What's Never Shown

He exited cautiously, unsure of anything, unsure, even, that he was still alive. It seemed unlikely that he was. There was no way he survived that; days, he was unsure of exactly how many at this point, of unspeakable torture which he had been assured would end in his death. Indeed, the last thing he could recall was being stuffed into the trunk of a car, bound, gagged and blindfolded, as he had been almost the entire time since his abduction. The exception being a brief moment when his captor put a phone to his ear and yanked the cloth out of his mouth so he could tell his wife Hannah he loved her for what was made clear to them both would be the very last time. The remainder of his captivity was spent enduring the sadistic whims of his abductor which included but was not limited to; having his hands taped to a metal pipe which was heated and cooled repeatedly, he was not entirely sure he would ever have feeling in hands again, sandpaper to the skin followed by lemon juice; what he came to refer to as a citrus skin treatment. And worst of all; sulphuric acid, administered via eye dropper. He was certain the scars, by now hundreds of little dots, would last forever. But for now, all Matt could think about was getting away, scars and all. The late afternoon rays burned his retinas as he tore the tape off his eyes and cautiously stepped outside. He felt as if he could barely walk. Not that he was sure where to go. Looking around, all he could see were trees. Beneath his feet were dry dirt and pebbles, no sign of asphalt or civilization anywhere. Numbly, he made his way towards the trees. He had no idea how deep that forest went or where it led, all he knew was that he had to get out of there. Now. He could return at any moment and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t survive an escape attempt if he was discovered. Actually, if he didn’t get medical attention soon he might not survive anyway. The spots on his body that had been “treated” with sandpaper/lemon juice were starting to blister, the acid spots had started to bleed, and he was extremely dehydrated. If only he could get away from here he…….This thought was interrupted by what felt like the back of his head exploding, after which he seemed to fall through a black hole. He awoke to a sharp sting on his chest. He tried to touch the area but found he couldn’t move his arms. His heart sank. “You know your little stunt is going to cost you dearly, right?, said the voice he had come to know so well, I won’t lie to you about your chances now…..as if you ever really had one, but, if it makes you feel any better, you have my deepest sympathies.” He found himself pulling against his restraints, causing the handcuffs to cut into his wrists. “Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, came that voice again, soft, light, almost soothing yet the coldest sound he had ever heard, what’s the use in that? I have you perfectly secure, certainly more secure than last time.” He added, more to himself. Matt’s mind raced. Handcuffs were defiantly more secure than duct tape; obviously his captor wasn’t taking any more chances. His mind filled with images of his wife and children, Mason and Delilah, and the crippling fear that he would never see them again, causing him to fight against his restraints some more, despite the futility. He didn’t know it, on account of the tape that had been replaced over his eyes, but his captor was smiling. He hit Matt with a riding crop, which was what had caused the initial sting that had revived him. Over and over again he struck him, Matt’s screams bringing him the release he so desperately needed, like a neglected pot boiling over. He felt each wail deep within his bones, the agony and the fear, especially the fear, that was what he needed most, restoring life to every cell in his body. Like a raging fire the more he got the more he wanted. He switched from the riding crop to what he called his kung-fu stick; a bamboo rod with small, sharp spikes, and beat him with that until Matt’s body went limp. This time Matt awoke to something he hadn’t heard before; music. Faint music in the distance. And laughter. He strained to listen. There was defiantly music and laughter coming from somewhere. And voices! He couldn’t make out actual conversation but there were defiantly people around, someone besides his captor, which meant there was the slightest chance he would make it out of here alive. “She said come here boy, I wanna dance, fore I said a word, she was taking my hand…….” Kate spun around in the dim glow of the television, catching glimpses of her sheer pink nightgown in the large mirror on the wall as the song came to an end. She attempted to release her friend Raven’s hand as the last notes faded out but his fingers clamped around hers, solidifying their grip. He pulled lightly at her arm saying “follow me” in that just above a whisper way of speaking he had. He led her out the front door, throwing a white, fur lined cape over her shoulders to guard against the crisp night air, circling his arms around her as he did so. “You know, you always seem to get me in positions where I can’t defend myself.” Kate said. His face lit up with an enigmatic grin. “People are rarely able to defend themselves against me” he said as they wandered down a softly lit path. “I used to love days like this in New York, Kate said, pulling the cape tighter around her, when the weather was just turning cool and you needed a sweater for the first time in months. Apple picking weather.” “Here” he said