Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Once again, Alice felt herself trying to wake up, and again it was as if a dense fog was trying to pull her back down into sleep. She had dreamed of Dr. Hansen again, only this time there had been no beach. In this new dream they were back in the park he had taken her to, the one by the cove on the outskirts of town. She was lying in the snow unable to move, and Dr. Hansen was whispering sweet reassurances in her ear, telling her that she was going to be okay. It was not a scary dream, but for some reason it gave Alice a sense of unease. 'Common Alice, you can do this. Wake up, its okay.'

Alice finally managed to open her eyes, and complete darkness enveloped her once again. She hadn't been expecting it, and Alice shivered at the thought of being back in her box. Sure enough though, they had done it. She was once again returned to the dark place of hell. Alice knew it was only a matter of time before she would be pulled out and sent off to please the first of an uncountable number of men. She tried to stay calm as she came to terms with her situation.

The memories of being assulted at the hospital came back suddenly, and she let out a soft sigh before remembering the old rules that she had almost been able to forget at St. Micheal's. Alice could remember falling asleep as someone had opened her door, at the time she had thought it was Nurse Tess. Apparently, she had been wrong. The next thing Alice knew, she was punched hard enough to knock the wind out of her chest. Unable to breathe, she had fought as hard as she could against her attacker. He had a mask over his face, and she had no idea who this man was. The man loomed over her, placing a cloth over her mouth and nose. Within seconds Alice passed out, still unable to breathe.

And here she was now, back right where she belonged. Alice slowly felt around her body, trying to feel the fresh wounds she was now painfully aware of. To her surprise all she could feel was the bandaging they had wrapped around her. That was new; usually they just left her wounds open and bleeding. And, her face was hurt too, that was again something new. 'What the hell is going on? They never hurt my face.'  It made it too hard to service men the way most men liked to be with a broken jaw or swollen face. 'Probably just some extra punishment Alice, you'll heal. Stay calm.' She let out a few deep breaths, trying to push down the image of Dr. Hansen out of her thoughts.

Alice hoped he was okay, and she wondered how long it would take before anyone at St. Micheal's realized she was gone. Blake was a good man, someone who had honestly cared about her, and maybe even someone who could have loved her. But now he was gone. Alice thought it hurt worse; knowing happiness for just a few short days. She would have rather just stayed in the darkness the whole time versus finding joy and normalicy with Dr. Hansen, only to have it stripped away from her again. Alice had promised herself a new start on life and they had taken it away.

Without warning a noise made Alice jerk out of her thoughts. At least her good sense of hearing hadn't failed her yet. She could hear someone yawning nearby, it sounded only a foot or two away. Her eyes searched the pitch blackness in vain, trying to catch sight of anything they could. It was amazing what just a few days of sight could do. Before, she had gotten so used to not seeing anything that she usually just stared straight ahead of herself no matter what was going an around her. But now, she couldn't help herself, and yet as usual there was absolutely nothing to see.

“Alice?” She heard a familiar voice say her name. Something was definitely not right. She quickly decided to stay silent just in case this was some sort of test. “Alice, you're awake! Are you okay?” She frowned slightly. Alice thought her mind was playing tricks on her. That voice sounded just like Dr. Hansen's. “What's wrong Alice? . . . Alice? . . . Alice, can you hear me?” Yep, it was Dr. Hansen alright.

'That asshole! He brought me back here? He must have been in on it the entire time. You're such a fool, Alice.' She felt his hand grab hers and quickly jerked it away. “Alice, it's me, Blake.” 'Yes, I know exactly who you are. You're worse than the fat man.' “Alice, you're at St. Micheal's, we found you and brought you back. Are you okay?”