Wicked Games

Chapter Five: Fear Will Always Make You Blind

"I-I don't understand." She whispered.

"I'm not untying her, Helga. And this isn't a trick. Well, not for you at least. For her maybe."

She prodded her toe into Lila's back.

"But not you."

"I don't understand." She said lowly. She dropped to her knees, putting her hands gently around the other girls face. She couldn't look away from Lila's terrified watery eyes looking back at her. Something in her was sinking, sinking through the floor to a place it couldn't come back from.

"But you do, don't you? I can see that in the glassiness of your eyes." Rhonda seemed to be in a different state. She was standing over the two of them, her hands clasped behind her back. The bright light cast shadows over her eyes.

"Helga, you are my best friend in the world. I would do anything for you." She dropped down into a crouched position, her face close to Helga's. She jumped. Rhonda's eyes were flat, dead, her eyebrows pulled together in extreme concentration.

"Do you understand that?" She asked quietly. Helga couldn't stop her eyes from automatically glancing at Lila, her terrified form on the floor. Could she overpower Rhonda and take control of the situation? Something told her Rhonda had an ace or two up her sleeve though. She was just a little too confident. Rhonda waited patiently for her to answer.

"Well?" She asked raising an eyebrow. The only way she could figure out how to save them was to keep Rhonda calm. She breathed.

"I understand." She said in a small voice.

"Excellent!" Rhonda stood, clapping her hands together.

"Then you understand what has to be done." With that, her face became very grave as she pulled a long, thin knife from her side and inspected it.

"Just a pinch, then sweet." She mused, touching the tip of it with her finger. Helga's heart stopped. Lila tried to look around but Helga stopped her.

"What exactly are you going to do?" She asked in a hushed tone. The silence was suddenly deafening, crushing in on them so every whisper was a shout. As Helga had walked to the warehouse, she had noticed the area was dead. It was deserted. There was no one nearby. They were completely alone. Isolated. Rhonda gave her a curious look.

"I'm not doing anything at the moment."

Helga stared at her. "What are you going to do?"

Rhonda sighed contently, letting her eyes fall to Lila.

"I'm giving you a gift." She said lightly. Lila stopped moving, her eyes wide with fear.

"Rhonda…" Helga began slowly, her eyes glued to the knife.

"Lila has betrayed us and hurt you. She flagrantly disobeyed my commands and has gone astray. She must be punished!" She finished severely. Lila shut her eyes as realization dawned on her face.

"But.."

"And it must be by your hand."

Helga stared at her in horror.

"Wh-what?" She stammered. Lila was trembling under her fingertips now.

"Her betrayal is with you, Helga. However, you are my right hand, so I couldn't let this pass. To clear this act though, you must be the one to wash it away."

She stared, completely dumbfounded. The knife caught the light.

"I-"

"Yes Helga?" She asked eagerly. Helga looked down at Lila, her eyes shut tight, trembling. Maybe if she played along, she could get the knife from Rhonda, subdue her, and free Lila.

"If that's what I have to do, then so be it." She said thickly, hanging her head as she put her hand forward. Rhonda made a sound of glee. Lila's eyes shot open in fright but she winked at her, certain her curtain of hair would hide this from Rhonda's view.

"So it shall be."

She placed the knife gently in the palm of Helga's hand.

"LILA!" A voice shouted from above them. Helga jumped, startled. The knife clattered to the floor.

"Who-?" Rhonda peered up at the balcony. Helga turned and caught sight of golden hair. Her heart stopped. Not him. Anyone but him. She squashed down a cry of fear. She couldn't have mistaken that hair anywhere.

"Arnold?" Rhonda asked curiously. He ran down the steps two at a time, landing hard at the bottom.

"What the fuck are you doing to her!" He shouted running at them.

"Stop being so dramatic Arnold. We're making a video." Rhonda crossed her arms as he fell to the ground beside Lila.

"What?" He glared up at her.

"HANK!" She shrieked suddenly. Helga turned and watched a large wall of a man walk into the room. He was unrealistically tall, with broad shoulders and thick arms.

"Will you please handle Arnold for me dearie? He's a little too emotional for this scene." She said nonchalantly waving a hand towards the couple on the floor.

"Arnold!" Helga gasped. She reached out to him as Hank yanked him up roughly from the floor. She could feel the shredding of her heart into hysterics. Her love, he was in danger. Stupidly, bolding attempting to be heroic and now she'd have to save him too. He'd never been good at staying quiting and assessing the situation. He always had to act.

