THE VICKERS

Chapter 6

*Dahlia*

Dahlia was left alone for what felt like hours. She had no longer felt the warmth of the sun beaming through the window onto her face. Instead, it gave way to the night chill. It was getting dark outside.

The heavyset man that had force-fed her earlier at some point. Her scalp hurt from where he kept pulling her hair and her jaw still ached from the slap.

Moments later she heard the door creak open. This time there was no sound of feet shuffling on the floor but the click of heels on the concrete.

She felt a hand rake through her tangled hair and she shook her head away, trying to get as far away from this person's grasp. Then the blindfolds were ripped from her eyes.

She had to blink several times for her eyes to adjust to the sudden exposure to the bright light. A small silhouette formed before her and it took some time for her to recognize it was a woman.

She was a tiny frame, almost wiry and looked as if she was in her early forties. The freckled skin on her neck was beginning to droop.  She wore loose, dark wavy curls, that hung to her shoulders. She resembled a raccoon with her thick eyeliner, and her black leather suit hugged her shapeless figure. 

She placed a sharp bony finger to her lips to signal that Dahlia should keep quiet. A man walked in behind her holding cardboard with words written on it. The scent of dirt and tobacco came back with a vengeance and she recognized him immediately. 

The lady reached towards her face and Dahlia whipped her head back and forth.

"Stop it!" she commanded. Dahlia didn't stop. Her stubbornness was one of her finest qualities. She stopped when the man's strong arm caught her jaw and held it in place. Even then in his unyielding grip she still fought to get away. 

The woman knelt down to Dahlia's level, her nose merely inches away from Dahlia's. There was a familiarity with this woman. It was her eyes, they reminded her of Margaret's dark brown and lifeless. Is it her?  Dahlia thought. The face shape was different, longer than Margaret's rounded one, but the eyes. That was impossible. Barry and Margaret couldn't hurt them anymore, Devin made sure of that. The lady removed the gag. 

Without hesitation, Dahlia began to scream as loud as her hoarse voice would allow. The lady muffled her screams for help with her skeletal hands. 

"Now. I ain't got time for your bullshit little girl. Now I'm going to let you go, and you're going to read exactly what is on that card. Nothing more, nothing less, or else." Now her voice sounded like Margaret's but a little hoarser like she'd smoked a hundred cigarettes daily. The lady slowly removed her hand and paused as if waiting to see if Dahlia would cooperate. She thought about screaming again, but what good was it if no one outside could hear her. 

She had spent the time that they left her there, planning her escape. The obvious exit was through the window. But she had no idea if she could actually squeeze through the tiny gaps between the bars. If that failed, she'd have to fight her way out. But she had no idea, where she was or how many people were out there. 

So far she knew of four people, the two meatheads that tied her up, the bitch in front of her, and the man who had promised to break her. Whatever that means. She had probably pissed off a dozen gangsters, most were upset because they thought she was an easy fix. But she wasn't. 

She used her body, for the same way most women did, to get what they wanted. Devin couldn't understand that she did so to get a better life for herself and her brothers, and the only way to do so, was to rise in the ranks of the city. She was tired of slumming it in abandoned houses. She wanted a better life, where shoplifting wasn't necessary. So she went after the one man who could help her with her goal, Juno. 

But he wouldn't be able to help her now. Since she was still bound to the chair and had no means to get loose. So she decided to just play along with whatever sick games these maniacs were playing. Dahlia nodded at the witch. 

The woman, seeing Dahlia's compliance, took out a smartphone and nodded to what was on the cardboard beside her. Dahlia scanned over the words and inhaled deeply when she realized what was written on it.

She shook her head in defiance but only earned herself a slap from the woman, that revived the pain from the previous one.

"Read bitch! Or I start removing fingers" the lady demanded. For such a skinny bitch, she had a heavy hand.

She raised her head and looked at the woman straight-faced. If you do what she says, you'll be able to get out of here, she told herself. Then she focused on the words again. She began to read. Her voice was hoarse, each word scratched her throat as she spoke.

"My name is Dahlia Vicker and I was taken. $200,000 is to be dropped off by Saturday night at one am at a location to be disclosed. If you fail to do so,..." She paused not wanting to go on.

The woman looked at her and she knew she had no choice. Tears welled in her eyes as she continued, but she blinked several times to keep them from falling. "I will be tortured. They will remove my fingers, then my toes, then my teeth, tongue and ears..."

She stared right at the woman, masking her mortification behind emotionless eyes. She read the last words. "Then they will kill me."

Dahlia wondered if this was the person who would take her young life. But she also wondered who they intended to send the video to.

Marcus? He couldn't possibly come up with that kind of money. No one in her life could, apart from Juno. That was assuming he thought her life was worth that much. 

"Very good!" the woman said stroking her hair in a gesture that was less than caring. She replaced the gag then turned to leave.

"I'm sure your brothers will be happy to hear from you"

"No! You leave them out of this you bitch! You...." she tried to speak but the gag blocked her words. 

"You talk too much Dahlia," the lady said with a sly smile before turning to leave, the big meathead following behind her.

They shut the lights off and she was alone again with her torturous thoughts. Not thoughts that tortured Dahlia herself but how she'd torture that bitch if she hurt her brothers.