Chapter 17 – Red
Heidi closed her eyes and felt the warm water wash over her head. She could feel his hand gently thread through her hair as he used the showerhead to wash through all of it. She knew she'd be in this position for awhile judging by the fact she a lot of hair to wash through. His gentleness was unsettling as he continued his work in silence. He hadn't spoken a single word to her since they'd entered the bathroom. Not a single word. Until now she hadn't dared either.
She opened her eyes as the showerhead concentrated on the top of her head and she bent her head further over the bathtub so the water wouldn't get in her eyes. She hadn't seen the box that he'd used so she had no idea what colour it was. Judging by the colour of the water running down the drain in the bath before her though, her hair was now a bright red. Heidi was no stranger to home dyeing when it came to her hair. Her mother had always insisted she visit a professional at a hair salon whenever she got the urge to dye her hair again but it always seemed to be an impulsive decision and she simply couldn't wait for an appointment. It was something she did often during high school. It was usually a different shade of brown, something lighter or something darker. She'd once tried black and unfortunately just ended up looking like a terribly clichéd Goth chick. She'd also tried blonde and that had actually lasted a whole summer until one of the new rookies at a WWE event had mistaken her for a ring rat. She'd been so disgusted after that incident that she'd made Ash drive her out to the nearest 7/11 in the middle of the night to buy the cheapest 'brunette in a box' she could find. She'd snuck Ash out of his hotel room, after sneaking out of her own, and then made him stay up with her to help her with the whole dyeing process. He'd been useless, of course, but had tried his best. He'd then insisted on blow drying her hair afterwards because he knew exactly how to do that despite claiming he'd never blow dried his own hair. She'd never tried going red before though. Red had always been her mother's thing not hers.
Heidi was jerked out of her thoughts at the sound of the tap being turned off. The water had stopped running and so the excess dye must have all been washed out of her hair. She felt his hands settle on her shoulders and guide her into a sitting position on the chair she was seated on. The towel around her shoulders sat there whilst she raised her head, her wet hair now falling around her shoulders and onto the same white T-shirt she'd been wearing for 9 days now. Her eyes fell upon the man in the room with her. He had moved away from her across the otherside of the room and was rummaging through a backpack. It was black just like his clothes. His black pants, his black shoes, his black long sleeved shirt and his black balaclava. His attention for a couple of moments wasn't on her at all and she knew that she had a chance to gain the upper hand. She had a chance to take him out. Her hands weren't tied. They were never tied when she was escorted to the bathroom. They only were when she was tied by those thick ropes to the bed she had been confined to for the last 9 days. Her hands were free. She could have taken the steel chair she was sitting on, picked it up with her free hands and aimed for his head. A kick to the groin could have followed and then while he was on the ground she could have kicked or punched him as much as she wanted, but then what? The other two men were still outside the bathroom. They were still inside the warehouse. And then what would happen when they found out exactly what she had been getting up to on the inside of that bathroom?
Heidi sighed as she looked down at her legs. Unfortunately in the heat she'd requested an alternative to the jeans she endured for the first 3 days since she arrived. When she couldn't bear it anymore she spoke up. The alternative happened to be to go without jeans and without pants entirely though. She'd spent the last 5 days in her red cotton panties. She let her hands run over her bear legs. The hairs prickly against her palms. That's exactly what would have happen if she tried to gain the upper hand. That's what always happened when she did something she wasn't supposed to here. That's what happened when she argued or when she fought back. Even against her tanned skin the bruises all over her legs were still blue as anything. Some were larger than others and some were worse than others. The worst one was on her upper thigh. It was blue but there was a circle of purple and then yellow around it. It hurt just to look at, not to mention how much it hurt to even the most gentle touch. She couldn't believe how many there were. She couldn't believe how many times she'd dared to fight back knowing that each and every time would result in an addition to her collection of bruises. They still hadn't learnt their lesson though. They still only roped her wrists to the bedposts on that bed. Never her legs, so everytime he got too close for comfort or when he tried to touch her somewhere where he shouldn't even dare, she used her legs to create some distance. Sometimes she'd be lucky and would hit him squarely in the face. One occasion she managed to connect the heel of her right foot with the bridge of his nose. She could have sworn she'd heard the crunch of bone and then she saw the blood pour out. It was then that the blue, purple and yellow bruise was created. It had only been yesterday.
