My stomach churns violently at his implication, my breath coming out in hollowed gasps. I would rather die than let Eleanore do this to me again. But then I think about Gabriel and Alanna, the innocent bystanders in all of this. They're only here because of me.
"All in good time, Allan," my stepmother's shrewd voice cracks my raw nerves like a whip.
As she approaches, her heels click across the hard floor like shotgun blasts. And instinctively, I know this is it. The end of the line for me, because there's no getting away from her this time. And just as I suspected, she isn't going to let me go down alone. I squeeze my eyes shut as tears flood my vision, threatening to turn me into a sobbing mess. She's going to hurt Alanna and Gabriel to get to me.
In a sick twist of irony, I recall the time that Gabriel and I spent at this cabin not so long ago. How I told him about Orion's fate, and how I thought the constellation had guided me to him somehow. And now, here I am, his own personal Artemis, unknowingly leading him to his death.
The whole situation is so fucked up I want to scream until my lungs are bloody. But I know it won't do me any good. The expression on Eleanore's face tells me as much. She's finally got me right where she wants me, and there's nothing I can do to change that.
"Did you really think you could get away from me so easily you foolish girl?"
I try to mumble a fuck you from behind the tape, but nothing intelligible comes out. Eleanore stoops down, and in one swift painful movement, rips the tape from my mouth. I tamp down the strong instinct to react to the pain, refusing to give her the satisfaction.
She simply laughs at my stiff expression. "Always trying to put on a brave face, aren't we? Tell me, Victoria, don't you think it's time you paid the piper?"
"What are you talking about?" I hiss. "I've done nothing wrong. I've left you alone, so why can't you just move on?"
"Oh you would say that," she snaps. "After everything that you've done to hurt me. Making your father hate me … making the whole town think I was crazy."
"You are crazy!" I yell, unable to stop myself. I know this isn't the best way to approach the situation. She has the two people I love most in the world within her grasp. I know I should be logical, but right now I can't. I hate her with the fire of a thousand suns.
"You think you are so tough don't you?" she glances across the room. "We'll see how tough you are after your friends wake up and you watch me slowly torture them to death."
All of the blood drains from my face, and just like that, my temper is gone.
"Please, Eleanore … " I beg. "You don't have to do this. Just let them go."
She actually seems to consider it for a moment before busting into a hysterical fit of laughter. "No, I don't think so, Victoria. But don't worry, it won't be all blood and gore. We're going to have a little fun first. You see, I think I will make your angry boyfriend watch Allan here rape you repeatedly. Maybe your pretty little friend over there too. I haven't really thought that far ahead yet."
"Why are you doing this?" I plead, my voice cracking. "They haven't done anything to you. You can do anything you want to me, but please let them go."
"Tisk, tisk." Eleanore smiles. "Where would the fun in that be? You deserve everything you get, you little whore."
"How can you say that?" I try to reason with her, playing to any of her sane emotions. "You've been the only mother I've ever known."
"Yes, how unfortunate for me." She retorts sourly. "You didn't know how lucky you were. You never appreciated me."
The weakness in her eyes surprises me, but before I can say anything, she walks back towards the front door.
"I need to get some things in town," she announces to the man standing guard. "You call me the minute they wake up, do you understand?"
He nods, and then as quickly as she entered, she's gone again.
I need to figure something out, and fast. As I stare up at the ceiling, I hear incoherent grumbling from across the room. I crane my neck to see Gabriel stirring in his chair. He blinks his eyes open wearily, his expression filled with pain.
"Victoria," he rasps. "How did they get to you?"
I glance up at the man at the door to find him picking his nail absently. He doesn't seem to care that we're conversing, so I decide to answer.
"I was making a delivery," I reply.
His jaw grows rigid as his eyes darken with obvious frustration. "I gave you one simple fucking request," he booms. "You just had to leave your apartment, didn't you?"
"I didn't know," I snap back. "I thought it was a delivery for you. That's what my boss told me anyway."
His face softens a little as his eyes roam over me, taking mental stock of my condition. I can tell he wants to rescue me right now, but he can't move an inch. Somewhere deep in the recesses of my depraved mind, I almost find it ironic.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"Yes." I nod. "I think so. My head hurts, but I'm okay."
He looks so sad and forlorn, I can't help the intense guilt that floods over me. This is all my fault. Tears spring to my eyes, and I try my best to hold them back, to be strong.
"I'm so sorry Gabriel," I whisper. "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen."
"No," he replies firmly. "Don't think like that, Victoria. This is not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
He casts his eyes to the floor and I try to make sense of what he's not saying. But then he quirks his eyebrow as though an idea has just struck him. He glances at the man by the door and then strains in his chair to try to look out the window. What is he doing?
"Victoria," he says calmly, "I just want you to try to relax, okay."
The man at the door lets out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head at our conversation.
"Think back on the last couple days, and how good they were," Gabriel continues, his tone odd. "Think of all the things we did together. You, me, and Alanna."
He seems to be stressing the last part. He's trying to tell me something, but I don't know what. I think over the last couple of days, mentally taking stock of our time together. I hardly even saw him. The last time I saw him was when he was teaching me how to shoot …
The gun. It was in my waistband before when I was taken from the alley. Is it still there? My body seems impossibly numb as I try to adjust on the floor without getting the attention of the man above me. I roll as flat as my bound wrists behind me will allow, wiggling my hips a little to press my butt to the floor. And then I feel it. The cold metal of the gun still inside my pants. How did they not find it? I shake my head because it doesn't matter. I need to figure something out and quick. Eleanore will be back soon. As I try to wiggle my wrists behind me, the ropes make a slight noise, and it earns me another swift kick to the ribs from the man at the door.
"Don't fucking move!" he growls.
Gabriel rocks violently in his chair, his face red with anger as I try to fight the overwhelming pain.
"I'll fucking kill you when this is over Allan," he bellows.
The man just gives him a pathetic smile, as if he already knows that will never happen.
"I'm going to fuck your little girlfriend here," Allan announces. "Long and hard, right in front of you. Then you'll watch her die a slow and painful death before it's your turn."
A sob escapes from my chest. I don't want to cry, and I don't even care that he said he's going to rape me. All I can think about is Gabriel. If I can't get free, he's going to die … because of me.
"Shhh baby," Gabriel tries to soothe me from his chair. "It's okay Victoria, I'm right here with you."
Chapter Five
Victoria
Over the next twenty minutes, I try to wriggle free from the ropes that bind my wrists. They are too tight. Way tighter than Gabriel would have ever bound me. And the more I move, the more they cut into my wrists. I can feel the sensitive skin burning as blood seeps from my wounds, but I don't care. I need to do this. As Alanna begins to stir, my efforts become more fervent.
Eleanore asked Allan to call her back when they woke up, and now time is running out. I'm hoping for at least a few extra minutes, but as soon as Allan sees her moving, he picks up his cell phone and walks into the kitchen.
For the few brief moments he's gone, I wriggle furiously, pulling at one of the ropes with my fingernails in an attempt to shred it. Allan comes back before I can get anywhere, and Alanna groans as she comes out of her drug induced stupor. She blinks her eyes a couple times before they quickly fill with terror. Before I can think of anything to comfort her, Eleanore slips through the front door.
Her heels click along the hardwood floors as she walks into the center of the room, taking stock of all the puppets at her disposal.