55

The Basement

Melanie was sitting back against a plush recliner with her arms relaxed on each arm rest. The hypnotherapist had been working with her for over twenty minutes and had finally gotten her to relax and close her eyes. Melanie's skin had become quite pale and her breathing had slowed considerably as she slipped into the state the hypnotherapist needed her to be in.

All of the Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Simon, Sam, Lucy, Officer Shaw, and a court official were in the room with them. A camera had been set up and was focused on Melanie to capture anything she might say that could be used in court. They hadn't fully disclosed to Melanie what information they were hoping to get from her, worried she might not have agreed to it if she'd known. Instead, they'd told her they were going to try to pull some memories from her that might help her memory come back. It wasn't a complete lie. They were genuinely hoping that if Melanie could face the memories from her abduction and overcome them, it might open to the doors to the memories that were being repressed.

"You're in a safe place," the hypnotherapist assured her. "You're surrounded by people that love you and want to protect you. If at any time you want to come back, all you have to do is open your eyes and you'll be right back here with all of us."

She nodded to the court official who turned the camera on to start recording. "I want you to go back to that cupboard for a little while. You're just going to be visiting. Nothing can hurt you there. You're just a fly on the wall and you're only watching what's happening. Picture yourself in that dark space, feel the cool earth beneath you, smell the wooden cupboards. Are you there?"

"Yes," Melanie replied, her voice sounding distant and detached. Her body was still relaxed, her face expressionless.

"I want you to tell me what you see in that cupboard," the hypnotherapist instructed.

-0-0-

Melanie opened her eyes to find herself shrouded in darkness. Her head was throbbing, as was the left side of her torso. She had no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there and, as she became more conscious of the space around her, she also realized she had no idea who she was.

The sound of muffled chanting somewhere nearby became apparent, as well as desperate pleading and tormented screams. Light was emerging into the room from beneath a door just a few feet away from Melanie and through a few spaces between the wood panels of the wall.

Melanie slowly pushed herself off the dirt floor, quickly realizing her wrists were tightly bound together with rope. She was suddenly very aware that she was locked up in a small space.

Trying not to panic, she attempted to push the door open, only to find it locked shut from the outside. She didn't dare call for help. The sounds of the woman in distress outside informed her that she wasn't in a safe place and she thought it best she didn't bring any attention to herself.

She scooted herself over to the wall where the light was streaming in and she attempted to push on the panels, hoping one might give enough that she could crawl through and escape. As she looked through the space between two panels, she could see a room full of robed figures surrounding a large, stone altar. There was a woman tied to the altar, screaming as one of the robed figures slowly dragged a knife against the skin of her belly. He seemed deep in concentration, moving the knife along slowly to create a specific pattern.

The chanting stopped as the man with the knife straightened up and looked down at his work. The woman stopped screaming, but continued to cry as she watched the man fearfully.

"Please," the woman pleaded. "I don't want to die."

Otis looked at her angrily and moved to strangle her, but the man with the knife casually held up his hand to stop him. He looked down at her with a wicked grin and shook his head. "You're not going to die," he said, his voice gruff. "We're making you pure."

The man began chanting in an odd, disjointed language, ignoring the begging and crying of the woman on the altar. Melanie couldn't make out what he was saying through the sound of her own rapid heartbeat. The woman gasped and screamed as the knife was brought to her stomach again. The man continued speaking, but couldn't be heard over the woman's screams as he sank the knife deep into her stomach and slit her open from hip to hip. He reached his hands inside and began removing her innards as the figures resumed their chanting, seemingly unfazed by the man's actions.

The woman's screams soon dissipated and her body went limp as the man extracted the organs he wanted and placed them in a bronze bowl held out by the man beside him.

Melanie pushed herself back against the wall and pressed her hands over her mouth to keep herself from making a sound. She was breathing in panicked gasps and she broke into a cold sweat. She pushed herself further into the corner as she listened to the men finish their ceremony.

The light beneath the door was interrupted momentarily as a few of the men walked past and footsteps could be heard ascending a staircase above Melanie's head. Tears pricked at her eyes and she stared at the door, terrified that the men were about to come for her.

She silently leaned back toward the wood panels and glanced back at the space where the men had been standing. All of the men were gone, leaving the lifeless body of the woman still stretched out along the altar. Blood was dripping to the floor and the woman's head had fallen to the side with her mouth open and her empty eyes staring straight at Melanie.

Melanie quickly closed her eyes and pressed herself back into the corner, desperately trying to fight back the sobs that were trying to escape. She froze and held her breath as a single set of footsteps descended the staircase and shuffled along the dirt floor. Her heart was racing and she sat in silence, staring at the space beneath the door.

