Eliana POV
Sleeping was like trying to stop the tide go out; it kept fighting me and wouldn't let me rest. I tossed and turned in the crappy motel bed, eventually throwing the window open and breathing in the crisp early morning air before curling back up to try and get at least a few hours in.
I must've fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew I awoke drenched in sweat, panting, with tears streaming down my face. It was another bad night. Every few weeks, the memories hit me like a truck and my sleep was tormented for days. Usually, the noise in my head only quietens when I am physically too exhausted to sustain anymore nightmares. Tonight was going to be the first of many bad nights.
Taking a quick warm shower helped to relax my cramping muscles and washed away the panicked sweat. I placed a dry towel down over my sweaty sheets and changed my pyjamas before trying again, if I couldn't sleep, I could at least rest my body.
The second I shut my eyes, I saw the vile sneer of the greasy trucker from earlier and that was all it took for me to be thrust back.
Six Years Ago
It was a warm day in May and the pink blossoms in the meadows dotted around our house were bathed in golden sunlight. I had finished school and my football practice and was enjoying the walk home through the small town I lived in, taking in the singing birds and unexpected bright sunshine. Spring was starting to teeter into Summer and the flowers and greenery were in full bloom, decorating my journey home. As I reached our house, I took out my earphones and unlocked the front door, pushing it open and shouting hello. My youngest brother, Charlie, stuck his head around the corner of our large kitchen into the entryway and smiled broadly.
"Henry is round again." He said knowingly.
"No surprise there." I muttered, rolling my eyes before glancing to dad's study where I could hear the muffled voices. He had been visiting much more frequently these past couple of months and, although he was a family friend, he was quite a cold man who I had no interest in seeing.
Charlie laughed, knowing how I felt about him before beckoning me over with his hand and smirking. I smiled and as I came round the corner and saw my other two brothers diving into the outdoor pool and laughing. It was then I noticed Charlie in his swimming trunks and I laughed excitedly. Swimming was one of my favourite activities, but it was rare that all three of my brothers humoured me together; the hot weather must have persuaded them.
I playfully punched my brother's arm before dumping my school bag by the kitchen island and running upstairs to change into my swimming stuff and grab my towel. Skipping down the stairs, I came to the bottom just as dad and Henry were leaving the study. I smiled in their direction, but they were still too engrossed in their conversation to notice me.
"Adrian you must, you have no choice. They will be here tonight." Henry was urging adamantly.
"Protect yourself and your family Henry, I will worry about my own." My father replied with unusual curtness.
My heart beat faster at their words and my face folded in worry.
"Dad? What's wrong?" I asked shakily.
Both men turned sharply to me before my dad ushered Henry out of the door with a few mumbled words I couldn't catch. I caught Henry's eyes just before the door shut. He gave me a sad, remorseful smile.
I turned back to my dad, opening my mouth about to get him to explain what I had heard but he cut me off.
"Ellie. Get your brothers inside and pack a bag with your essentials. Get them to do the same. I'm going to pick your mother up." Dad ordered, his harsh tone making me wince and anxiety curl in my stomach.
"Now!" He shouted when I only stared at him.
I turned, tripping slightly on the step behind me, before running to the back garden and gathering my brothers.
I knew that my dad's business was unstable at best, that much was clear from his pep talks he gave preparing us for a day when we might have to leave the house quickly. However, perhaps naively, I never thought that day would come; I thought it an unnecessary precaution. He worked in some sort of finance sector at a large firm which dealt with some... unpredictable clients. That was how he described it anyway.
That's why, when I explained what I had heard and what dad had told me do, me and my brothers got to it immediately.
When my father returned with my mother thirty minutes later, my siblings and I were all packed, with bags waiting in the entry way ready to go.
"Good. Thank you, Ellie." My dad said, more kindly and with a sad sort of smile on his face. He leant over to kiss my forehead and I looked towards my mother, confused. I only received a similar smile from her in response.
"Ellie, please pack a bag for me and your father whilst I grab some food and the boys load the car." My mum said, smiling.
I stood my ground though, determined for some real answers.
"What's going on? What did Henry mean when he said they would come tonight?" I said clearly.
