Obsessed (8 page)

“Is that true? Are you scared?” asked Duane. “Guess you’ve been too fucked up to care until now.”

“Why am I here?” I asked.

“To make me feel good,” said Nash.

“To make
us
feel good,” corrected Duane.

I tugged at the bottom of the dress, trying desperately to make it cover the tops of my bare legs. I thought about running, but I was still too unsteady on my feet. Besides, where would I run to? I’m not even sure where I am. There was daylight streaming through the windows and there were no sounds of traffic outside, but other than that, I didn’t know much. I could be in the middle of nowhere.

The inside of the building was something similar to a meeting hall or a lodge. The walls were wood-paneled, the windows had outdated coverings, and it smelled musty. The place was definitely maintained by men.

“You can consider yourself a HOH girl now,” said Duane. “Make yourself comfortable, ‘cause you ain’t going anywhere for awhile.”

“HOH girl?”

“Damn right, and you’ll like it, too. We’ll show you a much better time than you’ve been having with those Guard scum.”

“We’ll show you what it’s
really
like to have a good time,” added Nash. “...Show you what it’s like to fuck a real man.”

The way he said it made a shiver roll down my spine. His voice was a harsh whisper and it accompanied his unsettling gaze appropriately. They both gave off a dangerous and disturbed vibe.

“But...I wasn’t with them,” I said. “I don’t have anything to do with them. I was just there to have a drink. I didn’t even know it was a motorcycle people place.” I tried to make my lie sound as innocent as possible.

“Yeah, is that right?” said Duane “Then why am I hearing that some shitbag from the EG is asking around town about you?” He scrunched his eyebrows and took a long pull off the joint.

“I...I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know anybody who would ask about me,” I said.

“That bitch is lying Duane, you can see it on her face,” said Nash.

“No, I’m not!” I protested.

“Doesn’t matter,” said Duane as he looked away from me and toward Nash. “Whether she was with them or wasn’t doesn’t make any difference now. We ain’t lettin’ pussy that good just walk out the door.”

I gasped and they both turned their attention back to me.

“That’s right honey, we’re gonna put you to good use while you’re here. Now that we got you sobered up, we’re gonna clean you up, and you’re gonna be my new girlfriend,” said Nash.

“
Our
new girlfriend,” corrected Duane, again.

“Sorry about that, by the way,” said Duane. “The drugs, I mean. You look like a nice girl, but we wanted to keep you sedated for awhile. You know, just to make sure you liked it here.” He chuckled, and Nash followed suit.

“Just to make sure I was too disoriented to know where you are keeping me!” I yelled. My fear was giving way to anger.

“I swear, if either of you animals touched me while I was drugged, I’ll kill you!”

They howled with laughter. “That’s a big threat young lady. I think I liked you better when you had a little bit of that poison in you,” said Nash. “It made you more friendly.”

“That’s right!” said Duane. “You were much more talkative and relaxed when you had that “H” in your system. You told us all about yourself Katie…who your friends are, where your mother lives….” his voice trailed off as his demeanor became more sinister. “So keep that in mind before you think about trying to run.”

“Stay away from my family, I’ll ki-”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll kill us,” said Duane. “I’ve heard enough of your bullshit for now. You better keep yourself in-line or we’ll put that needle back in your arm.”

“People are looking for me!” I screamed. “My mom...somebody is gonna notice I haven’t been home. So just let me go!”

“Get her the fuck outta here, Lady J. And make sure she’s ready for tonight. All this yelling is makin’ my dick hard.”

She grabbed me by the wrist and started pulling me back toward the room. I struggled at first, but then let her take me. Fully realizing the severity of my situation had a paralyzing effect. She shoved me inside and locked the door.

***

“Vaughn, I need your help,” said James, in a hushed voice.

Vaughn was working the door as usual. He hadn’t been himself since his cousin was killed.

“Help?” he said. It was as if he was looking through James.

“Listen, man, I had to do it,” said James. “Keith was a traitor. I was as shocked as you were. But you know that’s the way it had to be.”

“Yeah brother, I know. It’s just...how could he do it? He was more committed than anybody. Just don’t make no sense that he would be doing that. I’ve been thinking it over and over, but it don’t add up.”

“I know, man. But the prez said he saw it himself. The man was working with the HOHers.”

Vaughn shook his head and seemed to snap out of his daze. “Anyway, I know you were just doing what you had to do. I hold no hard feelings for you. What do you need my help with?”

“The other night,” said James. “When they hit us, they took this girl…”

“That young thing? Yeah, I saw her,” said Vaughn. “Wrong place, wrong time, huh?”

“Well that’s it, man. She was just coming in here to talk to me. Didn’t have no business being in the middle of all that.”

“Like I said, wrong place, wrong time,” said Vaughn. “What exactly are you asking me?”

“You know they got her over there,” said James. “There’s no telling what they’re doing to her.”

“Yeah, and it ain’t right. But it don’t have shit to do with us. She wasn’t one of ours,” said Vaughn.

