Stranded Ch. 15

"Take them, they'll help you sweetheart." To others, he may have sounded like a concerned husband, but I heard the underlying message. It wasn't a request. I glanced at the interview door.

"Don't look to them for help, because you won't find any. You know, you're real fucking stupid for a college girl. Did you really believe we'd take you anywhere where we didn't have complete control? This town consists mostly of my kin. The Chief of this town is our uncle; Riley, our cousin...never once did you have any real chance of escaping; I would have thought the attempt in my bathroom taught you that. And the ones who aren't kin, they keep to themselves and out of our business. In return, their women are off limits. Did you truly think I was going to give you that much trust? After the things you've done. Take the pills darlin, it's for your own good."

"I don't want to." He was right about one thing; I was real fucking stupid. I was so hyper focused on getting free that I failed to notice everything else. I owed Skye an apology. I had been cocky, defiant in the face of my odds and I found this experience quite humbling.

"It's a long car ride home to spend bound and gagged in the box."

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked with a shaky breath. I had broken his trust; I had broken my promise.

"Whatever I goddamn wanna, now take those pills and maybe I'll let you ride in the front seat instead of the box." They were sedatives, I was sure of that. My hands trembled but I took them and watched as he pulled the keys from his jean pocket and released me. Arioch took my hand and led me from the interview room. How had I not put it together? Had I not spent enough time around them to know I had been dealing with one of them? It was as if I was looking through fresh eyes. I no longer saw trusted authority members in blue, but monsters.

"KitKat, apologize to the officers for wasting their time." When an apology didn't immediately fall out, he squeezed my shoulders until they hurt.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time officers, I-I wasn't well."

"Thank you gentlemen, your discretion is appreciated." Arioch announced as he began half pulling, half dragging me outside. I didn't resist. What was the point? The whole town was filled with them and the ones who weren't, were complacent. Why not just move if you live in such a town? Even if I ran again, who was to say I wouldn't run into one of them again? Or that if I didn't, they wouldn't turn me over.

"I warned Sammy, told him this is exactly how you'd react. Still, he insisted. He wanted to believe in you so badly. And you just break his heart every chance you get. Makes me question why I shouldn't cut our losses now." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, my heart skipped a few beats, but I said nothing. Anything that came out was likely to make the situation worse. Besides, he didn't really want to hear from me. The best I could do is say nothing at all. He held open the door and I climbed in, Arioch right behind me. He took a long look at me before shaking his head, sighing. We weren't even out of the parking lot before the pills took effect, the world blurred around me until I saw nothing at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I opened my eyes, I recognized my surroundings instantly. His basement. A quick jiggle of my ankle confirmed I was indeed still captive. I could hear the rainfall light but steady. I didn't bother to sit up, the blanket provided little warmth and I didn't want to chance any cold air sneaking in. Especially when all I wore was a t-shirt and long johns. I felt groggy, but unable to fall back asleep. I was alive, for the moment anyways, though I wasn't certain if I'd stay that way. I had truly thought I'd tasted real freedom. To have it viciously ripped away, it hurt worse the second time. I really wasn't getting away, and now he was never going to trust me again. No wonder the other wives looked so defeated. I jumped when I heard the creaking of the back-screen door followed by the loud bang as it slammed shut. There was nowhere to hide. Nothing I could use to defend myself, not that it ever did me any good when I tried.

Instead, I listened as the locks slid open and he took his first step. His shoes made wet squelching sounds as he descended and when I looked up, I saw why. Sam was drenched from his head to his toes, a trail of mud following behind him. He should have been cold and shivering, but he was tense, fists clenched, unphased by the temperature. When he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he locked gazes with me.

"Is anything that comes out of your mouth ever the truth?" he asked slowly, his jaw rigid. He was upset, even at this distance I could tell he'd been crying.

"Yes. That was the first lie I've told since I swore not to."

