Chapter 25 – Broken
Heidi stared at the ceiling and counted the cracks as she found herself up another night, not being able to sleep a wink. Her body was telling her that she was exhausted but her mind was no where near settled enough to allow her to drift off to sleep. Sleep was pretty much the only rescue she'd had from this place, the 40 odd days that she'd been here. Once it had reached day 30 Heidi had stopped counting the days. Day 30 came and went and she found herself still in this warehouse, still tied to this bed, still in the same clothes they'd put her in since she arrived, still waiting for some kind of miracle to happen. Some kind of miracle that would let her get out of here and never ever come back.
The newly red head sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. She desperately wanted to sleep right now. She wanted to close her eyes and for at least a couple of hours escape this reality. She'd been dreaming a lot since she'd been here. She believed it was her mind's way of keeping her sane and letting her escape the nightmare she was enduring ever moment she was awake. She dreamt a lot about her family, mostly her parents. She dreamt of the day she would get to see them again. She dreamt of her friends and her WWE family. She dreamt all the time about the day she got to see Ash Irvine's face again. Dreaming about them all made her miss them so much more, but then again seeing their faces in her dreams and in her mind sustained her hope that she'd get to see them all again one day.
Heidi's blue eyes drifted to the small window to her left. Despite its dirtiness she could still see the heavy tree cover outside and through the leaves she could make out the shape of the full moon. The full moon always reminded her of one of her mother's favourite books Dear John. Heidi always remembered her mother quoting the book every time she and Heidi would sit outside in the warm spring and summer months at home and stare at the full moon from their house verandah – "Remember wherever you are the moon is never bigger than your thumb." It made Heidi smile inside when she thought about how her mother always appreciated the little things in life, like how beautiful a full moon was in the sky. Heidi wondered if tonight her mother was staring at the moon too and she wondered if her mother was thinking about her as she did.
Heidi's eyes focused back on the ceiling above her once more as she let her mind fall back onto the root of all thoughts that had been keeping her up these past nights. Last night, her confrontation with Adam had given her plenty to think about. Throughout today, she unexpectedly had Adam visiting her and untying her for the bathroom breaks she was allowed. She wasn't sure where the leader was and why she hadn't seen him today, but she was thankful that he hadn't come to bother her. Hopefully she wouldn't see him tomorrow either and she could have her two days break before he returned on his night to watch her and subsequently rape her again. Heidi closed her eyes tightly before opening them, not wanting to let her mind drift back to thinking about that sick bastard.
"When you get out of here blame everything on me"
Heidi couldn't stop the ringing of those words through her head. It was so hard to believe that after everything he had put her through, Adam Copeland was actually asking her to blame everything on him in order to help someone other than himself. Heidi wanted to believe that he had requested it of her so he could protect his family from 'the leader'. For whate reason, Heidi wasn't sure she would ever know because Adam hadn't told her, but she wanted to believe that he meant what he had said about protecting and helping his family.
Heidi wondered if his wife, or maybe even his children, knew that he was involved in this. He wondered if his wife was one of those women covering for their husbands even though they knew it was something awful, or whether she was one of those women that trusted their husbands because they couldn't even fathom that they would be involved in something like this.
Heidi had never met Adam's wife. Adam Copeland had only ever come up in conversation once in her recent memory. It was about 2 years ago, Heidi was 15 ½ years old and was spending her summer on the road with her parents as always. Heidi and Ash were sitting with Christian in catering and considering Christian and Adam's professional past, it was no surprise that Adam's name had come up in passing. Heidi had asked about Adam and what he had been doing since he left the WWE. She distinctly remembered the look of disdain on Christian's face before he replied with a simple "Don't know and don't care." It made Heidi wonder what type of person Adam had become since he had left the WWE and pursued a career in illegal pharmaceuticals of sorts. Was that how he had met his wife? Did she know about all the drug using, dealing and supplying? Did Heidi really believe that he had stopped all of it either? Maybe everything he had told her last night was a lie. Heidi knew about the ransom money they were holding her here for – she had over heard 'the leader' discussing it with 'the old guy' about a week ago. Maybe the money was something that Adam needed in order to get himself out of some kind of drug money trouble. Maybe he needed the money to get more drugs to use, to produce or to transport. Heidi didn't know. What Heidi did know though was that after everything they had all put her through she would have to be a fool to believe any of it. To believe that without a shadow of a doubt, that Adam Copeland had in fact been telling her the truth. Removing his balaclava, like she inadvertently had, had backed him into a corner. Maybe he was just telling her what she wanted to hear in order to keep himself in the clear if something went wrong.
