Cracked

by evenstar0600

Summary:

What if there was no Casey Cooke? What if there was a different girl who was abducted by The Horde with Claire and Marcia?

17-year-old Hero Kingsley had a dark past with even darker secrets. When she was 13, her adoptive parents, Martha and James Kingsley, mysteriously died, leaving her in the custody of her 26-year-old adoptive brother, Kai. One day, Hero is given a pity invite from a girl in her community art class to her birthday party. Little does Hero know, that day will change her life. Forever.

Chapter 1: Cast

Chapter 1: Cast!

 

Alexandra Shipp as Hero Kingsley

 

 

 

James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb / The Horde

 

 

 

Haley Lu Richardson as Claire Benoit

 

 

Jessica Sula as Marcia

 

 

Betty Buckley as Karen Fletcher

 

 

Evan Peters as Kai Kingsley

 

 

Lena Headey as Martha Kingsley

 

 

Sean Bean as James Kingsley

 

Chapter 2: Abducted

Summary:

After being given a pity invite to a party, Hero Kingsley and two girls in her community art class, Claire and Marcia, have their lives flipped upside down when a mysterious man abducts them after the party.

Chapter 2: The Birthday

 

3rd Person POV

17-year-old Hero Kingsley stared out of the window, a blank expression on her face. Hero was of African-American heritage with piercing brown irises, light coffee-coloured skin and a short, neck-length brown afro. Hero's outfit consisted of several shirts (including a baggy plaid shirt, a grey hoodie underneath and a light grey, long sleeve top under that), dark grey jeans and a pair of worn, black Vans.

She wore little-to-no makeup, as her mother always said Hero had natural beauty. Hero was a broken girl, but rather masked her feelings behind a 'quiet kid' demeanour. At birth, Hero's biological mother put her up for adoption. She hadn't a clue of her true parentage but didn't care. Martha and James Kingsley were the only parents Hero knew.

At age 13, Hero and her older, adoptive brother, Kai, were orphaned when Martha and James' untimely, mysterious deaths rolled around. Kai had been looking after Hero since then. The pair had a 13 year age gap between them. Kai and Hero weren't exactly close, as Kai was 26 when their parents died and was a college student, studying a lot. 

Kai had shaggy, shoulder-length, dyed blue hair with chocolate coloured orbs for eyes. Kai was a smart person, having a higher IQ than most. Enough about, Kai. This is Hero's story and it should be told from the moment her life changed. Forever.

Hero wore a poker face. She'd been given a pity invite to a birthday party for one of the classmates in her community art class in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to extensive research that Hero had done, Claire (the birthday girl) couldn't invite her entire class to her party with the exception of one person (her) without social evidence, inflicting more pain on that person, and Claire was not a monster.

The girls in the background from Hero were getting their photo taken by Marcia, Claire's best friend. Most of them were talking about the 'cute' waiter boy who was waiting for their table. Most girls Hero's age often fawned over various celebrities, e.g. Tom Holland and Timothee Chalamet, who didn't know they existed. Hero spent her time reading books and doing things most girls wouldn't.

Then again, Hero wasn't like most girls.

The girls all filed back to the table, digging into the party food. Hero still stared, awaiting the dreaded moment when her older brother would come and collect her. The party flew by, to Hero's relief. She wasn't one for social situations nor socialising. Society, in Hero's opinion, was already beyond salvation at this point and she didn't have any bother to blend in with the crowd.