"That's the problem with Liars, Katherine, you can never be sure what the truth is. And it doesn't seem to matter what I do. You never stop defying me. It's not just me you put at risk, you know. If the conclave thought I didn't have you under control, they could decide to execute us both. Then who takes care of my mother? My sister? The hounds? Do you think Dale will? Is that what you want? Is that the life you wish for them? The hounds won't let anyone else care for them, so they'll be put down. But you don't think of these things, because you're selfish!" he accused. He had spoken my true name as if it were a curse.

"I'm selfish?! You are holding me here against my will because of your selfishness." He was across the room in an instant, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. His fingers were cold and wet, immediately soaking through the shirt.

"I was trying to save you! Plucking you from the world of evil, purging the wickedness from your soul so that you may live eternally in God's glory!"

"You had no right!" I hissed through clenched teeth. He unlocked the chain around my ankle and grabbed a handful of hair. I slipped on the mud-covered stairs, banging my shins, but he didn't slow down for even a minute.

He opened the screen door and pulled me outside, the drops of water assaulting from every direction. The cold sliced sharply through my senses and I clasped his hand to alleviate the pressure on my scalp. My bare feet slipped around as my wet clothes clung to my body. He led me down a slightly overgrown path on the other side of the hound's cage. Ignoring my cries of pain as I stepped on what felt like every twig and rock in the goddamn forest. I could see blood had already soaked through Riley's bandage, but that didn't seem to matter either. As we approached a small clearing, I saw it. The edge of a giant hole...a human sized hole. Don't fool yourself, it's a grave. He threw me down on the ground beside it and I nearly slid right into it headfirst. That's when I noticed the wooden cross, my newly chosen name carved into it. I looked to the one beside it, Meghan.

"Is THIS what you want? To be nothing more than food for the worms? It must be, why else would you keep trying to leave me?"" he shouted. I hugged myself, shivering and drenched. Sam began to pace as he continued to rant.

"I know the Lord only gives us what we can handle...but you are too much for the both of us. This is your fault, you're the one forcing my hand!"

"You don't have to do this...you've won, okay? I can be good, just give me one more chance." I pleaded. I sounded pathetic and I hated it. My response only seemed to anger him, and I waited for the personality switch. Only it didn't seem to be making an appearance. He was visibly sobbing now as he cursed and called me names and my gaze continuously pulled back to the empty grave, my grave. He'd dug the giant hole, why would he go through all that effort if he didn't plan to follow through?

"C'mon!" he screamed, pulling his hair with one hand and slapping the side of his head with the other. Now you've done it, he's finally snapped.

"It's just like him, abandoning me when I need him the most," It took me a few minutes to catch on, he was referring to Arioch. Despite his crazed appearance, which was wild and out of control, he was still Sam. Could Arioch really choose not to appear? Maybe he's tired of cleaning up Sam's mess. I hugged my knees tightly against myself, trying not to let my teeth chatter and failing. This was bad, very bad. I had always thought of them as more of a bad cop/good cop. But now I was beginning to think it was more bad cop/worse cop.

"My father was soft, and, in the end, it cost him his entire family. I will not be soft."

"You don't have to do this." I protested.

"Don't I? Can you not see how you left me with no other option? Clearly I have chosen the wrong bride." He pulled me to my feet until our noses were almost touching and took a few steps, bringing us closer to the grave.

"I won't..." but the look he gave me silenced me instantly.

"Won't what? Won't run away anymore? Don't bother with more lies, your words mean nothing to me."

"I'll do better, please. You don't have to believe or trust me, you can keep me chained forever, punish me however you like, just give me another chance."

"That's the problem, you can't trust a liar." He gave me a small push and suddenly I was free falling, I hit the side of the grave, making me bounce against the walls as I landed with a loud smack in the mud, stealing the breath from my lungs. Pain exploded in my chest as I closed my eyes against the onslaught of water. Groaning, I forced myself up before I drowned a second time. Sam looked down over the hole, his face a mixture of anger and pain.