And then it hit Heidi like a tonne of bricks. If there was even the slightest possibility that Adam had been lying about why he was involved in her kidnapping and ransom, was it possible that those words that were ringing in her mind all a lie as well? His use of the word 'when' had given Heidi hope that she was going to get out of here one day. Was that a lie? Maybe she was never going to get out of here. Maybe Adam had just been messing with her mind and was building up her hope when really she was never going to get out of here whether the ransom was paid or not.
But Adam had been here for the last 40 odd days cleaning her wounds and making sure she didn't get infected by the cuts 'the leader' had inflicted on her. Maybe that was so she didn't end up dying. Maybe Adam's job was to come in here, earn Heidi's trust and just make sure she didn't die so they could use her for ransom. It would explain why 'the leader' never questioned how Heidi's wounds healed so fast. It would explain why 'the leader' never commented on how her cuts and wounds were cleaned and stained with betadine every morning after. Heidi closed her eyes tight as she tried to hold back the tears. How could she have not considered all this sooner? How could she have been so stupid to think she could actually trust Adam Copeland? How could she trust any of them at all?
Heidi could feel a tear trickling down her face and the itch of the liquid on her skin made her reflexes act to wipe it away. Unfortunately every time her reflexes acted she was rudely reminded that she was tied to the bedposts of this ratty, rusted old bed frame and that she didn't have the luxury of being able to reach up and touch her face, let alone wipe away a tear. But Heidi froze exactly where she was as her reflexes acted and for the first time she didn't feel nearly as much resistance as she usually did.
The young Orton was frozen in her motions because she had no idea what was going on. She was even scared to look at what was going on with her wrist ties, but she forced herself too and that's when her brow furrowed in confusion.
Something was different about the way her right wrist was tied to the bed today. It took her a moment to see it but she tugged her right wrist again and she saw it clear as day. She wasn't tied to the bedpost today like she had been every other day she'd been here. For some reason today she was tied to the actual bed frame. Heidi pulled her right wrist towards herself again and her eyes widened in shock and she instinctively turned her head towards the entry door to the warehouse to make sure it was still closed and to make sure she was still alone in the empty warehouse.
The old guy was still outside and she was, in fact, still all alone, and that's when Heidi's eyes quickly flicked back to the bedpost where her right wrist should have been tied. The bed frame was broken away from the bedpost but Heidi hadn't seen it or realized it until she had tugged on her right wrist for a second time. Heidi tugged on her right wrist again and she saw it again. There was a small break between the bed frame and the bedpost on this corner of the bed. Tugging her right wrist again Heidi realized that she could drag the rope that was currently around her right wrist to the edge of the bed frame, where it met the bedpost, and then possibly squeeze the rope in-between the gap. It seemed almost too good to be true but Heidi tried it and inch-by-inch she pulled the rope across the bed frame towards the bed post.
Heidi could feel the rope digging into her right wrist as she moved it. Adam never tied the ropes as tight as the other two and that was always the way, but Heidi trying to force the rope in the one direction was causing friction between the rope and her wrist and she could feel it burning. At this point though Heidi was blocking out the pain because it was no where near as important as what this could possibly mean if she was able to squeeze the rope in-between that gap.
Heidi gritted her teeth as she pulled the rope the last couple of inches. She was expecting to have to battle with the gap, considering the width and thickness of the rope, but as soon as she reached the gap, the rope fell through the gap almost much too easily for Heidi to believe. It took a couple of moments for the young Orton to realise her wrist and her right hand had fallen onto the mattress she was lying on. For her to realise her right wrist was free.