 

~~~ 

 

After most of the guests from Claire Benoit's birthday left, Claire approached Marcia and her father, Mr Benoit. Awkwardly, Claire started up the conversation with, "And that's what happens when you do a mercy invite,".

The view cut over to Hero in the distance. She had put her navy green coat on, standing next to the window. Hero was on the phone, waiting for her elder brother, Kai, to pick up the phone. In shorter words, Kai Kingsley wasn't a very nice person to Hero. To Mr Benoit's confusion, he turned his head to look at Claire and asked: "I thought you wanted to invite everyone,".

"Dad, I can't invite everyone in my art class except for one person without social networking evidence, inflicting more pain on that person than was intended and I am not a monster," Claire clarified.

Marcia softly scoffed as Mr Benoit. "I'm proud of you. I think,", prompting a quiet laugh from Marcia.

They all looked at Hero, who was still waiting for Kai to pick up the phone. Hero has been deemed the quiet kid at their school, who got into trouble a lot. Hero wasn't proud of her behaviour. 

"She gets detention a lot," Claire said, "And she yells at teachers sometimes. And there was that rumour that she just kept running away from home,".

The rumour was true. Hero had a keen history with the Philadelphia Police Department with running away from home. Most of the time, she went to her therapist Karen Fletcher's apartment. Other times, she'd been found under park benches or under a tree. Anything to escape from Kai and his horrible ways.

"Maybe she can Uber," Marcia tried.

Ignoring what Marcia has just suggested, Claire told her father "I seriously think that we can go home now,".

"Oh," Mr Benoit said, "Did I mistakenly convey that this was a democracy? We're not going until she gets picked up!".

Over in the corner by the window, Hero was quietly arguing with Kai over the phone, not trying to attract any unwanted attention her way. She kept her Samsung Galaxy S6 close to her ear under her curls.

"I told you, Kai," Hero whispered, "I'm getting the bus,".

Kai growled over the phone. "We agreed earlier that I would be picking you up, woman,".

Hero sighed, fed up with Kai's manipulative games. "I'm taking the goddamn bus home, Kai. Don't make an effort you monster,".

Kai let a sadistic laugh escape his lips, sending chills down Hero's spine. "I own you, bitch. And I'm warning you, any funny business and you're dead,".

Hero gulped, Kai laughing at her fear. "You're a psychopath," Hero whispered, "And a monster,".

Kai left no response, the phone hung up. Hero growled at Kai's words. She hated him with her all her being. Shoving her phone into her pocket, Hero turned around and approached Claire, Marcia and Mr Benoit. Hero put on a fake smile, acting as if her argument over the phone with Kai.

"Uh," Hero began, "The car, broke down. I'm just gonna get the bus,".

Mr Benoit shook his head. "You're not taking the bus, I'll drive you home. Claire has almost saved her half of the money she needs for a car, isn't that right?". Claire looked a little embarrassed at that. Hero sighed. Mr Benoit looked from Marcia to Hero and, finally, to Claire. "This is one of the few times left I can drive you guys around!".

Hero looked awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably. "Uh..."

Hero tried to get the words out but couldn't. It was like her throat was paralysed. Claire countered, "You won't be able to hear my Dad tell jokes only he thinks are funny for an entire car ride unless you come. You don't really wanna miss that,".

Hero gave a fake smile and nodded in agreement. 

 

~~~

 

Hero lit up a cigarette, taking an inhale then releasing the smoke. The smoking was her drug, it numbed her. Hero was bordering adulthood, her 18th birthday crept nearer and nearer. April 21st seemed so far away from the current, snow-less December of 2016. But, Hero knew it would be around soon. She couldn't shake off the feeling something bad was going to happen.

Hero smoked mindlessly away at the cancer stick. She knew the risks. It made her...forget. Forget about the bad and help her remember the good. Mr Benoit, Claire and Marcia approached the car, each carrying a bag of Claire's presents. Mr Benoit opened the trunk of the car, loading the bags of presents into it. 

"Wow," Claire admitted, "I got more gifts than I thought I did,".

Claire giggled as she stood by the backseat door of her father's car. Marcia loaded a bag of presents into the trunk before Claire opened the door, allowing herself and Marcia to slip into the backseat, closing the door behind them. Hero stood by the front passenger seat door. She took one last puff from her cigarette, the bitter taste lingering in her mouth.

Hero dropped the cigarette, crushing it under her shoe. She dug into her jacket pocket, digging a tin of mints and popping one into her mouth. Hero sucked on the mint and slipped into the front passenger seat. Marcia and Claire were laughing away at stuff on Instagram as Hero sat boredly, slipping the pack of mints into her hoodie's pocket.

Hero ran a hand through her hair, adjusting herself in the seat. Marcia and Claire laughed obnoxiously in the back of the car. A strange noise was heard, causing Hero's eyes to dart to the side-view mirror. Nothing. There was nothing. Every seemed ordinary. Too ordinary. An eerie feeling washed over Hero. The trunk slammed.

Marcia and Claire weren't affected, their eyes practically glued to the purple cased cellphone in Claire's hand. The driver side door opened as Hero reached for the seatbelt. About to put her seatbelt on, Hero's eyes gazed up the side view mirror. Hero's body froze. The leftover cartons of food were just left on the parking lot's floor.

