Chapter 28

Emily gasped at the four bodies. He’d killed his family. The man had completely lost his mind. She couldn’t let him take her anywhere, but if she fought him, she’d probably be next.

“Now, Nora I need to go tie up some loose ends, and I’ll be back. Don’t worry, Honey. I’ll be back by morning.” He bent to kiss her, and she pulled back.

“Acting so innocent.” He grabbed her face in his hand. “It’s okay. I know what you like to do.” Emily pressed her lips together as he forced his lips against her.

He pushed her back on the bed and turned. How she didn’t throw up when his mouth touched her was a miracle, but she didn’t have time for that shit. Emily listened for the car to start. She had to make sure he was gone before she got the hell out of there.

A few minutes later she heard the tires spin on the gravel and she jumped up off the bed. She lifted her bound hands over her head and brought them down across her hips. Nothing.

“Fuck,” She glanced around the room and tried to keep from looking at the bodies. There had to be something to cut her free. There was nothing but a bed and a couple of bottles of water on the table. Oh, and the four bodies in the corner.

Again, she raised her arms over her head and after a quick prayer brought them down across her hips again with all the strength she had. The plastic snapped.

“Yes.” Emily gasped with relief. Keith would be so proud of her.

The first thing she did was run up the steps and try the door at the top. It was locked which she expected, but it was worth a try. She ran back down and looked around the room for a window. Nothing.

As Emily made her way around the room knocking on the wall to see if there was something under the wood she heard a soft moan. Her head snapped to where the bodies were hunched over. She heard it again and sighed. They weren’t dead.

Emily ran to where Mitchell was curled on his side. He groaned, and she helped him sit up. His face was black and blue, and his wrists were bound the same way hers had. The only difference, it was cut deep into his skin.

She didn’t know how she was going to break Mitchell out of his binding, but she needed to check the others first. She crawled over to where Judy lay face down on the floor.

“They’re all dead.” Mitchell sounded like a frog.

Emily jumped up to grab one of the bottles of water. From the cracked lips and his voice, Mitchell probably hadn’t had anything to drink in a while. She ran back to Mitchell and put the bottle to his mouth.

“Drink slow,” Emily said. She didn’t know if it was right or not but she didn’t want him to choke. He sipped greedily every time she tipped the bottle.

“Emily, you need to get out of here.” He lifted his hand to push the bottle away.

“I realize that but the door is locked, and I don’t see any other way out.” Emily scanned the room again.

“He’s going to kill me.” Mitchell seemed to be in shock. He was so calm.

“Why are you still alive?” Not that she wasn’t relieved her friend hadn’t been slaughtered by his father.

“He wants me to suffer.” Mitchell winced as he tried to sit up straighter.

“Why?” Emily helped him prop up against the wall.

“He knows I’m gay.” Mitchell scoffed.

He was quiet for a moment and glanced over where his mother, sister, and his sister’s fiancé were laying. Dead. How she wasn’t completely losing her mind at that moment, she had no idea.

“He killed mom first,” Mitchell whispered. “Said she was keeping him from being with the one woman he wanted.”

“Nora,” Emily sighed.

“I don’t know what happened to him. He had that stroke last year, and suddenly he’s a crazy man. I didn’t even know he knew your aunt. Hell, I didn’t even know you had one.” Mitchell pointed to the bottle of water and Emily helped him hold it to his lips.

“It’s a long story but Aunt Nora died in a motorcycle accident, and your dad was driving it,” Emily explained.

“Dad? Rode a motorcycle?” Mitchell looked as shocked as she was.

“Look, we need to get out of here. Do you even know where we are?” Emily put her arm around his shoulder and tried to help him stand.

“It’s the old caretaker’s house on the back of the estate. It’s been abandoned for years. I think we’re in the storage cellar.” Mitchell pushed himself with her help to his feet.

“That means there are no windows.” Emily groaned. She knew in the old houses around SummerBrook that the storage cellars were built to store food during the winter months and there was only one entrance. There were still a few of them standing around the town.

Mitchell staggered a little but managed to stay upright. That was progress. She helped him over to the bed, and he sat on the edge. She knelt in front of him and examined his wrists. She could probably break the zip ties, but it was probably going to hurt him and cut his wrists even more.

“I need to get these off. You wouldn’t have a boy scout knife in your pocket, would you?” Emily gave him a weak smile.

“You know I was never a boy scout.” Mitchell groaned when she tried to twist the plastic around to see if she could bite through. She was probably going to break a tooth, but she didn’t have a choice. When she bent to put her teeth on the ties, he pulled away.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“They need to come off, and I’ve got nothing to cut it with. I’m going to bite through it.” Emily reached for his hands.

“Have you ever tried to bite through one of these things?” He asked.

“Sure, Mitchell. I tie myself up with them all the time just so I can bite through them.” She didn’t mean to be sarcastic, but she was frustrated.

“Fine but at least wipe off the blood.” He sighed.

She grabbed the other bottle of water and prepared to pour it over his hands. It would probably sting like hell because it looked red and raw. She started to pour a little water over his wrists slowly. He winced. She didn’t want to see her friend in pain, but it was the only way.

“I’m so sorry. I know this hurts but can you pull your hands apart as much as you can so I can get a good hold on the plastic.” Emily held up his hands, and he pulled them apart as much as he could. Not that it helped, but at least she wasn’t going to bite his wrist.

After several minutes and lots of unladylike words, she managed to nip through the ties. Mitchell took off his shirt, and she cleaned his wrists as much as they could. She ripped the shirt and tied it around his wrists.

“Now what?” He asked.

“We find a way out of here.” Emily tried to sound confident, but she had no idea what to do next.

Keith, I need you.