Panic started to set in as Heidi realized what the hell she had done. There was no way that she was going to be able to tied her right wrist back up so they would definitely be able to see what she had done in the morning. This mistake of tying her to the bed frame instead of the bedpost would then never happen again and she'd probably be beaten and raped more than usual because of her defiant actions. It was then that Heidi realized that she had no choice but to try and make a break for it.
The old guy was watching her tonight and Heidi thanked her lucky stars because he never visited her through the night like the other two had a habit of doing. He never gave her any bathroom breaks and he never came into the warehouse at all to check up on her. Over the last 40 odd days, the nights that he was on watch, he never bothered her once after night had fallen. Heidi realized that everything so far was playing in her favour. The only thing that she had to work on was getting out of here as quick as she could and then having as much time as possible before daylight to get as far away from this warehouse as she possibly could.
Heidi quickly used her free right hand to attack the ropes binding her left wrist to the bed. They were, unfortunately, a little harder to conquer as they were tied to the bedpost itself rather than the bed frame. Heidi fiddled and fumbled with the knots for what seemed like an eternity, constantly stopping to make sure the door to the warehouse was still closed, before she was finally able to free her left wrist. Heidi quickly discarded the ropes from both her wrists, not caring about the rope burns and the millions of small rope cuts covering her skin, and then slowly she got herself up off the bed.
With the amount of rust on the bed frame it was a wonder that you couldn't hear the creaking of the frame over the other side of the world. Heidi tried her hardest to make her movements slow but realized that the more slow movements she made, the more the bed frame creaked under her weight. Eventually she took a deep breath and in one swift motion practically jumped off the bed.
Thankfully she landed on a stable floorboard and barely made a sound. Pausing a moment to make sure she didn't hear any movement outside the warehouse from the old guy, Heidi quickly dressed herself. She usually found herself sleeping in just the filthy white T-shirt she still had on from the first day she arrived here, her red bra and her red panties because the nights were so hot that if she slept in jeans she would have died from heat stroke. Unfortunately as hot as the night was again tonight, Heidi didn't feel like trying to escape the warehouse and being out in the open without pants so she quickly put the jeans on.
It was then that Heidi suddenly realized there was a black item of clothing folded up neatly on the wooden chair next to the bed where her jeans had been hanging on. Heidi tentatively reached out and grabbed the item. Upon unfolding it, she realized it was Adam's sweatshirt. The sympathetic part of her mind was telling her that it was confirming to her that Adam had been responsible for tying her to the bed frame instead of the bed post and that he had said 'when you get out' because he was going to help her get out tonight. The realistic part of her mind, however, was telling her to beware. She decided with the heat tonight she could survive right now without the sweatshirt, especially because she didn't know if there was any kind of risk involved in taking the sweatshirt with her in the first place. Without folding it back, Heidi tossed the sweatshirt over the chair and turned her attention to the window to the left of the bed.
The window was the only way in and out of the warehouse other than the main door. Heidi had analysed the room a million times and unfortunately the window was the only source of light and therefore the only way out. Heidi rushed across the room to the window, making sure to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible so she would hopefully avoid a creaky floorboard. She became suddenly aware that she was barefoot and would probably have to deal with it because as far as she could see, there was nothing she could use as footwear.
Heidi checked the door to the warehouse once more before she turned her attention back to the window. There was a latch across the bottom and then it appeared once that was unlocked the window should slide up when pushed. Heidi turned the latch and closed her eyes, praying that the window would easily slide open without much noise.
She was met with a little resistance, but Heidi's prayers were answered as she felt the window give way a little and then allowed her to push it upwards. Heidi tried to push it as far as she could upwards so she had enough room to squeeze out of it. Thankfully apart from a little creaking at the start, the window was surprisingly quiet as Heidi forced it upwards. Checking the door again, Heidi took a deep breath as she leaned her head out of the window to make sure she was in the all clear outside.
The hot summer air hit her face and Heidi couldn't help but take a moment to breath it in as she closed her eyes. It had been 40 odd days since she had been outside, since she had felt the air on her skin, since she had breathed in fresh air, and she couldn't help but stop and appreciate how beautiful a sensation it was despite the circumstances. Her blue eyes then flipped open and she stared ahead, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness so she could start to see a little into the distance.