After a few tense minutes, Melanie began to relax slightly and she allowed herself to catch her breath. She didn't dare move, not sure where the person outside had gone or if he knew where she was. She would wait him out and try to escape once she was certain he was nowhere near.

The lock on the door suddenly clicked open and the door was wrenched open, flooding the room with light and blinding Melanie. She screamed as she was grabbed by the arm, forced her to her feet, and pulled her out of the cupboard and into the altar room.

-0-0-

Melanie was engulfed by darkness, her wrists bound tightly with rope and tied to the bottom shelf in the cupboard. She had no idea what time of day it was or how long she'd been trapped. She could hear movement above her and dust fell onto her upturned face as the floorboards above her creaked under the weight of the people upstairs. She held her breath, internally begging them to stay upstairs and not come check on her.

She could hear multiple footsteps coming closer as the group descended the staircase. A small amount of light appeared under the door of the cupboard and Melanie backed herself as far away from the door as she could. The lock on the outside of the door clicked open and Melanie turned her head, not wanting to look at her abductors.

"It's time," said a gruff voice.

Two robed figures grabbed both of Melanie's arms as another removed the chain from her restraints. She kicked and screamed as she was pulled into the next room and forced to kneel in the centre of the room. Otis and two other robed figures were at the opposite end of the room with a small fawn. The fawn was thrashing as one man held it tightly and the other chanted loudly while holding a silver goblet. Otis took a dagger and slit the animal's throat then watched as the man with the leader of the group held the goblet beneath the steady stream of blood, collecting as much as he could without spilling it.

The two men holding Melanie clutched her shoulders and arms tightly as the leader of the group approached her with the goblet clutched in both hands. As he chanted, he spilled a small vial of clear liquid into the goblet and held it to the sky. Otis walked behind her and pulled her chin up, pinching her nose and forcing her to open her mouth in order to breathe. The room was filled with the sound of monotone chanting as the leader forced Melanie to drink the warm blood from the goblet. The liquid trickled down her chin and onto her shirt as she tried to spit it out and Otis quickly knelt to her level, hissing angrily in her ear.

"Drink it!" he demanded. "We can do this all night if we have to. Waste it and you'll be making this a lot harder on yourself."

Melanie choked down the thick, warm liquid, gagging as it was forced down her throat. Once the goblet was empty, the leader was handed a small bowl and he dipped his thumb into the blood within. Melanie's head was forced back once more as Otis gripped her hair and the leader began drawing symbols on Melanie's cheeks and forehead as the group continued to chant.

As the leader stepped back, Melanie was pulled back to her feet and forced onto the altar in the centre of the room. She struggled to pull away as four hooded figures strapped her legs to the altar with leather bindings and pulled her arms above her head, causing her to scream as they irritated her rib cage while securing her restraints to a clip at the head of the altar.

The room had begun to spin and dark shadows seemed to grow out of every corner of the room and surround Melanie. She was on the verge of hyperventilating as the leader set the bowl on a shelf at the edge of the room and returned to her side with a dagger clutched in both hands. He handed the dagger to the man beside him and proceeded to lift Melanie's shirt to the base of her ribcage.

Melanie desperately pulled at her restraints as the leader took the dagger once more and set his hand on Melanie's stomach. The chanting became louder and the light emanating from the dozens of candles around the room flickered wildly.

-0-0-

She was pushed against a wall with Otis's fingers wrapped tightly around her neck. The hooded figures were watching closely, looking at her with anger and disgust. The leader was on the side of the table opposite Otis and was reading from a book, loud enough to be heard over the other voices. Melanie couldn't understand any of what he was reading and was too busy concentrating on trying to breathe to be bothered with what he was saying.

"You will keep your mouth shut! You understand?" Otis hissed, squeezing her neck even tighter. Melanie gripped his wrists and tried to get him to release her, but he had far more strength than she did. Her vision went dark and she could see sparks in the corner of her eyes. She tried to nod and Otis finally let go of her. She gasped for breath, pulling as much air into her lungs as she could as he forced her onto the altar.

"Lay down," Otis demanded in a threatening whisper. "And don't you fucking dare cry."

She bit the inside of her lip, desperately trying to fight back tears. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her upper arm, forcing her onto her back on the altar and slapping her across the face when she protested.

He pulled her arms above her head, clipping them into place before clipping her legs to the other end of the altar.

"No!" she sobbed.

He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed until she couldn't pull any air into her lungs.

