Chapter Twenty
It seemed as if hours had passed until an iota of light finally entered the basement. It was still dim, but Kate could finally get a look around at her surroundings and ponder over any possibilities for escape. It was tough to get over how surreal it felt to be in the same place as her vision. Cori dozed on and off and Kate tried to convince her it was safe to sleep. It wasn’t like Kate would fall asleep with her adrenaline pumping. Now, Cori was huddled in a small ball on the floor with her body still full of tension even in sleep. Being held captive for weeks by a sicko who barely fed you and had to take you on supervised bathroom trips was enough to make anyone break. However, Cori was doing a pretty good job of holding it together.
The silence from upstairs was almost too much to take. Kate guessed he was sleeping, but there was no way to be positive. For all she knew, he could be sharpening the knives he planned to use to butcher her into a million pieces.
For a while, her only thoughts were how much it was going to suck if she died already. She still lived at home and was nowhere near finishing college. She swore if she made it out of here alive, she would no longer be spending her life in hiding. Screw that. She had wasted these past two years when she could’ve been dating, going to college and meeting new friends. The idea of having some Irvine pervert be one of her first real sexual experiences was horrifying.
Was she going to turn into a Dateline special and not be found for years after being forced into sex slavery? Diane Sawyer would interview her while she would sit there with a dead look in her eyes, since any spirit would have been doused out long ago. How did a girl survive that with her body and mind intact? She already felt her sanity was a precarious situation. She saw people’s private memories on a regular basis. Years of this might end up making her certifiable as it was—no need to speed up the process.
As much as she wanted to block it out, she also comprehended she had a responsibility to protect Cori. If he wanted her to service his friends for money, Kate doubted he had the moral scruples to not demand the same of Cori. If it came to it, Kate would try everything to convince him to ransom the girl back to her family instead. Determined to figure out a plan, she began to jiggle the handcuffs. Looking behind her body at her bound wrists, inspiration struck. “Cori, wake up,” she called over to the girl, trying not to have her voice travel upstairs.
Cori stirred and then rubbed her eyes. With some manipulation of her body, she was able to get up into a standing position. Looking around with a confused gaze, she inquired, “What’s the matter? Is he back?”
“No, but I broke my wrist when I was ten!” Kate told her in a delighted voice. Cori gave her a look that conveyed how annoyed she was to be woken up by her idiocy. Kate continued on, “I’ve been too panicked to think straight, but I just remembered something that could help us. I fell off my bike and although I wore a cast, it never healed completely right. I have really small wrists on top of it. I bet I can get out of these cuffs!”
“What, are you a magician now?” Cori sounded disbelieving of her plan. Kate began pulling against the handcuffs.
As she wiggled her right arm, she felt concerned that maybe Cori had a point and she shouldn’t have bothered to wake the girl up. Maybe she’d be better off if she simply followed the guy’s orders and hope he’d let them go after she performed her service. Perhaps the john would end up being a handsome businessman and he’d be captivated by her beauty and agree to help rescue them.
Who was she fooling? It would be another crackhead like their abductor and he’d rape and beat her until she wished she was dead. Moreover, Kate didn’t remember hearing of any abductors who suddenly decided to free their captives. Both she and Cori had seen his house and what he looked like. Why would he risk letting them go?
Kate tucked her knees to her chest and tried to use her body weight to pull against the handcuffs. She winced in pain as the steel dug into her skin. Tucking her thumb as close to her other fingers as possible, she gave it another unsuccessful try. Closing her eyes and bracing herself for terrible pain, she pulled with all of her might. She no longer cared if she broke her thumb to get these things off of her, she was that determined. A scream caught in her throat as the metal pushed into the bones of her finger and the handcuffs scraped against her skin.
“Oh crap!” Cori exclaimed.
Kate’s right hand hurt like almighty hell, but she was able to move it freely. What was a little wrist pain compared to the full body agony caused by her captor’s earlier assault? Repositioning her hands in front of her body, she now saw the handcuffs dangling from her left wrist. Her right hand was bleeding, but the cuts looked superficial and she doubted she’d done any major damage to the area. With hurried movements, she began to pull off the duct tape which secured her legs together. She was glad she had shaved before the wedding because she was certain removing the tape would’ve been much more agonizing. Cori walked over to her and seemed awestruck as Kate unbound her legs. It took a few minutes, but once she was freed they both stared at one another.
