Being a Victim (Criminal Minds episode fanfic)

Chapter 13

Once again, the scraping of the metal spoon on the bottom of an old pan woke me up, my head was pounding and I was feeling very slow and spaced out. I tried to move my limbs but they felt like a dead weight, barely able to twitch my fingers without feeling a strain on my arm muscles. I felt like crap but at the same time I didn't seem to care. I'd woken up, which was always a bonus - I hadn't been killed yet or died from eating this awful poisoned food - but the drugs were really starting to take hold. He must have increased the dosage because I'd never felt this out of it the entire time we'd been here. This time really was bad. The doorbell sounded and with one last long scrape of the bottom of the pan, this man put the spoon on the side, turned to us and grinned that awful, ugly, discoloured smile and walked up his creaky, makeshift stairs, shutting the door behind him. I glanced over at Penny, barely able to turn my head and we locked eyes.

"Grace." Penny managed to croak out. Her voice was hoarse and low. Her eyes were bloodshot which, combined with the matted hair and the old food dried around her mouth, made her look awful. We both looked terrible. We'd gone from decent looking, dressed up young women who were going out to scared, drugged up, bloodshot eyed victims... Hostages... How long had we even been here? Days? Weeks? Months?

"Penny. How are you feeling?" My words were slow and drawn out. I'd never felt like this in my life. I'd never taken drugs or drunk too much, so this feeling was alien to me. Again, I twitched my fingers. They felt a little more like they were mine and I could control them. The drugs must have begun to wear off from last night.

"He drugged us more this time, didn't he?" She slurred, her eyes half closed. She licked her dry lips and swallowed slowly. "I feel awful..."

"He did... I- I- I can barely move my fingers." I said, my brain moving a lot quicker than my mouth. My brain had already come up with a whole conversation to have with Penny but instead, I stumbled over one sentence. I noticed Penny's hands twitching as she tested what I said.

"What is it?" She asked, and I shrugged. Neither of us knew what drugs he was giving us and to be honest I'm just glad I survived it. "He's making more now isn't he?" I nodded, looking over to the pot he'd been scraping before the bell went. I was saving myself the effort of trying to talk when I could, just nodding or shaking my head. My throat felt so dry. My head was spinning as it was without any brain power. "I cant do this anymore." She said suddenly as she shook her head and a tear rolled down her cheek. "This is too much." I used all the energy I had to move my head towards her and made sure our gazes connected. She looked so sad, like she'd given up on life, on the hope of being rescued... I couldn't let her be like this.

"You can. As long as we do what he says, he'll be good to us. As soon as you disobey him, he flips. You know that!" I tried to reason with her but as her best friend, I already knew she had made up her mind. I wasn't going to be able to reason with her...

"And where's that getting us, Grace? Here. Being drugged every meal and having this guy snap at you for coughing. What a life! How long will I have to go along with what he says in the small hope of being rescued? What things might we have endured by then? Would life even be worth living with all those awful events going round in your head day by day?" Penny rambled on. Her speech was near perfect in comparison to mine. I'd obviously eaten more than her of that dinner last night - that or she was used to the effect of drugs. I daren't ask now just in case I caused more upset, but I was hoping it wasn't the latter, I didn't want to think there was loads of stuff she kept secret from me.

"Where is it getting us? It's keeping us alive! This guy hasn't done anything to us yet. He's testing us and we're winning at the moment! He's not physically hurt either of us..." I couldn't believe I was sticking up for this man. I was trying to convince her that he was okay, a good guy for not hurting us... I was so desperate to get out of here alive, I was willing to sit in front of my kidnapped friend and tell her we were lucky this guy liked us enough not to have killed us yet.

"Are you hearing yourself?' She spat. "He's a good guy? He kidnapped us and has locked us up in a makeshift basement prison, feeding us drugged up food and keeping us tied to these chairs 97% of the day. If we refuse anything he flips and yes, Grace, he does hurt us. He's pushed my face into a plate of slop and nearly drowned me in it and he's thrown you about!" She hissed. "This is not a joke!" I stared wide-eyed at her for a while. Words had escaped me. I really couldn't think of anything to say. Why didn't she want to survive this?

"Penny, all I want to do is survive this with you. Riley is waiting on us to come out of this alive. He's called the police, they will be trying to find us as we speak! You've just got to hold on..." My tear ducts pricked with pain but I was too dehydrated to cry. It felt hopeless. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that we were getting out of here alive and well, how were the police going to find us in a makeshift basement in someone's old house? The upstairs decor made me think it was an old grandma's house. Why would they ever think of looking here? I wanted to slump in my chair and sigh but I didn't want to show Penny I had any doubts of us getting out.

"There's something wrong with you, Grace. Stockholm syndrome or something... How can you be happy enough here to want to stay, stare at that guy and be fed that shit?" Penny stared at me in disbelief. I stared back at her in the same way. Did she really think I was happy being here? Not in the slightest, I just wanted to live! "I know you don't read the news, but loads of girls our age have been kidnapped and killed in a short space of time. All from round here. This guy must be the guy the police are looking for..." Her tone had changed to one that was more sinister. "He's not letting us go." My eyebrows furrowed as I continued to stare at her, unsure whether or not she was telling me the truth. Her face had no emotion, it was just a blank expression staring back at me.

"You don't know that. He might let us go for good behaviour?" Even I thought what just came out of my mouth was stupid. I stopped talking and rolled my eyes. I really didn't know what to say that would make her see it differently. "Look, you're at more risk disobeying him, he might snap and lash out. When you're nice, he's nice. Think about it; he let me go upstairs! I was unsupervised and allowed to roam the family home!" I let out a small smile at the luxury of a toilet and a sink. I hadn't seen them since I'd left my apartment to meet Penny, however long ago that was...

The front door slammed shut, causing us both to jump. I stared over at Penny but she didn't look back at me.

"I'm sorry Grace, I'm not eating another drugged up spoonful." My heart sunk but sped up. She wasn't going to, was she?

"Penny, don't even think about it!" I said, louder than I had hoped. His large, heavy footsteps caused the stairs to creak and strain under his weight. He rushed down quickly and stood between us at the table.

"What did I say about making a racket?" He shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Penny and I locked eyes, her gaze saying 'I told you so'. "Who spoke? Which one of you was it?"

"It was me, I'm sorry. I didn't think it was that loud." I said instantly, his gaze moving from Penny to me, his eyes narrowing at me.

"What were you talking about?" He shouted once more. I remained quiet as I desperately tried to think of something I could say which would make him think we were good people. Maybe I should mention the food and say how nice it-

My thoughts were interrupted with his hands tightening around my neck, squeezing the life out of me. I rocked about in the chair but with my limbs tied to the chair as tightly as they were, even my best efforts seemed like nothing.

"Please." I managed to choke out.

"You were told to stay quiet!" He reminded me of the rules. "You're not to talk, you're not to move. You are to sit there in silence and do everything I ask like a good wife!" He shouted. Wife? He was doing this to find himself a partner? How desperate was he?

"So leave her alone!" Penny screamed. "She is a good wife! You're ruining the only chance you have of finding someone good!" His hands had loosened from my neck but it was already too late, I could feel myself fading out of consciousness as Penny spoke. I muttered a thank you as I drifted off into darkness, the chair hitting the floor was the last thing I remember...