The Storm

Part 27

Ayla looked down at her hands. She was twisting her fingers together nervously. She no longer wanted to be with these two men. She looked to Brian who was kicked back in a chair, asleep. She studied his features from her perch on the bed. If they were mixed up with Jack, they were just like him...right? How could somebody so normal looking be working with Jeff and Jack? She couldn't understand. When you're young, you learn that monsters look scary. You learn that if you ran into a monster, you would have no doubt that it was, indeed, a monster. Jack and Jeff fit that bill...but Brian? Brian was so normal. Tim was too for that matter. Ayla leaned forward, closer to the sleeping man.

"What?" He mumbled.

"N-nothing." Ayla said timidly as she sat back and away from the man.

Brian's eyes fluttered open as he looked towards the woman. The door to the room opened as Tim walked in carrying a big pizza box in his hands. He sat the box on the end of a bed as he emptied the remaining contents of his hands. Some sodas, sweets, masks. He tossed a black mask to Brian. "You forgot this in the car. That was pretty careless..." He grumbled as he set his own on the nearby nightstand. Brian only shrugged. Ayla's eyes sat locked on the pizza box. So close. She was so hungry.

"Go ahead." Brian smiled as he gestured towards the box. Ayla looked up at him like she couldn't comprehend what he has just said. He sighed as he stood from his chair and plopped down on the bed beside her. Tim eyed the man as he opened the lid to the box.

"Here..." He mumbled as he handed the woman a slice. Ayla wasted no time shoving the food into her mouth. She scarfed the slice down in no time flat earning her curious gazes from the men. "Damn! You really were hungry." Tim laughed handing her another piece. Ayla gave a genuine laugh at the comment and nodded as she happily took the slice from Tim.

"Is Jack feeding you?" Brian asked making a fog of unease fall upon the trio. Ayla didn't answer or even look at him as she set to woofing down her food. "Is that a no?"

"How long has it been?" Tim asked returning to his usual grumpy tone. Ayla looked up at them, giving them a fake smile and shaking her head slightly. She wished more than anything they would drop the subject. She thought back to her first and only meal Jack had fed her. Her stomach churned at the thought. "Ayla...Answer."

She looked up and swallowed hard, finishing her second piece. "Uhh... I-I don't know...a day or two?" the room got quiet after that. It felt awkward. She mentally kicked herself for not lying about it.

"Well eat as much as you want." Brian finally said shoving the pizza box closer to her. It was quiet after that. They sat around watching t.v. for the rest of the night. The effects of so much pizza in Ayla's stomach were starting to take its toll on her.

Tim eyed Ayla as her stomach rumbled once again. She wrapped her arms around it as she laid back on the bed.

"Ate too much?" Brian mused. Ayla groaned in response earning a chuckle out of the man. "You should get some sleep. We're taking you back to Jack tomorrow."

She nodded at him and climbed under the sheets quickly falling asleep.

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Ayla awoke a few hours later in darkness. It was the heat that had woke her up. It seemed unbearable to her. She quickly became aware of the bodies laying so close to her. Arms wrapped around her from both sides, legs intertwined with her own. A face was nuzzled into the nape of her neck and she could feel his chest slowly rise and fall in a gentle rhythm against her side. A head laid still on her chest, his hot breath fanning out over her skin. A sense of claustrophobia slowly started to envelop her senses. She slowly and carefully started to untangle herself from the men. She soon found herself free, only to have her foot catch in the sheets causing her to fall flat on her face. She quickly pooped her head up, looking for signs that she woke the two men. She sighed in relief when they didn't stir. She made her way to the bathroom, not bothering to turn the light on. She really didn't want to wake Tim or Brian. She felt around for the sink, finding it surprisingly quick. She ran the cool water on her hands, softly splashing it across her face in an attempt to cool her off.

Her body was suddenly pushed forcefully against the wall next to the old sink. A hand, wrapped around her throat, cut off her air. The other hand pulling her hips up, pushing her back further into the wall. She instinctively wrapped her legs around the figure trying to push herself up the wall. She was desperately trying to free her throat from the hand. Her hands ripped at the hand around her throat. She hit and pushed the figure, trying anything to get away. His grip on her throat eased a little as he leaned in closer to her face. She couldn't see him but she felt his body pressing closer on her own. She whimpered as a cold plastic feeling softly pressed to her cheeks. Her mind was racing, threatening to shut down.

"T-Timmm!! BRIAN!!" She finally found her voice as she felt fingers sliding over her thighs. She listened as heavy footsteps ran to her aid. The light flipped on temporarily blinding her.

"Tim... What the fuck man?" Brian yelled as he ran over to them, grabbing at Tim's hands. Ayla squinted through the bright light at the masked man before her. That's what was pressed against her face... It was his mask. Tim was silent as his dead eyes bored into Ayla's . His grip clenched around her throat once more as Brian tried to free her. "Tim... let her go... Jack will kill us if you hurt her....TIM!"

Suddenly he let go, letting her fall into a coughing heap in the floor. Tim let out an anguished sound as he knelt down holding his head in his hands. Brian came to her, pulling her away from him. "Stay here." Brian commanded her once he got her out of the bathroom. She sat on the bed and watched as he disappeared back into the bathroom and shut the door. He wasn't gone long before emerging out of the room alone. Ayla stared at him expecting Tim to follow him out, but he didn't. Brian looked her over, running his fingers over her throat. "You're bruised." He stated. "but otherwise, are you ok?"

"They will blend in with all the others." Ayla stated half heartily. "And yeah.. I will be fine."

"Yeah...Whats with that? I noticed burns and bite marks?...I know those aren't Jack's...This one is though..." He said lowly as he touched the scabs on her shoulder. Ayla closed her eyes as her body shuttered. Her mind not wanting to go back to that time with Jeff. Brian sensed her refusal to talk about it and moved on. "Listen.... Tim is sick. Sometimes hes just not in his right state of mind. I dunno what all that was about but hes... out for the night. You can sleep without worrying about it."

Ayla slowly nodded at him as she laid back down. She was facing away from where Brian now sat in the chair. She laid there staring at the bathroom door, praying Tim didn't come back out.