The Storm

Part 8

Jack huffed as he threw Ayla's semi-conscious body onto the couch roughly. Ayla bounced and rolled right off and into the floor with a loud thud. She laid with her bound hands behind her back staring up at the pitch-black ceiling. The zip ties cut deeply into the woman's wrist. The pain was the only thing keeping her from slipping into unconsciousness. Ayla heard a light flicking noise that was followed by the room illuminating with a soft glow. Jack had found the candles that Riley had dropped earlier. He turned and looked down at the woman on the floor.

"How in the hell did you end up in the floor?" He grumbled as he roughly picked her up and sat her on the couch. Ayla didn't answer him. Everything seemed to blur. Her head felt heavy on her neck. It wobbled around before falling back on the couch. Her vision went black but she could still hear everything. She felt Jack move away from her. She could hear his footsteps lightly moving across the creaky wooden floor boards. Everything went quiet. "Hey... Drink this." His gruff voice commanded as he picked her head up and pressed something hard against her lips. She tried with all her might to open her eyes. She wanted to see what it was he was trying to get her to drink. She didn't trust Jack not to try to poision her. Jack grew impatient and withdrew the hard thing from her mouth. He started to pat her cheeks trying to bring her back enough for her to listen to him. "Ayla...Stop. You need to drink this. You've lost a lot of blood. This might make you feel better." He said again this time with a softer voice.  He pressed the hard thing to her lips again. This time Ayla's lips parted slightly. It was enough for Jack to pour the liquid in. It was a sports drink. It tasted like gatorade or something of that sort. Jack poured a little in and waited a moment before giving her more. Ayla hated to admit it, but it was helping. Jack backed away and sat the bottle down on the coffee table.

Ayla laid her head back again. "Why are you trying to help me now?" She whispered not looking to the man.

"I like my meals hot." He replied simply. "You looked as though you were going to quit on me. I can't have that."

Ayla suddenly wished she hadn't asked. She closed her eyes. She felt like the room was spinning. Jack jerked her down and pushed her face into the cushion of the couch. He held her bound wrists with one of his hands. He leaned over her. His chest felt warm against her back. She could feel his hot breath as he spoke to her in a hushed voice. "If you run...I will fucking kill you. Do you understand?"

Ayla nodded her head but said nothing. She completely believed Jack would kill her. She knew it wouldn't be pleasant either. She had made up her mind not to even try. Jack sat up and cut the zip ties off of the woman's wrists. She flinched as he pulled them out of the craters they had started to make. As soon as her hands were free she sat up and pulled her kigurumi up over she shoulders.Her skin stung as the fabric glided over her wounded shoulders. She closed the front and crossed her arms over it looking away from the gray man. She watched curiously as Jack stood up and left the room. Her mind felt conflicted. Her brain told her to run but her heart knew that would be a mistake. So she sat and waited for him to come back. He was gone for what seemed like a long time. He finally emerged from the basement. His blue mask once again adorned his face. His chest heaved with his breaths. Whatever he was up to in the basement was not good. Ayla's heart dropped for her friend. Jack took long strides over to Ayla who sat terrified on the couch. He grabbed her sore, blood crusted, wrists in his hand and yanked her up from the couch. His free hand found its way to her hair and he held her head in a steadfast grip. He brought her face up to his mask. Ayla closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. "You stayed put." He chuckled through his mask. "Good girl." He pressed his masked face to hers. She could hear him take in a slow breath before he pulled away from her. He shoved her by her wrists towards the stairs. She stumbled but caught herself turning to give the man a questioning look. She took in a small gasp when she seen he was already right behind her. His hand quickly found his favorite place in her hair. He gripped her hair roughly in his fist and pulled her along with him up the stairs. He pulled her along by her hair down the hall until he had found the bathroom. He slung the door  open and chuckled as Ayla flinched at the sound the door had made when it made contact with the wall.  He once again shoved the woman into the room. She skidded across the tile, her body stopped by the porcelain bathtub. She pushed herself up on her sore arms looking down at the floor. It was then that the power decided to flick back on, burning Ayla's eyes.