Author's Note: Thanks, as always, to the wonderful, lovely, funny, and patient BluCrayons! And funny. POKE! lol. Hope you enjoy it! Please review. And thanks for reviewing so frequently, Ka04! Reviews really make me a happy, happy author and happy, happy authors makes for faster chapters. :D
Chapter 40: Nightmares
Mike lay in his bed with Rose sleeping soundly beside him a few days later. He had completely recovered from his injury with Rose's help and only had a little tenderness left over. But he couldn't sleep as easily because he couldn't stop thinking about how badly they had to get out of this place. As he finally began drifting off to sleep, he heard groans coming from Micky. His eyes instantly snapped open, worried something was wrong with his already grievously injured friend. But Micky gasped and jerked awake from an apparent nightmare, so Mike relaxed; but only a little. He was about to see if Micky was ok when Sarah sat up and started rubbing Micky's back as he buried his face in his hands.
"Micky?" Sarah asked softly.
"I'm ok," Micky answered. "Just a nightmare."
"It's ok, baby, you can talk to me," Sarah said.
"There's nothing to talk about," Micky said. "It was just a nightmare."
"Something happened," Sarah pressed. "Talk to me."
"What makes you think something happened?" Micky asked.
"Because I know how you groan in your sleep," Sarah answered tucking his hair softly behind his ear and gently placing a kiss on his shoulder. "That kind of groan is different than any other kind of nightmare. What happened?"
"It's...it's not important," Micky said.
"Of course it is," Sarah said. "Micky, just because it's something you say you're used to, doesn't mean it's not important. Was it Shirley?"
"Well, it wasn't my mother," Micky answered.
"Micky," Sarah pushed a little harder.
"I was barely conscious," Micky said. "I think I had just woken up the day before. I was sleeping and I woke up to her taking my clothes off. When she touched me, I tried...but..."
"It's ok," Sarah said softly leaning against Micky and pulling her closer to him. "You were still weak. You couldn't control yourself."
"It's not just that," Micky said sighing heavily. "She made me touch her, too. Said if I didn't, she'd come in here and make one of them do it." Silence followed this revelation. Mike closed his eyes against the tears beginning to form. He knew Micky wouldn't be talking about this if he knew Mike was awake and listening, so as much as he wanted to comfort his friend, he stayed still and silent. Micky needed to talk about this; talk it through to feel better. But it killed Mike knowing that someone had threatened them to make Micky do unspeakable things to her. Mike knew they might have to kill Shirley if they were going to escape, and now he felt fully ready to do so. It wasn't just the fact that Shirley had raped his friend, though that was a major contributing factor, but it was the fact that she had threatened to rape either Peter, Davy or himself to get Micky to touch her.
"I can't believe your mother would allow that," Sarah said softly. "Not while you were recovering. That could have made your condition worse."
"She didn't," Micky answered. "And it did. This was a day or two before they brought me back here. She walked in just as Shirley finished with me and threw a fit. Said she didn't want me in that room any longer than I had to be. Wanted me back here with you guys. So I could be reminded of your pain. So it could torture me more."
"Micky, don't think of it that way," Sarah said. "You do, and she wins."
"How can I not?" Micky asked a little louder. "I know how much you guys are suffering. Look at what Heather did to Mike. And I can tell how stressed you are. I've only been back a few days, but I can hear how fast your heartbeat is. I can hear you doing the breathing exercises to lower your pulse. You're stressed and it's hurting you and our baby. Rose was raped. You were raped. Davy was drugged. Peter may not have been hurt yet, but it's only a matter of time. So tell me, how can I not think that way? How can I not look at you and be reminded of just how much you guys are suffering because of me?"
"It's not because of you," Sarah said softly trying to calm him down. "It's because your mother is a sadistic bitch. Yes, I am stressed and freaking out, but I'll be fine. I have you to take care of me now."
"Yet you didn't tell me you were having complications," Micky said somewhat coldly. "How can I take care of you when you don't talk to me?"
"You're right," Sarah said sadly. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to stress you out more."
"I didn't mean to snap at you," Micky answered. "My head is killing me."
"I know," Sarah said. "Why don't I wake up Rose and have her give you some of that morphine?"