Heidi watched as the man in the bathroom with her finally got to his feet. He'd retrieved another towel from his backpack. Identical to the white one currently around her shoulders. He approached her casually, opening the towel out and then using it to ruffle and dry her now red, wet locks. Once again he used an unsettling gentleness with his actions. A gentleness that made Heidi think that he didn't actually want to hurt her like the apparent leader and the mastermind behind this whole thing. He continued his work in silence as usual. Heidi realized then that she had never actually heard his voice. Maybe she would recognize it. Maybe she would know who he was.
"What do you want with me?" Heidi bravely spoke, her voice coarse and dry.
The man didn't reply as he continued to dry her hair in the white towel. He went on with his task without even reacting to the sound of her voice splitting the silence in the small bathroom.
"Who are you all and what do you need with me?" Heidi asked again.
Still she received no response. The man continued in silence. Not reacting and not speaking. He finally finished. Her hair wasn't completely dry but she didn't think that he really cared. She didn't think she cared about it either right now. He removed the towel from around her shoulders and then flung it over his shoulder with the towel he'd been using to dry her hair. Heidi watched as he then put the empty box of hair colour into his backpack and zipped it up. He flung the backpack over his other shoulder and then stepped towards the door. He opened it wide and then stood there. His eyes looking straight at her and she knew what he wanted. She knew what was next.
"Can I use the toilet?" Heidi asked.
The man eyed her suspiciously for a moment, trying to read her blank expression. For almost a minute they were locked in a silence gaze. Heidi awaiting her answer. The man finally raised his hand, palm facing her with all 5 of his fingers splayed. He then stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. She had 5 minutes.
Heidi exhaled a deep breath as she looked around the room. She remained on her chair and tried to savour the silence. She asked to use the bathroom more times a day than she really needed. Usually she never needed to actually go to the toilet, she'd simply wanted to sit in the bathroom by herself without the ropes burning the skin on her wrists. She also wanted to be alone in the bathroom to inspect the room. Again and again her eyes scanned every inch of the small plain bathroom. There was a bathtub that took up almost one side of the room entirely. It was white, like everything else here, but not clean. Every bit of dirt and mould could be seen on the once white walls and porcelain surfaces that dominated the room. There was no shower curtain for the bath, just a detachable showerhead. Then there was the toilet on the otherside of the room and the vanity and the bathroom sink between the two. A large dirty mirror hung above the sink, and then there was the black steel chair she was sitting on.
There was only one window in the room and that had been boarded up with wooden planks. Wood nails were joining the boards to the wooden wall of the warehouse. Nails impossible to try and pry away from wood especially when the only tools you had available were your bare hands. There was a skylight overhead but it was much too high up to reach, even when standing on the sink or the toilet. She'd tried it 7 days ago. Next to the skylight hung a small light bulb on a chain. She couldn't even reach that unless she jumped. One of the men always turned that light on for her everytime she came here.
Slowly she got to her feet. She immediately went for the mirror and as she gazed at her reflection a tear rolled down her cheek. Her hair was a bright red and she looked exactly like her mother. It was like gazing into a mirror and seeing her mother gazing back at her. The image was almost identical. It made her blink hard twice at her reflection just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating and actually seeing her mother. Heidi ran her fingers through her newly red hair, still slightly damp. It surprised her how red the red looked considering it had gone ontop of the dark brown she currently had through her hair. It wasn't her natural colour, but she had always preferred a darker tone. Her natural colour was more of a light, almost dark blonde, brown. She hadn't seen it in two years actually. The red suited her skin tone and her complexion but she wasn't thinking about how good the colour worked for her or how much she liked it. All she could think about now was her mother and how she wished so badly she was staring at her right now. Heidi was so grateful that Lita had ended her WWE career when Heidi was so young. It meant that Heidi could have a normal, non-travelling childhood, and it also meant that Heidi and Lita could forge a bond that was so much more than the typical mother-daughter. They were so close and Heidi loved that. She knew it would have absolutely killed her mother to see the state her daughter was in right now.