My dad winced in response and went to open his mouth.
"Your father's business has turned a little sour, sweetie. You know what its like. We can explain more when we're on the road but now we need to pack up. Please." My mum answered instead. Though she spoke measuredly, I could tell she was struggling to keep it together and so I did what I was told and headed up the stairs, grabbing a small suitcase on my way past the linen cupboard.
As I was throwing my parents' toothbrushes and shower things into a toiletries bag, I heard tyres screeching down the small lane connecting our house to the rest of the town.
"Ellie, hide! Now! I love you." My dad shouted up the stairs quickly.
My eyes widen and fear grips my heart like a vice. I thought we had until tonight? Just as I am about to voice my panic, I hear the front door crash open and shouted orders for my family to 'move' to another part of the house. I can hear my father try to reason with them and my brothers calling for them to stop but I am powerless and frozen in terror. This all happened so quickly and now I'm separated from my family. My blue eyes fill with tears, and I clamp a hand over my mouth to stop my anxious gasps.
"Check upstairs. There should be a girl." I hear a muffled voice order, quite effectively kicking me into motion.
Tears still streaming down my face, I race to the room that used to serve as mine and my brothers' playroom but is now mostly for storage, and occasionally used as a spare room. When we first moved in there was a small built-in cupboard on the far wall and, as children, we concealed it to be almost invisible unless you knew it existed; perfect for hide and seek. Now, I hoped it would keep me hidden for very different reasons.
As I was running I could hear heavy steps thundering up the stairs behind me and I made sure to soften the impact of my bare feet as I ran. Reaching the cupboard, my shaking hands struggled with levering open the lip on the door; the handles having been removed for better camouflage. The silent tension was suffocating as I heard the intruder slamming open doors further up the corridor as he was searching for me. I almost cried out in frustration but caught myself just as the cupboard door finally opened. Scrambling inside, I turned and pulled the door closed using the small length of faded fabric we had stuck to the inside of the door as children.
One shaking hand covered my mouth and the other wrapped around my legs in faux comfort. I wished I had my phone on me but all I was wearing was my swimsuit and a light cover-up gown; I was completely defenceless with no way to signal for help.
"Where the fuck are you, you little bitch?" the man muttered under his breath as he stepped into the old playroom. My breathing stopped and, although I was in the pitch black anyway, my eyes squeezed tightly shut.
His footsteps echoed around the room and my heart started to stutter in fear; he was going to find me. Any minute now he would wrench the cupboard open and drag me out of my sanctuary. A not so small part of me almost wished he would find me and force me downstairs, if only so that I was with my family and not alone.
The steps stopped. An old floorboard which I knew to be beside the small spare bed, only about two metres from my hiding place, creaked. Maybe he was checking under the bed. Maybe he had seen the door. A small sigh made its way through the door to my ears and my whole body tensed even more.
Then, just like that, the steps resumed and faded away before I heard him shove open the bathroom door, opposite the playroom. I allowed myself to exhale and opened my eyes, now aching from clenching them so hard.
It must have been about five more minutes before I heard him head back down the stairs. An angry crash followed and a shouted obscenity. I guess someone wasn't very happy that I wasn't found.
I unfurled from my tight ball slightly and removed the hand covering my mouth. What do I do now? If I venture downstairs, I'll likely be seen but I might be able to help my family. If I stay here, whoever was so angry downstairs might demand a more thorough search and I could be found; then I definitely wouldn't help my family.
Taking three deep breaths to calm my racing heart and wiping my clammy hands on my gown, I slowly released the fabric handle of the cupboard and pushed the door open a crack. The room was empty, almost sinister, as I cracked the door a bit further before inching my body out of the cramped space and taking temporary refuge behind a large packing box. My breathing was coming faster but I forced the panic down and tried to stay logical.
After giving myself a mini-pep talk, consisting mostly of telling myself to calm the fuck down, I crept to the door of the playroom and peeked around the corner. Empty. Knowing I wouldn't find the courage again unless I used this adrenaline burst and moved now, I walked quickly but quietly towards the stairs, keeping my back to the wall.
Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I started to hear more of what was happening downstairs.