"No," Micky said. "I'm fine. Let her sleep. Tell me now. I already know. You can't stress me out any more than I already am, so tell me. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, really," Sarah answered. "I'm just stressed. Rose looked at me to make sure. She said there's no signs of any internal damage. And my pulse is a little high, but we're working to lower it."
"Pain?" Micky asked.
"A little," Sarah said. "A few days ago, but I haven't felt any since."
"You sure?" Micky asked.
"Positive," Sarah said. "Come back to sleep. I'm ok and you'll be ok. Just rest with me."
"Promise me if you feel pain, you'll tell me," Micky said.
"I promise," Sarah said. Mike heard the creaking of the bed as the two lay down and quietly drifted back to sleep. But Mike wouldn't. He wouldn't get any sleep the entire night. Every time he tried, he was haunted by visions of his friend being touched in such a horrific way. When his friends started waking up for the morning, he kept silent, not wanting Mick to know he'd been awake all night. Rose first walked over to Micky and Sarah to check on them.
"How many bottles are in there?" Micky asked as Rose went to give Micky more morphine.
"About 2 and a half," Rose answered.
"Save them," Micky answered.
"What?" Sarah asked.
"I can deal with the pain right now," Micky answered. "Save them. We don't know what's gonna happen in the future and I'd rather save them so we have them if we need them later."
"Are you sure?" Rose asked.
"Positive," Micky answered. "I'll be fine. Save it."
"Let me know if you change your mind," Rose said. "If it gets too bad."
"I will," Micky answered as Rose at least gave him the anti-inflammatory drug to help the swelling in his head. They spent the next month running the same routine. Rose would give Micky the medication and ask if he was sure he didn't want the morphine, and Micky would decline. Mike thought long and hard about his alternative plan. But Micky was really in no shape to make an escape, so he decided to wait until Micky was better. And the longer they waited, the closer Heather came to having his baby anyway and the better their original plan would work.
A month after his return, Micky was almost completely recovered. Sarah was now 3 months pregnant and barely showing under her big shirt and Heather would be 8 months pregnant and they doubted she'd be doing any real travelling. They'd stick to their plan if they could get Claire to come in and torture Micky now. It was horrible to think of it that way, but it was the only way they could get themselves out. The spring weapons were finished; they'd been able to make ten out of all the springs in the mattress. 3 springs each had been flattened and then entwined around each other at the bottom, but leaving them open at the top like a tiny pitchfork.
"I think we're just about ready," Rose said tucking the last one in the mattress to keep it hidden.
"Hang on," Micky said getting up and walking over to the bathroom. "There's one more thing I want to do."
"What?" Sarah asked following him. Mike watched as Micky grabbed a washcloth and crawled under the sink.
"Be careful, Mick," Mike cautioned. "You just recovered from a brain bleed."
"I know," Micky answered unscrewing the pipes under the sink.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked.
"Clogging the sink," Micky answered stuffing the washcloth in the pipe and putting it back together.
"Why?" Davy asked from the doorway behind them.
"Because I want a more substantial weapon," Micky said getting up carefully. "The beds are made from a weak metal. We can break the metal bar off and use that as a weapon."
"What does that have to do with clogging the sink?" Davy asked.
"We can't just rip the bar off, Davy," Micky said.
"But you can if it's eroded away a little," Mike said finally getting it. "And you can erode metal with drain cleaner."
"Really?" Peter asked standing next to Davy. "Then why would you pour it down the drain?"
"It doesn't erode much when it just sits there for a minute or two," Micky answered. "But if I can soak a rag in drain cleaner and wrap it around the end of the bar and let it sit there for a few hours, it will erode it enough to where we can rip it away."
"Great idea!" Davy exclaimed. "You're a genius, Micky!"
"Not sure about that," Micky laughed.
"Ok, but you aren't doing it," Rose said. "Neither you nor Sarah need to be breathing in those fumes. You two will sit in the bathroom while Mike and I do it."
"Deal," Micky said turning on the faucet. "Shirley should be here any minute with breakfast. We'll ask her then for some drain cleaner." No sooner had he said this than they heard the locks on the door opening. Micky rushed them all to their beds to keep up pretenses. Shirley came in and set the food down and, like he had every day since hearing what she'd done to Micky, Mike felt his blood boil.