"Who the fuck told you to speak?" he spat. "Stop your fucking crying and keep your mouth shut! Do not ruin this!"

He let go of her neck and she inhaled deeply, pulling as much air into her lungs as she could as Otis pulled her bloody, white Nike tank top up enough to expose her stomach and the base of her ribcage. The symbol they'd cut into her skin two nights prior was scabbed over and inflamed.

He stopped for a minute to admire the symbol, joining in with the chanting from the other cult members. He took a small pot of oil and poured it over Melanie's stomach, massaging it over the wounds to soften the scabs. Melanie whimpered and attempted to pull her legs and arms free, but Otis pushed her thighs down and glared at her.

The cult leader approached the altar with a dagger in one hand and a book in the other. Otis quickly stepped aside, still glaring at Melanie. He shook his head, a silent threat for her to keep her mouth shut.

Melanie was hit with a sudden wave of panic as the cult leader handed the book to Otis and placed his free hand on her stomach. He was chanting louder than the rest of the group and staring at the dagger as he held it over Melanie.

Melanie broke down into fits of sobs and desperately tried to pull herself free of her restraints as the cult leader pressed the blade against her stomach, slicing a thin line through her partially healed skin.

-0-0-

Melanie lay on the altar, panting and drenched in sweat, as the cult members filed out of the room, leaving her alone with Otis. She had passed out near the end of the ritual she had been subjected to and her mind was still slightly fuzzy as she came to. No matter how many times she was subjected to the cutting, it never got easier.

As the room came back into view, so did the shadowy figures created by the drugs she'd been forced to consume. She looked down at her stomach, which had begun to throb as she became more aware of her body. Blood was trickling down the sides of her torso and onto the altar from the multiple intricate lines the leader had cut into her skin. Although the cuts weren't too deep, she'd bled enough that the pattern in her skin was no longer discernible.

She let her head fall to the side to watch Otis as he moved around the room. Her head was pounding, making her stomach turn, and the tears she's shed earlier trickled down her cheeks. Hearing Melanie move behind him, Otis turned to face her and looked at her with disgust.

"Have a nice nap?" he asked sarcastically.

He approached the altar to remove the restraints from her feet as well as the chain pinning her hands to the top of the table by the rope binding her wrists together. She sat up slowly, wincing as she pulled her arms to her chest, causing pain to burn through her ribcage. She fought back tears as she looked over at Otis, who had walked toward the door of a small room and was looking at her expectantly as he leaned against the door with his arms over his chest.

"Don't even think about crying," he hissed, angrily. "You're already in enough shit. Get your ass over here."

She slid off the altar and obediently walked toward him. She was shaking uncontrollably, knowing exactly what was about to happen. She slipped passed Otis and stood in the centre of the room, turning back to look at him. She dropped her head as he closed the door and made his way over to a small, wooden cupboard. She slowly pulled her shirt over her head and stared at the blood staining the front of it before letting it dangle from the rope binding her wrists together. She made her way over to the wall opposite the door and waited in terror as Otis dug through the cupboard.

Gripping a leather strap, he turned toward her with an evil grin on his face. "I'm going to enjoy this," he stated with pleasure. "Feel like talking now?"

Melanie fought back tears and shook her head, freezing immediately as she realized her mistake. She looked at him with terror as he walked angrily towards her and backhanded her across the face. She dropped to the floor and tried to keep from crying, but a sob escaped and she was immediately kicked in the side.

"You don't fucking shake your head at me!" Otis screamed. "And stop your fucking crying. Get up!"

Melanie forced herself back to her feet and did everything in her power to stop herself from crying. She cowered as he stood in front of her and glared at her angrily.

"What are you waiting for?" he spat. She dropped her head and turned toward the wall, placing her hands on the cold brick wall and tensing. "I can't wait until tomorrow night," he whispered, pulling her hair and pressing his face against her head so his lips were next to her ear. "You've been nothing but a pain in my ass. I'm going to enjoy watching you get gutted like an animal."

He let go of her hair and ran the strap slowly along her back, smiling as she tensed and breathed in short, shallow gasps. He admired the purple and red marks he'd left on her back from the past two weeks. He always ended up pissed off with her during the rituals. She would fight against himself and the other cult members throughout the entire ceremony. She would beg and cry and throw up. It was no way for their sacrifice to behave and he was adamant to teach her to behave.

He ran his hand over her stomach, making her cry out as he irritated the wounds. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered with blood. With his finger, he drew a replica of the symbol on her stomach in blood on her back and he grinned maliciously.