"You already had more than enough chances, enough warnings, but you just kept pushing...this is where you belong now." Then he was gone. I waited for the dirt to come raining down next, but after a few minutes of nothing, I stood, testing my reach. Like the one we had dug for his cousins, the grave was much deeper than 6 feet. Had it been raining the entire time he was digging? My body felt frozen, the mud past my ankles.

"S-S-S-Sam!?" I called out tentatively. When there was no reply and I felt panic begin to creep in. I tried digging foot holds, but the mud was too soft, the sides just kept sliding away. The water level was rising but much too slowly to help me. I attempted to climb by stretching across the grave, planting my feet on the opposite dirt wall and climbing up but my feet sank into the wet dirt and I couldn't make it past a few inches. I grasped at roots, but none of them were strong enough to hold me and broke as soon as I put any weight on them. Soon the cold became all encompassing. Of all the ways I nearly died so far, this one sucked the most. At least when he drowned me it had been over in a matter of a few minutes. Was he going to let the elements kill me, then bury me? I tried pacing, but the mud added too much resistance and I was starting to get tired. I huddled myself into a corner, refusing to acknowledge the bugs that might be crawling over me. I couldn't even get up high enough to see over the top. Was Sam there, watching me slowly freeze to death?

"Sam?! Please, I'm sorry I ran." But only the howl of the wind answered. My body trembled and teeth chattered endlessly, but eventually that began to fade. I grew fatigued, the cold turning numb. Trying to go back to my old life, had it been worth it? Was the life Sam offered really so bad when compared to freezing to death in my own grave?

How long before I died of hypothermia? I shouted for Sam over and over until my voice grew hoarse. Then I completely broke down, promising him obedience, loyalty, anything he wanted if he would just give me one more chance. But still there was no reply. You've really gone and done it now. He isn't going to save you this time. After a while my legs gave, unable to support me. The cold finally reached down to my bones and while my skin was numb and rubbery, they throbbed in pain. If he rescued me now, would he be able to even save me or was it already too late? I could feel my eyelids drooping and I knew in that moment I was going to die. No one would ever know what happened to me, my body would never be found. When the pain faded away and I started to doze, I knew I was in trouble. My body was shutting down. I was actively dying. I would have cried but I didn't have the energy to spare. I closed my eyes, the cold no longer a problem. I just needed a nap, a little nap; then I could try again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His heart hammered wildly in his chest as he began frantically searching the garage for a ladder. She looked so cold and still, lips blue. Too long, he'd left her outside for too long. He cursed as he kicked aside a few empty lawn chairs, crying out in triumph when he found it. He raced back towards her grave, he tossed the ladder in and quickly climbed down, ignoring the mud as it soaked through his already dirty pants and shoes. He grabbed her arm to pull her up, but she fell over instead, mud splattering across her pale skin like a spray of dark freckles.

"KitKat...." but not even her eyelids fluttered. His fingers shook as he reached to check her pulse, her skin as cold as ice. It was so faint that if he'd pulled his fingers away a second too soon, he would have never caught it. Warm, she needs to get warm.

"It's gonna be okay." He picked her up, tossing her frozen limp body over his shoulder and began climbing the ladder, ignoring the way her arms dangled lifelessly against his back.

He ran back into his house and straight to his bathroom, setting her in the tub, clothes and all. He turned the water on as hot as it would go without burning her and after fetching his knife began cutting off her clothes, before abandoning his own and climbing in, holding her to his chest.

"C'mon, wake up sweetheart." Too long. You left her out too long. He kept her body submerged, and her head just out of water enough to breathe. Arioch lifts her hand and begins massaging, working his way in. She's never waking up. You've gone and killed another wife you damn idiot. Sammy always quit when things got tough, he had meant this to be a lesson for them both.

