Aidan woke up first, and saw with some surprise that Saige was sleeping with her head on his shoulder, and her arm around his waist. Carefully he moved her and looked around for his clothes. He put on his jeans and then grabbed his shirt. He started to put it on, but then thought better of it and put it next to Saige for when she woke up. It would probably be big enough on her to cover everything that needed to be covered.
He sat back down on the edge of the bed and looked at the loose bar. He wondered if Edgar was gone yet.
"They died in a fire, didn't they?"
"What?" Aidan jumped at the sudden interruption in the silence.
"Your parents," Saige repeated, rolling over so he couldn't see her face. "They are dead, aren't they?"
"Yes," Aidan answered quietly.
"When?"
"When I was eleven. There was this fire, my mom was trapped and my dad went back to get her…" He paused. "How did you…?"
Saige shrugged her shoulders, "Lucky guess, I saw the scars." She gingerly picked up the shirt he placed next to her. "Thanks." She sat up, offering Aidan an immodest view of her bare back, and pulled it over her head.
Aidan almost instinctively reached for his chest. She could see them now, in plain view. He'd always tried to hide the scars from people, from himself even; the memories were too painful. Now he felt naked with his past being exposed for all to see.
"I used to think that you wouldn't talk about your family because you felt guilty because yours was so great. I guess I was wrong, huh?"
"Yeah…" But there was no malice in his voice.
"Aidan," She turned finally and looked at him pleadingly. Now he averted his eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"
He shrugged, "Scared I guess,"
"Of what?"
"What you would think, if you knew I was an orphan."
Now she smiled, just slightly. "No one's ever cared what I thought before." Her eyes moved down to his chest, which was chiselled and perfect, except for the scars. She carefully lifted her hand and traced her fingers along them. They felt so unnaturally smooth, despite the uneven flesh. He shivered.
"Aidan?"
"Yea?"
"What would you say if…if I told you…" She broke off there.
"What?" Aidan prompted.
Saige lost her nerve, "If we ever get out of this, Aidan, promise you won't leave, like everyone else."
He smirked at her, "I'd never leave…EVER,"
"Good,"
There was along and awkward silence, until they heard the familiar sound of a car driving away.
"He's gone," Aidan stated, "Let's get to work." He grabbed the loose bar and began to shake it.
"We're getting out today."
Edgar got in his car, whistling to himself and drove into town. He stopped at a department store and stocked up on food, and then, decided he deserved a reward and bought a new tie and a cinnamon bun at the mall.
He spent three hours downtown, and he got into an intriguing conversation with a new mother. Before he knew it, it was time to go back and feed Aidan and Saige. He cut the conversation short and got back in his van. He was so glad he was finally able to get the bloodstains out of the carpet.
He pulled off onto an old dirt road and drove twenty minutes through the woods before he reached the cottage and pulled into the driveway. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. The first thing he did was go into the kitchen and unload the groceries. Then he started making a big lunch for his two favourite teenagers. He wondered if they liked pork chops. They deserved a reward today too. He whistled the same old, nameless tune he'd been whistling all day as he prepared two plates and walked down the hall, with all its yellowed wallpaper, to the bedroom at the end.
He brought out his key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. He looked for his children, but was shocked when he saw…nothing, nothing at all. He went into a mad rage.
"WHAT!?"
Where could they have gone? The door was locked and the window was still intact. The only thing out of place was the missing bar from the headboard.
As he searched the room, he felt something slam against the back of his skull. Edgar stumbled forward, dropping the plates on the ground. He grabbed at his head and flung around in a rage.
Aidan stood behind him, holding a small mallet. Blood rushed from his head, but Edgar was not out of the game yet. He grabbed the boy around the throat and squeezed as hard as he could.
From their hiding place behind the door, Saige stood on shaky legs, watching in horror. She had to do something! She looked down at the chain still extended between her wrists and smirked. In seconds she was behind Edgar and had the chain looped around his neck. She crossed her arm and pulled, tightening the chain until his face turned purple.
Edgar released Aidan and he fell backwards onto the floor, clutching at his throat and trying to catch his breath. Saige still kept hold of Edgar, and he started to gag. He somehow managed to step back and slammed her against the wall. Saige squeaked, and she was sure she fell a rib crack, but she still did not let go. Again and again he slammed her against the wall, until Aidan picked up the bar from the headboard and pounded him viciously in the head.
Finally, Edgar let out a final squawk and fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
Saige untangled herself from him, but Aidan just kept hitting him over and over.
"Aidan!" Saige cried, "Aidan stop it!" She grabbed his arm and forced him to drop the bar and pushed him out the door.
When he saw the front door of the cabin, he snapped back into reality, grabbed her hand and led her down the driveway, onto the road, and off towards freedom.
They ran for what seemed like seemed like hours, neither one even mentioning stopping until they found a crossroad.
Saige slowed to a stop and sat down beside Aidan on the curb.
"Are we really out?" She said as she breathed in deeply.
"Yeah…" Aidan grinned, "I think we are!"
"FUCK YEA!" Saige screamed. She leapt on him and he spun her around.
"C'mon," he said as he placed her back on her feet. "Lets find a phone."
She nodded and they took off again. It took them another hour and a half of walking, running and jogging in silence before they got close enough to civilization to find a pay phone. Aidan bolted inside the booth and picked up the phone. Shakily, he forced his fingers to punch '911'.
After two rings an operator picked up.
"Hello?" he cried desperately, "Yes, me and this girl were kidnapped, but we got away. We need some help. We're at…" He looked behind him and saw that Saige was crying.
"We're free! We're finally free!" She sobbed. And then she fell to the ground and dropped her face into her hands.
"Free…"
