Bones In The Well

Chapter 1-3

Mandy began to climb, slowly, stopping briefly at the top of each step. There were railings on either side of the wide stairs, but with her hands bound behind her she was unable to balance herself, and ascending the stairs was not easy. Then, there was the unknown; a fate she did not want to contemplate awaiting her at the top of the steps. A feeling, a premonition she had never experienced before, washed over her, and suddenly she was certain if she entered the house, she would never again come out, at least not alive.

“Get up there!” the man insisted. He shoved her again, more forcibly this time.

Mandy stumbled, regained her footing, and climbed the last step to the landing. In front of her was a large pair of double doors. Partially lit in the glow of the torch light she could see the doors were closed and the top half of each contained an ornate stained glass panel. The door handles were large, round, carved knobs, and her eyes were drawn to them as if she half expected them to start turning by themselves.

Then, she felt the knife blade at her hands, and suddenly the plastic tie fell away. Pain rushed to her fingers as the blood was again free to flow. She brought her hands to her front and massaged them in an attempt to get the feeling back.

“Open the door, it’s not locked,”

The voice startled Mandy. She stepped forward, and stopped in front of the doors, reached out, and grasped one of the knobs, her tiny hand barely covering it. It turned easily, and she gently pushed forward. The door swung open and creaked loudly in the stillness of the night.

Before she stepped inside, she looked around her, estimating her chances at making a run for it. She hoped to see lights from nearby houses. Somewhere she could run and scream for help. There were no lights. As far as she could tell in the enveloping darkness there were no neighbors. She was alone, in the middle of nowhere, at the mercy of a stranger who obviously had plans for her she did not want to think about. She stepped forward and entered the homestead.

The man flicked a switch just inside the doors and the room was suddenly flooded in light. Mandy blinked against the light, and looked around. She was in a wide, long hallway made to look deceptively bigger by the lack of any furnishings along its length. There were doors along both sides of the hallway but she did not have time to assess where they might lead. The man shoved her roughly forward, and she stumbled along the hallway towards the rear of the house. About half way along the hall, he grabbed her from behind, forcing her to stop in front of a closed door which had a sturdy bolt complete with a padlock securing it.

The man grabbed Mandy’s arm, thrust her aside, and produced a key from his pocket. He fumbled with the padlock, slid the bolt, and unlocked the door. He placed the key back in his pocket and pulled on the door handle. The door opened outwards and a deep, uninviting blackness appeared beyond.

“Shoes!” he demanded.

“Wh… what?” Mandy stammered.

“Shoes… take them off.”

Mandy paused. “My shoes? You want my shoes?”

“Take your shoes off, or I’m gonna hurt you,” the man threatened.

Mandy kicked off her shoes.

“Get in the room,” the man ordered.

“Wh… why,” Mandy stammered.

“You heard me. Get the f**k in there.” He shoved her roughly into the room. Before she could react, the door slammed shut behind her, and she heard the bolt slide and the padlock click.

Terrified, Mandy turned in the dark, and threw her body against the door.

“Please… please… don’t lock me in here. Please!” she cried. She heard footsteps fade into the distance. The man was gone. She was alone. She fought against the rising panic threatening to overpower her. She banged on the door with closed fists and sobbed loudly. No one came.

With extreme difficulty, she managed to regain a small degree of control, and scrambled in the dark, feeling around, on both sides of the door, searching for a light switch. Finally, she found it and flicked it. Nothing happened. She flicked it up, and down, several times. The darkness remained. Despair threatened to consume her. She leaned forward and her forehead banged against the door.

“Please… please,” she sobbed. “Please don’t leave me here.” Then, from somewhere behind her, she heard a voice.

“He took the globe.”

Mandy spun towards the voice in the dark, and almost fell. “Wha… what? Who’s there?” she cried.

“He took the globe,” the voice repeated.

The voice belonged to a girl, and it carried the pitiful, mournful tones of someone totally defeated.

“Who are you?” Mandy called.

“My name is Veronica,” the girl answered softly.

“Where are you?” Mandy asked.

“Over here, to your left. Follow the wall. There’s a mattress on the floor,” the girl named Veronica instructed.

Mandy moved cautiously, feeling her way around the wall to her left. Eventually, she stumbled on something soft on the floor. She knelt down and fumbled with her hands, and found a mattress. She collapsed onto it, and drew her knees up, her hands clasping them tight to her chest.

“Where are you?” she asked again.

When Veronica spoke, her voice was close, and it startled Mandy.

“I’m right here, next to you. There’s another mattress, on the floor.”

Mandy reached out in the dark and her hand touched Veronica. She felt a naked shoulder and moved her hand upwards until she felt her face, and then her hair. The girl’s hair felt oily and dirty.

Veronica pulled her head away from Mandy’s touch. “Please, don’t touch me.”

“I’m sorry,” Mandy apologised. “Where are we? What is this place?”

“I don’t know where we are,” Veronica said. “I haven’t been outside since he brought me here.”

“Who is that man?” Mandy asked.

“I don’t know. He won’t tell me his name.”

“How long have you been here?” Mandy probed.

Veronica hesitated, and then said softly, “I don’t know. I gave up trying to keep count of the days. About three weeks… I think.”

“Three weeks! Jesus what does he want?’

For a long time, Veronica did not answer.

“What does he want?” Mandy asked again.

“s*x,” Veronica answered, finally.

Mandy’s heart sank. Her worst nightmare was now a reality. “Oh God!” she moaned. “We have to get out of here.”

“We can’t get out,” Veronica said. “There’s only one door, and it’s always locked.”

“We have to try!” Mandy insisted.

“We can’t get out,” Veronica repeated. “Others have tried.”

“Others! What do you mean others?” Mandy asked.

“There were others before me… and you,” Veronica said.

“Jesus, how many?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where are they?” Mandy asked.

“I don’t know,” Veronica answered.

“Did they escape?”

“No.”

The finality of Veronica’s response caused Mandy to shudder involuntarily. “Did he let them go?”

Veronica did not answer.

Mandy reached out in the darkness, put her arms around Veronica, and pulled her close. “I’m Miranda,” she said. “Call me Mandy.”

Veronica clung to Mandy and began to sob, quietly at first, and then louder until her weeping became uncontrollable.

“Shh… shh,” Mandy crooned. Veronica’s sobbing was contagious, and Mandy fought hard not to lose control herself. “It’s okay. We’ll get out of here,” she said with little confidence.

“I’m next,” Veronica said finally, between deep sobs.

“What?”

“I’m next. The girl who was here when he brought me here has gone.”

“Gone where?”

“He took her out and she never came back,” Veronica explained.

“When did he take her out?” Mandy probed.

Mandy felt Veronica shrug. “I don’t know… a few days ago… maybe a week,” she paused. “At any one time, there’s never more than two of us here. The last girl… her name was Janice… she told me another girl was here when she came, and eventually she never came back. When he took Janice, she fought like mad, but he is too strong. I think she knew what was going to happen.”

“r**e?” Mandy asked.

“Worse than r**e. He did that all the time, and always brought us back after.”

“What do you think happened to the others?” Mandy asked.

“I think he killed them,” Veronica said amid a renewed bout of sobbing.

Mandy held her tight and suddenly realised Veronica was almost naked. “Where are your clothes?” she asked.

“He took them, soon after he brought me here. He left us wearing only bra and knickers. He’ll come for yours… probably in the morning.”