Broken Bells • Bishop Losa

Chapter 1: Not Quite 6 Feet Deep

Annabelle sighed as she glanced at her watch, the diner had closed at 11 o'clock and here she was at 1 a.m still finishing her cleaning duties- one of the cooks had called in sick that day and they were not able to find anyone to cover so she was stuck playing double duty with the evening cleanup. When all of the dishes were washed, the stove and prep tables scrubbed, the coffee machines cleaned and the floor had been mopped Annabelle found herself inside her bosses very small, cramped office counting the days worth of money. When she was satisfied with how all of the numbers added up, she locked the safe before pulling on her sweater and heading out the door. She was surprised to see a handsome blond man leaning against his car, waiting for her. She recognized him immediately as one of the diners regular customers, he always waited to walk her home after work but it was much later than usual and frankly, he had been crossing lines lately that she was not comfortable with.

"I figured tonight I would drive you home since it's so late." He smiled, his bright white teeth shining under the street light.

Annabelle shifted her bag on her shoulder, gripping her purse strap tightly. "Thank you, Christopher, but I think I will just walk..." She declined his offer, she had to catch herself from stepping back when the man's smile fell as he took a large step forward. "I- I find the streets very peaceful at this time."

"I just can't let you do that, Annabelle, you know the streets of Santo Padre are not safe at this hour." He insisted, taking another step forward. "Get in the car."

"No." She took a tentative step backward.

"Annabelle-" As the man took another large step forward, getting much too close for comfort she turned around and attempted to unlock the door of the diner in a quick attempt to flee. Christopher wrapped one arm around her waist while the other hand snaked around to cover her mouth, his determination not faltering as Annabelle flailed her arms in an attempt to hit him but the hand that was around her waist restrained her right arm snapping the bone in the process. The searing pain Annabelle felt made her ears ring and her eyes blurred before another snap in her arm caused her body to shut down, falling limp in the man's arms.

When Annabelle awoke in darkness the first thing she felt was the searing pain in her right arm as it was pulled behind her back. The air was hot and stuffy which made it harder for her to manage her pain and as she thought back to when she used to help treat wounds worse than this. Breathing was key. She took a deep breath, repeating over and over again until her mind made the pain in her arm turn into a dull burn. As her mind focused on her surroundings rather than the pain or panic, she realized that he had tied her hands with rope. Wiggling the fingers on her left hand, she managed to grasp the rope and tugged it as hard as she could, biting her bottom lip between her teeth as it pulled her right arm at the break... she couldn't let him catch on to her being awake and trying to escape. She let out a breath of relief as the rope fell loose, bringing her left arm to support and cradle her right against her chest to ease the once again searing pain.

"Okay, Annabelle... you got this. You got this." She mumbled to herself as she took a second to regain her focus on her breathing. She slid her left hand softly against the roof of the trunk, smirking to herself as she found the emergency release hatch before she gave it a good yank and the trunk flew open. As the chilled night air hit the sweat that had gathered on her skin she shivered but wasted no time before throwing herself out of the trunk and hitting the dirt hard, letting out a shrill scream as her body erupted with pure pain. Just as she managed to get herself to her feet she felt his chest collide with her back, dragging her backwards again toward the car but this time he did not bother to cover her mouth as they were far enough in the desert for anyone to hear her cries. She struggled against him, kicking her bleeding legs backward to knock him off balance and as her foot collided with his knee he tossed her to the side causing her head to collide with the car's back bumper.

Annabelle woke up, her eyes taking a second to adjust to the darkness of the night. She was outside, she knew that because when her eyes focused she could see the bright stars that held contrast against the black sky. She was laying in the dirt- in a hole but it must have only been about 4 feet deep. She heard some shuffling from above and closed her eyes, afraid of what he may do this time if he realized she was awake. She felt dirt and rocks hit her as he began to shovel dirt into the hole and it dawned on her that he was burying her. Her breathing sped up as panic set in but he did not notice as his actions were rushed. When dirt began to cover her face she took shallower breaths, attempting to conserve her air and not breathe in too much dirt. She thought she must have been hallucinating when she heard a phone ring but then she heard him speaking. He sounded irritated, his voice rising as he argued with whomever was on the line then all was silent before she heard his car start and drive off.

She lay still, needing to breathe a full breath but too terrified to do it, just in case she was mistaken and he was still there.

Annabelle lay there for hours, not daring to move until the sun had begun to rise and it was obvious that he had indeed had left her behind. She pushed her left arm against the weight of the dirt that covered her before using it to brush the dirt away from the edges of her face. She pushed her body up, releasing herself from the dirt limb by limb until she was completely uncovered. She let herself scream when the pain from her broken arm came back in full force as she pulled herself out of the shallow hole. Her body shook from the adrenaline that rushed through her vein but it pushed her forward as she followed the tire tracks from Christopher's car back toward Santo Padre.

The suffocating heaviness in Annabelle's chest grew and her breathing turned into gasps as she finally reached the streets that lined Santo Padre. Her shoulders slumped as she cradled her visibly broken right arm against her bruised stomach, both legs screamed with each step and she wanted nothing more than to lie down in the dirt and sleep but she knew that she could not do that yet... she needed to find help.

She felt a vibration sweep through her bones, causing the hair on her arms to stand up. The muffled rumble of a motorcycle met her ears and as the rumble grew louder it caused the pounding in her head to grow. The row of incoming motorcycles all turned into a gated yard and she did her best to pick up her pace even though she could feel her body slowly giving up but she knew that if she fell asleep on the street the person to discover her could be just as dangerous as Christopher.

Annabelle stumbled through the gates, her eyes locking onto the empty eye slits of the masks that were hanging off the gate- she briefly wondered if they were there to scare people like her away. She could hear talking now that the motorcycles were turned off but they were much too far in the yard for her tired eyes to see. She inhaled too deeply, feeling the contents of her lungs shift and suddenly it felt as if the air had gotten trapped causing her to choke.

"Who the fuck was that?"

"What the hell?"

Her eyes frantically searched the darkness as her hands gripped at her throat, unable to stop the strangled coughs leaving her lips. She could hear boots shuffling against the dirt as the men cautiously approached her but before they could reach her she had collapsed into the dirt.