Symbiotic

Chapter Fifteen

Running forward, Roxie dropped to the ground near the unconscious person and rolled them over. It was Renee alright, and she was hurt. Splotches of red covered her face and clothes.

Roxie lifted a finger to the girl’s throat, waiting. Eve leaned over her with her arms crossed.

“Is she…”

“She’s alive. But she won’t be for long, if we don’t get her out of here.” She started to pull Renee off the floor, marvelling at how heavy the girl was. It was no wonder that Mrs Verbeck was so strong, if she was dragging this kind of weight around on a daily basis.

Eve put out a hand. “Here. Bend over.” Roxie did as she was told, and after a few seconds of Eve’s heavy breathing she felt Renee’s weight strung across her shoulder.

Slowly rising to as straight of a posture as she could manage, Roxie took a moment to re-adjust to the extra weight. Eve stood by with her left hand out, just in case.

“You ok?”

Roxie gave her the thumbs up, and Eve nodded.

“Let’s go then. It can’t be too hard to find the way out of this dump.”

They made their way towards the door, Eve several steps ahead of Roxie. As they walked, Eve chatted nervously.

“Hey, something’s been kinda bugging me for a few minutes now…”

“And what’s that?”

Eve raised a finger and pointed, just as she reached the doorway. “My mom stopped banging on the door… I hope she-“

Eve was dragged from the doorway with a yelp. Dashing out of the room, Roxie stopped dead in her tracks.

Mrs Verbeck was holding her daughter back against her, a knife deadly and sharp against her throat. Eve, in too much danger to struggle, simply stared ahead with wide eyes and tried not to breathe too deeply.

Mrs Verbeck spoke in a calm voice. “Now, dear, you wouldn’t want to do anything silly. So I’m sure you’ll be putting that young girl down now.”

Roxie’s eyes flickered from Mrs Verbeck, to the knife, to Eve. Slowly, she dropped Renee to the floor as gently as she could. In any other situation she would immediately follow this up by charging Mrs Verbeck – but she couldn’t. Not while Eve was in danger. She knew that the older woman wouldn’t hesitate.

Mrs Verbeck smiled. “Good. Now follow me. Walk in front please, so that I can see you. I don’t want you trying anything else.”

Dragging Eve with her, Mrs Verbeck ambled down the hallway with Roxie in tow. She directed her into a certain room about a minute’s walk away. On the way there, Roxie got a brief glimpse of what she thought had to be the front door – there was light coming through it, and the air seemed fresher. But while she did consider running for the briefest second, she fully recognised that to do so would mean the immediate deaths of both Eve and Renee. And she couldn’t let that happen, even if it meant a chance at her own survival.

They turned into the desired room, and Mrs Verbeck stood at the back with Eve.

“Close the door, and lock it.”

Roxie silently did as she was told. Mrs Verbeck used her elbow to gesture at one of two chairs that was in the room.

“See that chair there? Take a seat.”

Roxie hesitated. This was immediately punished; Mrs Verbeck pushed the knife more tightly against Eve’s skin, eliciting a squeak of pain and fear from the girl. Roxie fell backwards into the chair.

“Good girl. See, I knew you could do better. Now stay there a minute.”

Keeping the knife close at all times, Mrs Verbeck pushed Eve roughly down into the other chair. She pulled out a roll of duct tape and wound it around each of Eve’s limbs in turn, binding her to the chair.

As soon as she left Eve and moved towards Roxie, Roxie leapt forwards – only to be pushed back into the chair before she could escape. Holding her still with her sheer size, Mrs Verbeck bound Roxie to the chair. Each loop of the tape made Roxie’s heart sink further into her stomach and the door to freedom seem further and further out of reach. Even so, she kept Mrs Verbeck fixed with a steely glare the whole time. She refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing fear in her eyes, no matter how hard it was to remain composed.

Mrs Verbeck stepped back to admire her handiwork. Eve was already struggling against the bonds, without much success. Roxie, for her part, seemed to have already submitted to her fate. While she still had an annoyingly determined expression, she was making no further efforts to break free.

Mrs Verbeck brandished the knife, making Eve stop her struggles immediately. She ran the edge of it lightly along Roxie’s chair.

“While I do appreciate that you’ve finally accepted your loss, darling, I really do need to know if this tape is going to hold. I’ve become aware that you’re quite a bit stronger than Eve.”