nonchalantly as they walked. He handed her a lit cigar and they walked in silence. They did this about once a month, Raven and Kate, ever since they were co-workers at TSP Inc, a job they had both loathed. Kate would get to Raven’s around dinnertime and enjoy his family’s company, Raven had a wife and four kids, then, after his family went to bed, she and Raven split a cigar and a bottle of wine (or two). They went for walks around Raven’s gated community because Raven wasn’t allowed to smoke in the house. In fact, as far as Vanessa, his wife was concerned; he wasn’t allowed to smoke at all. “Apple picking, Raven murmured to himself, that could be fun.” “Have you ever been apple picking Matthew?” Raven pulled the bandana from Matt’s mouth. Matt didn’t respond right away. He still had tape over his eyes. He strained his ears, listening for any hint of Raven’s companion. For anyone at all that could possibly help him but there was only silence. And of course Raven. “Go on, Raven said in that icelie tone Matt had come to loathe, scream and get it out of your system. Yell for help, you obviously know someone else is around. I’m sure you heard her .Her name is Katie, I’m sure she would be more than happy to help you. Of course, there’s no chance of her hearing you.” Matt wanted to scream, he really did, not for help, he didn’t need him to tell him that Katie, whoever she was, or anyone for that matter, would be unable to hear him. He had figured as much as soon as the gag was removed. No, he wanted to scream at him; this monster who had imprisoned him for no apparent reason and delighted in his torment, but he guessed that wouldn’t do him any good either. In fact, Matt supposed, he might even enjoy it, watching him become unglued and vulnerable, and he was determined to give him as little satification as possible so finally he repeated ”Apple picking?” “You know, Raven said; wander through an orchard with a wicker basket, with friends or family, plucking apples off trees, with dreams of pie and cider dancing through your head.” Matt listened to his words, absorbing them. He seemed so…..average. Talking about apple picking, a perfectly normal event. Matt could picture him; in a pair of blue jeans and a plaid shirt, being tugged through an apple orchard by the sticky hand of a toddler, their feet crunching on freshly fallen leaves. How was it then that he was that person, for in that instant Matt knew that he was. Knew that he had a little family somewhere who had no idea that he……”Not since I was a kid.” Matt said answering Raven’s question. “You’ve never taken your kids?” Raven asked. “No.” Matt answered. “Why not?” Raven asked. This was a weird conversation. “Never occurred to me.” He said cause it hadn’t. “I take mine every year, Raven said, Abagail’s seven, going on 25, he added chuckling, Zoey’s 5, and my Cali, the undisputed master of our household, is 3 and a half.” Again a picture formed in Matt’s mind. This time he pictured Raven in a spacious living room, little Cali on his knee, her little arms stretched above her head, reaching for his face. His two other daughters seated on a warm rug in front of him, while a beautiful wife looked on adoringly. It was almost more than he could stand. “Why are you doing this?” Matt asked. Raven sighed. “Why does everyone ask that? What does it matter? You’ve been kidnapped and are now at the mercy of a stranger. Would the reason make it any better?” Matt considered this. No, it wouldn’t. He knew he hadn’t done anything to deserve this, no one deserved this. And, apparently, he wasn’t the first. How many others had suffered at Raven’s hands? He asked and again Raven replied with “Does that matter?” “Do you always a question with a question?” Matt asked. “Touché Mr. Ainsley, touché. There have been many before you, at least 6, which makes you lucky number 7.” This statement was followed by Matt being released from his restraints and escorted at gunpoint to a barrel where his head was repeatedly forced under scalding water and held until he nearly passed out, the result being a set of burns to complement the ones on his hands. The next morning Kate awoke feeling groggy. She always woke up this way when she spent the night at Raven’s. She supposed it was the alcohol but then, she never had that problem when she drank anywhere else. Slowly, she got off the bed. Her legs felt like barbells as she lowered them onto the plush blue carpet and the simple act of sweeping the hair out of her eyes made her slightly dizzy. What in the world was wrong with her? She might have pondered this further but was interrupted by a burst of energy that barreled through her door in the form of Kara and Bailey, two of Raven’s three daughters. “Katie!” they yelled as Bailey leaped into her arms, nearly knocking her over. “Hey princess, she said, where’s Dakota?” “Right here, said Raven appearing in her doorway with what looked like a wispy haired doll in his arms, pancakes or French toast?” “Coffee.” Kate said walking past him and heading for the kitchen. “Way ahead of you” Raven said. With Dakota still in his arms he filled a black and grey mug and handed it to her. “Hazelnut right?” She took the mug, added milk and sugar, and took a long sip. “Indeed. This is an appropriate saying for you.” She added reading the block lettering on the mug. