Part 33 (1/2)
He turned to look at me. His expression was haggard. ”We'll get out of here.” But his voice was bland, and I knew he didn't believe it.
I tested the ropes that bound my hands. They were strong, and they dug into my wrist. Still, maybe if I could find something that was sharp enough, I could cut through them. I glanced around the bas.e.m.e.nt again, searching. There had to be something. Maybe amongst those boxes over there.
Of course, I couldn't walk because my ankles were tied up.
I looked at Griffin. His eyes were closed. Why wasn't he doing anything? He was the trained a.s.sa.s.sin here. He had to have some idea of how to get out of a situation like this. But Marcel had hurt him before and the specter of that memory had frozen him. I had to help him.
But how could I do that? I didn't know what to do against this madman that held us captive. I didn't have the knowledge or the skills. I felt terrified and vulnerable. Here I was in this cold, dank bas.e.m.e.nt, s.h.i.+vering and naked under the thin blanket wrapped around my body. I was tired and used up, just as much as Griffin. We'd been running for so long. If he was giving up, then how could I do anything?
Griffin's fears were amplified because of what Marcel had done to him in the past. I needed to be just a tiny bit stronger because I hadn't been abused by this man before. I needed to dig down...
Stay sharp. We're going to need it.
I took a deep breath. Okay, I was the sharp one. What could we do to get out of these ropes?
Suddenly, it seemed obvious.
”Griffin, we need to get back to back.”
”It's not going to be warmer that way, doll. I know you're cold. I can see you s.h.i.+vering. But we're just going to have to do the best we can to handle it.”
”No,” I said. ”Not for warmth. To get free. If we can sit back to back, we might be able to untie each other's ropes.”
His eyes widened. ”Good thinking. Let's try it.”
It took a lot of maneuvering to get in the right positions, but eventually, I was able to feel around and find Griffin's ropes. The knots were very tight, but my fingers were small and deft. I was pretty sure I could get the knot undone. It was just going to take time. I'd have to be patient.
I set to work at once, keeping up a constant steady stream of chatter while I did so. I told Griffin all about my cla.s.ses from the spring semester and about people we both knew in Thomas. I needed to fill in the emptiness with something. I needed to keep us feeling like we had normal lives. I needed to do it, because it made me feel like there was hope.
But Griffin's fingers weren't working as eagerly on my knots as mine were on his.
After I finished telling him all about how our mutual acquaintance Bobby Aaron had dropped all his cla.s.ses except one and would be back in the fall, starting his seventh year at school, Griffin sighed. ”I'm not going to be able to get this untied.”
”But we've barely even started trying,” I said.
”My fingers are too big and the knots are too small.”
”Keep trying.” My fingers were busy at his knots. I couldn't be sure, but I thought that I was definitely making progress.
Griffin's fingers brushed the insides of my wrists. They went still. ”When he cut off your clothes... I thought he was going to rape you in front of me. I-I thought...”
I stopped working at the knots too. I had been afraid as well. And if that had happened, it I'd been violated that way, would I have been able to function afterwards? I couldn't think about it. ”He didn't.”
”I couldn't get away from them,” he said. ”There you were, right there, so close. I could see you were afraid, and I couldn't-”
”Baby, I don't blame you. I'm okay. Let's concentrate on the knots, all right?” I picked at a particularly stubborn one with my fingernail.
”That's what he does to me,” said Griffin. ”He makes me helpless.”
”You aren't helpless,” I said. ”You can untie me. We can get out of here.”
But Griffin didn't move. ”He's going to kill us both. He's going to kill you, and he's going to make me watch.”
”No,” I said. ”That's not what's going to happen. We're going to get free.” And, as if to punctuate my point, I loosened the knot on Griffin's wrist. Two tugs, and he was untied. ”See?”
”You did it.” He was amazed.
I could hear him s.h.i.+fting behind me, turning so that he was facing the knots. He started to work on the knots at my wrists again.
We were both quiet for a bit. I wished I could help him, but I couldn't reach my own knots. I chewed on my lip, trying not to make any noise when he pulled on the rope, and it bit painfully into my skin.
He worked at it for a long time.
Outside, we could see that it was getting darker. Night was coming. It made the bas.e.m.e.nt even gloomier.
”Doll, I can't,” he finally said.
”Well, maybe if you could get your feet untied, then you could find something in the bas.e.m.e.nt that you could use to cut me free?”
”Maybe.” I heard him s.h.i.+ft again.
And then the bas.e.m.e.nt door opened.
We could hear the sounds of several people on the steps, and then Marcel and two of the men came into view. One of the men was carrying a drill. The other held several packages of padlocks.
They went to work installing them on the outside of the bas.e.m.e.nt door.
Marcel came over to us, brandis.h.i.+ng his switchblade. He cut the ropes holding me. When he noticed that Griffin's hands were free, he laughed.
Apparently, he'd only intended to tie us up until he could secure the bas.e.m.e.nt door. With the padlocks on the outside, ropes were no longer necessary.
Marcel cupped Griffin's face with one hand. ”Might as well f.u.c.k her while you've got the chance, huh?”
Griffin lunged for Marcel, but when he moved he dislodged his blanket.
Marcel sneered. ”Gonna wrestle me naked, Griffin?”
Griffin gathered the blanket around himself.
Still laughing, Marcel backed away.
He and the men retreated to the top of the house.
We could hear them tramping around upstairs, laughing and talking.
”Why did he take our clothes?” I said.
”Because people feel vulnerable without them,” said Griffin. He leaned up against the concrete wall, closing his eyes. ”f.u.c.k it, we are vulnerable.”