Heidi's eyes travelled over her upper body as she continued to use the large mirror infront of her. Despite being filthy, the mirror at least provided some kind of reflection. Heidi's hands pushed her hair aside and over her shoulders as she pulled down the white shirt around the neck. She could see a few small bruises forming around her neck as she tilted her head upwards towards the light. She had known yesterday when he'd wrapped his fingers around her neck that the force he'd used would have left a bruise or two. Thankfully it was all the damage she could see on her neck and her upper chest. She looked at her face next. Inspecting her complexion. Apart from the dark circles around her eyes and her dry chapped lips everything seemed to be fine at first glance, however at second glance she turned her face to the side and tilted her head up into the light again. It wasn't very pronounced but Heidi could see the faint bluish colour of her right cheekbone. It was the favoured cheekbone when it came to slaps across the face. It had become a daily thing. He'd say something and she'd give a smart assed reply. Seconds later his large hand would connect with the side of her face. As the days went on in this place, she grew to expect those slaps. Sometimes it was one and other times it was more than one. It depended on how smart assed her reply was really.
The sudden slamming open of the bathroom door let the young Orton know that her 5 minutes were up. Obediently she glanced at herself in the mirror one last time before heading to the open door. She slowly moved past the man's large frame in the door and felt him start to follow closely behind her as she headed back to the bed on the otherside of the room. This was her routine. She only ever left the bed for her time in the bathroom and that was usually by request. However, this morning he had requested her time in the bathroom. The leader. He had handed the man who'd been with Heidi in the bathroom the backpack, which had contained the towels and the hair dye and had instructed him to "take her into the bathroom" and "all the stuff is in the backpack". Obediently the other man had nodded and then untied her earlier to carry out the task. That had been about 1 hour ago. It was obvious it had been discussed previously because the man needed no further instructions on what his job exactly was, and now that the job was over Heidi knew she was to be bound to the bed once more. It wasn't like she could go anywhere anyway. They were all here.
"Before you tie her up again," a voice called from the otherside of the room.
Heidi and her escort turned at the sudden voice and were met with the vision of the two remaining men in the warehouse.
The older man was sitting on a wooden chair at a wooden table and was once again talking quietly on a cell phone pressed to his ear. He had changed from his blank pants into a pair of jeans. Then there was the leader of the group that had called out to them. He was sitting at another wooden chair at the same table as the older man, but he had his legs outstretched on the top of the table infront of him and his arms folded behind his head. The black balaclava still on that head. The black clothes and shoes still on his body. The man standing next to her suddenly grabbed a hold of her arm. His grip was a little rough but not enough to hurt her.
"Bring her here so I can see how good a job you did on her," the leader called again.
The man standing next to Heidi paused a moment before obeying orders and taking Heidi over to the leader and the older man at the table, tugging lightly on her arm to urge her to follow him over to the otherside of the warehouse. Heidi did as she requested. She had no reason to argue with the request, however, it depended on what followed that request which could possibly give her a reason. Heidi and the man walked slowly towards the wooden table. Heidi hated that she was still without jeans or any pants at all right now. Upon reaching their destination, the older man finally ended his call by snapping his cell phone shut in his palm.
"Nice job," the leader said with a nod as he brought his feet off the table and back onto the ground, leaning forwards onto the table as his eyes rolled over her "She looks just like her mother now."
