Page 39 of When Sinners Fear
“Back up.”
The first man aims at the lock on the cage, and I scramble backwards away from the trajectory before he fires his gun, shattering the lock. The hinge creaks as it’s pushed open, and Knox staggers through it.
The guy with the gun helps him up, and they exchange quiet words. I do hear something that sounds like good to see you. It’s not until I look for the other man that I realise he’s staring at me inside the cage. He’s not unlocked it. He’s assessing me – I can almost see his mind running over the scenarios. Maybe he’s trying to figure out what happened here. If the blood, chains, and cages weren’t enough of a giveaway.
My gut wants to scream at him to let me out, to stop toying with me and hand me the freedom that’s within my grasp. I look over to Knox and see he’s being held up by his other brother.
“The fuck happened here?” the monster man questions, looking at Knox’s body.
I don’t move forward or speak, terrified of the next move. Knox wouldn’t leave me here, not after everything, would he? He would have made me drink the soda; he would have killed me – beat me to death. My eyes sting as I think back to the headache I woke up with after he beat me and smashed my head into the bars. He could have done it – easily.
“Get rid of her,” the guy in the suit orders, and with those words, my heart stops, and I whip my eyes over to Knox.
No. He wouldn’t.
“Knox?” I question, and I can see something cross his face. “Knox, please.” I cross my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling more fragile and vulnerable than when I was chained to the ground and facing a whip.
“She stays with me.” His voice is stronger than I’ve heard and offers no room for question. The other two look around to him but don’t argue.
Knox nods to the one with the gun, who steps forward to the front of the cage.
He fires, and like with Knox’s, the lock is obliterated, leaving me free.
My first instinct should be to run. To flee and never turn back, but all I can do is stand and head towards Knox. I’m careful not to touch his skin where the welts and marks are still raw and painful, but I tuck myself just behind his shoulder, using him as a shield of sorts.
“What’s going on in here?” A girl walks through the door, pulling all our attention.
She looks at the two cages before finding Knox in the room, and then finally her eyes land on me. The shift in her face and body is instantaneous. She walks right over to me, takes off her jacket and drapes it over my shoulders.
“Boys, have some decency,” she scolds. “Dante, you got Knox?”
“Yeah. Come on.”
The one called Dante leads Knox out, one arm around his body to help, but I reach for Knox’s hand. To my relief he takes it.
“We got you. You’re fine,” the woman says. Her voice is soothing, and I’m grateful for the slice of modesty she’s provided, but I don’t trust anything that’s happening. She doesn’t try to touch me, more like she’s looking at me a little startled.
Silence accompanies us out of the prison, and we’re led out of the room.
The air is fresher, and there’s even daylight filtering through the rooms as we walk closer to the exit. My heartbeat races, pumping ferociously in my chest, and I attribute the reaction to a surge of adrenalin. My body’s fight or flight response is still active, even if everything else is limited.
Finally, we’re led out into the open, and I have to shield my eyes from the blaring sun; it’s so bright. I blink a few times behind my hand and gently open them to the outside world.
Another man, smaller in stature this time, approaches from the side, and I shrink against Knox. He doesn’t say anything but squeezes my hand, and I try to keep my breathing under control. Are these all his brothers? Who’s the girl? She can’t be much older than me. I think about what I must look like – naked, beaten, covered in welts and bruises. It makes me want to hide, or retreat, or something.
I pull on Knox’s hand to get his attention, but he’s being led toward a large van with the side door open.
“We need to get you something to wear,” the girl says to me as she starts to take me away from Knox. Panic climbs through me, and I back away from her to follow him instead.
The man in the suit frowns at me as I stay close and get in the van next to Knox.
“Leave it, Abel,” Knox mutters. “She stays where she needs to.”
Abel looks at me, but I hold his glare.
“How long?” Knox asks.
“Too fucking long. You need a hospital.”