AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I like this woman. I like her a lot.
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a can of antiseptic. She starts spraying my back, and I grit my teeth to keep from screaming from the sting.
“Do you want to know why I took her and her children?” Micah asks.
No, all I want is to cut your balls off and feed them to you.But I humor him. “Why?” the word comes out in an agonized grunt.
“Because her husband, Dr. Barnard, kept me prisoner in his mental institution for the last five and a half years.”
“They have nothing to do with this!” I protest.
“No, but I have my reasons for needing them to be here. And it also hurts her husband. So that’s a fun bonus.”
“For the love of God,” I beg him. “Please at least let her children go. After the way you were raised, how can you hurt children?”
Rage contorts his face, and he grabs my tender pierced nipple and twists, making me scream. “Don’ttalkto me about my upbringing.” His voice is savage, his eyes mad. “You don’t know a fucking thing about it. And I have not hurt her children. I never hurt children. Ever. Ever. Ever.” His voice goes higher and higher with each syllable. Astrid stiffens and watches him with wary eyes.
He lets go and stumbles back a step. Panting with fury, he turns and runs from the room, slamming the door behind him.
He’s not like Joshua, I think dully.He has no control over his emotions. Maybe I can use that.
Astrid quickly bandages up my back. “I’m sorry,” she whispers again. I lean in, resting my head on her shoulder, pretending I need comfort.
“Are there guards?” I whisper.
“No, just him,” she whispers back so low I can barely hear her. And I feel a surge of hope. Astrid is a strong, brave woman, Micah apparently lets her walk around freely, and I have no doubt she’d kill him in a heartbeat if she got the chance.
“His brother Joshua—he’ll come for me. He’ll find us.”
“I hope so.” There’s not a lot of hope in her voice, but she manages a tight, pinched smile.
A minute later, Micah returns.
“She needs painkillers,” Astrid says in a quiet, deferential voice. “I have codeine in my bag.”
“Fuck that shit. I want her to hurt.”
“You want her alive, don’t you?” There’s a slight tremor in her voice, but she keeps going. Fighting for me, a woman she just met. I blink away tears of gratitude. Her kindness warms me in this cold place. “Pain impedes the healing process. Too much pain can send a person into shock and even kill them. Also, if she’s in too much pain, she won’t be able to sleep, and the combination of lack of sleep, her injuries, and the pain are going to weaken her body and increase the risk of infection.”
“Fine,” he snarls. She quickly fetches me two pills and gives me water to wash them down.
Micah leads me by the arm back to the bed. I’m panting out sobs with every step.
He chains me up, but at this point he wouldn’t even have to. I’m so weak from his whipping that I couldn’t fight a sick kitten. I very slowly lie face down on the bed and pray for the painkillers to kick in. The whole time, Heather’s curled up on her bed, watching me with blank, exhausted eyes.
Micah leaves the room with Astrid, shutting the door firmly. Astrid casts one sad, regretful glance through the bars, then Micah hustles her away.
After a while, I actually manage to fall asleep. It’s probably the codeine. I’m asleep for a few hours when Micah comes in to take us both to the toilet and give us lunch. His face has gone flat and blank again. Apparently he only comes alive when he’s about to hurt somebody.
I’m trembling all over when I walk to and from the toilet. He holds on to my arm so my legs don’t collapse underneath me. I hate the feeling of his hand on my skin, but without his support, I’d fall. Micah doesn’t say a word the entire time, for which I’m grateful. He holds out a handful of pills, and I take them. I’m relieved to see that two of them are codeine, because the pain has come roaring back.
When he leaves the room, I breathe a sigh of relief. His presence is foul and suffocating. He pollutes the air by breathing it. I have to force down the sandwich and apple that he brought me. I’ve no appetite at all, and my stomach threatens to rebel, but I manage to keep it down.
“You really believe Joshua’s going to find us?” Heather’s voice drifts over to me, dull and sad.
“Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“How will he find us?”
