Author's Note: Thank you to Shirayuki55 and hollyhalebnichorelloregelolove for leaving such nice reviews; they are very appreciated. Also, a little background info to help readers understand this chapter a little more-the man who's abducted Lorna and Nicky brainwashes them into believing that they're sisters and forces them to call him "father". Just to clear that up in case anyone gets confused...Anyway, hope this chapter is okay. Sorry it's dark but it will lighten up soon-I promise.
Warning: Kidnapping, child abuse/torture, graphic depictions of violence, strong language, etc. Read at your own risk.
Chapter Three
The van jolts to a stop. Nicky holds on tighter to Lorna—keeping her head held down to her chest. "Try not to cry, yeah? I know it's scary, kid—but I think it's safest if we try to stay quiet," she whispers soothingly against the younger girl's ear. The faint sound of a door opening and then quickly shutting causes a tense knot to form in her stomach. She feels the brunette's body convulse against her own and squeezes her arms tighter around her.
"I-I don't wanna be killed, Nicky," Lorna sobs out, clutching desperately onto her neck while hiding her face in the crook of it. All those horrifying stories she's heard on the news—she and Nicky might end up the same way, and the thought alone terrifies her tremendously.
Rubbing her back over and over, the redhead nods her head slowly. Tears run down her cheeks. "It's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay, Lorna. Just-just think happy thoughts, yeah? Do what I do. I've seen enough of these kinds of things in movies…I can get us out of this mess—just calm down," she brushes her lips comfortingly over Lorna's head.
Shaking and rumbling of the vehicle causes alarm to both girls. They focus their eyes on where they sense it's coming from and are washed with fear when the middle-aged man hovers over them from the open trunk. His blue eyes stare intently down into their frightened ones. "Didn't no one teach ya not to talk to strangers?" He gives a taunting laugh before yanking them both roughly out of his van.
With the two young—terrified—girls tucked harshly under either arm, he carries them up to and into his house. He drags them down the stairs to the basement where he's spent the past several months creating a soundproof, concrete, box for whatever vulnerable children he could find and throws them on the ground. He grabs a rope from its place on the wall and begins by tying Lorna's arms behind her back—reigning in her weakness and fear.
Nicky cries at the pain his action causes to her best friend. She tries to crawl over to her but feels a blunt object hit roughly against the back of her head and falls unconscious.
A loud scream escapes the brunette, "Don-don't touch her!" Tears stream along her pale cheeks as she tries to make her way over to the unmoving redhead.
The man quickly chains Nicky against the back wall and then goes back over to the smaller child. He gruffly pulls her up from the floor and carries her over to a kennel-sized cage—sitting on the opposite side of the room—and throws her inside, locking the door so she's trapped. "It's a shame no one taught ya to stay away from strangers, huh? This'll teach you two delinquents not to skip school again…bet mommy and daddy will be so sad to hear their daughters are missing," he chuckles, reaching between the wires to trace a finger coolly against the tremoring child's neck.
Sobs wrack through Lorna's body. She tries to move away from his touch but realizes there's nowhere to move—the cage is too small for her body. "P-p-please let-let us go," her voice timidly pleads.
"And lose my chance at some fun? Fuck no," the man laughingly responds, slowly standing up and making his way towards the stairs. He looks back at her and smirks. "No use in screaming, little girl. Ain't no one will hear ya. Just stay put til' I come back later…the three of us are gonna be real close, I sense."
Nicky wakes up with a severe headache overpowering her. She squints her eyes trying to make sense of where she's at. Her wrists feel tight and prickly; when her eyes glance at them, she realizes the chain that digs deeply into her skin and yelps. It slowly comes back to her—everything that's happened in such a short amount of time. Her heart races when she doesn't see Lorna. She looks around, as far as her eyes can look, but doesn't see any sign of the tiny brunette.
"L-Lorna? Are ya here, kid?" She quietly calls out, trying not to be heard by the man—who she prays isn't in the room.
That warm, soothing, voice brings a wavering comfort over the frightened brunette. She nods her head and taps on the cage so that the other knows she's trapped. "He-he locked me in a cage…Nicky, are-are you okay? He hit your head real hard—are ya hurt?"
