In the back room of a police station a young, exhausted boy sat slouched in a seat. His fingers tapped repetitively on the table in front of him as he waited patiently for someone to come in or let him out.
Hours had passed and he was still here, having the same questions rephrased and asked over and over again. His answers didn't change. He'd told them everything he knew.
He rubbed his face roughly with both hands and changed positions in his seat. So much had gone wrong since she'd been snatched away. He relived the moment in his memories, the moment she was forced into the backseat of a car, the very second he lost sight of her as she was stolen away.
He'd barely slept, none of them had.
Everyone who worked at the Asylum found themselves in the police station that day. They were rounded up like cattle by the police. They were all treated like suspects. The majority had been released by now but the important few remained behind. Himself and his colleagues, Adrian, Timothy and Jaimie were all still here. His girlfriend Ashley was missing and Melissa...
The only door in the room opened. A constable poked her head in. He was being let out. Finally.
Once outside he was escorted down to a cafeteria area which was situated right next to a large collection of offices. The others were there with the exception of Timothy. They looked up when he arrived and they all shared weary smiles. Dark circles surrounded all of their tired eyes.
They sat at a table near the offices and hustled down. The police were convinced one of them knew something, but what was there to know? Two serial killers had escaped from a secure asylum that obviously wasn't secure enough. According to the system they weren't even supposed to be at the Asylum, paper work was both missing and incorrect and things didn't add up all over the place.
Somewhere along the line, someone had messed up. They, being the police, were currently looking for people to blame but they were all to blame. What kind of governmental system allowed for this kind of thing to happen.
"Karl, if they ask me one more time whether I know the whereabouts of Ashley or David I'm going to go insane," Adrian muttered over a cup of tea.
Karl nodded meekly in agreement. That was right, David was missing too. No one had seen or heard from him in the past five days. Karl ran a hand through his hair. Five days of nothing but interviews.
"They're wasting time." He murmured. "All of this is wasting time. Taking finger prints, these interviews, processing shit. They've had five days. A five-day head start, tomorrow it'll be six. Who knows where they could be now!"
Adrian frowned as Jaimie landed a hand on Karl's shoulder. "Look, Karl, they've got to process the crime scene. Melissa..."
"-is dead." Karl snapped. "She's dead. We know who did it, they're now driving around with my girlfriend locked in their trunk. Ashley is still alive as far as we know. We should be out there looking for her!"
They fell into a silence. Karl simmered angrily in his seat. A throat cleared behind them all. They all turned to see a man in his police gear.
"We've got news."
Was it safe? Ashley felt warm, being safe meant being warm didn't it?
She tried to get up but found it was harder than usual. Her left wrist and both legs were asleep. She winced as pins and needles assaulted her limbs. Her eyes opened with difficulty. She tried to pull her wrist into her chest to give it a rub but it stuck fast. Leaning up Ashley looked around in confusion.
She was in a bed, and the quilt was twisted. Her feet poked out of the bottom from where the covers had been pulled up too far. She went to flatten them down so she could see better but one of her wrists wasn't working properly. Glancing up her eyebrows furrowed. Was that rope?
Her brain rebooted. They'd tied her to a bed!
Struggling up into a sitting position Ashley glared around the room in search of the culprits but they were nowhere in sight. She stared down at her wrist, it was tied to the bedframe with a tough looking knot. She pulled on it and the entire frame creaked forwards. She let it lurch back and scowled with puffy eyes, she looked wild with her hair all dishevelled.
Ashley turned on the room, it didn't take much to distinguish she was in a motel; her surroundings had that dingy, seedy feel and she could just about see vehicles parked up outside through the single window.
A heat prickled the back of her neck. She felt abandoned, it was wishful thinking though; they had to be around somewhere.
All Ashley remembered from last night was the incredible fright she'd felt and then without warning, exhaustion to the extent she fell asleep nestled into the side of a serial killer. To think she'd been in a deep enough sleep to be carried from car to bed. Ashley felt ashamed but also concerned she'd been asleep for too long. Who knew what had happened while she was out.
Ashley turned back to her tied wrist, twisting round, she placed two feet through the bars of the bed frame and began to yank. Pushing off of the wall she rocked the frame violently while she pulled. If she could just slip her hand out through the hole.
"Ashley!" Came a yell from the other side of the wall. "You better not be trying to escape!"
She stopped pulling instantly. Pipes clinked and water works creaked under the floor and behind the wall making the bed vibrate; a door on the same wall flew open moments later.
Sam stomped out with a hand towel against his face, steam rose from his skin in waves. It looked as though he'd bolted out of a shower; he was still naked.
Ashley screamed in horror and scrambled desperately to pull herself off the bed and hide her eyes at the same time.
"What are you doing!" He snapped fiercely. "I step in the shower for five minutes and it sounds like you're coming through the wall!"
She didn't reply, her face was buried deep into the bed quilt.
"Ashley!"
