Sorry sorry sorry! I had a massive dissertation presentation to do in uni, but it's over now thank god! So on with our story . . .
Chapter 18
Jenny paced around the roomy basement, trying desperately to control her panic as her eyes scanned the place, looking for any points of weakness she could possibly use to her advantage. The room was dimly lit by a naked bulb hanging from the ceiling, and wooden beams dipped low over-head. The rickety staircase covered most of the side wall, with pitch black gaps in between each step that looked creepy and foreboding. Her gaze fell on a camera that looked like it had recently been fitted in the corner, it's red light winking ominously at her, making her feel like she was being examined under a microscope. Resisting the urge to put two fingers up at who ever was watching her at the other end, she looked away and spotted a tiny little window right at the top of the adjacent wall, and through it, blades of grass were only just visible, brushing up against the glass. It didn't offer her much hope, as she knew without even trying that her hips wouldn't go anywhere near it; in fact, she doubted very much whether Abby's waif-like figure would even fit through. Still, it seemed silly to not even try and see if it was unlocked. Using a couple of boxes to lever herself up, she balanced haphazardly against the clammy wall and reached up, pushing on the handle.
Locked. Of course.
"There's no point in trying to break out," an unfamiliar female voice spoke from behind her. "Everywhere's secured."
Turning sharply and barely stifling a yelp of surprise, Jenny saw that a slim blonde woman was standing half way down the stairs, holding a tray in her hands and carrying something dark under her arm.
"It doesn't mean I won't try," Jenny retorted coldly as she hopped down from the box.
"Of course," the woman smiled slightly, walking down the last few steps carefully whilst keeping the tray balanced.
"Who the hell are you?" Jenny asked, watching her suspiciously; the woman may look angelic, but if she was with this gang, Jenny doubted she was as sweet as she appeared.
"My name's Kathryn," she replied politely as she set the tray down on a box near the stairs.
The name rang a bell in Jenny's head, and when she strained, she remembered the words of one of the men upstairs. "You're Matt's girlfriend?" she asked, folding her arms and watching her.
The woman let out a small laugh. "That would be a term used very loosely."
"Right . . ." said Jenny, giving her a funny look.
"Don't judge," Kathryn said, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Jenny raised her hands. "I'm not. It's none of my business."
The woman crossed her arms also, and her bright green eyes studied Jenny's face for a moment, as though searching for something there.
"I've brought you some fresh clothes,'" she said eventually, gesturing over to the pile of black material next to the tray. "And I've brought you some water and pills."
"Pills?" Jenny repeated, not sure if she'd heard right.
"To help you sleep," Kathryn qualified. "Believe me, you'll need it in this place. The boys can get a bit loud."
"I don't take drugs," Jenny informed her, unable to hide her disapproval.
"Look, there's no need for you to be more uncomfortable than you have to be," she said in a gentle, soothing tone.
"Really?" Jenny said, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "Then let me go."
The soft smile on the woman's face faltered slightly. "I can't," she said, everting her eyes from Jenny's face. "I'm just following orders."
"Who's orders? Matt's?" Jenny probed, unable to help noticing that this girl seemed different to the others in some way. Nice even. Well, with more of a conscience than the men there anyway. Which Jenny realised would make her easier to exploit -
"Yes," Kathryn replied reluctantly, still not quite able to meet her in the eye.
"What does he want with me?" Jenny demanded, approaching her cautiously and searching her pale face for any reaction to indicate the truth. "Why has he bought me here?"
"Look . . ." she began slowly, rubbing her hand over the back of her neck uncomfortably. "His methods might not be entirely humane, but he's a good man - "
"Good?" Jenny repeated in disbelief. "Good? I watched him riddle an old man with bullets today. Good people don't do that."
"He needed to get you back here quickly," Kathryn interjected, as though that explained it all away.
"Why?" Jenny pushed, frowning.
"To protect you."
"Protect me?" Jenny repeated, completely bemused. "From what?"
"Look, I've said too much already - " she said hurriedly, turning as if to leave.
Jenny reached out and rested her hand on the woman's shoulder, halting her. "Why is a nice girl like you hanging round with some one like Matt? Hmm? He's a bully and a murderer - "
"Because without him, I'd be dead right now," Kathryn replied in a strained whisper, turning back to face her. "You have no idea what the world we left behind was like. He found me - he saved me."