"Tomorrow, you don't make a sound. Understood?" Melanie nodded quickly, digging her fingernails into the wall. "And to make absolutely sure of that, tonight we keep going until you learn to shut your fucking mouth and stop crying like a little bitch."

Gripping the strap tightly, he pulled his arm back to gain momentum before bringing the strap down against her back with as much force as he could muster. She screamed and pressed herself against the wall in a vain attempt to get away from him. Her knees buckled and she pulled her hands to her shoulder to press them against part of the bloody welt he had created.

"This is going to be a long, fucking night if you keep that up," Otis snapped. "Hands back against the wall and stop your fucking crying."

Melanie struggled to stand up straight and placed her hands back on the wall, cringing with the anticipation of getting struck again. She couldn't stop herself from crying no matter how hard she tried. She could hear him curse under his breath and the sound of the strap cut through the air. She cried out before the strap even connected with her skin.

-0-0-

Melanie gasped for breath and sat rigid as she looked around the room to figure out where she was. She was disoriented and it took a moment for her to realize she was safe. Her cheeks were damp from tears she didn't remember crying and she shakily wiped them away. Emma was immediately at her side and enveloping her in her arms. She was crying, but Melanie wasn't sure why.

"Melanie, I am so sorry," Emma whimpered, hugging Melanie tighter. Melanie hugged her back and looked around the room. All of the girls were crying, so were AJ and Brian. Everyone else looked pale and uncomfortable.

"Let go," Melanie squeaked uncomfortably, not understanding what was going on. Emma nodded and released her grip on Melanie, stepping back to let her stand up. Melanie was shaking and felt uncomfortable under the stares of everyone in the room. She quickly realized she still had no memory of her life before and she looked at Geri with betrayal.

"You lied to me," she whimpered.

"I'm sorry, darling," Geri sniffed, moving to hug Melanie. Melanie quickly ducked away, still looking at her with horror. "We needed you to tell us what happened so Otis and those other assholes could be put away and never come near you again. Please, don't be upset."

Melanie shook her head tearfully and looked over at the door with terror, fully expecting the cult to walk in and punish her for telling everyone what they'd done. She flinched away from Emma as she tried to take Melanie's hand and she stared at her with the same look of betrayal she'd given Geri. She tried to run for the door, but Simon quickly grabbed her and held her tightly against his chest. She screamed and tried to push away from him, but he held her tight, not wanting to give her any opportunity to fight him off.

"It's okay. They're not coming, love," he assured her. "We're not going to let them hurt you. Please, let's not do this again."

Melanie freed herself from Simon's grasp and raced to the door. She tore it open and tried to escape the room but Simon grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back in. Brian quickly stepped in front of the door to block Melanie's escape route and he joined Simon in trying to talk some sense into the girl as the remaining occupants in the room stood back to keep from escalating the issue.

"They're not going to know you told," Brian explained, pressing himself tightly against the door as Melanie managed to pull away from Simon once more. She gripped the door handled and desperately tried to open the door, but Brian was able to hold it closed. "Remember what we talked about the other night? Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise."

Melanie clutched the doorknob tightly and pulled back as hard as she could. Unable to get the door open, she looked at Brian and broke down. She stopped trying to get away and allowed him to hold her.

"Good girl," he whispered, holding her close. "This is one of those things you needed to get out. You've been dealing with this all by yourself for such a long time." Melanie continued to sob, clutching the back of Brian's shirt and pressing herself against him for comfort.

"Will that be enough to convict them?" Howie asked, looking over at Officer Shaw and the court official.

"We just need to get some physical proof of this room Melanie was talking about," Officer Shaw replied. "If we can get that, we've got an open and shut case."

"So, you don't need Melanie for anything else?" Kevin confirmed. Officer Shaw looked over at Melanie with concern.

"That's where we run into a problem," he replied. He waited for Melanie to settle before inviting her to sit back down in the chair. Brian sat first, pulling Melanie onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist. Officer Shaw knelt in front of them and looked at Melanie regretfully. "Melanie, my team and I have searched all of those men's homes and we haven't been able to find this room they took you to. Would you be willing to show us where it is?"

Melanie looked at him tearfully for a moment and shook her head.

"I don't want to go back there," she whimpered.

"I know, sweetheart," said Officer Shaw apologetically. "We'd all come with you and you'd be completely safe. All you have to do is show us where it is and then you can leave."

Melanie looked back at her friends, trying to read their expressions and decide if she could truly trust them. Tears streamed down her face as she returned her gaze to Officer Shaw and she slowly nodded.