Heidi scowled at the leader as he sent her a sick smile. Their eyes were locked in a stare before Heidi noticed out of the corner of her eye, another set of eyes on her. For the first time since her arrival, the older man without a balaclava on was actually looking at her. Sometimes he would glance in her direction when he walked into the warehouse of a day, but right now he was looking straight at her and he didn't even turn away when her eyes caught his. For the first time Heidi had a chance to actually inspect his features. There were wrinkles all over his face and he really did look much older than he had from across the room the times Heidi had seen him. He was definitely a lot older than the other two despite not being able to see their faces. His eyes were a fierce hazel colour as they continued to bore into her. His face was completely void of any kind of expression as he looked at her and yet there was an anger that she could see behind his eyes. Just like she'd initially thought, though, she had never laid eyes on this man before. There was nothing that she recognized about him. They had definitely never crossed paths before. Even from her childhood, Heidi had a knack for recognizing faces. Alarm bells of recognition would go off in her head whenever she met someone now that she had once met years and years ago even when she was just a child. Unfortunately, there were no alarm bells today even now that she was up close and seeing the older man clearly. They had never met. She was 100% sure of it now.
"I want you two to go into town and get whatever supplies we still need including that laptop you were supposed to get yesterday," the leader suddenly spoke, drawing Heidi's eyes back to him.
The leader looked at both men in turn as he spoke to them. Heidi watched as the older man hardly acknowledged the leader's word at all before he got to his feet and immediately headed for the door. No words were spoken from his lips. There were no hand gestures. Nothing. The leader and Heidi then turned to the other man who still had Heidi's arm loosely in his grasp.
"I'll tie her back up," the leader spoke to the man before the sick smile once again spread across his balaclava-clad face.
The other man simply nodded immediately as he released Heidi's arm. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys before heading in the same direction as the older man. Towards the door and out of the warehouse.
Heidi simply stood in her spot, hands by her sides as she watched the leader stare at her for a moment. His eyes were obviously fascinated by the change in colour of her hair and the young Orton couldn't help but keep thinking about the words he'd just spoken moments before - "She looks just like her mother now". Had that been his intention all along? Was that why he had requested the other man dye her hair red? So she looked exactly like her mother? Was that what this was about? And if it was, why? Heidi's eyes followed the leaders as he finally started looking her up and down again. Everytime she came face to face with him that was what his eyes would do. For the past 9 days, every encounter with this man was the same. That sick smile would spread across his face as he looked at every inch of her. His eyes moving deliberately slow. Not missing a single inch of her. Like he was studying every part of her body. Trying to memorise it all. It made Heidi sick to her stomach everytime and that was probably why she couldn't help herself from lashing out at him. It was made even worse now that she was only wearing her red panties on her lower half. It also made her ten times angrier when he started staring at her pantless legs now.
Heidi watched closely as the leader finally got to his feet and immediately headed for her. Heidi could try and run but he'd tried that a number of times before. This wasn't her first trip back from the bathroom. Unfortunately everytime she'd tried something as foolish as trying to run out of a sealed warehouse in God knows where, she'd only make things worse. It wasn't that she had given up, she just needed more time to think of a better idea than just trying to run without a plan of where to actually head to. Before Heidi knew it, the leader was infront of her and roughly grabbed both her arms in his. Heidi looked into his eyes and he smirked at her before he turned her around and grasped her arms together behind her back.
"Move," he said forcefully as he nudged her forwards with his body weight and the grip he currently had on her arms.
Heidi hated herself everytime she listened or complied with one of his instructions but she obeyed anyway. The walk to the bed was in complete silence. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of his black, steel-toed boots on the hard wooden floor. Each step produced a sharp sound that echoed in the large empty space of the warehouse.
Once the pair had reached the bed, the man roughly pushed her hard onto the mattress and released her arms in the process. Heidi quickly scurried into a better position than being bent over the bed on her front, pulling her arms in close to her chest as she did so.
"Give me your hands," he forcefully spoke again.
Heidi immediately offered both her hands to him and then in silence he began to bind her wrists to the bedposts again. Heidi hated it when he tied her up. He was so much more rough and forceful than he needed to be. She always preferred it when the other man tied her up. At least he was gentle enough that she didn't have to wince as the rope wrapped around her raw wrists. The leader continued to work in silence as he did one wrist at a time, having to bend down over the bed as he continued. Heidi complied as best she could. Offering her second wrist even before the first one was completely done. His eyes focused carefully on the knots he was tying, making sure they were securely fastened before he stood up straight again admiring his handy work and then admiring her body.
