- Chapter Three -

Georgia Mary King

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The lights flicked on and blinded me.

Groaning, I shut my eyes. It took a second for me to adjust enough to see the figure standing in the doorway. His lips were pink and full, stuck in a half smile that made my veins pump quicker. Wearing dark jeans and a gray sweater that was one size too big, I noticed how thin his wrists were; how jagged his collarbone was where it peeked through the wide neck hole.

“Hi,” he said, closing the door. I heard it lock. “I'm Lonnie.”

Conway had said he was the older brother, which meant Lonnie couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve. He was a frail kid—nothing like his father.

Except in his powder blue eyes. They had the same hungry way of looking at me.

“You're Georgia, right?”

I didn't reply.

“Georgia, like the peach,” he said, laughing at his own commentary. In three steps he was next to my bed. He hovered over me, arms folded at the small of his back as he squinted. He didn't stop smiling while he inspected my bare feet, my thinning legs, my concave belly, and finally... my face. “You really do look so much like her.”

I tensed up. “Who?”

“My sister.” His features screwed up, eradicating the pretend politeness. Underneath I saw his confusion, his lips twitching like he'd tasted something foul. “That's probably why Dad took you, if I had a guess.”

His sister? Conway hadn't mentioned any siblings besides Lonnie. The dread in me grew legs, stomping over my chest so that breathing became difficult. The idea that I'd been taken because I looked like someone else, and not just some random attack, was chilling. Madness was one thing, being kidnapped with intent... that was something else.

From his pocket, he pulled out half of a chocolate bar. The sight of it made my stomach rumble. If Conway hadn't been slipping me food, I'd have started drooling. As it was, it only felt like my stomach was gnawing at itself. “You must be starving by now.”

“Yes,” I lied.

Lonnie brought it close, dangling it over my nose by a corner between two fingers. It swung like a blade ready to slice me in two. “Want some?”

Keeping my attention on him, I wet my lips. “Don't waste your time.”

“What?” He stopped swinging the chocolate.

“You're here because you want something. I'm not going to give it to you in exchange for some chocolate.”

His face went slack. I'd stunned him—I enjoyed that. “You're not supposed to talk back.”

“Says who?”

“Dad. He says when we own something, it does what we say.” Lonnie twisted the chocolate around, holding it flat in his palm. “Don't bother acting tough.” His fingers clamped together, crushing the candy into brown smears that squished between the gaps in his fist. “Everyone breaks for him. Everyone.”

Chocolate dripped onto my knee. I flinched, but didn't look away from him. “You don't know me.”

His grin was the jagged edge of an aluminum tin that had been split apart by an ancient can opener. Bracing his filthy hands on either side of my legs, he lowered his mouth, licking at the chocolate that had landed on me. This was perverse; it threw me off, some of my courage fading.

Lonnie didn't behave like a kid. What had he witnessed that had warped him?

Each individual taste bud scratched on my skin. He kept going, leaning across my body as he slobbered over my knee. I was hyperventilating and ready to gag. No one had touched me like this in my life. How far will he go?

Lonnie smirked up at me from the base of the bed, his hair spilling over his forehead. Patiently, he ran his tongue over the top row of his teeth. He was wearing braces. “If you're nice to me,” he whispered, “I'll untie you for a bit.”

My heart punched against my ribs. “Nice how?”

I saw his brief hesitance. He didn't know what he wanted me to do, not exactly, anyway. This was all spontaneous exploration as he learned the path his father walked. I was just the toy to try out his skills on.

Standing up, he touched my ankle gingerly. Was I the first girl he'd ever put his hands on? “I want to see you naked. Take your clothes off for me.”

I can use his inexperience against him. Swallowing, I nodded slowly. “Untie me and I will.”

It took thirty-five seconds before he spoke again—I was counting. “If you try anything, I'll kill you.”

“I know.”

He stared at me again. Did he guess what I was planning?  Moving to my shoulder, he bent over me. For an exciting moment he gripped the straps that held me tight as a drumskin. His breath washed over me, getting faster—heavier. “Never mind,” he said, letting go. “I'll do it myself.”

“What?” I sputtered.

Grabbing the hem of my shirt, Lonnie started to tug. “I don't need your help. You're as useful as you'll ever be, just like this.”

“No!” Gasping, I wriggled pointlessly. “Don't touch me! Stop, stop right now!”

“Bitch, I said hold still!”

“Get away from her!” Conway snapped. I hadn't heard the door open. Lonnie spun around, taking his brother's knuckles to his face. Crying out, he crumpled to the floor while Conway loomed over him. He was shaking; his hair messed up, his eyes wild. He looked across, meeting my stare. Wordlessly he asked if I was okay, and just as silently, I bowed my head in appreciation.

“Asshole,” Lonnie groaned.

Conway's attention bounced back to his brother. “Get out. Now. Dad doesn't want anyone in here, and that means you.”

“Oh, but you're special?”

“I said get the hell out!”

“Fine,” Lonnie said, wiping blood from his nose. He stared at it, and when he smiled, his teeth were stained brownish-red. There was havoc in his eyes when he looked at me. “I'll have my turn with her. It's not like she's going anywhere.”

I didn't breathe easier until he was gone.

Conway came to me, quickly freeing me from the straps. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Before I responded, I viciously rubbed the chocolate fingerprints off of my body. Lonnie's touch was a virus that wanted to seep inside, and I needed all the evidence of it gone. My skin was raw and red when I was finished. “I'm... I'm fine. He didn't hurt me, he just...” Scared me. Terrified me. I shrugged helplessly. “That's your younger brother?”