Hero's nose wrinkled in disgust. If Mr Benoit's father didn't want the food, he could've given it to Hero or rather thrown it into a bin. The car kickstarted to life, a trashy pop song coming from the radio echoed throughout the car. Slowly, Hero turned around, the seatbelt slipping through her fingers. Her eyes looked upon a man, who she'd never seen in her life sitting in the driver's seat.

It wasn't Mr Benoit.

A sense of dread clouded Hero's mind. He was near-bald, hair shaved to the scalp, giving him a skinhead look. He wore all grey. A pair of thin, black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. The man's large hands gripped the steering wheel. He had an almost pained look on his face. The man dug into his pockets, whipping out a yellow cloth, which he wrapped over his thumb and index finger.

The man leaned forward, picking up the various pieces of trash off the dashboard one-by-one. Hero was terrified. Who was this man? What was he doing? Did he have the wrong car? Hero didn't know. 

"Hey," Claire spoke up, as she and Marcia had stopped paying attention to her cellphone, "Pardon me, sir, I think you have the wrong car,".

Rookie mistake, Claire. When the man slipped a white, surgical mask over his mouth and nose, Hero knew this wasn't an accidental getting into the wrong car. The man was abducting them.

He pressed a button, which sent a click throughout the car, locking all the doors. At superhuman speed, he whipped around, holding a spray can with chloroform in it. The man sprayed Claire in the face, sending her into a coughing fit. The man secondly sprayed Marcia in the face, prompting a yelp from Marcia. All the while, Hero stared in horror.

He hadn't noticed her presence yet, which gave Hero a distinct advantage. Claire was passed out, so was Marcia. They were both slumped against the backseat. The man slid back into the front passenger seat, removing the mask from his mouth and nose. Hero's breathing was low and panicked. The man was distracted by cleaning the contents of the car.

Hero picked up that he had OCD the second he whipped the cloth from his pocket. A few tears burned in her eyes. Hero's hand felt around for the lock on the door. Her fingers fumbled against the cool, metal feeling of the door's silver latch. Her hand a steady grip around the lock. Her thoughts blurred. Only one was on her mind. Get the hell out of that situation.

Slowly, Hero began to move the lock into a ninety-degree angle. Hero was scared, her heart thumping madly. Hero froze as the soft ding of the car alarm dragged her from her thoughts. She'd forgotten he'd locked the door. The man's attention was focused on Hero. Hero looked fearfully at the man, tears burning in her eyes. 

Her breathing was shaky. The man didn't look happy as he slipped the mask over his nose and mouth again. Tears began to fall down Hero's cheeks. "Please," Hero croaked, "You don't have to do this--".

Hero couldn't say any more. Her world went black. The last thing she saw was the man leaning towards her with the spray can before falling into a void of unconsciousness. 

 

Chapter 3: Wake Me Up Inside

Summary:

Hero awakens from a chloroform-induced slumber and the first of many traumatising events to take place occurs.

Chapter 3: Wake Me Up Inside

 

3rd Person POV

Hero was fading in and out of consciousness. She vaguely remembered being carried along, through a corridor. The corridor was subterranean, with the occasional, bright light glaring into her eyes. She felt numb and drowsy, slowly slipping in and out of the void of unconsciousness. The man, her abductor, was carrying her. Knowing her abductor was carrying her, Hero dared not move.

One of his muscled arms was under her knees and the other supporting her neck and shoulders. The man carried her bridal style down the dankly lit corridor. Her abductor walked briskly, but not briskly to disturb Hero, whom he thought was still knocked out cold. The man placed Hero gently onto one of two beds. Hero laid on the bed, still fading between awake and asleep.

She saw him. She saw him carry Claire into the room, laying her onto the second bed with Marcia. He carried her like she weighed nothing. Hero's vision was slightly blurred, not due to her having bad eyesight, because her eyes were droopy, on the verge of closing. Hero tried to pioneer on and stay awake but failed. Her eyes gave up on her as Hero faded back into the dark, lonely void of unconsciousness.

