Taken From Reality

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Ryan’s POV

            I hated him; I hated my “dad” with every fiber in my body. He always made me do the dirty work, and this time she was so beautiful, so innocent and because of my inability to stand up to him, she now belongs to him. She is the fourth girl this month; he's just never satisfied. The smallest thing could make him tick and he just wouldn’t hear me out when I tried explaining that they were just scared. It didn’t stop him though, from taking their lives, and once again making me go and find another to add to his collection. There was something about this girl though, the way I could see heartbreak in her eyes as she was on the phone, and the way she looked beautiful without even trying, I wouldn’t let him take her from reality like he did the rest, I COULDN’T LET HIM!

          He chose her how we have chosen the others, by first spotting them in a crowd and then getting to know everything about them to better plan our attack. This time we first saw her at the mall, she was with her mother trying on different dresses for her school dance. I remember the first time I really got to watch and enjoy her in the moment, of course it made me feel creepy because I knew what Malachi and I were up to, but she was so just so beautiful and full of life. She tried on several dresses in one store, and looked stunning in every one she put on, especially as she would come out of the changing room and do a childlike spin in front of her mom to show of the current dress. When she walked out in the red dress though, the dress she ended up getting, I'd swear my heart stopped beating for a moment. She was just so stunning. I wanted to convince Malachi that she wasn't the right choice, as mesmerizing as she was the absolute last thing I wanted was for her to be his, but I could see it all over his face, he felt the same way about her as I did, he wanted her.

The days that followed were filled with gaining a lot of knowledge about her, stalking her and plotting when the best time to take her would be. Honestly this was the easiest thing for me to do, the less interaction the better. I truly wanted to stall Malachi this time, to distract him and maybe just maybe stop him from taking her, but as the days passed he grew more angry and began taking it out on one of the other girls. I hated to see him hurt any of them, and I know how bad it is to essentially sacrifice one girl for the sake of the other, but I just couldn't stand to see another one die. I finally gave him the idea to take her at homecoming, as we knew it would be dark and her mother wouldn't be around. Once we agreed on that night, we planned to distract her date and then take her when he wasn't around, but we got lucky when we saw her run out of the building mid dance, all by herself. We weren't really expecting this, nor fully prepared in the moment, so our attempts at taking her were both messier and bloodier than originally intended, but alas Malachi got what he wanted.

            “You did good work today son... this one sure is a beauty, and that hit you did barely left a mark. I think she’ll make a perfect fourth!” He said as he reached one of  his slimy hands behind the seat to stroke her hair, completely disregarding the blood and dirt embedded into it; a devilish smile creeped across his face.

            I let out a small grunt as I forced myself to choke back what I really wanted to say. My hands were clenched and tucked down by my sides, why did I have to be such a coward? Why did I continue to do his dirty work? “Thank you dad." I forced the words out of my mouth, "I know you will like this one.” I said as my hands begin to unclench and started to tremble, I wanted to stop this madness but I was afraid and this is the life I’ve come to know. I’m aware that everything we’re doing is wrong, but this is my life, what else do I have?

            We pulled into our garage and I swiftly rushed to Malachi’s side of the car to offer that I take her, in hopes that he wouldn’t touch her anymore, for now anyways. He gave me a small grin and then placed his hand on my shoulder as he said thanked me in a voice that urged to me to punch. One quick punch to his perverted face, why couldn't I just do it? I breathed in deeply and began to lift her out from the back seat. I carried her body close to mine and even further away from Malachi's, I needed to get her down to the room and give her time to rest, I feared I may have hit her harder than I originally had intended.

            As she lay limp within my arms I couldn’t help but notice her chest as she breathed, the ryhtmatic motion as it raised up and down. The suttle way in which the fabric near her stomach shifted with each breath. I stopped myself as soon as I realized my actions, I wouldn’t be like him; these thoughts were not my own and rather the outcome of many years spent with such a deranged man. I wouldn’t do the things he does to these girls, I couldn't.

           I stopped at the bolted up door in the middle of our house and laid her down against the wall for support as I began the unlocking process. She was a tiny girl, and looked even more fragile now that she was injured. I had a hard time walking down the stairs with her because I was trying not to harm her any more than I already had. As I finally reached the bottom, after what felt like an eternity of walking, I brought her into the fourth room that was down within our basement, as I could hear the whimpers of the others. I then placed her ever so lightly on the bed. She began to wake as I was doing so, so I gave her a small pill to make her sleep; I didn't want her to wake in pain and let alone be frightened and lash out, Malachi hated that and considered it a form of disrespect on the girls part. I knew, or atleast was hoping anyways, that she’d be calmer in the morning and that I could take the time to explain things to her without her noise and reaction to the sitiation making Malachi mad.

I did one final check on each of the girls prior to making my way upstairs, poor Lauren was in such bad shape, no matter how good she behaved, how little she said and did, it didn't matter. He always treated her the worst. I could see the desperation in her eyes, the desire to just die already, but he wouldn't give her that, he enjoyed her pain too much, and I was too weak to do what she so desperately needed. She let out the tiniest little whimper as I closed her door behind me, and my heart broke a little more for her then in that moment. I made my way back up the long stair case, bolting the door behind me, exhausted from all the events of the day. Malachi spotted me from his favorite spot on the sofa and motioned me over to sit by him, handing me a beer once I placed myself in the seat. He gave me such a disturbing smile, one that I knew meant he was proud of me, but also one that made my skin crawl. I sat there in that spot next to him watching one of his odd shows until finally he dozed off and I was able to make my escape into my bedroom. I could have run then, I could have ran every night before that, I could do something, anything, but my mind could never convince my body to take action. I didn't know what waited for me out there, outside of these walls, this is my life and I was to fearful to run away from it.