"- was only nineteen, and all for nothing! Your fucking greedy plan didn't even work. You're pathetic!" A dark, powerful voice hissed.
"Did you really think we wouldn't work out who it was? Do you think so low of us?" A second chilling voice asked, this time with nonchalance; as if he were enquiring about the price of coffee.
A deep muffled reply came, I was sure from my father, but I couldn't make out what he was saying; his voice didn't hold the same unwavering confidence as the ones with the guns.
I started to move slowly down the carpeted stairs, careful to avoid creaking steps, but eager to hear the conversation and reach the phone across the hall. Reaching the bottom, I waited for thirty seconds to make sure no one had been alerted to my presence before running softly across the entryway to the old landline that was rarely used. I immediately dialled for the police and was connected to a bored sounding operator.
"You called for the Police, what is your emergency?" The voice drawled.
I whispered into the phone as quietly as I could, supplying my address and explain that intruders had my family hostage. Describing the situation forced reality to hit and tears started running down my red cheeks again.
"No! Just me! Please, just me, I'm begging you!" Desperate shouting distracted me from the phone call and the utter fear in my father's voice caused me to drop the phone and sprint towards the door connecting the entry to the kitchen; pushing it open.
Then the shooting started.
I stared in stunned silence, fear and panic turning my body to lead. Tortured screams filled my ears and I registered them as my mother's, her eyes fixed on the lifeless body of her eldest son. Blood was already pooling from the bullet wounds in his chest as his lifeless eyes stared towards the rest of my family.
"Did she beg too?" The first voice asked, taunting. I still couldn't see them. I had a sideways view of my family, the intruders to my right but too far to see.
The shock must have worn off and what I had just witnessed crashed into me like a wave. I only realised I was screaming, an ugly pained cry with tears to match, when every member of my family turned to me with panic in their eyes.
My family were kneeling, hand tied behind their backs, My father, closest to me, slumped in defeat. As his eyes fell on me, they widened like saucers, and he opened his mouth to shout.
"Run! Ellie, run! Now!" He all but screamed at me. If it hadn't been for the fact that he spoke with the most conviction and power that my father had ever used with me, I don't think I would have been able to move.
Sobbing and with my chest spasming from lack of oxygen, I spun on my heel and sprinted for the door, yanking it open with as much force as I possibly could.
"Kill them all. Danny, make sure she doesn't get away." Came the third voice, cold and full of hatred; so powerful it made my feet stumble as I crossed the threshold and I almost tripped. A symphony of gunshots roared behind me, peppered with desperate shouts and pleas from my family. My heart shattered and turned cold.
I sprinted for my life; the order from my father on a loop in my mind, pushing me to forge towards the wooded trees surrounding our house. Passing the treeline, I heard loud, fast footsteps thunder after me but I didn't dare look back.
Sirens cut through the panic of my mind and I glanced to my left to see blue flashing lights pulling up towards my driveway. I kept running; forcing my legs to move harder. Move faster.
"Fuck!" My pursuer shouted, furious.
Two shots that fired in quick succession glanced off a tree just to my right and I screamed. Another hit the ground two inches short of my left side, forcing me to change directions. When yet another shot was fired and missed, I realised this was the shooter's last-ditch attempt to get me before he was cornered by Police.
I stopped, hiding my quivering frame behind one of the larger trees.
No more shots.
Shouted orders made their way to my ears and I turned in time to see a wild man thrashing like a caged beast in between four officers, being dragged towards a car. He was screaming, that same chilling voice promising that he would find me. That he would kill me.
I crumpled; my bare knees crashing into the dirt beneath me. My staring, unblinking eyes leaking tears and my heart beating a furious, deadly pace.
I only permitted myself seconds to catch my breath before taking off in a sprint once again. Warnings from my father not to trust police echoing in my head. I had no idea who these people were or what they were accusing my family of; all I knew was that my family were dead, and I was too cowardly to stop them.
I ran and ran for hours until I reached a spot three towns over. There I crouched in a secluded park and sobbed. For my family, for all I had lost, and for my weakness. I still hadn't really accepted that it was real.
And those voices; the haunting, cold voices, never left. They are with me always, taunting.