I step out of the dining room, as close to the kitchen door as I dare, as I try to listen for any sign of who else is in there. I hear a ripping sound, following by shouting. It’s the voice of a woman, and she’s threatening him, telling him what she is going to do to him. She is confident, taunting Marius with a story about what will happen when she gets free. She is describing it in graphic terms, totally unafraid; she is Lucy. I put a hand to my mouth, stopping myself from gasping out loud as I realise I have finally found her.
I hear a slapping sound and I imagine the palm of his hand striking her tender face. She shouts back, asking him if that’s all he has got, which gets her another slap. But she continues to shout, as does Carlos, both of them telling Marius to leave her alone.
I wonder why Carlos would defend her and why he would not want Marius to hurt her. I need to know these things, to stop this once and for all. I turn around to Terry, silently telling her that I’m about to storm the kitchen. I know she will follow but I don’t know what she will do. I need to shoot Marius – he is my one and only target. I assume Carlos will be too wounded to put up any immediate fight, but the detective, with all his training and experience, will be a different story.
I’m about to run in but the sirens outside start again, the sound echoing in the distance, and I hear helicopters flying over the house. The sound of the revolving blades is distinct, even from inside, and the fact that the sound doesn’t fade tells me that the helicopters are now nearby. I hear a voice coming from some sort of loudspeaker, telling anyone who is still alive and able to hear that they should leave the area immediately.
I hear Marius make a tutting sound and I can easily picture his face as he does it. ‘We don’t have much time. I need to seal the basement and get you into a bath, because that’s the only way we will hide the stench of decay coming from you. If I don’t, then we will all die.’
‘I don’t see how giving him a bath will help,’ Lucy shouts. ‘Why don’t you try drowning him? I’m sure that will work.’
‘You’ve definitely got some fight left in you,’ Marius says, in a softer tone than before. I imagine him with a hand on Lucy’s face. ‘We no longer have time for surgery and so I’m going to lay him in the bath and encase him in the expanding foam. It will hopefully hide the smell of his wound until they pass by. You will feed him, keep him quiet and care for him while I figure out what is going on out there. You will obviously try to escape so I think it’s best that I chain you to the bath of your lover and then gag you. If he lives then he can decide what to do with you, and if he dies then I will encase you both together in the same bath. But you will be entombed alive, the foam hardening and covering your entire body and face, until you draw your last breath. Is that something that appeals to you?’
I hear her spit, probably in his face. I wonder what these last seven days have turned the beautiful and tender Lucy into.
This time I don’t hear any slap, only a brief struggle, then footsteps along the kitchen tiles. ‘I need to seal the basement. I’ll take that time to consider your response.’
Terry pulls me backwards as the footsteps come towards us. They reach the hallway and stop, only a thin wall separating us from Marius. I begin to think that he knows something is wrong, that maybe he thinks we are in here. My hand is shaking, the gun almost rattling as I think about stepping out and facing him head on, hopeful that the element of surprise would catch him off guard.
Finally, he starts walking again, and I see the back of him disappear down the steps to the basement. I turn around to see Terry. ‘It’s now or never,’ I whisper.
She nods and we both creep into the kitchen. As soon as we burst in I see Carlos trying to shout, his voice slow and confused, no full words coming out. He means nothing to me; my attention, regret and my endless love are all directed at Lucy alone. I look at her pale body, tied to a chair, her hair matted and her face bruised all over. I can’t move, shocked by the sight of the shell of a woman in front of me. She tries to mouth something through the dirty rag, repeatedly indicating Carlos with her head.
I take my eyes off her for a moment, seeing Carlos trying to get up, his body obviously weak but his mind still with it.
Terry runs past me, her hands quickly pinned over his mouth, and I realise she is trying to stop his screams from carrying their way down the stairs and into the basement. ‘Untie her, quickly!’ she says, looking over at Lucy.
I nod, suddenly realising where we are. Reality seems scrambled to me, but I do realise that I have finally found her. I lurch forwards, ripping the gag off her and then quickly finding the knots behind her back. As soon as they are loose she stands up, her body next to mine, her red eyes full of tears, as they have probably been all week.
She holds her hands out but it takes me a moment to realise that it’s me standing in front of her, as she takes a step back.
My eyes fill up and tears are soon streaming down my face. I shake my head, aware that she is here but still doubting somehow that it has really happened. ‘I found you!’ I finally say, both of my arms wrapping their way around her as I pull her close. I realise that I have finally succeeded and my grip on her tightens with every grateful second that now passes by. ‘I finally found you and I will never let you go again.’
As I drift away from her, my thoughts turning to how we can get out of here and build a new life, I feel her push me away. I look at her and I realise she is looking at Terry.
I turn to see her struggling to keep Carlos down. Both of his hands are on Terry he tries to push her away. His white T-shirt is covered in blood and it’s clear even from a distance that the wound is deep, but that doesn’t seem to stop him from finding the energy to fight against his rebelling prisoners.
I see Lucy pick up a knife from the table and it’s enough for me to know what I need to do. ‘Take care of him,’ I say to both of them, heading towards the door. I need to kill Marius before he comes back up. We were clever enough to close the doors and put the locks back on, trying our best to hide the fact we had been there, but he must know something is wrong. My only hope is that he has been too busy moving things to hear what has happened here.
I reach the stairs, the lighting in the basement still dim from only a couple of bulbs. I lift my arm and point my gun forward as I listen for where in the room Marius is. My only two choices are to wait or hide; hoping the element of surprise will help me, or I advance and attack. I think of the two of them upstairs, their fight with the wounded bear, and I know that I cannot wait. When I don’t hear anything I take the first step downwards, my eyes flicking around, checking for any sign of movement. I only need to hurt him, just enough to put him down on the floor, and then I can take proper aim for my next shot.
But even when I’m three steps further down, I still can’t see him, although I notice that a metal box has been placed over the trapdoor. This means he can’t be in the tunnel and our escape isn’t going to be that easy. I still don’t see him and I start to think about moving back up and closing the door, which would at least let us know if he is coming.
I’m about to take that first step back when I see his arms come out from the side of the stairs. He quickly sweeps me off my feet, pulling me into the basement. My head hits the cold floor as I land, the gun dropping onto the floor. I try to reach for it but a kick to my stomach stops me from moving. I grapple with the pain as I see him standing over me, his gaze turning to the gun which he kicks further away.
‘You really are one persistent little fucker, aren’t you?’