 2 or 3 inches wide and shoulder height. Shaking he reached his arms up and placed his hands in the loose metal rings. Y-you made a deal…you traded... she keeps her life and you endure Its punishment. He held his breath and dropped his head down as It walked over to the post and bent down towards the lever. Willie never uttered a word. For her…it will be over soon.

In a single motion the vampire pulled the lever arm down. A loud metal clanking sound cracked through the attic and the cuffs snapped tight around Willies wrists, pinching his skin beneath it. His body shuttered and he gasped as a small cry escaped him, they were so tight and instinctively he tried to see if he could pull out of them, it was impossible. Don't fight it Willie…don't call out…don't beg. You made a deal.

She looked down at her hands and they were covered in blood and then she looked at him and he was lying there on the ground, blood running from his wrists and mouth, matted into his hair and pooling beneath him. She screamed and suddenly snapped out of a deep sleep, crying out, her cheeks wet and her heart racing. At first she wasn't sure where she was and it took a moment for to get her bearings, the soft glow from her nightlight illuminating the room. A bad dream…thank God it was a dream… She was dreaming of Willie and thoughts of his lifeless body lying on the ground. She wiped the tears from her eyes and crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom, her hands shaking, and turned on the warm water and washed her face. As she did it she thought of him, even something so simple like this he wasn't able to do in that house. Why does he stay there? I just don't get it.

Abigail walked into the kitchen, the flowers filled the room with a sweet smell that normally she would find pleasant. She glanced at the clock over the stove, 2:42am, she was wide awake. She pulled the milk out and poured it into a pot on the stove. Ever since she was a kid a little warm milk and honey always soothed her.

She couldn't stop thinking about Willie, deep in her gut she felt something was wrong and she was consumed with worry. She knew he asked her to stay away but she had a strange feeling that he was in trouble, it was so strong that she nearly jumped in her car and drove to him to make sure he was okay.

She pulled the milk off of the stove and poured it into her mug with the honey and curled up on the couch beneath a big blanket. She gazed out the window, it was snowing lightly outside and the flecks glistened under the street lights like glitter falling to the ground. She wished Willie was next to her sharing in the warmth of the big blanket and she wondered if he would ever open himself up enough to allow her to get closer to him.

Willie tried to look around the room to find where the vampire was standing, but his range of motion was limited and as he twisted around the metal cuffs cut into his wrists.

"Our family didn't believe in public punishments. We valued our privacy so my father had these installed in the attic." It continued to walk around the attic behind Willie, conscious of the fact that Willie wouldn't be able to see where he was.

"They were very effective and having them here in the house was a constant reminder to the servants of what could happen if they stepped out of line. You Willie continue to step out of line."

Willie leaned his head against the beam and fear filled every inch of his body. He squeezed the tears back trying to hold it together telling himself that eventually this would be over and she would still be alive.

The vampire walked directly behind Willie and he could feel Its cold breath on the back of his neck. It felt like a thousand maggots wriggling against his skin, it made him sick and it took all that he had to not vomit, although his body was involuntarily trembling. The vampire then reached down and grabbed the leather strap that was attached to the left side of the beam and wrapped it around Willie's hips attaching it to the right side of the beam and then pulled it tight. Willie winced as the raw edges of the leather cut into his hips and he let out shallow gasps as his body was forced closer to the beam. He found that with the strap fastened he lost most of the limited mobility that he had. This is insane...he is crazy...this can't be happening...shit! You need to focus Willie…keep it together. You asked for this. It is for her…to keep her alive.

Willie began to tremble harder now, but he didn't say a word. He agreed to this punishment, although at this moment he was beginning to second guess himself.

His entire body flinched as a loud crack echoed through the attic. No..no no no...

"You ignored your duties today Willie, you cost me a great deal. It was HERS! She would sit in front of it for hours getting ready. She loved it, I gave it to her as an engagement present and it gave her joy. Her name was carved delicately on the side. It was beautiful and it was sold when this house was abandoned, like much of the other furniture. I FOUND it Willie…and you failed to retrieve it. You failed because you were entranced in that girl. When you think of her I want you to think of this…"

Willie felt a hot white pain sear across his back. He gasped for air but didn't cry out. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and clamped his hands into fists, his entire body tensed. His back felt cold at first and then it felt like a fire was erupting.

Another whistle and then a crack came down upon him, the white hot pain searing across his lower back, and then another and another.

Willie was sweating and trying desperately not to cry out, taking the punishment that he agreed to. Each blow he hoped was the last, but the vampire was not relenting. The blows were getting harder and the skin on his back was torn into ribbons. Willie could feel his warm blood drip down from his back. He held on as long as he could but the pain was unbearable and he finally cracked and began to sob, his head dropping between his arms.