To hear that the younger girl's trapped in a cage instantly wipes Nicky's pulsing headache away and, in turn, washes her with strong worry. She doesn't care what pain she's in all she cares for is how Lorna is coping. "I'm fine, kid, don't worry. He fucking put you in a cage? What the fuck? This is like a fucking horror movie…God, I'm so sorry Lorn! Are ya hurt or anything, kid?"
"He-he's coming back down here, Nicky. He said we're gonna be real close…what's that mean? Please tell me what that means—is that code for kill?"
Gulping, Nicky can't find the words to give. She doesn't want to scare Lorna any more than she already is. "I—I don't know, baby. I don't know what he's gonna do but Lorna…look, it's not gonna be good. I don't wanna scare ya, kid, but this isn't a safe situation." She yanks her hands harshly around, trying desperately to break the chain off the wall. A sense of victory hits when she frees herself from the wall. She quickly walks over to the brunette and nearly tears up at how cramped she looks in the kennel.
She grabs the door and hurries to unlock it, pulling Lorna out and carrying her to the furthest corner of the room. "We have to keep quiet. Don't want him to come down here. I know it's real scary, but you need to try to stay calm—I won't let him hurt you," her voice whispers uneasily against the smaller girl's ear. She lays Lorna gently in her arms, terrified of what will happen to them.
"How-how long are we gonna be stuck here? I-I wanna go home, Nicky…I don't want him to kill us."
Rubbing her thumb delicately across her friend's forehead, Nicky pulls her closer and shrugs her shoulders. "Lorna…the chances are kinda low that we'll get outta here…I-I've seen enough horror films to know that it's very rare for anyone to make it alive outta a kidnapping. But, just—just remember we're here together, yeah? We have each other; that's all we need, kid."
Lorna opens her mouth to respond when the sound of a door creaking open startles them. She grips tighter onto the taller child, hiding her face in her chest as tears pool into a puddle.
"Shh, shh, shh," the redhead soothes, brushing a comforting hand through her brown curls. "I'm right here. I won't let him hurt you; I promise, baby."
"I don't want him to hurt you either," the younger girl tearfully whispers, laying her head beneath Nicky's chin and snaking her arms death-grippingly tight around her neck.
Footsteps slowly ascending down the stairs quiets them instantly. The two try to hide in each other's arms but when the man finally enters the room, his eyes shoot daggering glares towards the both of them. "How the hell did ya manage to undo the chains and let that little runt sister a yours out, huh?" He harshly throws out his questions, walking nearer.
Hovering over their tremoring bodies, he grabs hold of the smaller girl's legs and tries to yank her off of Nicky. "Ya better wise up and let go. You're only making things worse for the both of you, little shit," he spits in her face and pulls so hard on her that her body spins in the air and slams face first against the floor half-way across the room.
Nicky feels a sob escape her at the heartbreaking squeals that come out of her friend. She pushes herself up, walking over to her but before she can try to hold her, she falls backward to the concrete ground. Her legs lunge at the man—trying so mercilessly to kick him right in-between his leg.
He quickly yanks her away from the brunette and drags her to the back corner, rechaining her while also tying her legs together with a triple-knotted rope. "We can't have you trying to escape again," he gruffly states, letting his fingers brush coolly along her face. The sensation of teeth chomping down on his hand causes him to jump in surprise.
"Why you little shit!" The man growls, quickly running to the rickety desk in the middle of the room and grabbing a roll of tape from drawer. He walks back over to Nicky and cuts a long piece off the roll—placing it tightly over her mouth. "That oughta keep your mouth shut. Think you can outsmart me, do ya little girl? Well, ya try that shit again and see what happens to that runt sister a yours."
Brown eyes widen in fear. Nicky profusely shakes her head while tears stream along her cheeks. She looks over at the brunette—who's head lies motionless against the dirt-floor.
The man picks Lorna up and places her back inside the kennel—this time placing a rope around her neck and tying it to the top of the cage. He does the same with her hands in effort to stop her from being able to get out. Once he's shut and locked the door, he stands up and admires his work. "You two probably wish ya stayed in school, huh? Oh, well, ya made up your mind and this is your consequence…now ya can think about it for a good long time if skipping school was worth all this. Now, I gotta go make a phone call—let your families know that you're dead. If I come back down here and see either of you undone from your contraptions, I will decapitate both of you."
