The shackle opened with a faint click. His Swiss Army knife didn't have quite the right attachment for this task but with a bit of diligence it worked. Glancing at Chase's face, Jack gave a triumphant smile and set to work on the second shackle. Jack wondered what was going through Chase's mind. It was hard enough to read him at the best of times and now he was half obscured by the Raybans which Jack had passed over to protect his eyes from the light of the flashlight.
Earlier Jack had returned outside and retrieved his pack from the back porch. To his dismay the lightly falling snow had thickened into a blizzard and he knew they wouldn't be leaving here today. While outside, he glanced into the lean-to shed which he hadn't investigated earlier. Stacked high with split wood, there was also a tarpaulin covering something large. Pulling back the cover, he laughed aloud to see a powerful looking snowmobile, the keys sitting in the ignition. He wondered again if remnants of the militia were still helping Liz. How else could she have managed to get Chase to such an isolated location?
Leaving the lean to, Jack passed the chopping block beside the stacked wood, the axe wedged in the top. He grabbed up the axe and placed it next to his pack before stepping over to the nearest trees to take a leak. A sudden sense of being watched came over him and he quickly finished, the thought of Liz perhaps watching him making him break out in a nervous sweat.
Turning towards the cabin he crossed the tracks he'd made earlier when he first circled the cabin, but now his tracks looked different. Stooping and brushing away the newly fallen snow from the old tracks, he was astounded to see wolf tracks. Larger than dog or coyote prints, the animal tracks had followed his snowshoe trail exactly. Was this who had been watching him earlier on the trail? He had never heard of wolves inhabiting this region and it added further to his sense of unease.
Taking the axe, the pack and the snowshoes into the cabin, Jack quickly barred the door behind him. His heart was hammering far too fast and he knew his nerves were frayed. This constant tension was tiring and he took some deep breaths, trying to regain control and a modicum of calm.
Placing the axe by the door, Jack opened his backpack and pulled out warm clothing and some energy bars for Chase, along with an extra flashlight. Clattering down the steps into the cellar, he passed over the food and clothes and set to work on the shackles. Chase set the clothes and bars aside with a "thank you" and continued to silently hold the light over the shackle. Jack could see Chase's anxiety level increasing, his leg began to tap an urgent beat and Jack wondered why he was getting so agitated. He also wondered what he had been eating down here. A bucket half filled with water sat near Chase, but there was no sign of food. From what Jack could tell, Chase had been abandoned for over two weeks, so what had he survived on?
Stopping work on the second shackle, Jack asked, "When did you eat last Chase?"
"Jack please, you need to hurry."
"Look at yourself Chase, you're so skinny you could just about slip the irons off. I know Liz hasn't been here in the last two weeks, so what have you been eating?"
Chase wasn't listening, pushing the flashlight towards Jack he cried, "Go, please go, it's coming."
Jack crouched, swinging the light around the cellar with his gun ready, but he couldn't see anything. His heart beating far too fast, he looked at his gun, wavering in his trembling hand. Chase was clearly terrified and looking at him now, Jack saw he had curled into a ball, his arms wrapped around his head. "Chase, talk to me, what's wrong?," he whispered.
With a distant rumble, a generator started up and then it happened. A young girl, sounding so much like Angie it made Jack's hair rise up, was laughing, chanting 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy' and Jack swung the light looking for her, but the room was empty. Another voice, low and musical whispered 'Chase' over and over and Jack knew it was the voice of Kim, yet a Kim he'd never heard before. This voice was throaty, enticing, perhaps the voice she used with Chase when they were together in bed.
A flash of light and the wall became bright with changing images of Kim and Angie. Walking hand in hand, going to school, shopping, at the playground... all the while the voices continued their chants 'Daddy' and 'Chase' before an ear splitting scream rent the air. "Daddy NO!' the young voice cried, followed by a loud thwack and then another.
Jack winced at the sound, all he could think of was the axe cutting through Chase's wrist in the science lab. The screaming continued "... Daddy, don't hurt me... Daddy I love you...Daddy help me." The young voice grew weaker and then silent as Kim's screams took over, her pain and terror sounding all too real as the whacks continued... until silence fell and the images faded to black.