Some tightness vanished from his shoulders. “Lonnie has always been creepy.”

“That's a polite way of phrasing it.” I hesitated. “He told me that I looked like your sister.” Conway's kind features hardened with despair. “You didn't tell me you had a sister.”

“Because I don't. Not anymore.” He shook himself, as if devilish creatures were hanging from his body, slicing at him as they weighed him down.

“What do you mean? What happened to her?”

“Ask my dad,” he spat. The venom inside of him was bubbling. It made me recoil—just a hair, but he saw and caught himself. “Sorry. I really hate talking about this, is all. I don't know where she is. Dad won't say, maybe he doesn't even know. I'd give anything to find out the truth.”

“That's awful,” I whispered. It would drive me crazy not to know where my family was. Mom must be so worried about me. “Were you two close?”

“Very much. She used to read to me, especially when mom and dad fought. She'd pull me into this little tree house we'd built in the woods behind our old house, wrap a blanket around us, and we'd pretend everything was fine.” He started to smile, but it melted before it really began. “Georgia...”

I tracked how fast his frown took hold. “What is it?”

“I need to get you out of here.”

“Yeah, I've been saying that.”

“I mean now. Right now.”

I sat up straighter. I didn't have to ask what had changed; the chocolate smear on the floor reminded me of Lonnie's bloody teeth.

He looked at the same spot. “I can't predict Dad, but Lonnie is straight forward.” Conway made a fist, and then let it fall loose at his hip. “He won't leave you alone, not after seeing me protect you.”

“I don't understand... why does he care if you stood up for me?”

“That's just how he is. He's always been jealous of me, and if he thinks he can use you to fuck with me—if he hurt you, or worse, I'd never forgive myself.”

My urge to know more about this family's toxic dynamic was overwhelmed by the temptation of finally escaping. Gripping the edge of the bed, I almost fell off as I strained in his direction. “How do we do this?”

Conway tested the door; it was locked, his brother must have done that as he exited. “Dad isn't home. He left to go into town, get supplies. Lonnie will be busy tending to his wound. It has to be now.”

He pulled out a key and unclicked the double bolt. Facile trusted him with a key? How much had that fucker involved his kids in his evil games?

I nearly sprinted past him when he cracked the door. Conway peered out at the things I couldn't see... things I had never seen after months in this one room.

His spine curved like a feral cat's. Reading his body language, my breath bunched in my chest. Then he glanced over his shoulder, and I was sure his fear was centered here—at me. “Georgia, listen. I need you to understand this. I'll keep you safe as I can, but I can't promise trying to free you won't make this worse. If we get caught—”

“Shh.” I grabbed his wrists. His dark eyes kept shying away, so I went a step further and cupped his jaw; it was solid rock. “I believe in you, Conway. But on the off chance this goes badly, you need to know it's not your fault. You didn't bring me here. You didn't kidnap me. Anything you do to help isn't clearing your sins, because you didn't have any to start with.”

He frowned so hard I thought he'd shed tears. In a burst of speed, he yanked me out the door. We were in a dark hallway. Then a sudden, steep staircase appeared. It went up and up and up until my tired legs burned. Had I been in a basement?

Gray walls became beige; I glimpsed a second hallway with a long, yellow rug that was worn down so much that the fibers were thin as cellophane. On one wall, just before a dark wooden staircase that went up to another floor, I noticed a large portrait. Facile's face—even in 2D—stopped me in my tracks.

He pulled me onward, but I looked back. In the same photo was a young boy who had Conway's soulful eyes—they were downcast, his smile shy. Next to him was an older woman with reddish, curly hair. Her smile was just like his... like she knew a secret not meant for this world.

Conway's mother, I realized with shock. In her lap was Lonnie, because who else could that lanky kid be? I didn't care about him. I was interested in the other child—a young girl.

His sister.

Lonnie had said I looked like her. I could see the resemblance in her rounded nose and crinkled, happy eyes. We even had the same hair color.

Then we were outside, and I didn't care about anything but the fresh air. I almost collapsed on the front porch. Conway held me up, scanning the sunny horizon for anything that would stop us.

Swaying in place, I breathed in huge gulps of sweet air. It was delicious. Had air always tasted this good, had I just never noticed?

All around us was an open field. Sparse brush littered the west; a dirt road stretched in the opposite direction. I had no idea where I was. “Am I still in Virginia?” I whispered, wishing I'd asked for more information sooner.

“You have to run,” he said, ignoring my question. Pointing off towards the trees, Conway ripped me painfully down the splintering steps. “Just go that way. The nearest town will take you three hours, but you'll get there... you'll make it. Run and don't look back. ”

He released me. The air was electric around us—my freedom so close, but running meant leaving behind the boy I'd grown close to. “Conway. Come with me.”

His expression was contorted with regrets. They aged him, and I had a glimpse into the future—at the young man Conway would become. “What you said earlier, about me not having any sins? I wish it was true.”

“It is.” On tiptoe I kissed him; something sweet, something desperate. Beneath hooded eyelashes I smiled up at him. “Only good guys get kisses like that.”

He inhaled sharply, as if I'd caused him pain. When he looked me up and down, I imagined he was imprinting my existence into his mind. Like this was the last time he'd ever see me.

If his plan worked, it would be.

“Go,” he demanded.

I ran for the tree line. I kept on until I was one big, aching muscle. My lungs thrummed, my throat ravaged, my heart threatening to take its last pump of life. For hours I pushed my weak body. But this pain was nothing—I was free.

And I didn't look back.

Just like he'd told me.