"Get your hands off me! Get off me NOW!" He shouted fighting hard against Hank's hold on him. The man was unfazed, crushing the lanky Arnold against his chest. He jerked his arms back into a painful looking hold and Arnold yelped in pain.

"Please!" She gasped, looking at Rhonda beseechingly. "Please don't hurt him!"

Rhonda gazed at her for a moment and raised her hand. Hank hung his head but his hold visibly loosened.

"As you wish. Although he aught to be, Arnold is not the one on trial here. Lila is."

She bent down, retrieving the knife and stared at Helga.

"Now, before we were so rudely interrupted. The only way to wash away the stink of betrayal is to bathe in the blood of the sinner. Are you ready to be cleansed Helga?"

She held out the knife balanced on the palms of her hands. Helga paused, afraid to take it now that Arnold was a few feet away.

"Are you serious? You're in on this?" Arnold demanded enraged. She was taken aback by his out of character fury, his flushed cheeks, his piercing gaze.

"Arnold, you have to stop." She said quietly. She wished to God if he could ever trust her, that now would be the time. Rhonda's eyes darted between them suspiciously. She knew what she had to do but her urge to stop the distrusting hateful glare he was giving her was overpowering her rational thoughts. Her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces.

"I knew you were always jealous of her but to do this, participate in this is beyond contempt!"

"Arnold-"

"I HATE YOU!" He roared.

"SHUT UP!" She screamed back at him. "You fucking IDIOT! I'm trying to save her!"

She barely registered the shock on Rhonda's face. She snatched up the knife and threw herself at the witch. They fell to the ground. Rhonda was spewing swear words, clawing at her face, and grabbing her hair. Tears welled in her eyes. She tried to focus on getting Rhonda on the ground as they wrestled.

"You bitch!" She swore as Helga smashed the side of her face down onto the cold paved floor.

"Shut up!" She snapped. She grabbed the back of the other girl's raven black hair and jerked her head back at an awkward angle. Of course her arms shot up to immediately fight back but the cold metal of the knife at her throat made her freeze.

"Stop!" She commanded, meaning Rhonda. However, at the sight of the knife at Rhonda's neck, Hank threw Arnold aside roughly and rushed towards her. She yelped in fear, pushing Rhonda aside to brandish the knife freely. She backed away as he came at her but Arnold was behind him in no time and shoved him forwards. The momentum made him fly past her into the wall with a huge crash. He slumped over on the floor.

"Get Lila!" Arnold ordered. They rushed to her bondaged form. He grabbed her under her armpits and dragged her towards the doorway.

"Not on your fucking life!" Rhonda screamed. She flew up behind Helga and tangled her thin fingers in her hair again. Helga screamed, reaching automatically to free herself. She had forgotten about the knife in her hand though. Rhonda howled in pain, reeling back as blood drenched her arm.

"Hank!" Rhonda screamed. He rose, stumbling slightly, shook his head, but ran towards them again.

"Arnold!" She cried pointing. His face flushed. He ripped the knife from her hand and threw it at him. Hank tripped trying to avoid it, slamming hard onto the ground a foot from Lila's feet. He was stunned, shook his head, reached, and grabbed her ankle. Lila's scream was muffled by the tape.

"Noo!" Arnold shouted. He heaved her top part, tears trickled down her face. Hank pulled harder. She could see the determined, unstoppable hold he had on her ankle, the terrified pained look on Lila's face, Arnold's obvious fear and pain. They would not make it out of the room with her. She realized painfully they would have to leave her behind to save her. Her chest seized up.

"Stop!" She pulled Arnold by the arms, trying to wrench him away. Hank was dragging them further back into the room, into the wolf's den. Panic fluttered in her lungs. If they went back in there, Lila would surely die.

"You have to let go!" She cried, the tears free down her face now. One more foot.

"I can't!" Arnold pleaded.

"We have to!" He looked at her, tears in his own eyes.

"You have to trust me." She pleaded. He stared at her uncertainly. Hank yanked hard again.

"Noo!" Arnold cried as she slipped from his grasp. Helga jerked him back away from the door and shoved him down the dark hallway. They ran as fast as they could in the darkness.

"HELGA!" Rhonda's voice boomed through the hall. She dragged Arnold to a stop, they backed up against a wall.

"You can't escape from this! We are past the point of no return! She will be punished tonight! It's up to you if it will be by a kind hand or a cruel one."