Cori whispered, “What now?”
Now that she was actually unbound, Kate wasn’t sure how to proceed. The guy had the door bolted from the outside. She could attempt to break it down, but there was a strong possibility he was still in the house. If he heard her, it would alert him to her escaping the cuffs and it would foil any potential for escape.
Kate glanced around the basement. “He’s got enough crap down here, maybe I could look for something to use as a weapon?”
Standing up took a few tries. She felt weak and it was painful to move out of the same position she’d been in for hours. Immediately, she slipped out of the shoes and set them next to the basement wall. Looking at the ruined shoes, Kate inwardly groaned. If she did make it out of here, she’d probably owe Julie five hundred dollars to replace the shoes.
Whirling to address Cori, she said, “Sit by the stairs and keep a lookout for me. Call to me as quiet as possible if you hear him coming.” Cori nodded and returned to the base of the stairs to watch the door.
Tiptoeing around the basement, Kate tried to dig quietly through the various objects he had strewn around. Most of it consisted of old clothing, newspapers and drug paraphernalia. She had no idea why he was saving all of this crap, but decided to stop digging through the trash bags. The way things were going, her luck would cause her to get punctured with a needle and catch some type of disease from it.
Noticing a workbench in the corner, Kate prayed he had something she could use to retaliate against him. After pulling open several empty drawers, she was relieved to finally find a drawer filled with odds and ends including nails, drill bits, a screwdriver and a hammer. Kate picked up the hammer and returned to Cori.
Kneeling before her, she said softly, “I think I’m going to try and sneak up on him with this. I didn’t find a knife or scissors to cut your arms loose. I could keep looking, but I think I should stop digging around and try to keep as quiet as possible. Since your legs are no longer tied up, you’ll have no problem running when the time comes. When he walks down here, I’ll jump out and hit him as hard as possible. Don’t look back twice if you have the opportunity to get out of the basement. Run out of the front door and try to find help.”
Cori looked terrified and Kate had doubts whether she should’ve let her in on her plan. “What can I do to help when he comes down here?”
Kate gave her an encouraging smile. “Maybe distract him somehow? Hmm… claim to be hurt and maybe he won’t notice right away that I’m no longer tied up next to you.”
“You have to hit him hard or else you’re just going to get him mad,” Cori warned.
Kate had her doubts over this one. She wasn’t exactly strong when she was in the best of health and now she was sore and exhausted. “People can get superhuman strength when they’re scared and they get an adrenaline rush. Like I heard of this guy who got run over and lifted up the car that he was trapped under.”
“You’re totally making that up.” Cori shook her head.
“Ok, maybe, but there’s no way I’m going to let us die in this dingy basement. You have a family who loves you and wants you home and I have a boy I’m really looking forward to kissing,” she said with resolve.
She would use Jared as part of her motivation. He promised to ravish her and she planned to hold him to that when she got out of here. His sexy smile from the night before flashed in her head again and she decided to hold onto that memory to help her through whatever came next.
“Ugh gross, you have a boyfriend?”
“Um…not really…not yet,” she told her guiltily. Cori gave her another look like she was certifiable when they both turned their heads towards the upstairs.
They heard movement and Kate knew any minute he would likely come down to them. “I’m going to hide behind the basement stairs. Remember, if you get the chance, Cori…get away. Don’t worry about me, just get the hell out of here and get help.”
Kate snuck over to behind the basement stairs while Cori sat in her usual spot a few feet in front of the stairs. The layout of the basement would provide him with only a view directly in front of him. He might not be alarmed to not see her at the bottom of the stairs immediately. It wasn’t like she’d been secured to anything in the basement. Theoretically, she could crawl around to other parts while still bound. Her plan was to run like a maniac and slam the hammer as hard as possible into his skull. She was feeling kind of nauseous over the thought she might deliver a death blow, but it was better than the alternative. She would choose her and Cori over any reservations about killing another person.
She held the hammer with a death grip and readied her body to spring into action. Sitting there waiting was worse than anything. She seriously needed to pee, but had no idea when he would be coming down there. She didn’t want to be off popping a squat when he decided to check on them. She thought about having Cori cry out, but decided it wouldn’t be worth the risk. He threatened to kill them if they yelled out and it might mean he would bring a weapon down with him. Alternatively, he may be on higher alert for possible trouble from them. Cori gave her an anguished look with her watery blue eyes and Kate motioned for her to remain quiet.