"Saved you?" Jenny replied doubtfully, gesturing to some purple bruising evident on her chalk white neck. "That his handiwork, is it?"
Self-consciously, the woman ran the back of her hand across her throat as though she could wipe away the marks. "I deserved it," she mumbled.
"No one deserves that!" Jenny burst out, flinging her hands in the air slightly in frustration. "He's got you brainwashed! He's a psychopath!"
Kathryn let out a small, watery titter. "You don't know how ironic it is that you're saying that - "
"Listen," Jenny cut her off in a quiet tone, half-glancing around at the camera. "Help me. Come back to the ARC with me, and I'll make sure you're safe. Just help me get out of here - "
"I can't!" she hissed back, looking flustered. "He'd kill me. And that aside, I owe him big time. And believe it or not, it's for your own good that you're away from it all. You're just going to have to try and make the best of it - "
"Listen - it's clear he's done a good job with you," Jenny interrupted sternly, folding her arms. "But I'm not staying here one second longer than I have to."
"Fine, you keep beating yourself up about it," Kathryn shrugged, her voice sounding stung. "Now just take the pills and I'll be on my way."
"I'm not taking anything," Jenny snapped, giving her a dirty look. "And if you're a sensible girl, you wouldn't either. Not when there's a big group of alpha males around. You'd be stupid to put yourself in that position."
"Look, I've been ordered to make you take those pills, so you can either take them voluntarily, or I can go up there and get one of them to force them down your throat. How's that sound?"
Jenny narrowed her eyes at the woman as a silence fell between them. True, she didn't relish the idea of being drugged up by a bunch of soldiers instead, but there was no way she was going to make herself more vulnerable than she already was. Eventually, she reached forward and picked up the tiny pot of tablets, tilting her head back and taking them in her mouth all in one go. Then, she took a swig of water, shuddering slightly.
"Good girl," Kathryn stated, rather condescendingly since she was at least five years Jenny's junior. She offered her a weak smile before turning to walk back up the stairs. "They're strong, so they'll knock you out in about five minutes. After you've had a sleep, I'll bring you something to eat. But rest for now. Nothing's going to happen to you."
She disappeared from view and the sound of the door being shut and bolted could be heard. Immediately, Jenny turned away from the camera and picked the tablets out from underneath her tongue, grimacing as she did so. Quickly, hoping no one was watching, she stuffed them in her pocket.
The hours seemed to stretch on as an early winter darkness began to fall outside, and what little light had managed to fight its way through the minuscule grim-caked window was beginning to dissipate. The flickering bulb up ahead seemed to be giving up the ghost, only gracing the room with light for a few seconds before plunging it into darkness once more. Jenny's pride forced her not to lie down on the musty camp bed that had been erected next to her, but even she had to admit to herself that she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open as she sat leaning against the icy wall - she couldn't even summon the energy to count how many hours she'd been awake now, but she knew it was too long for her to be able to hold sleep off much longer. Up until that point, fear and survival instinct had prevented her from giving in to the overwhelming desire to curl up in a ball and sleep, but now that it seemed like she was looking at a long night down here alone, it was becoming harder and harder to stay awake.
She was dimly aware of her head dropping forwards onto her chest . . .
The abrupt sound of the bolt suddenly being withdrew startled her, forced her head to snap up. Light flooded down the staircase, temporarily blinding her and making her arm instinctually fly up to shield her eyes from its intensity. Confused and drowsy, she managed to stagger to her feet, leaning against the wall for support as heavy footsteps thudded down each wooden step. Blinking stupidly, she squinted her tired eyes to try and focus them on the figure in front of her. It was only when his face was right in front of her that she managed to get her eyes to work, and she recognised him as the bearded man from earlier.
Her heart palpitated with terror as her sluggish brain realised that he was far too close. She opened her mouth to scream, but before any sound could come out, he had clamped his hand over her mouth and thrown her against the wall, hard, cracking the back of her head against it painfully.
"There's no point in screaming girl - your protectors otherwise engaged," he whispered menacingly against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "And if you dare go crying to the boss about this afterwards, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"
She tried with all her might to shout something - anything - but he squeezed his hand across her mouth tighter.