 

~~~

 

God knows how long later, Hero finally awoke. The sound of terrified breathing hit her ears. Her eyes glanced onto a petrified-looking Claire, who was sticking closely to Marcia. Marcia looked at Hero, who's face was softly pressed against the cot she laid on. Hero subtly rolled her eyes, pushing herself up slowly from the cot. 

She laid on her front and took in her surroundings. Hero's suspicions were indeed, sadly correct. The man had abducted them. Hero had thought it was just a bad dream. Trapped in an unfamiliar environment, Hero looked around the room. There was only one way out of the room, a single wooden door that was without a doubt locked.

"We woke up in here," Claire said, keeping her voice to a whisper.

Hero looked towards the glowing, white-coloured bathroom. Resting on the porcelain surface of the sink, was a yellow flower in a glass. The flower was identical to the other two of the pillows of the cots. Hero looked away from the bathroom, sitting upwards. Hero moved into a cross-legged position, akin to a meditation position.

"What the hell is going on?" Marcia asked, keeping her voice hushed, "What are we doing here?".

Hero turned to face Claire and Marcia. There were two overhead lights above the pillows of the cots. The brickwork on the wall looked steady but old. Claire looked the most scared that Hero had ever seen her in her 3 years of knowing Claire. Marcia looked as scared as Claire.

"What happened to my Dad?" Claire whispered, panicked.

Marcia was looking towards the door. "He's out there," Marcia whispered.

Hero looked to the wooden door. Turning back to Claire, the terrified blonde asked: "Do you know what happened to my Dad?".

Before Hero could respond, there was a loud noise that came from outside the door. The three girls in the room looked towards the door, awaiting their abductor to enter the room. The lights of the room turned on. The sounds of the door being unlocked could be heard. The wooden door swung open to reveal their abductor in all his being.

He held a foldable wooden chair in one hand, the other gripped around the lock. He unfolded the chair, propping it against the floor so he could face all 3 of them once he sat down. He pulled the same yellow cloth Hero had seen earlier from his pocket, walking around the chair to wipe down the seat-part of the chair. He stood in front of the chair, perfectly folding the cloth.

The man stuffed the mustard-coloured cloth into his pocket before sitting down. Hero thought his clothes were grey but they were a much darker shade of grey. The man folded his muscle-clad arms, keeping a stern expression on his face. He stared at all 3 of the girls before his eyes landed on Marcia. Marcia began to pull her miniskirt down, suddenly regretting her choice of style.

The man stood up, pointing at Marcia. "I choose you first," the man said in a deep, Boston accent.

With one swift movement, the man picked the chair up, folding it up and placing it outside. Claire and Marcia began to panic, clinging to each other. The man returned to the room, with Claire and Marcia whimpering.

"It's only gonna be a minute," the man informed, grabbing Marcia's arm and yanking her out of the room. 

The man dragged Marcia, who fought back. Marcia screamed, trying to break free from the man's iron grip. Marcia momentarily broke free, bolting towards Hero. Hero placed her hands on Marcia's cheeks, putting their foreheads together.

"Pee on yourself," Hero firmly instructed, "Pee on yourself!".

The man grabbed Marcia again, dragging her away from Hero. He picked her up by the waist and took Marcia out of the room, as Marcia panicked. Marcia gripped onto the door as the man put her down. He roughly pushed her outside the room, sending her down to the floor with a single slap. He closed the door and locked it behind him.

Hero was beyond horrified, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. The man closed the door. Inside the room, Claire and Hero could hear Marcia's pleads for the man to stop and whimpers of fear. Claire stormed off the bed and approached the door, pounding her first against it. Hero was terrified. One could visibly see the terror in Hero's eyes.

"Open the door!" Claire shrieked, banging her first against the door.

The door flew open to reveal the man holding Marcia, who looked terrified. They walked into the room as Marcia cried out in relief. The man dropped Marcia onto the bed, Hero sat on her cot, holding her legs close to her chest. The man stood up, beyond angry. He let out an angry growl, similar to the ones from Kai when Hero refused to do what he said.

The man leaned against the door. He growled out in anger again, shaking one hand downwards before slamming the door and locking it behind him. Claire immediately when to Marcia's aid.