It must have been at least an hour before she heard the basement door unlock. Fear threatened to consume her as she lifted the hammer.
As if on cue, Cori began to cry softly. “I feel sick. Please help me.”
The man said nothing, but began his climb down the stairs. Kate rose to her feet and tried to keep from shutting her eyes. As soon as he came to the base of the stairs, she propelled her body towards him. Swiftly, he turned, but luckily she had the element of surprise; it gave her a small advantage. His eyes widened as she swung the hammer and hit his left temple with as much force as she could muster. She pulled the hammer back again to hit him again, but the first time seemed to be enough. His entire body collapsed and he fell to the floor with a loud thud. She looked him over and noted the large divot in the spot where the hammer had connected with his head.
“Is he dead?” Cori rose from her fetal position and walked over to where his body laid. Her voice lacked any concern, only a hopeful curiosity. At least the Prestons had money; their little girl would likely need massive amounts of therapy to ever get back any semblance of normalcy.
Kate peered closely at the man. He was definitely knocked out, but the rise and fall of his chest indicated he was still alive. “He’s breathing, should I hit him again?” Kate asked uncertainly. She looked over at the girl. “Maybe we should just get out of here.”
Cori nodded enthusiastically at the idea of escape from her personal hellhole. “We should find a phone and call the police.”
“Good idea. Let’s get the hell out of dodge. Are you ok to walk?” Cori nodded as a reply and they began to run up the stairs.
Cori was obviously weakened from being held captive for weeks and Kate helped pull her along. Exiting the basement, they ran into the kitchen. Kate did a quick survey and did not see a phone. On the counter was a butcher’s block. Reaching in, she pulled out the largest knife she could find. Facing Cori, she said urgently, “Come here. Let me cut the zip ties off your wrist.”
Cori held out her arms in front of her and Kate quickly sawed off the plastic. Rolling her wrists for a few seconds, Cori was obviously relieved to be freed. “I don’t see a phone. I know you’re tired, but we’re just going to have to make a run for it…”
Kate didn’t finish; the basement door flew open. She could barely scream, “Cori run!” before the man was on top of her.
She had never seen rage this up close and personal. Murder was in his eyes and Kate wanted to kick herself for being such an inept rescuer for Cori. They’d been in such a hurry to leave—she should have locked the door behind them. At the very least, knock him in the head a couple more times to ensure he wouldn’t be gaining consciousness anytime soon. His powerful hands wrapped around her throat and she gasped for breath.
“You’re dead now, bitch,” he hissed at her.
A million random thoughts ran through her head. How long would it take for her to die? What would her mother do without her? Would Cori make it out alive? Would Jared throw himself on her casket and declare to never love another again?
She tried to claw at him, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t a hulking beast and probably only outweighed her by twenty pounds, but he was pissed off and crazy. Guess she proved herself wrong that he wasn’t a killer at heart. She rationalized that anyone hit in the head with a hammer would probably find it in him to murder. Her pathetic attempts to scratch him didn’t even seem to faze him.
Blackness seemed to creep around her vision and she knew it would be over soon. The lack of oxygen was painful; she almost found it to be a relief to let go and die. Unlike the last time, there would be no coming back from the dead and she would get no more opportunities to use her second sight to assist others.
Suddenly, his grasp loosened and she was able to draw in a breath. She had no idea what had happened, but he suddenly grew still. While greedily sucking in as much air as possible, Kate was able to shimmy out from under his body and climb into a sitting position. Shocked, she saw Cori standing behind him. The butcher knife Kate had used to untie Cori now was sticking out of the man’s back. Cori stood behind him with a blank expression on her face. It was almost frightening, like one of those freaky Children of the Corn kids.
A few weak attempts to pull the knife out of his back and he was then passed out face first in a pool of blood. The crimson liquid was pouring out of him at a such a rate Kate imagined it unlikely he was going to jump up and surprise attack them again. Not that she was taking the chance and going anywhere near him to check for a pulse. Hurrying over to Cori, she pulled the girl close to her and tried to shield her from the sight of the potentially dead man.
“Is it over?” the girl asked in a small voice.
“Yes, you saved us. It’s over,” Kate whispered.