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Raven deposited Dakota in her high chair and set a stack of pancakes in the center of the table before walking over to Kate. “Is that so?, he asked, then why do you spend so much time with me?” “Perhaps I’m a glutton for punishment” Kate retorted. “And, apparently so is my husband” said a voice. Everyone looked up to see Vanessa enter the dining area. She was wearing her signature long, white, satin, slightly overdone feathered robe. Her sleek mahogany hair framed her face with natural curls. Kate laughed somewhat nervously as their eyes locked, deep brown boring into molten amber. “Hello Kathryn.” Vanessa said flatly. “Good morning Vanessa.” Kate returned her momentary fit of nervousness gone. “I’m sorry my children are always hassling you.” Vanessa said in the same cold tone as she watched Kara and Bailey hovering around Kate. “Your children are never a bother” Kate said lifting Bailey into her arms. Bailey giggled as Raven took her from Kate, their hands brushing in the exchange. “The kids love Katie, he said, she’s going to make an excellent mother.” Vanessa took her usual seat at the head of the table and everyone else followed. “Well, Vanessa said to Kate, let’s hope you find a husband soon so you can be as involved in your own family as you are in mine.” After breakfast Vanessa went to her weekly spa appointment, offering Kate a ride to the train station, which she declined. “I’m pretty sure your wife hates me.” Kate said when she’d gone. “She hates all of my friends” Raven said. If you listened, you could hear the slightest note of irritability in his voice. “But I have a feeling she hates me especially” Kate said. Raven had cleared the table and started on the dishes. “Hmm…now, why would you think that?” he asked playfully, spraying her with the sink hose as he did so. Kate screamed as the water soaked through her already thin nightgown. “What on earth made you do that?!” she exclaimed as the children exploded with laughter. “Just wanted you to have something else to think about besides Vanessa” he said smugly, returning to the dishes. Kate had something else to think about all right; her shear nightgown was now almost see through, which was problematic for several reasons, not the least of which being the fact that the last thing she needed was Vanessa to return for some reason and find her standing nearly naked in her kitchen! She figured now was as good a time as any to get ready for the day so she pealed herself out of her sopping nightgown, showered, and changed into a black strapless top that crisscrossed across her stomach and red lacy shorts. Long onyx pigtails fastened with black ribbons completed what she dubbed her Mickey Mouse look. On her way back to the living/dining room area she passed the bathroom where her nightgown was now draped over the shower rod. Again a picture of Vanessa, finding the wet nightgown and drawing her own conclusions, flashed in Kate’s mind. That I don’t need Kate thought to herself. She grabbed the nightgown and made a beeline for Raven’s basement, which contained the washer and dryer. She had just turned on the dryer when she heard the strangest sound. She couldn’t identify it, it was sort of an odd humming, but as she strained to listen over the dryer, she thought it was coming from the storage room. Perplexed and intrigued, Kate stood in front of the storage room door and was just beginning to push it open when she was jerked backward violently which caused her to loose her balance and tumble into Raven’s arms. “You scared the hell out of me!, Kate exclaimed, looking at Raven with wide eyes, what on earth was that about?” “Sorry, Raven said steadying Kate; I just didn’t want you to go in there.” “What’s in there, a dead body?” Kate asked teasingly. Raven laughed, put his arm around Kate’s shoulder, and led her back upstairs. “Not yet” he said under his breath. Matt pulled at his restraints in frustration. He had been so close to rescue, so close! Well, that was most likely an exaggeration, he doubted whomever had been at the door would have whisked him away to safety but still, at least someone would have known he was here. Actually, someone still knew he was here. He hadn’t been able to see them on account of the tape, but he knew someone had been at that door; the slight sound the door made when it opened, the smallest change in light, someone had defiantly been there. They must have seen him! Perhaps they went to get help! Perhaps…..”Well, that was close.” Raven stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and filling Matt with an intense fear. He hadn’t considered that the reason the person never came in the room was because Raven had intercepted them. What had happened to them? What would happen to him? There was no way Raven would let him live another minute if someone else knew he was here. “Looks like our time together is coming to an end. Katie almost caught us. We can’t let that happen.” Raven strolled into the room, his voice calm and cold as always. Matt felt his heart race, he was having trouble breathing (and the tape wasn’t helping), and he could feel pearls of sweat rolling from his hairline, disappearing beneath the tape over his eyes. Again he pulled at his restraints in desperation. “I suppose I would be scared too if I were in your position, Raven said nonchalantly, as I said, we really need to wrap this up but I think there’s still time for us to have one hell of a finale.” This caused a burst of fear from Matt, in the form of him pulling on his restraints so forcefully blood dripped from his wrists. Raven laughed “Oh relax, he said, I promise this won’t hurt……, he dissolved into giggles, sorry, that’s not fair. What I have planned is most defiantly going to hurt, but…..at least it’s almost over.”