“But it’s our fault they got her,” said James. “...and that don’t sit right with me.”

Vaughn sighed and tugged at his beard.

“I’m goin’, man. The prez said not to, but I can’t just let her live through what they’re probably doin’ to her. She ain’t that kind of girl. She’s not ready for it.”

“And you want my help?” said Vaughn.

“I’m not gonna have a chance without you.” said James.

“The way I see it, there’s only two outcomes, and neither one of them are good for us…” said Vaughn. “We either go in there, guns blazin’, and get ourselves shot up ‘cause we’re outnumbered, or, we pull off a miracle and get that girl back, then Hayes and Roads do us both like they did Keith for goin’ against orders.”

James gave Vaughn a playful shove. “What’s the matter, man? I thought you had more balls than anybody in this place. Anyway, who says there isn’t an option number three?”

“And what would that be?” asked Vaughn.

“The way it’s
actually
gonna play out,” said James. “We ride on ‘em, take out a bunch of those scumbags and save the girl. Then, we get back here and she’s so grateful she gets a couple of her college friends to come on down here and play “bad girl” with good ‘ol Vaughn.”

He cracked a smile for the first time in a while.

“C’mon brother, you know you’re gettin’ a little tired of these worn out party girls, anyway. A fresh, young college girl would do you some good. We’re the one per-centers, man, but that don’t mean we can’t play hero every once in a while.”

“That’s for damn sure,” said Vaughn. “But you still didn’t tell me what’s gonna happen when the boss finds out. And he
will
find out. Pullin’ a move like that is gonna make some noise on the streets.”

“Shit, man, they’re gonna change their opinion after we make ‘em look good. When word gets out that a couple of outlaws from the EG went into enemy territory and took care of business, they aren’t gonna worry about it. Trust me. Plus, they’re not gonna look bad because nobody’s gonna know we broke orders. They can take the credit for sending us in there after it’s over.”

Vaughn sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Risky…” he said under his breath.

“And if it don’t go like I said, then I’ll tell ‘em it was all my idea and you were just along for the ride. They can’t burn your ass if they think I told you we were doing it on their orders.” said James.

“Nah, if we’re doing this, we’re doing it together,” he said. “I’m in.”

***

I have to get out of here. There’s one window, but it has bars on the outside. It looks like they’ve used this room to keep people before. The bed is small and empty - one sheet, no blanket, there’s a single light bulb hanging in the center of the room, and the dresser in the corner doesn’t have anything inside of it. In other words, there’s not much to work with.

The only piece which looks like it has been modernized is the door. It is solid oak and heavy. There is a lock in the door knob and a deadbolt. I heard the deadbolt snap into place the last time Jackie left. I’m not gonna be able to rely on her forgetting to lock it. The clock is ticking.
Get her ready for tonight
, he said. What is he planning on doing with me? I have to think of something soon.

A shadow blocked the light at the bottom of the door and then there was a soft jingling. A key was inserted into one lock, turned, and then retracted and inserted into the other. The door swung open. I was afraid to look up.

“Just a few minutes, hon, and you’re gonna take a shower,” said Jackie.

“Oh, uh, okay,” I said. This might be my only chance to make a run for it.

“Get your clothes off and come on out.”

I shuddered at the instruction. She saw my reluctance. “Don’t worry about it right now, girl, they’re out front workin’ on their hogs. They might be sweaty and covered in grit, but they like their women clean. Hurry up.”

As she turned away from the door, I started to wiggle my way out of my underwear. My mind raced in search of a way out. Stepping out of the rest of my clothes, I crept to the door and hesitantly looked out. It was empty, like she said.

Everything inside of me told me to run. To go for it, because it could be my only chance. But I didn’t know exactly where they were, or how many more of them there might be. And that was the real problem. If, by some miracle, I did manage to get by them, then what? It’s very possible I’d find myself in the middle of nowhere. With nothing covering my nakedness, and more importantly no shoes on my feet, I’d be at the mercy of the environment.

“Don’t make me hold your hand all the way through this,” yelled Jackie from somewhere down the hall. “The shower’s down here. Let’s go!”

“I’m...I’m coming.”

I darted down the hallway, holding my breasts close with one hand and doing the best I could to shield my lower-half with the other. It was more vulnerable than I had ever been in my life.

“Go ahead,” she said, holding the door open for me. “I’ll be right out here so don’t plan on doing anything, okay? One scream from me and they’ll be in here in two seconds.”

I kept my eyes forward, hesitating.

“I’m serious. Just do what you’re told. I’m your only friend right now and you don’t want to get on my bad side.” She exuded self-importance. The job of watching the prisoner had clearly made her feel superior. “Because if you do get on my bad side, I’ll make sure they tear your ass apart. They’ll pass you around and make you feel like a
piñata if you give me any trouble.”

With that, the door closed behind me. I instinctively felt for a lock but there was none. The walls were bare and the only evidence the bathroom was even in use was a half of a roll of toilet paper perched on the top of the toilet tank. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. The sickly beige paint was steadily peeling away from the baseboards.