A Light in The Dark

Chapter Two

"Richard," Seth announced, opening the motel room door, "it has been a long, hard road, but our debts are paid and we are finally on our way." He set their bag of food down on the table, riffling through it, before handing Richard a Burger.

"So you're the infamous Richard Gecko." I walked forward, placing my own food bag on the table.

"Who the hell is she?" The younger gecko questioned his brother, placing his hand on the gun that laid atop the table.

"Evangeline Durant," Seth replied with a pointed look, as if it meant something, and Richie removed his hand from the gun.

"Angie," I corrected, sending Seth a glare. Opening the bag, I pulled out some fries, sat down, and slowly began munching on them.

Richie stared at me, biting into his burger. He said nothing as he kept his eyes on me, so I tried to ignore him.

A good few minutes passed before his gaze began to make me squirm, so I looked up at him. I raised a brow, silently prompting him to speak, but he just looked away, continuing to eat.

Seth unwrapped his burger as he glanced around the room. "Where's the girl?"

Girl?

I quickly recalled the new report from earlier that day. He was talking about the bank teller they'd taken hostage.

Richie gave a slight shrug, carelessly, pointing towards the bedroom.

"What the hell is she doin' in there?" Seth threw his burger down, walking to the door.

I didn't really care what she was doing, and honestly, I was actually hoping she'd found a way to escape. Now that I was a part of their operation, I was going to make sure they didn't hurt, or kidnap, anyone else. At least, that's what I thought then.

"Look, Seth, I really think you should let the hostage go," I voiced my opinion. "I mean you don't actually need her, do you?" I finished eating my food and threw the trash back into the bag, watching Richie follow Seth into the other room.

"What is wrong with you?" I heard Seth ask. I assumed he was talking to the woman they were holding hostage, but was proven wrong when Richie responded.

"I worked it out," he replied. "I can see now. I can see."

The fact that I was only hearing two voices, instead of three, began to worry me, not to mention the panic in Seth's voice.

What's got Seth all riled up?

"Can you? Then what is this? Because this doesn't look like anything that..." Seth's voice broke as he let out a shaky breath, "that I've ever seen, Richard."

"Don't 'Richard' me."

Seth grabbed his brother by his lapels, slamming him against the door. "I'm gonna do a lot worse if you don't stop right now."

"Seriously, what the heck, guys?" I jumped out of my seat, making my way over to see what all the commotion was about.

Stepping into the room, I gasped, feeling my stomach immediately flip. "Oh my god," I choked before slapping my hand over my mouth. I raced into the bathroom, hunching over the toilet. Tears streamed down my face as I emptied the contents of my stomach.

The brothers continued to fight, but the only thing I could focus on was the woman, lying in the bed. The image of her mutilated body engraved into my brain. I couldn't begin to understand how someone could do something like that.

My breaths came out as sobs as I sat back, feeling run down.

"Sweetheart?" Seth called as I stood up, wiping my mouth on a tissue, and flushed the toilet. "You okay?"

It was a dumb question, and we both knew that, but there wasn't anything else to be said. The answer was a simple yes or no, but I couldn't bring myself to respond as I washed my shaking hands. I dried them off before turning to face him. Slowly, I shook my head, the tears continuing to fall.

He sent me an apologetic look. "Come on." Seth gently grasped my elbow as he guided me out of the room, blocking my view of the bed. He led me to the couch, near the front door and sat me down. "Just relax, okay?" Seth acted as though he was handling glass, worried that at any moment I would shatter.

Seth continued to speak to me, but I wasn't paying him any mind. I stared at the door, dissociating from reality.

If I wanted to escape, I couldn't just make up a 'get out of jail free' card, I'd have to plan carefully and leave while they were preoccupied. I couldn't, though, and I knew that, but I also knew that being around Richie was a death wish

I was torn away from my thoughts by Seth snapping in my face. "Hey, Princess," the frustration in his voice was clear, "What'd I just say?" We both knew I wasn't listening, just like we both knew he enjoyed chastising me.

I shrugged, not trusting myself to keep off his bad side, not that he really had a good side. Most people might say I'm a nice girl, he might say I have an attitude. I just act accordingly.

Seth drew in a sharp breath. "Look, if you just keep quiet, and do as you're told, you'll get out of this, no bumps or scrapes."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Somehow, I find that very hard to believe," I whispered as I flicked my eyes up at his brother before lying back on the couch with a wince, curling up in a fetal position. Seth let out a heavy sigh, walking away.

"Seth?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned back to face me. "Something I can do for you, Sweetheart?"

The question was insincere, and I almost didn't answer for fear of aggravating him.

"Why did Gabriel help break you out?" I avoided his gaze, keeping my eyes trained on the wall in front of me. "I just... I don't see how it benefits him."

For a brief moment, he said nothing, as though he was searching for something to say.

"You shouldn't worry a single hair on that pretty little head of yours." And with that, he walked back over to his brother.

I turned over on the couch and closed my eyes, fading away from the reality of my life.

*****

When I woke up, the room was empty. Both brothers had managed to disappear.

Beside the couch, laid a black bag that I immediately recognized as mine. Unsure of how it got there, I sat up, analyzing the room. I was the only person in the room, so I took that as an invitation to get cleaned up.

I slipped off the couch and padded into the bedroom, without thinking. The first thing I noticed was a white sheet placed carefully over the bed. I knew it was Seth that had done it as Richie's pride would have restricted him from covering up his work.

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of someone being so cruel. Not to mention he hadn't had a clue that what he'd done was wrong. I didn't know him personally, but he just didn't seem capable of something so heartless.

Looks can be deceiving, my brain reminded me.

Scurrying into the small bathroom, I closed the door not bothering to lock it since no one was around. I peeled off my bloody clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor, and began unwrapping the bandage bound around my waist.

I didn't bother looking at the graze wound before stepping into the shower and turning the water on. The cold water made me flinch, my entire body jerking at the temperature. I used the provided toiletries to wash my hair and body. Somehow, I managed to wash off all the blood staining my stomach. It hurt worse than I remembered, but I knew that was just my response to the pain.

I turned the water off and wrung out my hair, before stepping out onto the frigid tile. As I wrapped my towel around myself, shivering, I heard the hotel room door abruptly slam.

"Where the hell is she?" I heard Richie shout after a moment of silence.

And here I was thinking I'd have more than ten minutes away from the crazies.

I quickly locked the door, not prepared to face them just yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Published 8/28/20

Edited and reposted 6/1/2021