"Are you okay?!" Claire asked, panic in her voice.

Marcia's breathes were just as wavered as her voice. "He wanted me to dance for him..." Marcia uneasily said as Claire helped her up.

Marcia's tights were stained with urine. Hero thought that Marcia was clever for following her advice but horrified that Marcia had to go through that. Quietly, Marcia informed: "The outside door is locked," before stumbling into the bathroom.

Claire was panting from fear. "Everything's okay. We're okay. We're okay," Claire panted, before walking to the bathroom to help Marcia.

Hero wasn't okay. She was panting from fear, her hair slightly messy. Hero's eyes were red from the tears now cascading freely. Suddenly, an old memory came back to light...

 

Flashback. 12 years ago. 2004.

 

"I hear the tiniest little splash," 

A 5-year-old Hero is sitting at a breakfast table with her adoptive mother, Martha, adoptive father, James, and adoptive brother, Kai.

Martha Kingsley had reddish-brown hair that was neatly kept in a bob hair cut. Martha sported a pair of mystical, strikingly blue eyes. Martha wore a purple and grey striped plaid shirt and some blue jeans and hiking boots. 

James Kingsley had light brown hair that was short and kept. James had green eyes and wore a red and black plaid shirt with black denim jeans, hiking boots and a sleeveless puffer jacket. 

18-year-old Kai Kingsley had short, brown hair that was a little messy, a little kept. His eyes were chocolate-coloured and seemingly innocent. Kai wore a navy green sweater, blue jeans and hiking boots.

A young Hero had bushy, afro-like curls with deep brown eyes. Hero's hair is kept in two pigtails and she wears a red coat, blue overalls, red long-sleeved top and white trainers. 

Kai is describing the animal he supposedly saw to the family. "And here it comes...a freak of nature. Like this," Kai explained, placing his cutlery down, "So, he comes across the stream and he's so tall that the water doesn't even get to his belly. Then he stops. And my heart's coming out of my chest,".

James shook his head in disbelief. "You got Buck Fever," James claimed, turning to look at Hero, "Kai's got Buck Fever,".

Hero nodded eagerly in agreement. Martha chuckles in agreement. Kai chuckled too. "That's not true, Hero. Daddy's a liar,".

James raised a brow. "How big was the rack?" James questioned.

Making a gesture with his hands, Kai claimed: "It was huge, Pops,".

Martha sighed. "James, Kai doesn't have Buck Fever,".

James nodded at Kai's claim. James turned to his 5-year-old daughter and asked: "Where you supposed to look when you when you shoot, Ro?".

"At the body!" Hero chirped.

"Then why was he looking at the rack?" James asked with a mischievous smirk on his face.

Hero matched her father's mischievous grin. "'Cause he has Buck Fever," Hero grinned. Martha burst out laughing with her husband. Kai sarcastically mocked their laughter. "She'll say anything you say, Dad," Kai said through chuckles.

"You gonna do that when you get your Metric Hunting License in 3 years?" James asked Hero, turning back to look at Hero.

"No, sir," Hero said with a grin.

Martha put a hand on Hero's shoulder. "Make sure you put your gloves on after you finish, honey. Your feet and hands get cold first out there,".

Hero nodded, turning back to her breakfast. 

Flashback Over

 

Back to 17-year-old Hero, who sat on the cot with her legs pressed against her chest. Hero let out a wavered breath, fear still on her mind. Claire and Marcia were still in the bathroom. Hero wondered to herself. Would they all make it out alive?

 

 

Chapter 4: If I Die Young

Summary:

Hero gets into a fight with Claire over escaping.

Chapter 3: If I Die Young

3rd Person POV

Claire was attempting to forcefully open the door, to no success. Hero sat on the bed, unmoving with her legs pressed against her chest. Marcia was perched on the edge of the other bed. Their abductor hadn't been to take one of them out of the room again, fortunately. Hero waited in fear for him to return. She didn't even know how long she'd been locked in that room with Claire and Marcia.

"It doesn't matter if you open that door, Claire" Marcia tried, "There's a second locked door,".

Claire stopped trying to break out of the room. The sounds from her rattling the doorknob ceased as Claire turned around. Claire stood in front of both beds and said, "He's gonna come in here again any second and we're not letting him take any of us out again,".

Claire's arms were held out. Claire was paranoid, nobody could blame her. "We just...cried and screamed. And we didn't hurt him because we were afraid to get him upset! God, that's victim shit! Jesus! We should fight him! We should drop a crazy-ass bomb on him,".