Roxie didn’t move. Sighing, Mrs Verbeck reached down and jabbed the knife harshly into Roxie’s thigh.

A scream tore from the girl’s throat, and she involuntarily pulled upwards away from the source of the pain – though her movements were almost completely inhibited by her bonds. Mrs Verbeck gave her a pleased smile, and removed the knife.

Eve’s breaths turned to shallow sobs, as she lowered her head. “M-Mom…”

Turning her attention to her daughter, Mrs Verbeck approached behind her and yanked her head back so roughly Roxie could hear the girl’s teeth click. She traced the knife gently across Eve’s throat.

“What, Evie? What’s wrong? Lord, you were always such a needy child…”

Eve continued to cry, voicing only a single legible word.

“Please…”

Moving the knife away from the tender skin of Eve’s neck, she slashed it quickly across her cheek instead. Eve took it silently, though she flinched.

Mrs Verbeck hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not going to send you girls to hell straight away, if that’s what you’re thinking. You need to repent first, as Christ did. And the only way to do that is through suffering.”

Roxie squirmed as much as she could, but any progress she was managing to make was coming at a snail’s pace. She realised that unless she found a way to stall for time, she and Eve were done for.

“Um, before you start with all that, Mrs Verbeck… Can I ask you a question?”

“It was amusing at first, Roxanne, but I really wish you’d stop talking now-“

“It’s Bible related!”

Mrs Verbeck paused, playing with the knife. “I see. Don’t tell me you’re finally taking an interest in His word?”

“I mean kinda. I’m about to die, according to you, and I’d really rather have everything sorted out when I do. Do you think it’s too late for a sinner like me to be forgiven?” She tried to ignore Eve’s amused scoff. Mrs Verbeck approached with a pleasant expression.

“Oh darling, it’s never too late. No matter what sins you’ve committed, if you open your heart you can be saved.”

“I think I can do that. And I’m sure Eve will be able to as well, with a bit of convincing. So how about you show us how to get this forgiveness thing started?”

She continued fiddling with the tape as she talked, moving as little as she could and desperately trying to keep Mrs Verbeck’s attention focused on her face. Eve spoke up, seeming to realise what Roxie’s plan was.

“Mom, why don’t you go get your Bible and read us some verses? I’m sorry for my actions, I- I think you and Roxie are right.”

A wide grin split the older woman’s face. “Oh what a wonderful idea! Oh Evie, I knew that even Satan himself couldn’t take you away from me – not really. We’ll do that; we’ll do that right now.”

She left the room, and Roxie’s struggles immediately intensified once the woman was out of sight. She tried to avoid wild struggles that would only waste her energy, and instead focused more on smaller, more focused movements that centred on trying to stretch and loosen the tape. It was slow going, but Mrs Verbeck didn’t come back within the next few minutes.

Roxie looked questioningly over at Eve, who breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’d been hoping as much. It seems like Mom left her Bible at home. She’s gonna have to go all the way back to get it, then come all the way back here.”

At this news, Roxie couldn’t contain her excitement. She found it immensely more difficult to keep her arm movements controlled, but she knew that she had to in order to have even a small chance. Eve started making her own efforts with her left hand, and slowly, as the two girls worked, the tape started to loosen.

Unsurprisingly, due to the extra time she’d had and the fact that she was uninjured, Roxie was the first to free one of her hands. It caught on the tape several times, and she was sure she’d ripped out most of the hairs on her hand, but eventually it was out. As soon as it was, she started undoing the rest of her restraints. Her movements were faster now, panicked; not only at the sheer proximity of freedom, but at the fact that Mrs Verbeck had been gone for a long time. She didn’t know exactly how long it would take the woman to drive to her home and back, but she did know that the longer it had been, the more likely she was to return. And if they were caught now, in the middle of an obvious attempt to escape, nothing either of them said would prevent Mrs Verbeck from killing them. There was no take two.

Once she was out, Roxie jumped out of the chair and started untying Eve. While she was trying to be gentle, she was also trying to be fast; and she did hear Eve wince a couple of times as the last layers were being torn off her skin.

After a moment, Eve stood up and looked around, gingerly holding her arm. Roxie tapped her foot impatiently, her eyes darting around the room.

Her worst fears were realised when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

Roxie’s eyes met Eve’s, both full of terror. They’d taken too long, and now they had missed their chance to escape unnoticed.