His strength deserting him, Jack slumped to his knees beside Chase and he put out his hand to touch him, either to offer or take comfort, but Chase pulled away. "I did it," he moaned softly, "I did it."
The manipulation was too much for Jack. Picking up the flashlight, he yelled out, "You sonofabitch Liz Ashley, I'm getting us out of here and then I'm going to hunt you down and kill you."
Twisting the pocket knife into the shackle with force, it snapped open and without ceremony Jack pulled Chase to his feet and half dragged him over to the wooden steps. "Come on Chase, we're getting the hell out of here and going home."
Jack bounded ahead up the steps, calling back over his shoulder, "We'll need to stay here tonight, there's a blizzard raging outside."
Collecting up the torture implements and sex toys, Jack bundled them into the stained sheet wondering where to stash them. Opening the window he dropped everything into the snow and stood for a moment breathing in the crisp air. He couldn't wait to be out of this place, away from this cabin with it's atmosphere of coiled menace.
The bathroom door closed behind him and Jack turned, startled, but the shower started running and he relaxed as he reached to close the window. Looking around he searched the cabin for anything else that needed to be removed and he paused for a moment when he saw the axe. He couldn't predict what Chase might do next but best not to take any chances. Anyhow he reasoned as he dropped the axe out the window, at least he'd know where it was if he needed it.
Slamming the window closed he picked up the flashlight and returned down the steps into the cellar. Kicking through the pile of rats he looked for a clue as to what Chase had lived on for the past few weeks, but all the rats were whole, none had been nibbled on. Taking a last look around, he climbed the steps and closed the door firmly, hoping it was the last time he'd see that hell hole.
Going to the generator room he rummaged through wires until he found a set leading down into the cellar. Pulling them out, Jack hoped that with luck the audio/visual nightmare was now over.
Yanking the mattress off the bed, he dragged it out the back door and flipped it over the porch rail into the snow covered bushes. After a brief struggle the bed frame was disassembled into four sections which soon followed the mattress out the door and into the snow. Rearranging the furniture took but a moment, as did lighting the fire in the huge stone hearth. Checking through the cupboards, Jack found blankets and quilts, another held a good range of winter clothing, while the kitchen was well stocked with canned soups, dried pastas and jars of sauce.
The shower had turned off awhile ago but Chase still hadn't emerged and Jack had finally run out of chores to occupy his time. Pulling on his jacket he ventured outside to gather several loads of wood which he stacked up beside the already ample supply next to the fireplace. Finally, unable to contain his worry about what Chase might be doing for so long in the bathroom, Jack removed his jacket and boots then padded over to the bathroom in his socks to knock on the door. Ignoring the muffled, "I won't be long," Jack pushed the door open and stopped in shock. "Jesus Chase!"
Chase sat on the side of the bath wearing only thermal pants, his bare torso a pale gleam in the low light. Jack could see each jutting bone and his skin was multi-coloured from numerous bites... human bites. Some were a faded brown, others an angry infected red, while many oozed a yellow pus. Chase held a tube of antibiotic cream in his hands and Jack saw these too were bitten and inflamed but the bites were smaller, the bites of rats.
"Please... go away, Jack," his head turned away in shame.
"I'm not going anywhere Chase. I'm here to listen to whatever you want to tell me, I'm here to help"." Chase remained silent so Jack dropped to the floor and stretched out his legs as he leaned back against the wall. Crossing his ankles, Jack said, "It's okay Chase...you'll feel better if you talk about it."
Chase began screwing the top back on the cream but his fingers were clumsy, still swollen from the bites, "I can't," he said quietly, "I can't talk about it."
Jack waited a few moments and then began, "This is what I think happened... you leave for work one morning and wake up here, strapped to the bed. Liz is leaning over you and you're scared, remembering what she did last time. But she's nice, understanding. She talks about Kim's breakdown and all the troubles she's gone through since the news of my death. She talks about CTU and their lack of information. She cries over the loss of the baby and how upsetting that was and then she tells you that I'm not dead, that I'm living it up somewhere while you're left suffering the costs of that one lie... She's warm and sympathetic and she makes you do things you don't want to do... your body responds even as your mind screams no."
"You can't know this," Chase moaned, shaking his head.