Not looking up at Claire or Marcia, but rather looking down at her thighs, Hero spoke up with: "I saw him carry one of you in and lay you on the bed like you weighed nothing. One punch from him would knock one of us out,".

Claire, frankly, was angry that Hero was so negative about this whole situation. Composing herself, Claire explained: "I took...I took 6 months of Kempo Karate class. ...And you distract the assailant with pain,".

Hero scoffed under her breath. "Everything is so easy for you guys?" Hero asked, turning to look at Claire and Marcia, "You do one thing and you can predict the next thing. That's not the way it's gonna be in this situation,".

Hero looked away. Claire ranted, "We're not getting out of here! You're saying that you're not gonna fight with everything in you? You know, the only chance...the only chance we have if all three of us go crazy on this guy! We have to hurry!".

Claire's breathing was shakey. Marcia immediately got up from the bed she sat on and crouched next to Hero's bed. "We need you, Hero. Claire's smart, let's listen to her. I'll do it if you're gonna do it too. We can win," Marcia tried.

Hero looked toward Marcia. "He'll hurt us..." Hero muttered, quickly snapping back to her usually-emotionless state, "No. Shut up...both of you,".

Claire threatened "You're gonna pick yourself miserable self up and help us get out of here,".

Hero ran a hand through her hair, before subtly scoffing. "Blow me. And your six months of Karate at the King of Prussia Mall can blow me too,".

Marcia retreated back to the bed, where Claire now sat, with failure on her mind. Claire went berserk at Hero's answer. "No. No! You can't do this today- you can't do this right now!" Claire snapped, waving her arms in anger, "Why do you do this? Why do you act like this? Why do you act like you're not one of us?!".

Claire got no response. Hero's gaze landed on her thighs. She wandered back down along an old friend, memory lane.

 

Flashback. 10 years ago. 2006.

 

Exactly 2 years after the last memory Hero looked back upon, a now 7-year-old Hero was laying on her stomach with her father, James, next to her in a yellow tent. In addition to his hunting clothes, James wore a blue brimmed hat on his head. Hero wore a grey fluffy coat, blue jeans, a striped, black long-sleeved top with trainers. Her father had a shotgun in his hands.

The sounds of birds whistling echoed around the forest. The floor of the forest was littered and decorated with autumnal, fallen leaves. Martha Kingsley was absent from the hunting trip this year, due to her mother, Catharine, being ill and wanting to take care of her. Martha had insisted that they still should go. Kai was now 20 and doing God knows what.

"When you're aiming, Ro," James instructed, briefly toying with the large gun in his hands, "Always keep both eyes open,".

James slowly moved the gun around the forest sector that they were using for their annual hunting trip. "Cover your target with the barrel, then move with it, to get its pace. I'm warning you; it's gonna be frustrating the first times. You're gonna shot under or behind it. You'll learn to stay with it," James instructed.

Hero looked at her father, who put the gun to the side and said, "Females are smarter than the males. But, you know that? It's like humans,".

Hero laughed and giggled. James smiled at his daughter's happiness, continuing with: "Females use their nose to stay alive, they make sure they have cover. They always remember they're trying to stay alive. Bucks go off by themselves; bucks get dumb during mating season,".

"Boys make too much noise," Hero commented, prompting a laugh from her father.

Hero rested the side of her face on her hand, which wore fingerless gloves. James agreed with his daughter. "Yes, they do,".

"I'm better than a boy, right?" Hero questioned, the childlike wonder glowing in her chocolate coloured irises. 

James didn't verbally reply. He kept it short and sweet, to a simple nod. "Yes you are,".

Kai, who'd been growing his hair out to his shoulder returned. The forest leaves crunched under his boots. "Hey," Kai greeted, handing his father a beer he'd gotten from the car's minifridge. Kai had a beer in hand. Kai passed Hero a juice box, which she gratefully excepted. 

 

Flashback Over

 

Back in the present, 17-year-old Hero sighed. Her hair was frizzy as ever. She lightly tapped her trainers against the concrete floor. Hero's brown eyes remained on her lap, not wanting to look up and/or make eye contact. The dark-haired girl's breathes were soft and quiet, but enough to keep her alive. 

"I'll let you know when I hear something that makes sense," Hero informed, her glance turning to Claire and Marcia, "We don't even know what this is yet,".

 