Thinking fast, Roxie picked up the wooden chair she’d been bound to a moment ago, and moved towards the door; careful to stay out of sight of the doorway. She nodded to Eve, who had been positioned much closer to the door. Eve dropped back into the chair, positioned as she had been before. While her standing upright would have been obvious, Roxie was hoping that Mrs Verbeck would have to be much closer in order to see that the tape was gone.

Roxie waited as the footsteps drew nearer, panic rising in her throat. Mrs Verbeck strolled into the room, with a Bible securely held under her arm.

“Alright girls, now we will-“

The woman stopped, as Eve stared up at her innocently. Not giving her time to fully process the disappearance of her second captive, Roxie swung the chair into the Mrs Verbeck’s back as hard as she possibly could.

Mrs Verbeck stumbled forwards as the wood splintered across her. Jumping up, Eve picked up her chair as well and repeated the action. She fell back at the impact, crying out and grabbing her injured arm. It didn’t matter, fortunately; this second strike was enough to send Mrs Verbeck back to the ground. Picking up one of the broken chair legs and throwing it to Eve, Roxie nodded towards the door.

“Let’s go! There’s nothing for it. I’ll have to carry Renee, so you’re on weapon duty!”

Eve hesitated, glancing between the chair leg and her mother. Roxie didn’t have to ask what she was thinking about to understand the dark conflict in her eyes. She touched her gently on the arm.

“Let’s go, Eve.”

Eve swallowed and nodded, following her from the room. They re-traced their steps back to Renee, only to get a new surprise. The girl had woken up.

She was still badly injured, and was barely maintaining her lean against the wall; let alone being able to stand up. But her blue eyes were definitely open, and she greeted the two girls with a small wave as they approached.

“Oh s**t, you guys too?”

Eve nodded. “Yeah. We’re getting the hell out of here, wanna come with?”

Renee chuckled. “Well I would love to, but I can’t really walk right now. Not sure if it’s bloodloss or these damn drugs I got pumped full of, but I don’t think I’m going anywhere.”

Roxie wordlessly stepped forwards, and pulled Renee up to lean on her shoulder.

“Well I came in expecting to have to carry you, so I’d say this is a step up.”

Renee smiled sadly.

“God, I was such a b***h to you. I’m sorry.”

“Oh stop, that’s not important right now. Besides, I was the one being a bitch.”

“But-“

“Tell you what, let’s do this after we escape the mass murderer.”

“Ok,” Renee conceded. The three girls started to amble down the hallway in the direction Roxie was pretty sure she’d seen the front door in.

But if they’d thought it would be that easy, they were dead wrong. Mrs Verbeck was back once again, signalled by her thundering footsteps and banshee shrieks. Roxie and Renee started to move faster, the latter squealing in fear, while Eve anxiously kept pace with them. But their top speed still wasn’t fast enough.

Mrs Verbeck’s massive frame appeared in the doorway, and she hollered at them as she approached. “Sinners! Liars! Spawn of Cain!” Turning towards her mother with a determined leer, Eve stabbed the jagged end of the chair leg straight into her gut.

Mrs Verbeck screamed, and fell back. The chair leg was ripped out of Eve’s hand, remaining embedded in Mrs Verbeck’s torso. Eve ran back to the woman as she lay on the ground, and with all her might, drove the leg as far in as she dared. She stepped back, shaking both from the violent act she had just committed and from the tidal waves of pain crashing through her right arm.

“Sorry, Mom,” she couldn’t help but say, feeling guilt wash over her as she turned and followed the other girls from the house.

Daylight blinded the three teenagers, making them blink and squint as they left Mrs Verbeck’s screams behind and stepped onto the lawn outside the warehouse. The cool breeze hit their skin, making the cuts on their bodies sting.

The next thing they became aware of was sirens. As their eyes slowly adapted to the light, Eve started to make out flashing blue and red lights.

Somehow, despite all odds, the police had managed to find them. Eve fell to the ground in a daze as officers rushed towards them. Roxie and Renee started screaming for help, no longer able to contain their emotions. As Eve stared numbly ahead, a familiar face greeted her. Officer Caulson was kneeling by her, his lips pressed together in concern, asking her if she was alright. He pulled her to her feet, and led the three girls to one of the cars that was parked around the warehouse. Eve dimly registered the sound of another officer calling for an ambulance as she stepped inside the car and the door closed. Roxie got in the other side, as Renee was taken by another officer to be looked at. Alone for the first time in what felt like forever, Eve and Roxie looked at each other.