"But I do know it Chase... because that's what she did to me the last time. Even when I was revolted by her touch she knew how to get my body to respond... but after a time no amount of stimulation achieves what she craves. She pulls out her toys and continues to take her pleasure, but this time it's fueled by your pain. Until every time she comes close you throw up... She gets angry, you're spoiling her fun so she withholds food figuring you can't vomit on an empty stomach, but it doesn't work, the bile still comes. Angry, she walks away to leave you to starve to death, but first she leaves you a dozen rats and a sound and light show... how often did it play Chase, twice a day?"
"Every two hours."
"Jesus Chase, I'm sorry. She only did this to get at me... she knew I'd come to find you."
Chase looked over at Jack, his first eye contact since leaving the cellar and Jack could feel the intensity of his gaze, "She said you'd try to kill me, that you wouldn't trust me."
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Jack held out his hand, "Here, I'll put some cream on these bites on your back, they can easily turn septic." Taking the cream, he said, "That's one more thing Liz doesn't understand, the trust we have in each other."
"Sometimes it seems so real... that I've hurt them." Turning to look at Jack he asked, "They're really all right? You saw them?"
"Yes," Jack smiled, "They're at home waiting for you."
"But how do you know that I won't go home and still hurt them? I've already done so many things against my will, what if I hurt my family?"
"The doctors can help you," Jack said soothingly. "Max says they have some tests to see how much Liz has influenced you. It will work out Chase, you need to believe that."
Standing up, he said, "Come on, lets get something to eat, you must be hungry." Washing his hands quickly, Jack went into the kitchen area and looked over the supplies in the larder, finally selecting a can of chicken and corn soup, along with fusilli pasta and a jar of alfredo sauce. .
Chase finished dressing and when he entered the main room he made no mention of the rearranged furniture as he silently tended the fire and arranged bedding while Jack heated the soup and pasta sauce while keeping an eye on the boiling pasta. Watching him, Jack saw Chase was becoming agitated again and he realised it was almost two hours since the last audio/video show.
Going to his pack he pulled out the photo of Chase, Kim and Angie which he'd shown to Rosie. Looking at it now, he wondered if any of them would ever be this happy again. Sighing, he went to Chase who was stabbing angrily at the fire with the poker. Keeping his eye on the poker, Jack squatted beside him. Placing his hand on Chase's knee which was beating a nervous tattoo, he passed over the photo.
"They're alive Chase. They're alive and waiting for you to come home to them." Chase looked at the photo and back at Jack, tears shining in his eyes. Jack smiled reassuringly and went back to his pasta, wondering if he was doing it right. Max had emailed some suggestions to Tony, but he stressed the most important thing was pick a simple message and repeat it constantly.
Dinner was a subdued affair. Jack was pleased to see Chase had calmed, his panic attack now over, but he barely touched the food. Stirring his spoon through his soup, Chase asked, "What day is it today?"
It's Saturday... the 16th. You were held for 29 days Chase."
"I lost count after the first two weeks. I had no idea how much time had passed... I just know I wouldn't have lasted much longer down there. Thank you Jack, thanks for getting me out of there.
"I came as soon as I realised there was a problem. I'm sorry Chase, once again you were pulled into Liz's orbit because of me."
Shrugging slightly, Chase resumed stirring his soup before excusing himself from the table. He washed the pots stacked in the kitchen, used the bathroom then crawled under the quilt on one of the couches with a quiet "Goodnight Jack."
Jack found he had little appetite himself, but he ate anyway, the carbs would be needed tomorrow. Wanting a shower, he glanced at his backpack. He had an extra gun and ammo with him and despite his earlier words, he didn't trust Chase, not at all. Liz was a brilliant tactician and she wouldn't have wasted this opportunity. Taking his pack with him into the bathroom while he showered, he emerged later to find Chase sleeping soundly, the photo next to him on the side table. Jack glanced towards the windows, the snow had stopped and he looked forward to leaving in the morning.
The moonlight cascaded down, spinning the snow clad hills and the silent lake in a gossamer of purest white. A faint flutter of a heartbeat caused tiny icicles to rise ever upward in a fragile dance and as each crystal exploded, an iridescent pulse tumbled downward to shimmer over the lake, the trees and the cabin. If Jack had taken that moment to gaze out over the lake he would have been struck by the sheer beauty of nature.
Soon to be replaced by sheer terror at the realisation that the axe was no longer there...