What the Hart Wants

I didn’t know I was on the floor until she hoisted me up. My legs were jelly and my arms were heavy with the weighted chain.
“Come on Rory,” she said trying to exert strength I didn’t know she possessed. “We need to get out of here!”
“I’m not going to let him hurt you,” she mumbled more to herself than to me. I stayed soundless as we heaved our way round. My legs were tight and heavy while my head spun in horrible rounding circles. “It doesn’t fully wear off, you’ll just have to push through it,” she scolded through clenched teeth, “Now fight it and walk.”
I did as I was told feeling like a horrible version of a robot. She shoved an instrument into my hand. A frighteningly disturbed almost painful “toy” into my hand.
“You see him, you hit him, got it?”
She began banging at the door. Over and over again.
Finally it broke revealing a tool case?
“I knew it,” she wheezed, gasping for air. “We really were in a dungeon.”
My skin began to crawl as we stumbled into the basement. The dungeon was so much brighter than the basement. I wished to crawl into my skin as chills twisted my innards.
Things lived in this basement. Ghosts? Goblins? Evil creatures? Bugs? Evil lurked in here, probably more so than in the dungeon. Least there was new, filled with…
Kara…
She was searching around, cautiously scanning the area. I never knew she was such a leader, and yet here she was, my leader and my sister.
“Come on,” she beckoned on, motioning to the stairs. “We’ll have to take them, the window is too small, and I don’t think either of us could help pull each other up.”
Her tone was so strong, so sever, yet when you looked at her she was practically vibrating with terror.
She lifted her makeshift hammer, edging up the stairs into what very well could be our demise.
I followed closely trying so hard to control my body. It wasn’t my own anymore. Weak and heavy it didn’t want to follow the simplest direction. Even holding the very dull blade.
Struck by a brainwave I realized this must have been what cause the long vertical gashes in Kara’s leg. Bile rose in my throat as I fought my initial reaction to throw it.
She was so strong. I would have to be too!
I held to the long shaft, weary of the very shiny blade at the top. Kara was much quicker than I and halfway up by the time I reached the fourth step.
When out of the darkness below a hand reached up! Latching on Kara’s calf. With a scream she dropped her hammer, and with her scream I froze.
My heart pounded in my head, boom boom boom. Loud and deafening as I stared at the hand. The hand that held my Kara!
I lunged at it, jabbing it as hard as I could with the blade.
Quickly the hand let go as blood seemed to splurge from around the blade in his arm.
“RUN!” I yelled in a panic as I tried to force myself to do the same. She did so as I attempted to do the same.
Unable to properly use my legs I crawled up the stairs as quickly as I could, trying so very hard to be like an animal. Making it onto the top I saw Kara reaching for what my heart prayed was the front door.
Pain clinched my eyes as my hair yanked back. My body collided with his solid form and my blade, once shiny now dripped with blood at my throat.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” he spat, causing Kara to freeze.
“Go!” I urged. Try so hard to mentally push her out the unlocked door.
With a quick movement I felt the blade nick the side of my neck, freezing her in place. Freezing me in place.
“If you dare touch that handle, I will kill her,” his voice dripped icicles. I felt the drip drip drip of warm liquid tumble onto my bare leg.
I pushed myself to look down to see my own blood. He was going to kill me.
Mentally I still pushed, but I could see the defeat in her eyes. She wouldn’t go. She wouldn’t leave me to die. What a stupid girl…
Tears formed in her pale green eyes, staring at me with a pleading sorrow filled look. She let go of the knob and took a step toward us.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes holding mine alone, but she wasn’t apologizing to me, that was clear. “Just p-p-please don’t hurt her. It was my fault-t. She didn‘t d-do anything. I-I m-m-made her do it.”
He twisted the blade upward, letting me feel the heavy dull blade against my neck. Making me gasps with fear, shock and pain. Scratchy and irritable I couldn’t think of anything but pressure he was pushing it into me.
“AH!” I let out a gasp, feeling immense pain as it slowly peeled my skin.
“Stop!” she screamed, visibly trembling. “Oh God! Please stop!” she began crying inconsolably. “Please, it was me! It was all me! Hurt me!” she sobbed.
“Why?” he asked, his knuckles white and body humming with anger.
“I wanted to go home,” she whispered. Her pale eyes never leaving mine.
“And now?” he asked with a tone I wasn’t familiar with.
“I,” she paused giving an audible gulp, “and now I am home.” She whispered, her body deflating completely.
“And what about you Alice?” He swiftly removed me from Kara’s eyes, forcing me to look up into his cold blue eyes. “Are you home now?”
I gave a nod, fear eating away in my entire being. “Yes,” I whispered. Finding my Sahara desert mouth now a blessing compared to the ache in my throat.
“Good girl,” he said with a very sever nod. He pushed me back an arm reach away, giving me a playful glare. “But you gave me the boo boo,” my eyes searched for his arm, finding a gnarly gash that I had done. “You are gonna have to kiss it better,” he whispered, leaning into my ear.
My body began to tremble uncontrollably as the world spun round and round. My knees gave way as tears poured from my eyes. My head ached as I watched Kara rush toward him.
“No, let me do that, please,” she began to beg, grabbing hold of my shoulders pulling me aside. “I can be better, just please.”
“No I think I’m going to take my wife to bed, perhaps another day you may show me how grateful you are,” he left me on the ground, grabbing hold of Kara’s hair and dragging her down the basement.
I remained on the floor, unable to move as shock slowly crept over me.
“RUN!!! RUN RORY!!!!” Kara screamed.
A tremor shot through me, I got on my feet and threw open the door before I could even think things through.
I ran. I ran until my legs pounded and my body was drenched. I ran until my breath was screaming in my lungs. But I kept running. Where I don’t know, just as long as I kept running.
I ran into an on ramp to a free way. My mind pulsating with things I should do. Things I should have done. I should of helped Kara.
Tears formed in my eyes as I came up with a plan. I need to save Kara. I ran into oncoming traffic and tried desperately to be brave and make as much of a mess as possible.
That would work right? If I act like a loon on the freeway then I’ll gain media attention. My mind was a bit fuzzy but this seemed like a smart idea. Media attention…
I screamed running into the middle of the roads. Waving my arms like a lunatic. I am a lunatic. Tears poured down my face as I screamed and waved for my life.
My screams were drowned out by the screams of the tires, and I felt wind push and pull me as I closed my eyes.
“Oh my gawd? Are you alright?” a voice soothing and calm asked me, “Can you hear me?” A tentative hand reached out and tapped my shoulder, causing me to let out a scream. “Oh gawd,” the woman jumped back at my scream. “Come on honey,” she said, again reaching on an laying a firm but tender hand on my shoulder as she led me to her car pulled over in the side of the road. She wrapped a scratchy blanket round my shoulders while she sat me on the back seat leaving the door open for me.
“Is she alright?” a couple ran to the car, worry evident on their faces. “We called the police,” they said staying a little bit away.
“I-I have t-t-to save K-Kara,” I urged, my heart in my throat as honks screamed in the air.