Chapter 49

Brooke Wells, Angela Fryer, Wanda Grant, Valerie Winchester, Charlene Lawrence and Shelley Cousens sat in the small cage silent and waiting. None of them had spoken a word since they were taken and put together. Each had been stripped of all their clothing except their undergarments. Their heads had been sheared of all their hair. There in the dark the women had found their common bond. The six of them held hands, never speaking a word, just holding hands, each giving the other strength and courage to face whatever demons would be tormenting them.

When the door opened and the footsteps were heard, the women clutched each other more fiercely than before. In the dark they heard the whispers

The whispers faded with the footsteps and the women held each other just as tightly as they did before. From the darkness the panting of shallow breathing took hold and soon enough all the women were crying, trying to be strong for each other, yet breaking down one after the other. In a matter of minutes the women were crying loudly and holding each other in a somber embrace. Angela Fryer was the first to speak.

“Why are we here? I didn’t kill any innocent. What are they talking about?”

Brooke Wells replied “I don’t know, I really don’t know!”

The other 4 women trying not sob, said nothing but held on to the others for dear life.

After what seemed like an eternity Valerie Winchester had had enough. She broke her grip with the others and became incensed.

“Screw this, I’m not going to cower in here like some lamb waiting for slaughter, I’m going to fight! If all of us join together and fight we can overcome the person or people that are tormenting us. Who is gonna join me?”

The silence that followed was deafening to Valerie. Just as she was going to try to find a way out, a small meek voice spoke.

“I will help.”

Valerie felt a sense of accomplishment. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Shelley. What’s yours?”

“Valerie. Anyone else with us?”

Suddenly as if a fire was lit, all the women took turns saying their name and vowing to get out alive.

The women who were silent minutes ago were renewed with a sense of urgency and the will to live. It was their turn to whisper. The women whispered about how to get out of the cage they were in. They kept vigilant watch over the door and the footsteps. As their plan came together, the women felt excitement from one another. When the door opened, the footsteps started and the whispering that used to be terrifying became a call to victory. Shelley felt her arm being pulled and then without thinking she screamed and grabbed the hand that had a hold of her arm. Brooke felt her arm being pulled also. She yelled,

“NO!”

As she was dragged out she started to kick.

Both women were punched and then there was nothing but silence and that is when Valerie realized that their hastily put together plan wouldn’t work. There were two of them. The plan would only work if there was one of them. Two would need a different plan. There was no time for another plan. Wanda and Charlene were next to be taken. Valerie was left alone in the darkness. Her new-found friends were gone. Her captors had not even flinched when she tried to grab one of them to stop them from taking one of the girls. She was stunned at how little effect she had on what was going on. The footsteps went up and then finally the door closed. She was alone. Valerie curled up into the fetal position and lay on the dirt floor and started to cry. Her crying became sobs of fear, and she cried herself to sleep.

As Valerie slept fitfully, the other four girls were beaten, two were tied together so they could watch what was about to happen to the first two women. Shelley, who was the first taken, was strapped to the upright table and then pushed back into the blades that had been sharpened. Shelley screamed out in pain and in that moment, Brooke knew she was going to die. She would die screaming and in horrible pain and she would never be able to tell the people she loved most how much they had meant to her. Her eyes welled up as she watched the two men take turns tormenting Shelley. As she cried she saw Charlene and Wanda tied together watching with equal horror.

Shelley was the example for the group. The brothers took their time and made sure the other women saw what was to become of them. Shelley’s last breaths were shallow and the tears that she should have cried had not been allowed to form. William had cut off her eyelids. Shelley’s last words were simple and set the tone for the rage that was to follow.

“I hope God forgives you for killing me.”

The brothers laughed almost in chorus.

“Oh my dear, we are doing His work.”

With the last syllable, Andrew stabbed Shelley in her chest. He used enough force that the table shook as he plunged the knife through her ribs and into her heart. Shelley gasped her last breath and her eyes fell and stared emptily at the floor.

As Andrew took Shelley off the table, William grabbed Brooke and stood her up. He placed her roughly in the chair that they used to shave the girls’ hair off the day before. He slapped Brooke across the face and then when Shelley was removed from the table, he picked Brooke up and slammed her down on top of the razors chest first. Then he picked her up, turned her over, and then slammed her down on them again, strapping her down to begin her torture.

One by one Wanda watched the other captives die. When it was just her remaining she looked up at her two captors and said meekly

“Dear Lord,

Please forgive me my trespasses. I repent for all the sins I have committed and I pray that I am admitted into your kingdom upon my death.”

William stopped and stared at his brother. He started to giggle. His giggle turned into a chuckle then an all-out laugh.

“You think your pathetic prayer will be heard by Him? You are mistaken. Where were your prayers at the clinic when you aborted the precious gift you were given? Where were your prayers when you returned eight months later to have the same thing done again? You make me laugh. You of all the ones that have been chosen for the gifts we are bestowing should know that there is no place in His kingdom for you.”

Andrew grabbed Wanda by the neck and pounded her up and down on the blood drenched table. The third time he picked her up he snapped her neck and she was dead when he released her onto the blades.

The job was half completed. The boys now had the task of placing the bodies and then cleaning up the kill room. Both men would not get much sleep but the fallout would give them both enough adrenaline to carry on for the next day.

Valerie, the sole remaining girl, would be dealt with later.