"I-I'm so s-sorry…" He was barely able to stay up on his feet, sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes, but the blows continued. Willie lost his footing and the weight of his body pulled on his wrists causing the metal cuffs to cut into them. He quickly tried to get up under himself again. Please…oh please make him stop…PLEASE!

By the time the blows stopped Willie was barely conscious. The vampire walked over to the post and undid the leather band. It then walked to the lever and bent down and flipped it up. Willies wrists slid out of the metal cuffs and he collapsed to the floor, tears flooding from his eyes.

"I don't expect to have any more problems with you Willie." The vampire walked around the perimeter of the attic, blowing out all of the lamps and left the candelabra lit on the floor next to Willie. Willie's entire body was on fire and the pain that washed over him was unbearable. The sour knot once again won and took over his body sending him into dry heaves against the attic floor.

Barnabas reached down to lift him off of the floor and Willie turned and managed to get to his knees.

"No…NO! I'll get up m-myself. P-please…d-don't touch me." Willie was pushing Its hand off of his arm and trying desperately to get to a standing position.

"Willie, let me help you to your room." Barnabas stood looking down at him, Its voice calm and if Willie didn't know better almost laced with concern.

"NO!" Willie shouted at it, his teeth clenched and his voice shaking. He crawled to the wall and pulled himself up, pain burning into his body. He managed to get himself to the staircase and could feel the blood dripping from his back into his pants and down his legs.

"Willie…" Barnabas stood behind him, watching in disbelief as Willie dragged himself down the stairs. His feet barely landing on the steps, and in a few spots he slipped down several stairs at a time. Willie was determined to get back to his room on his own. He would not allow It to help him or carry him. He took his punishment quietly like he promised. He would finish it with what dignity he had left, which he admitted wasn't much.

Willie almost made it to his room but the hallway began to grow longer and longer once he hit the landing. His room looked like it was miles away and the end of the hall was getting narrow. The floor suddenly began to twist and the doors disappeared.

Barnabas was close behind him and saw him begin to fall. It dropped down and caught him before he hit the floor and picked him up much like a child and carried his unconscious servant to his room.

Despite Willie's intentions he had slipped into the darkness.

It was nearly 5 in the morning and Abigail had dozed off on the couch. She awoke to the sound of a snow plow driving past her apartment. She looked out the window and it was snowing hard now. Big heavy flakes hitting the ground. It was almost Thanksgiving and she loved the thought of snow during the holidays.

If she would have stayed in Chicago she would be getting married tomorrow and they would have been spending their first Thanksgiving on some tropical island eating some crappy hotel buffet instead of the Thanksgiving feasts she loved. Another decision she wasn't allowed to disagree with.

She had to figure out what she was going to do about dinner tonight and if she was going to meet Nick. She hated the restaurant that he picked. The Maple Leaf was a cliché seafood restaurant where the waiters dressed in suits and hovered over your table, ready to pounce at the drop of a napkin or god forbid a water glass that had two sips out of it. He really hadn't paid much real attention to her at all in their two years together, if he did he would have asked her to pick the place, and she would have picked the dumpy little Cantonese restaurant that was decorated with Christmas lights all year round and only had 5 things on the menu. Maybe she and Willie could go there she thought, if he ever felt up to it.

With that thought she made her way back to her bedroom and climbed back into bed. She decided that she would go to dinner with Nick and hopefully end things once and for all. I owe him that much right? At least she was going to be in public with people around. The thought of being alone with him in the privacy of apartment made her nervous. Abigail lay in bed and stared at the ceiling until the alarm rang.

Willie opened his eyes and he was lying on his stomach in his bed. As he went to shift his position he could feel every individual slash on his back tighten and pull, pain erupting from them all. It was excruciating and he held his breath for a moment, fearing the pain that came with breathing. His shirt was still off and the covers were pulled only to his waist. Barnabas stood in the corner of the room wringing out a blood stained towel.

"Stay lying down Willie. Tomorrow you will stay in bed, I highly doubt you will be much use to anyone anyway. If Ms. Chilton comes do not answer. I will check your wounds tomorrow evening. I assume you will be more inclined to remain obedient and do as I say."

Willie didn't respond, he turned his head in the opposite direction and gripped the bed tight trying to offset the pain, tears began to stream down his face. He didn't want It to see them.

The vampire grabbed some sort of salve or gel, Willie wasn't sure what it was, it was cold and IT rubbed it over the wounds on his back. Willie squirmed beneath Its touch but it put Its hand around the back of his neck and squeezed tightly. "Sit STILL!" It growled at him.

Willie lay there wishing this would end.

Barnabas pulled a light sheet up over his back and then placed a warmer blanket over that. It threw more wood on the fire, making it roar in the small room, and Willie was glad for the added warmth.

It grabbed the basin of water and the blood soaked towels and left the room. Once it was gone Willie lost control of his emotions and began to sob hard into the pillow, pain raging through his back with each breath. His only comfort was knowing she was okay, he had managed to spare her one more time from the Thing.