The rough play zone
She had kicked, punched, tried to scream, but to no avail. In seconds she was gagged and bound, hands behind her back, and John Wakefield gazed impassionately at her, before he kicked her in the back, obviously to get her moving.
She stumbled forward, afraid of what would happen if she resisted – and even more scared by the thought of what would happen anyway – no matter what she did. I need a miracle, she thought, while inwardly screaming by the slithering sound Jimmy's body made on the forest ground as Wakefield dragged him along. He steered her with kicks and punched, dragging her up roughly when she fell.
Oh no, we're not going there? Why? This can't bode well - he probably had something particularly grizzly in store, and she was mortally afraid for Henry, Trish, Shea, Madison – even Sully.
Xxx
Henry stared at Sully's corpse. This was disturbing. It was so much more fun killing Sully than he'd anticipated – he'd really enjoyed himself, taunting Sully, scaring him, before attacking.
Sully didn't even have a chance – he was truly shellshocked, and hadn't been able to defend himself. But there was absolutely no time to dawdle – Abby was in great danger – somewhere on the island. But where? Knowing his Dad, the possibility was he'd stuck with their original stage for the final showdown. Henry ran.
Xxx
He stopped outside, placing the shells in the gun again. There was no one left on the island he wanted to kill, but he'd do whatever he had to. Entering, Henry found that his Dad still could shock and overwhelm him – he almost couldn't take in the scene in front of him. Then «Here comes the Bride» blared to life from the speakers, and jumping in shock, Henry came out of his daze.
His father had lit candles along the nave and all over the floor around the altar. In front, on the chairs usually reserved for the happy couple, he'd propped up the corpses of Trish and Jimmy, their dead eyes staring vacantly at each other. Trish still in her wedding dress, and flowers – flowers - placed in her hands. The effect was truly horrifying. His father had surely outdid himself – even when counting in the Tree of Woe.
And on the altar – oh God – Abby was bent backwards over the altar, her eyes searching for his, frantic and panicstricken. She was bound, her arms wrenched and hanging down behind her , and a gag was stuffed in her mouth. Oh God – but she was at least still alive. But what had his Dad told her? From the elaborate scene in front of him, he understood that his father never would let her go.
«Enter the groom!» his father sneered, coming out from the shadows behind the altar.
«Come for his wedding, finally. Kept your dead bride waiting, did you, Henry Dunn?» The inflection on Henry's last name was scathing, and he found himself staring at his Dad, not understanding what he was playing at.
«Come to finally see your best friend being the evening's first sacrifice, before it's your turn?» His mouth still hanging open, Henry caught on. Of course, all this was staged to scare the hell out of Abby. His father probably wanted her to be mortally afraid for Henry's life, before Henry revealed himself as Wakefield's son, scaring her even more. This – this had possibilities. It meant that Abby didn't know yet...
He walked slowly up the isle towards the altar, Abby's eyes big with fear and desperation. She tried to shake her head at him, whimpering behind her gag, and he understood: She wanted him to run away, to save himself. How he loved her – she was wonderful, putting her life in front of his... Now he only had to save her.
The swishing sound of the boarding knife stopped him short, and the sight of his father bending the tip of the big knife down to Abby's throat made his blood freeze. No! Was he already going to...?
«You look so much like Sarah», his Dad murmured, ripping her clothes open with the knife, baring her chest. Henry could see Abby panting hard, her chest heaving, and Wakefield leaned over her, ogling her, he thought in outrage.
Henry clenched the gun until his knuckles whitened, his rage almost boiling over at the indignity she was being subjected to. His beautiful, innocent Abby!
His Dad proceeded to tear open her pants with the knife, leaving her almost naked on the altar. The insult was too much for him, he could see the tears and horror in Abby's eyes, and he knew that his expression mirrored her shock. He was standing still, but his control was almost shattered.
His dad lifted his eyes from Abby's body – the damned, despicable pervert – and stroked the edge of the boarding knife lovingly against Abby's breasts.
«Henry Dunn, you do as I say, or else Abby Mills will be history right now. Let go of the gun, slowly», he said gratingly.
Henry desteted the way his father pronounced his name – and hated him for using it to reassure Henry of his good intentions. As long as the good intentions didn't extend to Abby, Henry couldn't feel any relief at all. But he lowered the gun slowly, putting it down, holding his hands up behind his head.
Xxx
Abby's whimper was even more frantic, her eyes telling him to run for his life. Henry, no, save yourself! she thought, scared almost witless by the thought of having to watch him die. Oh God, he won't run, he'll try to play the gentleman, just like Cal, no, Henry! She tried to convey all this by her eyes, and her heart sank when she realized that he understood – and that he wouldn't leave her like this.