"Wait," Rose said as Shirley turned to leave.
"What now?" Shirley snapped.
"We need drain cleaner," Rose answered.
"What?" Shirley asked.
"The sink is clogged," Rose said. "We need drain cleaner."
"Are you kidding me?" Shirley hissed.
"Don't believe me, go look yourself," Rose said waving at the bathroom sink. Shirley stomped past and looked at the sink. She rolled her eyes and stormed toward the door when she saw the sink filled with water.
"I'll be right back," Shirley huffed. Moments later she returned with the bottle of drain cleaner and for a moment Mike was afraid she'd pour it down the drain herself, but instead she thrust it into Rose's hands. "You can read the directions on the bottle, right? Or do I have to do it for you?"
"I think we can manage," Rose sneered. As soon as Shirley left, Mike rushed Micky and Sarah into the bathroom and told them to cover their mouths with a towel just in case. Then he returned to help Rose soak the cloths in the drain cleaner. Peter had taken the mattress off carefully so they could get to the metal frame easier. Mike poured the drain cleaner into one rag and wrapped it around one of the bars and Davy stood by the door listening for footsteps.
A few hours later, Peter, Rose and Mike unwrapped the bed frame in the four places they had wrapped the two rods. Peter stood in the middle of the bed and pushed down on the main part of the frame while Mike pulled up on one of the bars. Mike used all his strength and within a few seconds the bar snapped from its holding. They followed suit on the other end and then the second bar, giving them two bars with sharp ends they could use as weapons. They carefully laid them back into place to keep it a secret and carefully put the mattress back on to make everything look normal.
"Now all we have to do is wait for Claire," Rose said.
"What happens after," Peter asked motioning for Micky and Sarah to come out of the bathroom.
"After?" Davy asked sitting down on his bed.
"Well, we can't go home," Peter said. "They'll hunt us down, won't they?"
"Yeah," Micky answered as he and Sarah sat on their bed. "We'll have to go on the run."
"Why can't we just go to the cops?" Davy asked.
"They are the cops," Mike answered. "My dad was a district attorney. Prosecuted people exactly like him. Micky's dad was FBI."
"And you heard Claire when we first got here," Rose added. "My boss is the one who tipped her off to my search warrant."
"So we run and hide for the rest of our lives?" Davy asked.
"No," Micky said. "We find someone we can trust and find enough evidence to get them. Or else…"
"We kill them," Peter finished. Mike looked at Peter quizzically. Peter was the biggest pacifist Mike knew; for him to be suggesting what Mike knew they'd probably have to do was a shock for him.
"We can't kill them," Davy said flabbergasted. "Can we?"
"Do we have much of a choice?" Mike asked.
"We prove who they really are," Micky said. "If we have to kill them, I'm ok with that, but I'd rather not if we can avoid it."
"How do we get evidence?" Rose asked.
"We find someone we can trust," Micky said quietly. "And...I...I know where most of the bodies are. And I think Mike does, too. That should be evidence enough to get more. But we don't do it until we know we are hidden. Safe."
"Won't that put us in the line of fire?" Mike asked. "My father made me help bury them so that if I ever told, I'd be held accountable, too."
"You'd only be liable for helping dispose of a body," Rose said. "But I doubt they'd even prosecute you based on what happened. They'll know you were forced. If we can find someone we can trust."
"And if not, you can always ask for immunity before talking," Sarah answered.
"That's gonna be really hard to do," Mike said. "Find someone we know will go after them while trying to hide from them at the same time…"
"It'll be easier to kill them…" Rose sighed. "But not easier on our consciences. We have to decide."
"We kill them only if we have to," Micky said firmly. "Otherwise we try to put them behind bars. They'll suffer more that way, anyway."
"You'd be ok with it if it came to that, Micky?" Sarah asked.
"Yes," Micky answered, but Mike noticed his eyes cloud over for a second. He wasn't sure if Micky was telling the truth and his eyes were clouded with anger or fear, but he was pretty sure it was anger. He felt the same way Mike did. He didn't want to kill anyone, but after everything they'd done to each of them, Mike certainly wouldn't shed any tears over them.