In a silent gesture, Roxie took Eve’s hand and squeezed gently. And when she felt Eve squeeze back, the first tinge of hope started to flutter within her.

It was over.

It took until they were at the hospital for the truth of what had happened to really sink in. But after that, it took mere minutes for the after effects to be made abundantly clear. The first ominous sign was when Roxie attempted to visit Eve for the first time.

“What do you mean she was sedated?”

The nurse looked up at her with a patient expression. “Exactly what I just said, Miss. Miss Verbeck was sedated earlier this morning. She’s resting now.”

“Why?”

“I can’t disclose that infor-“

“Oh screw that! I was right there with her when all of this happened. If something happened to her, don’t you think there’s a chance it could happen to me to? Don’t I deserve to know?”

The nurse sighed, defeated. “Miss Verbeck has been suffering some… emotional repercussions of the experiences you girls have been through. That’s all I can disclose to you.”

“Ok yeah, I get it. Hippocratic Oath, etc. Was anyone else there who can disclose that information to me? I’m sure you’re allowed to tell me who was present.”

“If you must know, I believe a Miss Renee Ward was in the room at the time.”

“That, I can work with. Thank you, I really do appreciate it. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Running off in search of Renee, Roxie found her in her room. She was sitting on top of her blankets, reading a trashy magazine.

Roxie approached hesitantly, aware that the events that had transpired hadn’t changed their history together. She cleared her throat, and Renee looked up.

“Hi. Sorry if I’m bothering you.”

“Not at all.” Renee closed the magazine, and patted the bed next to her. Roxie joined her, picking up the magazine.

“Is this seriously what you’re reading right now?”

“Not by choice, no. This was all the hospital had. You would think they would keep novels on hand, for the patients who are stuck here for days with nothing to do. But no.”

“They don’t have a lot of money. This is probably all they can afford.”

“Hmm.”

“How are you feeling?” Roxie prodded gently. Renee shrugged.

“Not super. Whatever that freak was giving us, I had a few doses of it. I’m now being told that I’ve lost almost a week’s worth of my memory and that I’m chemically addicted. They’re weaning me off it, and it’s an awful process. Sorry for being crabby,” she offered. “Drug withdrawals aren’t fun.”

“Yikes, sounds like it sucks. Eve doesn’t seem to be handling it much better.”

“Have you seen her? Is she awake yet?”

Roxie shook her head, and Renee offered a sympathetic expression.

“If anything, I’d say she’s handling everything significantly worse than we are. Did you hear about what happened yet?”

“Actually, I was hoping that you could enlighten me.”

“Well the long and short of it is that I went to visit her. She started out completely normal, and then ended up hysterically upset within an hour. So upset that they had to knock her out. I’m not sure what the deal is-“

“The asshole that abducted us is her Mom. That’s what the deal is.”

Renee paled. “Oh s**t. That actually explains a lot.”

“Christ. I knew it was going to be hard for her, but I didn’t realise…”

“I hear she’s being transferred to the psych ward next week. They said they shouldn’t need to keep her there for very long, they just want to make sure she’s ok before they realise her back into the wild. Now, knowing all the details, I can see why. Having your Mom turn out to be a literal psychopath must really mess with you.”

“Not to mention just the trauma of being kidnapped at all, and the fact that some mental illnesses are hereditary… I’m thinking it’s a good idea for psych to at least check her out. The last thing anyone wants is for this to break her.” She closed her eyes, putting her face in her hands.

“That girl is so special, Renee. She has so much talent, and so much strength… I would hate for her to lose that.”

Renee fixed her with a weird expression. “You really care about her, huh?”

“Oh that’s right, you missed all that. Don’t worry, you’ll find out just how much I ‘care about her’ soon enough.”

She ignored Renee’s deeply confused expression, standing up and heading for the door. “Thanks. You didn’t have to tell me any of that, and I appreciate it. I’ll come back and see you again tomorrow; I’ll try to bring you some actual books if you want.”

“Hey Roxie, wait!”

Renee called out, making her turn back. She fixed her with a calm expression, and nodded once.

“We’re cool, right?”

Roxie smiled. “Yeah, we’re cool.”