She could feel Arnold groan as he choked back a sob.

"She's bluffing." She whispered. "She wants me to do it. She won't have it any other way. We can save her."

A piercing scream tore through the silence.

"Lila!" Arnold yelled. He ran past her back towards the yellow light. She didn't think, she just tackled him from behind, wrapping her arms around his chest and kneeing him roughly in the back of the legs. He collapsed under her weight.

"Lila! I'm sorry! Do you hear me? I'm SORRY!" He cried. He struggled beneath her, attempting to go to her. Helga froze. She could hear thudding footsteps. She looked up and could make out the large form of Hank running towards them and Rhonda's feminine silhouette in the doorway.

"God DAMNIT Arnold!" She jerked him up by the scruff of his shirt and shoved him in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered, running now.

"Shut up and move!"

They ran fast towards what they didn't know. They had a distinct advantage over the lumbering Hank. Although it was dark, their eyes were getting used to it. Helga grabbed his arm and pointed. They ran through a doorway into a large storage room. It was huge with a low ceiling. Chains hung down over them, swinging back and forth ominously.

"Oh God." She breathed. The room was designed like the room from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

"We have to hide." Arnold whispered. She nodded quickly. Hank stumbled in. They spun around to stare in horror.

"Come on!" He whispered jerking her forward. They ran over to the far wall where an air conditioning vent was sticking out. Arnold looked back at Hank investigating the room. Realizing he couldn't do this quietly, he kicked the vent hard and it's door broke off loudly. Hank's head spun around to their direction. He climbed in and motioned for her to follow. Helga was scared of small spaces but one last glance at Hank barreling towards them spurred her on. She climbed in behind him, feeling better realizing Hank would not fit in the space after them until something clamped down on her ankle. She screamed.

"Arnold!" She cried in panic. She was being pulled backwards.

"Helga!" He yelled. He grabbed her arms and pulled. Hank was stronger though. She was being dragged from the hole.

"No!" She cried hysterically. She kicked frantically, feeling herself hit something squishy. Hank groaned and released her. Arnold yanked her out of his reach. They sat there for a moment, panting heavily, Helga sitting between his legs in the small space as Hank's arms swung around eagerly at the opening.

"Let's move." Arnold whispered by her ear. She didn't, staring transfixed at the danger hunting them.

"Helga." He said softly, touching her arm. She snapped out of it, turning to look at him. He let out a breath heavily and turned to crawl down the vent. She followed behind him.

Helga didn't know how long they were like that before the vent got wide enough for them to get up and walk. He helped her stand. Her legs felt wobbly. Although she wanted to blame it on the crawling, she had a feeling it was much more than that. They walked in silence. What could they say?

"How did this happen?" He sighed suddenly. He pushed his hands into his pockets angrily, his shoulders slumped.

"I don't know." She said quietly, staring down.

"How could she do something like this?"

She shook her head and looked away. Silence fell again.

"Did you…did you ask her to do this?" He asked.

"No!" She hissed angrily. "I'm just as much a victim here!"

"I'm sorry." He said quickly.

"And frankly, it hurts like hell that you would think so little of me." She bit back, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Helga, okay. I'm sorry." They stopped and he put his hands on her shoulders. "I just, I didn't even think Rhonda was capable of this. My world's been turned on its head. I don't know what to think anymore. Does that make sense?"

His eyes bore into hers, pleading. She looked away awkwardly. He slipped his finger under her chin and forced her to look back.

"Helga?"

"Yeah, I get that." She said softly.

"I am sorry though. Really." He swiped a hand over her cheek, tucking a hair behind her ear. He let his arms drop and she missed the contact immediately. She cleared her throat.

"What now?" She asked quickly. They started walking again.

"Well, we have to get out of here and save Lila. So I guess we keep walking until that happens."

The vent was getting much darker though. She tried to focus on walking but her shoes and the darkness and the unevenness of the vent were out to get her. She stumbled twice before she actually fell, sprawled on her stomach.

"Helga, are you okay?" Arnold asked. He tripped over her legs though and fell on top of her, squashing the air from her lungs.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He asked again. She couldn't help it. It was almost instinctual, how she rolled over and his face was hanging down over hers. He pushed himself up on his hands to stand up but she reached up into the dark, seizing his face, and forced his lips down on hers. Of course he struggled, now was not the time nor the place, but she had to. It was funny how easily they fell right back into it, the way their tongues danced together, hands retracing old paths, all grown up this time.

