Symbiotic

Chapter Fourteen

The next time that Roxie came to, the very first thing she was aware of was that she was very uncomfortable. The surface she was lying on was cold, smooth and hard. Her arms ached, as though she had somehow fallen asleep on top of both of them at once. Her body felt lethargic and heavy, and a pounding headache was drilling at her brain.

Further adding to her distress, as she tried to yawn she became acutely aware that something was holding her mouth shut. A harsh, ripping pain tugged at the hairs around her lips. Despite the discomfort both of body and soul, the only thing she really wanted was to go back to sleep. She felt like she had gotten maybe two or three hours; if she got more, she was sure she would feel better. This whole mess could be sorted out then.

However, something in her was nagging at her, insisting that she open her eyes and look around. As much as she tried to ignore it, the impulse remained. Finally, she gave in.

As soon as she opened her eyes, panic flooded through her. This wasn’t her bedroom, or any room in her apartment. The gray, unfeeling walls and dusty concrete floor revealed as much. When she tried to move, to sit up, she found that her arms were stuck together; upon inspection, they were bound together with tape. She could only assume that the same substance was what was keeping her mouth sealed.

At the sight of the predicament she’d found herself in, her memories came flooding back. Oh god, oh god. She and Eve had been taken. Eve had been right; they had been next all along. It was only a matter of time now before their own bodies were found lying in a ditch somewhere-

She sharply schooled herself to calm down and stop thinking such things. This was a dangerous situation to be in, there was no doubt about it. But she and Eve had something that none of the other victims had possessed; knowledge. They knew how this murderer worked, they knew what to expect. On top of that, they also had each other. Surely if they worked together there was some way they could escape this situation alive.

Of course, that was assuming that Eve hadn’t already been killed. The thought sent icy shards up her spine. She decided not to think about such things for the time being, and to focus on escape for now. She would learn Eve’s fate soon enough and she would deal with it once the time came.

A door opened, and Roxie’s heart leapt into her throat as a dark figure approached. But as they got closer, and eventually stepped into the glare of the sole light hanging from the ceiling, Roxie’s mind drifted back to the last thing she’d seen before losing consciousness.

She’d been hoping she was wrong. That she’d misinterpreted the situation, under the influence of the drug she’d been hit with. That her brain had been making it up. But unfortunately, she’d been all too right. For the person standing before her was none other than Eve’s mother, Louise Verbeck.

Though unable to speak, the look in her eyes was obviously clear enough. Mrs Verbeck offered her a sad smile.

“It’s an awful shame that it had to come to this, Roxie. I just want you to know that I never wanted this. For you or for Eve. All I ever wanted was for my little girl to be happy. Of course, that was before you felt the need to drag her into a life of sin. And now I’m afraid there’s no salvaging her. She’s even managed to corrupt my husband.”

Roxie cried out through the tape, completely unintelligible. Mrs Verbeck shook her head.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you darling. Oh I know, that would be the gag. One moment.” She stepped forwards, leaned down and in one swift motion, ripped the tape off Roxie’s mouth.

Roxie shrieked as all the tiny hairs around her mouth were ripped off simultaneously. She fixed Mrs Verbeck with a questioning look.

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll call for help?”

“Oh no, dear. No one will hear you, except maybe Eve. Trust me, this is the same warehouse I sacrificed the other sinners in.”

“Sacri- oh god.”

“They screamed a lot, too, before I was done with them. Neither of them were found, so I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Why?” Roxie asked the one word question in a dull tone. Mrs Verbeck nodded thoughtfully to herself.

“I didn’t kill them straight away, if that’s what you’re worried about. I gave them multiple chances to step back into the light of God. It was only when they refused that I decided they had to be eradicated.”

“Why? What did they do? What did either of them do to you?”

“It’s not about what they did to me, it’s about their unwillingness to obey God. If we don’t take steps to remove the sinners amongst us, He will end up doing it for us. And He won’t be so forgiving. I’m doing the work for Him, before He has to.”

Roxie made an effort to wriggle away from the woman’s fanatic gaze. “You’re sick, Mrs Verbeck. You need help.”

“Sick? I’m not sick. You are, as is Eve. The influence of Satan exists deep within you, and it’s killing you as surely as any poison.” She brandished a clean steel knife, and a sob escaped Roxie’s chest. “But don’t worry. I will cleanse your souls, if I can. Failing that, I’ll cleanse your bodies. And at the very least, when you go down to Hell you won’t drag any of us with you.”

She drew the knife closer to Roxie, when a loud bang sounded from another room. Mrs Verbeck turned, and sighed.

“That would be my daughter.” She offered Roxie an apologetic smile.

“She’s been… difficult, since she woke up. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; she’s always been a bit of a struggle. Even as I fed her from my breast, she had a tendency to bite. I suppose I should have taken that as a sign; the Devil’s been in her for a long time. Possibly forever.”

