Chapter Twenty-Three

Warning: Again mention of rape.

Bella

I left Renee, who seemed to be in pain, with Kat and searched the cellar for any way out. The door which was stout wood was not going to be helpful so I checked for a window or another entrance, a coal or log chute. There was nothing, not even a window but then we were too far down, the cellar room was well below the level of the ground. It was just a square cement room covered in a thick layer of grime and stains that were caked on and the floor was covered in the rubbish of the years. It contained an old boiler that sat rusting in one corner, a pile of rags from which Kat had salvaged enough to sleep on, a bucket with no lid that's smell told of its use and a huge barrel of water fed from a pipe that went through the wall and dripped incessantly. I tasted it warily but it seemed clean enough if slightly warm. Picking up a small cracked plastic beaker I scooped out dome of the water and took it over to Renee who sipped at it without any enthusiasm.

"Did you see mama?"

Kat's question came out of the blue,

"No, where is she? In the house with the man?"

"She was here with me when I first came but the man kept hurting her and the screams frightened me. One day she just stopped making a noise and the man took her away, I only saw her once after that, I don't know how long ago but she was all swollen. I think he really hurt her this time. She doesn't talk to me any more. She did when I first came, she called me Kitty Kat but he stopped her, he didn't like us talking. He won't like you talking to me either, he'll hurt us, he always hurts us."

She rubbed her eyes with the back of one hand,

"He smacked me for being naughty because I didn't answer him fast enough. He ripped up the doll she made me from the rags. I'm not allowed to have toys because I'm a naughty girl and naughty girls don't have toys or nice things."

We waited nervously for his return but as hours passed we began to relax a little and Kat sat with Renee who tried telling her stories but I could tell her heart wasn't in it, she kept herself hunched over and I could see her wince when she moved. Her face was badly bruised but that didn't seem to mean much to Kat, bruises seemed the norm to her although she was unmarked as far as I could see.

Maybe cruel words were enough to torment her. I wondered how long it would be before we were missed, surely someone would wonder what happened when we didn't turn up but then it dawned on me that as far as everyone knew we were camping out in the wilds of the Yellowstone national park and Phil had registered our route on line so we didn't even need to check in when we arrived. The stranger had driven our truck away so that wouldn't be found and chances were Phil's body wouldn't be found quickly. It could be weeks or months before we were missed and hopefully found unless we could escape so I would look for any opportunity to run, get a message out or if necessary disable or kill the bastard who had beaten us and done god knew what to my mum.

When he came back he had changed but he still carried the gun and stood well back from us, he was no fool even if he was crazy.

"Kat, empty the bucket it stinks in here."

She struggled to carry the bucket to the door and I realized why her chain was longer than mine, she wasn't a threat so she could do chores that made it unnecessary for him to come too far into the room. I offered to do it for her but she flinched away and he smiled,

"Kat is a good girl, besides you can't reach now shut your mouth. It took time but Kat learned what daddy expects of her just as you will Ellie."

I saw red and snapped at him foolishly,

"I'm not Ellie, my name is Bella."

I was hoping he might get angry and make a move but not the one he did. Instead of moving forward he raised the gun and shot Renee in the foot. As she screamed I turned to her and then he moved, hitting me on the head with the stock of the gun and then attacked my mother as I lay stunned on the floor. He ripped her remaining clothes off and I saw the bruises and bites on her body from his earlier brutality. As I watched horrified her raped her and then turned to me, smiling.

"This is what happens to wicked girls who don't do as they are told so remember that Ellie and behave yourself. Let this be a lesson to you."

He turned back and took a knife from his pocket sliding it out of a thick leather sheath and then quite deliberately he slashed it across Renee's throat. There was no time to scream, for either of us, her body jerked and blood gushed from the gaping wound to pool on the ground around her head. I screamed her name but it was too late, Renee was already dead. I heard Kat scream and then fall to the ground and vomit over the floor but she was so terrified of the man that she started to apologize even before she was back on her feet. Did she think he might slit her throat too? Remembering the gun he had I looked around hoping he might have dropped it after hitting me but no, he was far too careful, he'd slid it across the floor into the small space in front of the cellar steps where I couldn't reach it. I looked at Kat praying she might think of it but she had her eyes closed and was trembling violently.

He got up grinning and readjusted himself then turned to me,

"Get up and clean the blood off the floor or it'll stink the place out, there's bleach in that bottle and a scrubbing brush, you'll learn I like the place clean or you'll find yourself in deep trouble Ellie."

Then he turned to Kat,

"Stop blubbering like a baby, you're a big girl now you should understand how daddy likes things now help your sister or I'll thrash you too."

Numbly I got up and ignoring him I went to my mothers side pulling her clothes over her and holding her close oblivious of the blood smearing me and my own clothes. This only enraged him further as I found did any insubordination as he saw it. I was dragged away and thrown across the cellar hitting the wall and collapsing as my injured ankle gave way under my weight once more.

"Obey and you'll find life much easier Ellie, listen to your sister, she's learned, your mama too. Now do as I said and clear this fucking mess up."

He walked to the door and bent down picking up the gun that Kat had ignored as she went to do his bidding. I wasn't going to get any help from her, she was far too scared to do anything against him.

Kat came in with the bucket and helped me to my feet as he watched and she handed me a dirty sponge with a weak bleach mixture dripping from it. As I cleaned the floor he walked forward and I waited for another blow but instead he picked up another chain and snapped it into place around my injured ankle then went out slamming the door closed behind him. Did he think I was dangerous enough to need two chains? He had left us alone with my mother's body and the smell of blood in the semi darkness, in my own personal hell.