Wakefield strode towards Henry, putting the boarding knife to his back, and pushed him roughly towards the altar. He stopped directly in front of her, looking down in her eyes. She could see that he was scared – but she could also see a fair amount of determination in his eyes. He hadn't given up! But – there wasn't any chances left, she knew that, this was it. They'd both die.
Xxx
«Take a good look at her. Isn't she beautiful?»
His head almost whipped around, hearing his Dad saying that. What? Had he finally come around? No, this was a part of the trap – it had to be.
His Dad stretched out his hand, pressing down on Abby's throat, making it hard for her to breathe. «I'll love to feel my blade sliding inside her, hearing her gasp and sigh», he continued, leering at her.
What the hell? Was he threatening Abby with rape? This was way over the line, and he could see her eyes widen in shock. He had to end this, quickly. Feeling the pressure of the boarding knife lessen against his back, he lowered his hands, inching his right hand to his back pocket. He knew his Dad wouldn't care to keep up the charade for much longer – after all, how could he possibly scare Abby even more? Oh yes, by telling her everything.
«So, Abby, it's time for the ugly tru... ughh!» Wakefield grunted, as Henry's pocket knife slit his throat. Spinning around, he got a perfect aim at his father, and finished up the job by stabbing him in the heart. The throat was mainly to make sure he didn't say another word – a mere technicality, so to speak.
Wakefield's body twitched, and he slowly buckled and fell towards Abby. Terrified, Henry saw that the boarding knife would become lodged between them, possibly hurting her, and he lunged forward, just managing to wrestle the knife in another direction.
Rudely showing Wakefield's corpse away , he gathered Abby up in his arms. In the process, his Dad's body knocked over several of the candles, and the carpet on the floor caught fire. The flames spread rapidly, but Henry was busy cutting away Abby's gag.
«Oh, Henry!» she gasped when he had removed the gag, «I thought this was it! I was so scared, and when you showed up, I was sure he'd kill you too!»
«I thought so too,» he panted, «I was desperate, thinking he'd kill you!»
He lifted her up, running out of the church, not taking the time to remove her ties on her hands or her legs. The church was almost completely aflame, and coughing they emerged into the yard.
Carefully he slid her down along his body, leaning her against a tree. He was painfully aware that she was naked. Holding her naked in his arms was after all what he had dreamt of for years. But he'd never thought that the chance to do so would present itself in such an unlikely manner.
Xxx
The adrenaline rush was violent, she felt almost giddy with relief. As Henry put her down against the tree, she realized that she was completely naked, and that he was acutely aware of the fact.
In his eyes, she saw a brief glimpse of something dark and longing, before he closed them. She noted he found the oddest way to untie her hands, holding her tight, while sliding his arms around her back. Pressing her into his body, he cut the rope away with his pocket knife. Almost as if he wanted to touch her as much as possible? No, she had to be wrong. Clearly, she wasn't as level-headed as she usually was. Releasing his hold, he knelt, eyes thankfully still closed, and freed her legs too.
He rose, and took of his brown sweater, giving it to her.
«Here, take this. You must be cold», he said.
Gratefully, she put in on, saying «Thanks» in a small voice.
Looking back at the burning church, all the adrenaline rush disappeared in an instant. Oh, God, Jimmy's body was in there – Trish's too, but, oh, Jimmy...
She broke down, crying again, and he hugged her, whispering soothing words in her hair. Slowly, he turned her around, leading her through the woods towards the marina.
Xxx
«Oh my God, Henry, is that Sully? Is he dead too?» Her whisper was low and horrified, and he squeezed her shoulder.
«Yeah. I did this – he tried to attack me, Abby, it must have been him.» He'd decided that the only way he could get away with it was to shoulder the blame for this death himself. It was unlikely that Wakefield would have had the time, besides it was the small matter of the Coast Guard knowing that he'd been with Sully – and at the same time Wakefield would have been busy with Abby.
«What, no? Sully? Oh, God, and he killed Jimmy right in front of us – the bastard!» she suddenly shouted, running towards Sullys body and kicking it violently. He was so surprised and shocked by her reaction, that he barely managed to take hold of her, dragging her away. She turned in his arms, locking her eyes to his, and said fiercely: «Thank you, Henry. Thank you for killing him!» He was pleased to no end by her words.
Xxx
She smelt so good, sitting in his arms at the railing. He couldn't understand how she could smell so good after the week they had on the island. He knew that he didn't smell nearly so good himself, and he had stepped into the shower with Trish only this morning. But killing people was hard work, that's what his Dad had used to tell him. Today, he had killed - he ticked them off mentally on his fingers - Trish, Sully, Dad… There were so many off them now, it was actually hard to remember. Especially when he could hold Abby so close to him. He decided that he would keep her as close as she would allow for as long as she would allow it. This was a good chance to ingrain a habit of intimacy.
He didn't mind leaving his play zone, because he knew they'd be back at Harper's in a matter of days or weeks.