The way she was laying on the bed must have made the fantasies in his head resurface as he stood there with that smile and looked over her body again. Heidi hated that he hands were bound and she couldn't use them to shield herself from his gaze. The leader then slowly took a seat on a spare spot of mattress next to Heidi before gazing briefly over his shoulder at the closed door to the warehouse. Was he checking to make sure no one was coming? Was he checking to make sure the other two men were completely gone?
Satisfied with whatever it was he saw whilst looking over his shoulder the leader looked Heidi dead in the eyes as he stared to slowly lean over her body. She could feel his breath on the skin of her chest and then she could feel it on her cheek as he leaned in closer. Then she could feel his hand on her upper thigh. Heidi pursed her lips shut and took a deep breath. She hated it so much when he touched her somewhere he shouldn't have. She hated it when he took the liberty of inviting his touch to join her flesh. Even if it was the flesh on her arm she hated it, but when it was her thigh it made her want to scream.
"You look exactly like your mother now Heidi," he spoke softly as his hand drew patterns on the flesh of her thigh, the other hand holding his body up over hers "Just like your mother."
Heidi didn't respond. She didn't take her eyes off him either. She looked him dead in the eyes.
"Shame that you got your father's eyes and not your mother's though," the man commented as he looked into her eyes "I'd much rather be staring into your mother's hazel eyes."
Heidi wanted to ask how he knew her mother. How he knew her father. How he knew her family at all. Sure he could just be a crazed fan of either of her parents, but Heidi had a feeling that he knew her parents personally. That he'd met them before. She was sure of it.
"Your mother has such pretty eyes Heidi," the man spoke again, snapping Heidi out of her thoughts as she felt his hand switch thighs "Shame she only had eyes for your bastard father."
Heidi couldn't help the scowl coming across her face as she listened to him call her father a 'bastard'. She started breathing heavily through her nose as she tried to calm herself down. Her lips were still pursed shut to stop herself from lashing out at him verbally so insulting her family like that.
"It was also such a shame that she was your bastard father's slut too," the man continued "When she could have been my nasty whore."
That was the last straw. No one spoke about her parents like that, especially not to her. No one ever called her mother a 'nasty whore', especially not to her. No one spoke that way about her family, especially not to her. Heidi couldn't help herself from lashing out.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Heidi yelled, her legs acting before she could even think about what she was going to say next.
Her legs started lashing out at the man like they always seemed to do. He always did or said something that made her legs act upon their own will and lash out at him, trying to hit any part of him possible. Unfortunately for the young Orton, the man had anticipated her movement and the look on his face changed rapidly. Heidi knew that face only too well as he quickly grabbed hold of her lashing legs. It was the scariest look she had ever seen. Despite how many times she'd seen it these last 9 days, the face he had on right now still scared her more than she could even explain.
The next thing she knew he was completely ontop of her. His large legs were straddling her mid-section as he threw himself on top of her. Heidi panicked.
"GET OFF ME!" Heidi screamed as she tried to struggle against him "GET OFF ME!"
The man watched in sick delight as she tried to struggle. The smile coming back to his face as he finally let his hands explore her now that her legs were restrained. She felt his hands on her shoulders before they trailed down her arms and then they quickly started running down her sides. The cheap, thin fabric of the T-shirt she was wearing rode dangerously high as he ran his hands from her waist upwards.
"GET OFF ME!" Heidi screamed again as she started thrashing her head from side to side.
"This is what happens when you don't play by the rules Heidi," the man spoke slowly as his hands continued their ministrations of her body "You know you want this Heidi."
Heidi continued to thrash about as she felt his hands finally reach her breasts. He roughly grabbed a breast in each hand and started to squeeze and grope her.
"STOP IT! STOP IT! GET OFF ME!" Heidi continued to scream, refusing to let him do this to her without putting up a fight.
Heidi looked into his eyes as he watched her face as he continued to assault her breasts. Heidi winced in pain as his thumbs and forefingers started simultaneously pinching her nipples through her bra and shirt. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth as he looked her in the eye. He the leaned forward until he was only inches from her face and then he spoke again.
"Don't fight it Heidi," he spoke again as he licked his lips "You know you want this."
