A Walk Down Ivy Laine

Monday October 13, 2014

Written on this day on account of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Being indisposed, this entry is rather late.

In the trunk of my car.

Sometime in the early morning.

"NO!" She screams as I stumble and turn around, wanting to run from this trap, "He's not here!"

I freeze, looking frantically around for Bill. She's lying. Always lying. He's here. He has to be. My cell phone is in my hands, already punching nine-one-one. Now I need a weapon, something sharp.

"He's going to kill one of them if we don't cooperate."

My thumb hovers above the green button. I can't breathe suddenly. She means Tucker, or does she mean Willy? Wait...'Them'. Oh god, both.

She sobs, "Both will be dead and he'll be gone before they get there. He's watching us."

That's when I notice it, a laptop on Tucker's nightstand. A red light at the top of the screen is on...and right on queue Bill's face suddenly appears like a magician.

"Ivy! You look nice tonight. You took a while to get home. Were you out having fun?" Bill chuckles. The picture is dark, pixelated and lagging, but the sound works perfectly.

I can't respond.

"Ah, I can see you don't know what to say or do. Well, let me help. You love your dog and you probably love your boyfriend, right? Let's make a deal."

"Go to hell!" I spit, remembering my voice. There are so many obscene scenarios running through my head. This man is sick.

Bill laughs again, "This is all your fault you know? You shouldn't have left me. I was going to wait until you were a little older, but I couldn't wait...and what do you do?" The laughter trails off and turns into pure rage. He's shouting at me, "YOU SMASH MY HEAD IN! HOW CAN YOU BE SO DIFFICULT?! AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE GIVEN YOU!" He lets out a calming breath. The picture freezes for a second, but the castigation continues, "...but I can teach you to behave, just like Hilda. I even forgave her for sneaking up on me the other night, did she tell you?"

Hilda hiccups behind me. I don't turn to look. She's the least of my worries. Bill has something on her or she wouldn't be here. My sole focus is on the background, trying to see if there's anything I can make out that will tell me where he is. It's hard to tell. There's a lot of wood and grays in the background. Nothing looks familiar. Dim lighting. It's no use.

Bill is still talking, "-Well I'm going to give you a second chance. We're going to start fresh, the three of us."

A rattling noise followed by a sorry whine makes me take a step closer.

"You hear him, don't you?" Bill steps back, away from the camera.

The camera is grainy and attempting to focus, but I don't need to see clearly to make out a cage and Willy inside it. My heart just purely stops, lungs deflating.

"...here's the thing. I can't just let bad deeds go unpunished..."

Lights flick on, allowing the camera to focus as Bill steps out of the way completely now.

I drop to my knees and gasp for air as this nightmare spirals into a night terror and takes on a new form of horror.

Tucker is struggling, bound and gagged, strapped to a table. He turns and looks at the camera. Those gold eyes digging in to my soul, searching for me. Pure, unadulterated fear is there, nothing else.