Roxie couldn’t help the spur of hope that roared within her. Eve was alive. Eve was alive. They could still get out of this.

Mrs Verbeck left Roxie alone as more banging sounded, and headed for the door. “I had better go calm her down, before she causes any serious trouble. These doors are strong, but they’re not designed to withstand an assault. This warehouse wasn’t exactly designed for the purpose I’ve assigned it, but you have to take what you can get.” She left the room, closing the door behind her. A click sounded, signifying that it was locked.

Roxie’s mind started to race as soon as she was alone. She didn’t know exactly what Mrs Verbeck meant by ‘calm Eve down’ but it probably meant drugging her again. She couldn’t let that happen. If Eve was sedated again, she could be out for hours or even days; and while Roxie was strong, she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to carry the girl as far as she might have to to ensure her safety.

Pulling at the tape securing her wrists, Roxie found that it was tight and unyielding. Wasn’t going to wriggle out, that was for sure. But she wasn’t going to be much use without her hands. After a moment’s thought, she inspected the tape carefully. And there, she found the end of it. To her delight, Mrs Verbeck hadn’t thought to tuck the end of the tape under the rest of it; she’d simply stuck it down at the end. If Roxie couldn’t slide out, perhaps she could unwind it.

Lifting her arms to her face, she twisted them until she reached an admittedly uncomfortable position where she was able to reach the tape with her mouth. After a few tries, she managed to lift the very edge of the tape up.

Catching it in her teeth, she pulled as hard as she could. And while it took a moment, the tape eventually started to peel off.

She unwound as much as she could in one go, stopped, and moved her wrists. Finding that they were still stuck, she re-positioned her arms and unwound more tape. After repeating this process several times, she found that she could move her arms, if only slightly. Taking advantage of this, she unwound the rest of the tape while simultaneously loosening it with her wrists.

Once she was out, she stood up for the first time. The room around her was bare; nothing had been left lying around that she could use as a weapon. She supposed she couldn’t expect it to be that easy, though. Approaching the door, she tried the knob just in case. Yep, it was locked. But examining the door more closely, she could see exactly what Mrs Verbeck had meant when she’d said that it ‘wasn’t designed for an assault’. The wood it was composed of had certainly seen better days; it was soft, dark, and yielded slightly to her touch. Completely rotten, if she had to guess. The lock didn’t seem new, so she had to assume it was installed with the door. Which meant it would surely be rusted by now.

Even so, she stopped to think. She could certainly kick the door down, given enough time, but could she kick it down in one try? If she couldn’t, she’d do little more than alert Mrs Verbeck to her attempt at escape. She already knew that Eve had to be close, and that she hadn’t been able to break down the door yet.

However, she also knew that Eve, unlike her, didn’t play soccer.

Taking a deep breath and several steps back, Roxie got a running start – and thrust her foot into the side of the door as hard as she could, aiming for the lock. The wood of the door exploded, shattering into tiny fragments. And as she’d been hoping, the lock broke too. What remained of the door swung violently open, coming to rest almost at the edge of its mobility. Roxie hit the ground and jumped straight back up to a standing position.

Stepping into the doorway, Roxie looked around. There was a large corridor, stretching in either direction before turning a corner on each side. Eve could be down either one; and especially after breaking the door down, Roxie was certain that she only had one chance to make the right choice. If she hadn’t lost the element of surprise yet, she soon would.

She remained in the doorway and listened, tuning out the creak of the ageing structure as much as she could. For a few seconds, there was silence. Then she heard a door creak open, and footsteps walking down the hall. Was that down the left hallway?

As if she knew what Roxie was doing, Eve seemingly decided at that moment to renew her attempts at escape. And yes, that was definitely the left hallway. Which was good, because it meant Mrs Verbeck wouldn’t be coming back past Roxie on her way there. Roxie started down the hallway, keeping her feet light on the ground and her eyes open for anything she could use to her advantage.

She turned the corner, and froze upon seeing Mrs Verbeck’s looming form. Her heart leapt into her throat, almost making her choke on it. But once her brain fully registered the information it was being presented with, she realised that the woman was facing away from her. She was looking towards a door at the end of the hall, and seemed to be rummaging for something in her pocket with her left hand.

In her right hand, she held a syringe.

Roxie hesitated, knowing what she had to do but desperately wishing there was another option. The more her task loomed before her, the more impossible it seemed. But she was running out of time – Mrs Verbeck had found her keys and was positioning them in the lock.

Moving as quietly as she could at a run, her footsteps muted by the sound of Eve kicking at the door, Roxie moved towards Mrs Verbeck. Just as the older woman swung the door open, causing a yelp from Eve in the process as she was thrown back by the door, Roxie went for the syringe.