Years, months, weeks? Nicky's not sure the last time she saw the outside world. The last time she felt the sun on her face or heard the song of the birds. She knows it's had to have been at least a year or two…the way people dress is certainly not the same as she remembers. The overwhelming sights of nature mesmerize her eyes—she forgets what she's doing out here with how much pleasure she's experiencing from just standing and taking in everything.
"Nicky," that gentle voice instantly brings the redhead back from her tranquil daze.
She immediately turns to stare at Lorna—the only person who's kept her from losing her sanity all these years—and softly gazes into her frightened eyes. "Isn't it so peaceful out here, kid? I wish we could just live out here—the two of us. Get away from this evil house," her voice desperate as she flinches at the thought of having to return inside soon.
Lorna timidly nods but continues to give her a fearful glance. "Father is angry," she barely speaks louder than a whisper. The man who's kidnapped them and causes them the most torture tells them to refer to him as father, and the brunette can hardly say it without wanting to vomit. Compared to her real dad, he's the devil himself.
"Come here," the redhead tenderly commands, her eyes peering concerningly into her 'sister's' brown orbs. She immediately stops from hanging the clean clothes to envelop Lorna in a protective embrace. "He hurt ya? Show me your arms, baby…let me check them." Her heart nearly shatters when she feels the younger girl's body flinch at the touch.
"Lorna…please don't be scared of me—I-I'm not gonna hurt you. What did he tell you? What the fuck did he put in your head, kid?"
Her eyes gazing down at the ground, Lorna slightly shrugs her shoulders. All those years she longed to get out of the Morello household—this makes that seem like a dream-life. Sure, her dad abused and beat her but not nearly as bad as this man—this monster who's not only took control of she and Nicky's lives but also robbed them of their free will and thoughts.
Waving a hand gently in her face, the taller girl peers unnervingly into her eyes. "Ya with me, kid? Talk to me," Nicky softly pleads, brushing the tips of her fingers cautiously along Lorna's cheeks.
"He's real mad," she lowly replies, still refusing to stare up at the other. "I-I heard him sayin' something about, about c-cuttingyourheadoffandfeedingyourbodytothewolves," the words jumble together in her frantic cries of fear.
"Whoa, whoa…ya needa calm down and talk slower, sweetie—I didn't hear what ya said," the redhead warmly informs, brushing her hand tenderly through the other's hair. Her arms envelop tightly around her waist.
Lorna sniffles, snaking her arms tight around Nicky's neck. "He-he pl-plans to ki-kill you, Nicky…I heard him!"
Caressing the back of her palm against the brunette's face, Nicky shakes her head and presses a tender kiss onto her forehead. "Shh, shh. He can't kill me, kid. I won't let him. In fact, I've had enough of his shit—I say we oughta kill him. He needs to die for all the pain and torture he's put you and I through, don't ya think?"
Slightly nodding, the other looks up at her with a fearful expression. "But we'll be sent to jail for murder…"
"Kid, he fucking kidnapped us and took away the past ten years of our lives—if anything they'll be grateful to us for saving them the trouble of having another useless monster fed by the people of this country. It's either we kill him, or he kills us. What's more important baby?"
Sobs overpower Lorna as she shrugs her shoulders. To have him dead would be a great relief but she knows she's not capable of killing and certainly doesn't want the other to do it. The police won't care for their explanation—they'll be forced to spend the rest of their lives in jail if they go forth with killing him and that's not something she can live with.
The slamming of the house door immediately stiffens both young women in their tracks. They hold on tighter to each other, bracing themselves for what the man might do. He slowly walks over towards them; his blue eyes dilated and raged as they glare darkly at his two captives. "What the fuck is taking the two of you so long?"
His eyes dart to Lorna with a bubbling irritation. "I told ya to come out here and get your sister—not fuckin' stand out here and fucking talk to her for an hour. How stupid are you?" He yanks her arm harshly, pulling her away from Nicky and slamming her to the ground.
Nicky grits her teeth in a deepening fury. Her brown orbs burn fiercely into his. "Lorna's not even remotely stupid. Fuckin' asshole. Why can't ya just let us fuckin' leave? You've done nothing but ruined our entire lives."
Those words only fuel his rage. He grabs them both by the arms and drags them back inside the house—throwing them on the floor once they're inside. He pulls out a gun from his jean's pocket, holding it up over their heads. "Ya wanna say that shit again?"
