0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Chapter 7: Falling Knives
Piper distantly heard moans. It took a few minutes for her to open her eyes and to realize the moans were coming from her. She tried to move, but it was impossible. Not only did every little movement send waves of pain to her head, she was bound at her ankles and wrists by duct tape.
She heard muffled crying from the other side of the room, so she turned her body and saw Sky huddled in the corner of the room, curled into the fetal position.
"Sky?" Piper moaned. Her head was killing her.
Sky turned towards Piper. "Piper, I'm so sorry. I never meant to drag you into this."
"Into what?" she asked. The conversation was cut short by a dark figure looming over her. The lights in the apartment were still off, but she could tell the figure was Toby, her attacker and Sky's abusive boyfriend.
"Bitch," Toby growled. He slapped her across the face and Piper gave a gasp of surprise. "Always interfering, aren't you? Well, how about I do you like I did little Miss Priss over there?" He indicated to Sky, who lay whimpering on the ground. For the first time, Piper realized Sky was half naked.
Toby pressed himself on top of Piper, who was lying on the couch, and began ripping off her shirt. Piper wriggled under his touch, trying to avoid him, but he was too strong, too powerful. Fear gripped Piper, and there was nothing she could do to stop Toby from raping her as he did Sky.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
It was after two when Mark finally arrived home. Looking forward to a nice warm bed with Piper next to him was the only thing that kept him from falling asleep on his feet. He unlocked the apartment door and walked in. He threw his jacket onto the kitchen chair, and as he did a white piece of paper fluttered from the table to the floor. He picked it up and instantly recognized Piper's handwriting. It read:
Mark,
Sky called and she sounded terrified. I'm
going over to her apartment. Call me on
my cell as soon as you get home.
Love,
Piper
Mark hurried to the phone to call Piper. Her cell rang a few times before switching to voice mail. Mark hung up and tried calling again, but the call went immediately to voice mail. Between the few seconds on making both calls, someone had shut off Piper's phone. And Mark was willing to bet everything it wasn't Piper.
Mark made a short call to Andy before rushing out to his car to go to Sky's. He knew where she lived because he and Piper had given her a ride home a few days after Piper had been attacked.
On his way to Sky's Mark just prayed to find Piper safe and unharmed.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Piper was lying on her back, her hands taped behind her, with Toby lying on top of her. He had the same knife he sliced her hand with and was lightly drawing marks on her chest and throat. Not with enough pressure to penetrate the skin, but enough to scare Piper shitless.
"I think I'm going to have fun with you," he said.
"Please, don't," Piper quietly pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"Please, don't," he said, imitating her voice. "Why should I? It's going to hurt you a lot more than it will hurt me." He gave a deep, throaty chuckle.
He now had her shirt completely off, and was now working on her pants. Piper began to struggle underneath him, trying to get him off of her.
"You a feisty one, aren't you?" he asked, laughing. "Sorta like Sky, before I taught her whose boss." He pinned her shoulders down and put his weight on her shoulders. "It'll be easier if you don't struggle," he whispered in her ear. Then he licked the side of her face, making Piper cry and struggle harder.
He was sitting on top of her, attempting to take off her pants when unmistakable sound of gun safety's being taken off. He looked up and two cops had their guns poised at him, ready to shoot. "Freeze!" they shouted when he attempted to move.
"Put your hands slowly above your head!" He slowly raised his hands, still holding the knife.
"Drop the knife!" Toby looked menacingly at Piper, then to the knife, then back to Piper. A slow smile spread across his face.
Andy was the first to realize what his plan was. He was going to quickly stab Piper. "Don't!" Andy shouted, but the knife was already falling, and Andy was already running.