She glanced up at the warning in his tone. He was clutching the hand towel over his stuff now but it was too late; she had already seen and that kind of thing couldn't be unseen. His face looked stern and dangerous but Ashley couldn't focus on it. She had never seen a guy fresh out of the shower before (which was a stupid thought to have but she couldn't help it); he was dripping water and condensation all over the floor; his chest and shoulders were broader than the horizon and; a few scars were wrapped around his chest and abdomen. He looked like some Herculean monument. To think the first man she'd ever see naked would look as magnificent as Sam and in a motel room while she was tied to the bed.
"What!"
Ashley stared at him stupidly at his demand, she couldn't control her roaming eyes. He glared at her in turn taking offence. If he knew the reason behind her staring she'd be in some intense trouble, he would be taking it all very differently.
He adjusted his stance and gestured at her as if to say 'what's the problem'. Ashley grasped for words to say but they all hung on the tip of her tongue like some garbled mess.
She felt a heat burning her cheeks and panicked, was she turning red?
"Where's Michael?" She finally blurted.
He should be there like a cold concrete wall between them.
Sam's stare intensified.
"Out" he practically barked. The room's temperature rose a little more. "Is that it?" He added.
Ashley nodded fiercely in agreement.
Sam nodded too but seemed suspicious. He seemed tightly wound again which suggested he really relished his shower time.
"Why you staring like that" he growled at her, but it wasn't a question, it was a complaint as he was already turning back towards the bathroom.
Ashley watched him go with his thick legs and backside fully on show.
"Can't take a fucking shower-" he slammed the door before she could hear the rest of his mumbles.
Ashley released a breath she didn't even realise she was holding in the first place!
The door to their room opened quite suddenly to reveal Micheal.
The bathroom door opened as well.
Sam stormed back out, naked still.
"You know what-" he began but paused.
The shopping in Michael's hand dropped to the floor with a thud.
Sam's expression shifted before he cleared his throat. "Never mind."
The bathroom door closed as Michael's eyes narrowed, they travelled slowly from the door to Ashley who was looking hot faced and flustered.
Michael was through the ensuite door in seconds. Ashley sat quietly and listened intently as there came a thud and a few low, muffled growls. She heard Sam giggle before there came a louder thump and a ferocious holler.
"I'M FUCKING SHOWERING!"
Michael opened the door and stepped out briskly, the wood clipped the back of him as it slammed with incredible force. He grimaced before his eyes deviated towards her.
"You okay?"
Ashley nodded quickly her eyes as wide as saucers.
He frowned at her. "He do anything?"
She shook her head slowly which satisfied him.
He gestured with his head. "Never did know how to put clothes on, even when he was growing up."
Ashley betrayed the world by cracking a small, conscious smile. "You grew up together?"
Michael gave her a selected look. His lips quirked up at the corners. "Still pretending to be a psychologist Ashley? You should stop" he mused as he began to un-tie her wrist.
Ashley stared at him oddly. "Stop? Should I start pretending I'm not still interested then?"
He looked into her eyes for a moment and then proceeded to smile, it was mischievous and thoughtful. He didn't talk about it anymore and Ashley didn't push him to confirm her question instead, she observed as he revealed his purchases to her.
At first, Ashley was shocked he'd been to the supermarket but kept quiet about it. He knew what he was doing, she knew that now. Michael wasn't stupid, he only played stupid. It did worry her, though if they had time to stop at a motel and go shopping the police were severely off the right trail. If they were even looking. No doubt they were caught up with all the murdered individuals back at the Asylum.
She only hoped they recognised sooner rather than later that catching Sam and Michael was more important than cleaning up a murder scene. There was no time to waste. They weren't the type to escape from prison and lie low for decades.
The next time Sam appeared from the bathroom he was fully clothed. Michael was passing her a handful of clothing he'd picked up as the hulking blond made his grand appearance. He looked ratty still but less so now he'd finished his shower in peace.
Ashley's cheeks flushed automatically. It didn't go unnoticed. Michael pushed the new clothes into her chest when she fumbled to take them.
"Go clean up."
It was a command. Ashley did as she was told, moving awkwardly around Sam to get to the bathroom. She closed the door quietly and stood up against it for a moment.
Michael must have given Sam a look. His gruff voice came through the door muffled and low.
'I didn't touch your little virgin but leaving her like that is a crime against man kind.'
Ashley's cheeks blushed deeper. Michael murmured something back too quietly.
'Yeah well I'm the one who took the taser to the neck to stop that dickhead from getting her...and I was the one to get David too. Remember that-'
She pulled away from the door quickly before she heard another word and slotted the lock in place. It was a flimsy lock but it would keep either of them from casually wondering in. Her body throbbed from the situation earlier with Sam. She felt strange. She didn't like it. Scrambling into the shower she washed speedily and tried not to think too much about the suggestion behind Sam's words.
She couldn't understand how he could know she was a virgin, not that it was important. It was none of his business what sexual state she was currently in, but he seemed convinced he needed to discuss and broadcast it. She hoped he didn't go out of his way to make it his business. He was so certain, it was almost like he could smell it or something, like some kind of chastity consuming monster. Her body rifled with unpleasant shivers at the thought.
She had to be careful. Sam appeared to have gone to a great deal of effort in his own mind to keep her away from other men despite being locked up, and it was not going to be all for nothing.