Mrs Verbeck’s screech of surprise echoed through the room as her hand tightened on the syringe. But her reaction time was too slow, and Roxie just managed to pull the slim object from her hand in time. As Mrs Verbeck reached towards Roxie, she spun around to the other side of the massive woman. She aimed the syringe – and just before she could strike, Mrs Verbeck grabbed her arm.

Roxie’s muscles strained as she kept her downward force steady, intent on breaking through the force holding her still. But Mrs Verbeck’s months of murdering girls and then dragging their bodies around had clearly been one hell of a workout. For all her effort, Roxie couldn’t make her arm budge.

Mrs Verbeck smiled, and slowly pried the syringe from Roxie using her free hand.

“Now dear, please explain this to me. How on earth did you manage to get out of that room? You must be strong. I’ll have to reinforce the doors somehow from now on.”

She sighed. “I suppose it’ll have to be you first, then. You’ve proven to be far more troublesome than Eve.” She moved the syringe towards Roxie’s shoulder, the younger girl now struggling in vain to pull away. Roxie felt the curtain of panic start to close over the edges of her mind. She couldn’t be sedated now. If she was, she was fairly certain she’d never wake up. She felt the tip of the syringe press against her-

When without any warning, Mrs Verbeck was thrown violently backwards. The syringe scraped against Roxie’s skin, tearing it open with a vicious stinging pain – but at the very least, it didn’t feel as though any of the drug had gone into her veins. Her mind remained alert and aware, as did her body. Roxie reflexively covered the deep gash on her arm, and turned to face Eve.

The girl’s dark hair was slick with sweat, her breaths coming in short gasps and her muscles trembling. She was staring down at her mother, who was still struggling to raise her large frame off the floor, with a haunted gaze. Roxie reached out and took her hand.

The simple action seemed to breathe life back into the girl; Eve’s eyes met Roxie’s for the first time, and against all odds, she smiled.

“Uh, hey.”

Roxie offered a similar expression in return. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Eve nodded, and flattened herself against the wall of the hallway as Mrs Verbeck charged towards her with the syringe. The woman’s momentum carried her past Eve and into the room. Seeing the keys where Mrs Verbeck had dropped them on the ground, Roxie lunged forwards and started pulling the door shut by its large handle.

Mrs Verbeck grabbed onto the edge of the door with her fingers, crying out. Roxie was yanked sharply forwards, pulling the door back open. Running to her girlfriend’s side, Eve added what meagre strength she had to the effort. For a moment the three women were locked in a battle of strength, the door frozen between them. Then, slowly, the combined effort of the two teenagers mixed with pure adrenaline managed to swing the door back towards them.

The door stopped, getting stuck between Mrs Verbeck’s fingers and the frame. The woman cursed, and shifted around in an effort to get a better grip. That split second of weakness made the difference; Roxie found a new vestige of strength that she hadn’t even been aware of, and pulled on the door as hard as she could.

A crunch sounded. Mrs Verbeck’s fingers disappeared from the door as she howled in pain and rage, and the door closed so quickly without her opposing force that the two girls almost went flying backwards. Roxie held the door shut and reached for the keys with her foot. They lay just out of her reach, rendering her attempts fruitless.

Seeing her efforts, Eve grabbed them and thrust them into the lock. She turned them just as her mother called out to her to “be a good girl and listen to your mother” and stepped back. Mrs Verbeck continued to bang on the door, shrieking.

“You let me out, Eve! Don’t be disobedient, or your punishment will be ten times worse than it has to be!”

Roxie remained still for several moments, tense. She hadn’t even realised that her fingers were locked over the door handle until Eve started to gently pry them loose.

“It’s locked, Rox. You can let go now.”

Roxie nodded, releasing the air from her lungs and moving away.

“We have to go. This door won’t hold for long.” In fact, she could swear the wood was already starting to splinter. Eve rested a hand on Roxie’s upper arm.

“We can’t just leave, not yet.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because what if Renee’s still here?”

Roxie stopped.

“You’re right. We can’t just leave her. Shit.” She ran her hands through her braids, thinking.

“Ok, but we have to be quick. We don’t have much time. Let’s go.”

The two girls turned their backs, and started walking away. Turning suddenly with a curse, Eve took the keys back and waved them at Roxie.

“Forgot. We’ll probably need these.”

The girls jogged down the hallway, watching for doors. They reached the intersection that led to Roxie’s cell, where Eve paused to nod at the lack of door.

“That how you know the door won’t hold long?”

“Well yeah. How’d you think I got out?”

Eve shook her head as they continued past the doorway. “I spent so long trying to do that myself.”

“And this is why you should play sports.”

Eve laughed. “In your dreams.”

They moved a little further down the hall, then stopped as they approached a door. Trying the knob, Roxie motioned for Eve.

Eve stepped forward obligingly and tried several keys in the lock. Eventually, one turned. She pushed the door open, and her eyes widened.

Roxie followed her gaze and immediately realised what was wrong. Lying in a heap at the back of the room was a human form.