There were trees everywhere. Red maples were dominating everything that Heidi could see in all directions out of the window. Apart from that, though, there was nothing else that she could see. As light from the front of the warehouse, outside the main door on the other side of the building, was the only thing close to her that appeared to be giving off any light, Heidi was thankful for the full moon that she planned to use to guide her through the trees once she was outside and on the ground. She wasn't sure what she would encounter within the trees, but for now she didn't care. She wasn't sure that anything could be worse right now than staying put in the warehouse and waiting to see what was going to happen to her next.
As Heidi brought her head back inside the warehouse she looked around her and realized she could use the bed as leverage to get her up enough to get out using the window. Heidi adjusted herself in place, her feet balancing her on the bed, before she took one last look at the front door and listened for any movement coming in that direction. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she could hear the pounding in her ears too. She was absolutely petrified. Not so much petrified of what she was going to do once she was out of that window and into the forest, but petrified to think of what was going to happen to her if she got caught right now this second or if she got caught before she had a chance to get a good enough distance away from the warehouse itself.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts she realized that the longer she spent contemplating this, the higher her chances were of getting caught. She took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself before she used the leverage from the bed to hoist herself into the window frame. Thankfully with the very little they had been feeding her here, Heidi easily fit through the window frame.
Heidi tried to push herself through the frame to get to the other side and then realized the hem of her T-shirt was caught on something inside the frame. Without a second though, Heidi decided to push herself through, against the tension created by the caught fabric. She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as she did so but continued to push through anyway. Without even thinking, Heidi pushed a little too hard and before she knew it she was falling before she landed with a thump on the dirt directly outside the warehouse window.
It was a longer drop than Heidi had anticipated and she landed hard. She couldn't help a groan escaping her lips as she lay there for a moment, especially because she'd hit her head hard on the dirt when she landed. She soon realized, though, that she didn't have time to worry about that now so she quickly got to her feet and ran for cover behind a large Red maple. Breathing hard, Heidi pressed her back up against the tree and strained her ears to hear anything that could suggest that the old guy had heard her get out through the window or whether he heard her land hard on the ground outside. Heidi started to relax more and more as the minutes passed and she heard nothing in the direction of the warehouse. Her heart started to calm its racing and she began to start breathing normally again.
Heidi then remembered the sharp pain she'd felt in her abdomen as she had pushed herself through the window and she looked down to find the lower portion of her white T-shirt was soaked with blood. Not wanting to see the carnage directly, Heidi didn't lift the T-shirt up but instead pressed her forearm against the spot on her abdomen where she'd felt the pain moments before. Despite the pain she still felt, she pressed her forearm to apply a little pressure and hopefully slow the bleeding. It was then that Heidi saw the carnage that was her arms as well.
Apparently pushing herself through the window had also made a number of cuts up and down her forearms. She was bleeding more than she had expected, seeing as she hadn't initially felt any kind of pain, coming from a cut that run almost the length of her forearm. It was, unfortunately, the same forearm she was using to put pressure on her abdomen. Heidi tried to twist her forearm the best she could so she could still use it to put pressure on her abdomen as well as to put pressure on the cut on her forearm itself. She inspected her other forearm and there were a number of small cuts that were bleeding but nothing too serious and she was thankful for that.
Heidi, her back still pressed up again the Red maple behind, then used her free hand to push back the curtain of her brown hair that had fallen in front of her face. She frowned as she realized that something was preventing her from pushing all her hair back. Reaching up to touch her forehead with her fingertips she felt a patch just above her eye of something wet and sticky. Bringing her fingers down into her eyesight she saw they were covered in blood. She realized that she must split herself open there when she had landed hard on the dirt after falling from the window.
Just leaving her hair matted and stuck to the blood on her forehead, Heidi turned her attention to the mass of Red maple trees infront of her and her mind started going crazy. She was out of the warehouse. She was out of that hell hole. She was outside. She was finally free.
The only problem was that she didn't know where the hell she was.
A/N: HEIDI IS OUT! Whoever can correctly guess where Heidi is – if you want to guess at a town/city level feel free, otherwise a state is fine – gets a character in an upcoming chapter named after them. READY, SET, GUESS!
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