The House in the Woods

Sang and Volto meet again

SANG POV

I have been alone in the bedroom for about two hours and cannot help but wonder whether the boys are okay and whether they are on their way to rescue us. I have tried reading, but could not keep my mind on the words. I searched the room, and the only thing that I found helpful was my backpack hidden in a corner of the closet. I found it odd, but when I looked through it, I found water, crackers, a well-stocked first aid kit, my kindle, a wall charger for my kindle, my phone charger, my powerbank backup charger, duct tape, and a tranquilizer gun. Is this what Gabe and Luke were trying to hide from me earlier today and why it was so heavy? I am still kicking myself for not picking up my phone from where it was charging on the nightstand at Sara's. At least with my phone the guys could have tracked mine instead of relying on Sara's doctored phone.

I am still reeling from Joshua's news that he would have my parents and Marie killed if I said the word. It was such a strange conversation to consider that he would do this out of a sense of trying to protect me.

I glance up when the door opens and immediately become alert when Sara is pushed into the room and lands on the floor. I have seen violence, at the hands of my step mother and the fighting at school, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. The boys once said that after finding me in the shower that I looked broken. If that was broken, then Sara was shattered.

I move over to her quickly and sink to the floor so I can cradle her head. She is barely moving and does not respond when I call her name. I remember the first aid kit in that is in my backpack. I go to bathroom to get washcloths and towels and then grab my backpack from the closet. When I open the first aid kit I look through the medication bottles and find the white pills that Sean gave me when I bruised my tailbone. Those pills were the ones that just dissolved in your mouth, and I figured they were better than trying to get her to swallow something.

I take the washcloths and try to clear away some of the blood. I don't know exactly what I am doing, but I know that I have some antibiotic cream and some arnica cream that I can put on the cuts and bruises. I try to be gentle when I am spreading the cream on her, but it has to be rubbed into the skin to work. She winces and moans in pain as I work it into her bruised skin.

I went into the bathroom and it took washing my hands several times to get the cream off. The cream made my hands sticky so they were rubbed a little raw by the time I was finished. I wish there had been some rubber gloves in the first aid kit but we used them all when we were at the park. When I looked around the bathroom, I saw that Sara had a bottle of lotion sticking out of her purse. Perfect. I squirted some into my palm and worked it into my hands and arms as I was walking back into the bedroom to see if Sara had enough energy to get into bed.

Volto POV- A short time later

There is only one guard in front of the room that they are keeping Sang and Sara in. Robert extends his hand and says, "We were not expecting you this early."

I look at him and say, "I know, but when I heard that he had gotten started, I knew that I had better check her out. He has been known to get a little rough with her."

Robert looks at me and says, "She did well during their talk, but she went off script a little. She drank the Glenfiddich."

Anger started boiling in me, "She did what? She knew that she was just supposed to get him to drink a glass. This is bad; it is an extra unnecessary factor. I need to go in and check her. What the hell was she thinking?"

Robert looks at me and puts a hand on my shoulder, "Alex, you need to be prepared. What you see in there will anger you. Keep your thoughts on what you need to accomplish, because if you think about what you are looking at it will distract you."

I look at Bob and say, "When have I ever let things like feelings distract me, Bob?"

Bob looks me in the eyes and says, "Ten years ago, and she is in as bad, if not worse shape than that night. This might be worse for you because the girl is in there too. Sara knew what would happen when she agreed to this. She was willing to take the risk even before you told her the full story. She was ready to battle when she just thought of Owen and Sean as her saviors from five years ago."

I do not say a word in response; I just slipped on my mask and opened the door. For once I am grateful for the mask because Bob's words did not prepare me for what I saw. I am not sure what was worse, Sara covered in a blanket, her face battered and bruised, or Sang sitting on the floor with Sara's head cradled in her lap, with tears running down her sweet face. Two woman that I care for, both once again victims.

I have said before that I am not a nice man. I was taken down a path when I was a child that taught me that women were a liability. Maybe they are. It is times like these that fulfilling my mother's dying wish makes me feel like a failure.

She knew that the Glenfiddich was the backup plan. The bottle is tied with an intricate knot as a sign of authentication. It cost me $500,000 to get one of the knot makers to retie the bottle after I put in the special blend. She was supposed to drink the vodka.

I lean down to pick Sara up off the floor. Sang looks terrified like she is going to fight me, so I say, "Sang, I am just going to put her on the bed and check her over."

I see Sang shift and she pulls what looks like a tranquilizer gun from under her leg. It is almost cute when Sang looks at me and says, "Stay away from her."