"C'mon Katherine, open your eyes...please," he pleaded. This would work, it had to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a faint tug in the darkness. I couldn't make out anything but the faint whispers. I was waking, but I didn't want to. I fought against the pull, wanting more than anything to slip back into the comforting nothingness. Then I heard it again, only a little louder.

"C'mon Katherine, open your eyes...please." It was my name, my real name. I was still drifting when I felt it, a million tiny needles stabbing me all at once, and I screamed, the sound scraping against my abused vocal cords. I was blinded the moment my eyes opened and could hear the distant splashing as I fought his grip, only to have him wrap himself around me like a snake.

"Shhh, calm yourself. It's gonna be okay." His words were no longer muffled. The more I warmed, the more my consciousness returned with it and I began to sob. This wasn't fair, I had finally accepted my end. Why did he have to keep saving me? Why couldn't he just let me go? I was laying across his body, the tub filled as high as it could go without spilling over the sides. Though I could feel the water was hot, my body trembled, and I could hear my chattering teeth.

"S-s-sam?" I was hopeful, but even in my condition I could sense it wasn't him.

"Not quite."

"Please, d-don't be mad, I'm sorry. I know I broke my promise, but I wasn't strong enough to resist. F-f-forgive me, please forgive me. I'll do better. D-don't put me back in the ground." I begged, voice cracking. I hated every word that slipped past my lips, but I meant them. I never wanted to relive that. I felt his hand as he absently petted the side of my head.

"Hush, you're not going back in the ground unless you try to run again. And I don't plan on ever giving you an opportunity. With the choice utterly gone, you can focus on more important things, so you see, you have nothing to worry about. I have taken the temptation away." That's when I noticed his wrist. His arm was resting on the side of the tub, there was bruising, some small gouges, spots where some skin had rubbed away, and I knew from experience what the marks were from. Handcuffs. When had he been handcuffed?

I lifted my finger to touch it and Arioch pulled it away, flexing his hand with a grimace.

"You really upset him; he was serious about letting you die out there. Handcuffed us downstairs and threw the key well out of reach, that's how bad your betrayal hurt him. He didn't even care if we rotted away down there, just as long as we didn't save you." How happy was he going to be when he returned and found Arioch had rescued me?

"Does it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts, nearly flayed the flesh open trying to get free; and not a moment too soon."

"Why did you save me?" Hadn't he threatened to kill me himself, on multiple occasions?

"He wouldn't have tried to kill you if you hadn't broken his heart, his judgement was clouded. He will thank me later. I don't know what more I can do to show you this is where you belong." He sounded frustrated, like it troubled him that I didn't want to stay. There was nothing he could do, but I felt compelled to give him an answer. I understood I was never leaving, but that didn't stop me from still wanting it. So instead I blurted the first thing that popped into my head.

"Laundry chute." He kissed the top of my head and gave me a tight squeeze as he chuckled. I had lightened the mood just a little.

"Is that all it takes? Wish you had told me sooner. I could have had that thing built by now and we could have avoided this whole mess."

"Getting you in trouble with your family is the last thing I wanted, I'm really, really sorry. You don't have to prove this is my home, I know that I belong here." He lifted my chin so that I was staring into his eyes, and whatever he found staring back appeased him.

"We're not in trouble this time. They agreed not to report us to the conclave, in return I promised Cousin Riley I'd get him a wife. His job doesn't allow him the amount of time required to train a new wife, and since this mess is all your doing, you are going to help me prepare her. I have given you another chance, now you get to prove to me you deserve it."

"Anything you want, husband." And I meant it. Even if that meant subjecting some other woman to the same fate. Arioch had saved me from death a few times now, despite how many times I disobeyed. I needed to prove it wasn't a mistake. I could still be useful; I was worth keeping around. Being a prisoner was not the life I wanted, but it was a hell of a lot better than dying in the freezing cold at the bottom of that hole.

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you." I replied in an instant, snuggling closer.

"Now, make me believe it."