Heidi couldn't help herself. She reacted without thinking once more and before she knew it the saliva had left her mouth and landed on his face right infront of her. She knew as soon as it happened that it was the wrong thing to do.
The man immediately retracted his hands from her body and went to wipe her face. A snarl appearing immediately as his breathing started getting harder and deeper. Instantly he reached around in his back pocket and Heidi panicked even more as soon as her eyes hit the object her pulled out.
"PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!" Heidi screamed, half in terror and half in begging as her eyes focused on the shiny metal pocketknife in his hands.
He worked quickly to flip out the shiny blade from its case and then Heidi felt his body ontop of her again. One hand pushed her head to one side and pushed it into the mattress causing the newly red head to groan at the force he used. The pain, however, was nothing compared to the pain she was about to feel next.
Heidi simply screamed with everything she had in her as she felt the blade of the knife on her forearm. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she continued to scream. She had never felt such an intense pain before. She had never though she would feel such an intense pain ever. Her forearm was on fire. The skin, her nerves, the blood starting to pour from the growing wound. She could even feel the cold, metal blade slice through her skin as he trailed it from the underside of her elbow until about an inch from her wrist. Heidi scream the entire time. He remained silent as he worked. She felt like she was going to pass out. She was in so much pain. She could feel her hands closing into fists. Her wrists were burning from the ropes as she slowly moved against them to futilely escape. It was no use. The ropes were tight. His body was ontop of her crushing her small form. His hand was pressed hard against her face into the mattress.
"STOP IT!" Heidi screamed again as she felt the tears start to fall from her eyes "STOP IT!"
And just like that he was done. Heidi screamed as he finally released her head and at least some of his body weight that he had pressed against her. She tried to immediately suck in the tears that had fallen. She refused to let him see her cry. Her head then immediately fell to the otherside and she sucked in a deep breath as her eyes fell upon her forearm. The cut was deep and like she had felt it almost ran the entire length of her forearm. She could see the blood oozing out of the skin and falling in drips onto the mattress underneath her. Apart from the stinging of the air on the wound, her whole arm felt numb. She couldn't even move her fingers.
"Next time I'm going to take exactly what I know you want me to take from you Heidi," the man spoke "And if you argue with me again, I'll treat the other arm to a matching scar, and then I'll have to find other places…"
Heidi didn't even look at him as he touched her again with the blade of the knife still covered in her own blood. She could feel the blade lightly trace her upper chest and then travel down to the valley between her breasts. She could even feel the traces of blood that she knew were there now.
"Other places," the man repeated "To mark you."
And with those last words he was done. Heidi refused to look at him as she felt his weight leave the mattress. She then heard each and every one of his footsteps as he headed away from her. Each footstep quieter than the next. Then there was the opening of the warehouse door and the slamming shut.
Heidi exhaled a deep breath as soon as she heard the slamming shut of the door across her room. Her throat was dry from screaming. Her teeth were sore from gritting them together. The side of her face was hurting. Her fresh open wound was stinging like it was on fire. She continued to look at it, not being able to take her eyes away. The blood was still dripping. She wondered how long it would. She wondered how long it would take for it to heal and how much it would itch when it did. That was, if he let it heal at all.
His words were ringing in her head "Next time I'm going to take exactly what I know you want me to take from you Heidi." He had already taken her away from home, from her parents, from her friends for 9 days now. He had taken her safety. He had taken her choices, and today he had taken her hair colour. He had taken her blood. She had only been here 9 days now. How much longer was she going to be here? Had much more was he going to take from her? What was he going to take from her next?
A/N: Another short author's note! Sorry about the delay in update – haven't had access to the internet in ages! Hope you all liked this chapter. I know it didn't really go anywhere but we're getting closer to answering the question 'Who has taken Heidi?' and 'Why have they taken Heidi?' The pieces are coming together, slowly so stay tuned. Next chapter is Chapter 18 – The Support Team which will pretty much let you know what everyone else in doing. Remember Alle and Cena and the baby they lost? Yep, all that, next chapter. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Thanks, God Bless, Mrs Bridget Orton xoxo