They broke apart panting, staring at the other with new light, surprised. Arnold opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him.

"I don't want to die." She whimpered.

"We're not going to die." He said fiercely. "Not here. Not now."

"I'm scared." She whispered.

"Me too." He said softly. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. He moved to stand but stopped. She felt him reach over her head and wave his arm around.

"The floor ends." He said quietly.

"Really?" She pushed herself up on her elbows and reached past her upper body. He was right. About half a foot away from where she had landed, the floor ended ubruptly.

"Wow, we were lucky." She said softly.

"Yeah, lucky." He said grimly. He stood and pulled her up. They stood for a moment over the hole before them. It was like one obstacle after the other.

"Do you have anything on you? Something small?"

She dug around in her pockets but found nothing.

"How about an earring?" She reached up immediately to pull off the pearl stud. She dropped it into his palm.

"That'll do." He said. He put his hand over the opening and dropped the earring. She heard a plink! a few seconds after.

"Okay, so that's not too deep. If you could hold onto me, I could shimmy down and you could just jump down into my arms."

"That doesn't sound too safe.." She said.

"Do you have any other ideas?" He asked. She stared down into the abyss but said nothing.

"Alright then. Just hold onto me." He said. He knelt down and poked his head over the edge. After a moment, he lowered himself over the side, holding onto the ledge.

"Grab my arms, give me some leverage." He puffed out.

"Plant your heels firmly. Hold onto me."

She grabbed him under the armpits. He put out a foot hesitantly to test.

"Shit, I'm in trouble. Help me back up, help me back up!"

"What's wrong?"

"I was wrong, it's too deep. Help me up!"

His foot slipped against the wall. His feet were running through the air. Helga's heels lifted up.

"Arnold!" She screamed.

"Helga!" He cried.

She fell forwards into the black. She knew she had flipped head over heels. Arnold's arms disappeared. She fell without seeing. In her mind, she knew she shouldn't scream. Somewhere, Hank would hear them and find them but she couldn't help it. She was terrified. She heard a thunderous thud below her and a yelp from Arnold. Her body smashed into his. He yelped again as her scrawny limbs pierced him. A terrible renting sound ripped through the air. They fell again, the vent giving way beneath them. They cried out as the metal gave way and tore at them.

They fell into a giant rolling basket. It was filled with dirty, dusty sheets.

"Helga?" Arnold groaned.

"Arnold." She whimpered. Her arm was on fire.

"Are you okay?" He said thickly.

"I'm hurt."

"Let me see."

She offered up her arm. He took it tenderly.

"I'm not gonna lie. You're bleeding a lot. I'll have to wrap it up."

He started ripping strips from the sheets they were laying in and tied up her arm gingerly. She noticed sadly it didn't take long for them to turn red.

"We have to move. They're bound to have heard that. Can you stand?" He asked. She moved her arm carefully. It stung badly but she figured she could at least walk.

"Come on. We have to get out of here quickly."

She pulled herself up by the side of the bin. Her arm screamed.

"Come on." He scooped her into his arms and put her gently on the floor. They were in some sort of stockroom. They walked out into a dark hallway and tried to quiet.

"Hey!" Someone unfamiliar shouted.

"Run!" Arnold shouted. He pushed her forward, determined to keep her in front of him and put himself between her and their new attacker.

"Wait!" The pursuer yelled. Arnold kept his arms out, his fingertips against the top of her spine to prod her on in front of him but she was slowing down too quickly.

"Arnold." She whimpered.

"What?" He gasped.

"I can't keep going. I have to stop." Tears streamed down her face.

"Then I'll fight." He said. They slowed until she could stop gently. The dark form following them slowed as well, keeping a safe distance.

"If you touch her, I will kill you with my bare hands!" Arnold bellowed. He fell into a natural defensive stance, his arms held up, knees bent, glowering intently at the figure.

"I come bearing no harm." The person called out. He held his arms a loft and walked slowly towards them.

"Said the liar." Arnold snarled.

"Look, just look at my face."

He stepped into the light. She stared at him. She almost recognized him, like a fuzzy image just on the cusp of her memories. He was tall, lean, with bronzed skin and golden curly hair like a halo around his head.

"Who are you?" She cried, her nerves completely frayed by all the new twists and turns.

"My name is Micah." He said

She gasped at the familiar name.

"I'm Nadine's older brother."