"Stop, stop it! Please!" Lorna sobs out, her legs buckling in on her as she lies on the floor with pleading eyes.
Touching the tip of the gun to her head, he peers intently down at her—a hidden evil within his own. "Ya want me to stop it? One pull a this trigger and you'll be outta here. It's as simple as that, little delicacy." His finger slides nearer the trigger while observing her frantic shrieks.
Tears pouring down her cheeks, Nicky hurriedly grabs Lorna and pulls her into her arms—slowly backing away from their captor. She tries to shield the tiny brunette from the brutality of what plays out next but feels something jagged come in contact with one of her hands and lets out an instinctive scream. "Jesus, fuck!" She cries, turning to look at her hand and gasps at the blood dripping out of it.
Lorna sobs harder at the sight of her hand; her arms wrap tighter around Nicky. "You-you needa get outta here, Nicky," she whispers, staring up at her with pained eyes.
"How the hell can we, kid? He's got a fuckin' gun—already shot one of us…ya think I'm letting you stay here without me? Fuck no," Nicky firmly points out but presses a comforting kiss atop the brunette's head. She leans their foreheads briefly together and looks lovingly into the other's brown orbs. "We need to try to get the gun from him and shoot him. Do ya wanna try to distract him? I don't want you touching that gun. If he's gonna die…I'm the one killin' him; cause God forbid we get sent to jail for this—I rather be the one who's done the deed, yeah?"
The brunette timidly nods and shakily forces herself into a standing position. She unsteadily walks closer to their abductor—who continues to hover in his spot with the gun tightly held in his hands—and tries to walk past him to stand behind but immediately feels his hands grab at her – pulling her to kneel on the ground in front of him.
"You two shits really think ya have the power to outsmart me, huh? Nice try. You can't defeat me no matter how bad ya wanna. You're both weak little lambs. Couldn't kill me if ya tried," he laughs, stepping his foot harshly on Lorna's hand—making her yelp in obvious pain.
Those words mercilessly taunt Lorna; the sensation is strong enough to force her to swing her leg forward and kick him in between the legs. She kicks hard enough that he can't get up for several minutes without a sharp pain overpowering his entire body and watches as Nicky quickly pounces on him—yanking the gun roughly from his hands.
Nicky points the gun at him while wrapping her arms fiercely around the shorter woman's shaking body. "Ya wanna bet on that, yeah? I'll press this trigger and watch you die without a care in the world—ya ain't nothin' but the devil's son," she screams out, her eyes welling with tears as she glares angrily down at the man—the man who's taken nearly a decade of her life away.
"I doubt you have the guts—you little wuss. You had plenty of chances to run away but you never did—either of you fuckin' dumbasses. Know why? Cause you're weak little puppies who need a master to tell them what to do," the man growls, a dark smirk sitting on his face.
That's enough to fuel her rage right over the tipping point; she pulls down on the trigger and slowly releases it. Her arms tighten around the frightened brunette. She kisses her softly on the head before hurrying towards the door with her. Opening it, she gently takes Lorna's hand and carefully pulls her out of the house—out of their torturous life they've suffered.
Lorna's intense shaking makes Nicky stop at the end of the sidewalk—near the curb of the road—and sits down with her for a minute to calm her. She brushes a soothing hand soothingly through her dark curls of hair; eyes gazing softly down into the other's. "Look at me, baby…look at me," her voice softly whispers.
The brunette obediently does what's asked. Her brown orbs red and puffy with a river of tears. "He hurt you—he hurt you, Nicky."
"Baby, I'm okay. It's over now; it's all over and we're both alive," her voice tenderly assures Lorna. She strokes the tips of her fingers softly along the Italian's teary face, wiping them dry. "No more torture, sweet girl—we're safe now."
"We have no where to go. Our families—they think we're dead, Ni-Ni-Nicky! What—what are we gonna do?"
Pulling the hysterical Lorna back into her arms, Nicky softly kisses her forehead before placing it onto her chest and rubbing a soothing hand up and down her head. "Calm down, Lorn. You don't need to be so frightened anymore—we're okay now," she softly confirms, caressing her delicately. "What we need to do before anything else, kid, is go down to the nearest police station and tell them everything. It's gonna be hard and painful but we need to do it, Lorn."
"Everything is gonna be okay, though. We'll get through this together, my sweet girl. Just remember that, yeah?"