"I don't see what his problem is anyway," he continued in the same sneering tone. "It's not like he's using you at the moment. Unless he's worried that by the time he gets to you, you'll be damaged goods - "
Jenny managed to bite down hard on the stretched skin inbetween his thumb and index finger, causing him to yelp in pain and wrench himself away from her, cradling one hand in the other as his face contorted with pure rage.
"You - !" he yelled shakily, before smacking her hard with the back of his hand.
The force of it made her slam to the floor instantly, landing on her front. Pain erupted in her cheekbone.
Dazed, she looked around, ready to try and fight again -
Then confusion ensued.
She wasn't sure what was happening . . . suddenly, there seemed to be two figures in the room . . . the light bulb was still flashing wildly . . . there was a scuffling right next to her, and the unmistakable sound of a fist making contact with bone . . . suddenly, she felt something slump to the floor beside her.
Squinting through the erratic lighting, her stomach lurched sickeningly and she was screaming before she even comprehended what she was seeing. The bearded man - his neck at a very odd ankle, his cold grey eyes open and staring - he was unmistakably dead.
Other footsteps thundered down the stairs and suddenly the room was full with five others that Jenny couldn't make out right now. All she could see properly was Matt standing with his back to her, facing the group, his shoulders squared and his chest puffed out.
"Anyone else want a go?" he asked them in a quiet but demanding voice.
No one answered.
"IS THERE ANYONE ELSE?" he bellowed, the anger seeping through his tone.
"No boss," another man's voice said that Jenny recognised from earlier, but couldn't put her finger on it, so shocked was she at what had just happened.
"Right then," Matt stated in a booming voice. "Now let this be a warning about what happens when you disobey my orders. Johnson - get rid of him."
"Yes Sir . . ."
Then, the next thing Jenny knew, her arm was being pulled over Matt's shoulder and he picked her up. She wanted to push him away; wanted to put as much distance between them as possible, but it was no good - her strength left her and she couldn't summon the energy to stop him carrying her past the staring eyes and out of the basement.
Whether she had blacked out or not, she was unsure, but all she knew was that the next thing she was aware of was being carried into a strange master bedroom.
"Get off me," she murmured faintly, pushing at his chest so that he let her on her feet.
"Oh, relax, I'm not going to hurt you," he snapped, looking disgruntled. "This is Kathryn's room, but I'm sure she won't mind if you have it."
"You - " she stammered as she sunk down on the double bed, still trying to get everything straight in her head. "You've just killed your friend."
"He wasn't a friend - he was my subordinate," he shrugged, as though he snapped people's necks every day. "And he disobeyed a direct order."
"So you think that justifies killing him?" Jenny gapped, looking up at him in disbelief.
"Absolutely," he replied immediately.
"You're sick," Jenny said numbly, shaking her head. "Do you know that?"
He laughed in incredulity. "I should have let him have you then, for all the thanks I get! I've just saved you - "
"Saved me?" she gapped, drawing energy from her complete and utter disbelief. "Saved me? YOU brought me here! YOU put me in that situation in the first place!"
"To keep you alive!" he burst out, pacing back and forth slightly.
"What do you mean?" she demanded, growing tired of these bloody cryptic answers she seemed to be getting off everyone.
He turned and surveyed her coldly for a moment, as though reluctant to say something. Then, he sighed and ran his hand across his furrowed forehead. "If you go into battle against the creatures in two days time . . ." he trailed off, his eyes meeting hers. " . . . you die."
"What?"
"You don't survive it," he repeated firmly, his gaze resting firmly on the widow that looked onto the front garden. "It's in my history."
Jenny stared at him for a few seconds, trying to work out if he was being sincere or not, but his expression was distant, and completely unreadable.
"You're lying," she stated, her voice quivering.
He laughed again coldly and turned away from her. "You know what - believe what you want. I'm sick of trying to convince you of everything."
A long silence ensued as Jenny tried to absorb his words. "Who are you?" she demanded eventually, narrowing her eyes as her gaze traveled over him.
He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, letting out a low exhale, before evidently deciding on something and marching back over to her.
"Who do you think I am?" he snapped, reaching up and pulling the sleeve of his top up to expose his bulging bicep. On the inner side of his upper arm, distinctive against his skin, was a large birthmark.
A birthmark that was unmistakably, undeniably recognisable to her.
"Mother," he finished curtly, letting his sleeve fall back in place slowly.