Chapter 5: Miss Patricia

Summary:

Hero, Claire and Marcia meet somebody new.

Chapter 6: Miss Patricia

 

 

3rd Person POV

Their abductor had been absent for a while. Suspiciously too long. He'd always come back and check on them every 15 minutes or so to check that they'd not escaped. Hero was struggling. A lot. For the majority of the time they'd spent held captive in the unknown, subterranean place, Hero kept to herself. Claire and Marcia were practically joined at the hip.

Hero fixed her bushy curls in the mirror of the bathroom, softly realigning her afro-textured hair. Her hand graced her layered, clothed shoulder. It lingered there for no more than 30 seconds before quickly moving again to her side. Hero took a soft sigh, gazing at her reflection. The bathroom door opened with a loud click, prompting Marcia and Claire's attention.

Hero had stepped out of the bathroom to find Claire and Marcia were perching near the locked door blocking them from escape. Claire was the first to speak, more or less. Claire spoke, barely over a whisper: "He's back,".

"There's a lady outside," Marcia said in the same, whispered tone as Claire before her.

Slowly, Hero walked over to the locked, wooden door that blocked their freedom. Marcia kneeled behind Claire, who was peeking through the keyhole. Hero crouched down near the other two girls as her brown irises peered through the upward side of the door, giving her a limited view outside. Claire and Marcia hadn't lied. There was another person outside.

"Dennis..." the British-accented voice of the other person said in a hushed tone, "Admit what you've done,".

Dennis. That was their abductor's name. The woman, name unknown, wore a reddish-pink coloured jumper with a long, black skirt and a pair of black heels. Hero was very confused as to why Dennis wasn't seen and the woman was. She just ignored it. 

"Don't get upset," Dennis whispered in his Boston accent.

"Don't tell me," the woman sharply said in a hushed voice, "I'm getting frightened,".

The woman's voice was somewhat...relaxing and had a sophisticated tone to it. "I thought you had this under control," the woman said in a hushed voice, "Please tell me it's not too late,".

They spoke only in hushed voices, wanting Hero, Claire and Marcia not to hear. Hero assumed that the woman was also a part of Dennis' plan, given what she'd just said. It made Hero feel on edge. Hero had no clue what they were planning, nor Claire and Marcia, but she was scared.

"The food is waiting..." Dennis whispered as Hero's brows furrowed.

All 3 looked visibly confused. Claire, Marcia and Hero all looked at each other with a mirrored facial expression. What did Dennis mean? Hero was freaked out. Heavily freaked out. A whimper escaped Claire's mouth. 

"Is she in that room?" the woman asked, pointing to the door.

She? Did they only mean to abduct one of them? Hero was shit scared. Her heart pounded in her chest from the fear coursing through her veins. Hero's eyes rolled at Claire and Marcia's action.

"We're here!" Claire yelled, as Hero mentally facepalmed. Did they not hear? The woman was most likely involved in Dennis' schemes.

"Help us!" Marcia called, "We're in here!".

The woman said something but Hero didn't catch it due to Claire and Marcia yelling for help. The woman began to approach the wooden door as Dennis began to protest. The jingling of keys was heard as Hero, Claire and Marcia walked away from the door. The door unlocked with a click. It swung open softly. Hero's mouth dropped at what she saw.

They were all confused. 

Claire and Marcia stood near their shared bed whilst Hero stood near the bathroom door. Her green coat had since been taken when Dennis abducted them. She had a craving for cigarettes. But she persevered, trying to ignore the craving in the back of her mind. Her red flannel shirt was unbuttoned, revealing her grey zipped hoodie.

It was Dennis? Dressed in women's clothing? Hero didn't want to assume or judge. She noticed that the woman, or Dennis, had a necklace. "Don't worry," the woman said in a British voice. She awkwardly smiled, "I'll talk to him. He listens to me,".

The woman took a shaky breath out, glancing at Hero. She stood there in awe or was it shock? She took a quick second to exhale as Hero noticed the absence of Dennis in the next room. Maybe Dennis had a twin?

"He's not well," the woman whispered, "He knows what you're here for. He's not allowed to touch you. He knows that. Mmm Mmm,".

The woman had a mother-like aura to her. Something in her revealed to Hero the lack of a motherly figure that she'd been deprived of for 13 years. 13 years had long passed since the tragic deaths of James and Martha Kingsley, the only parents Hero had ever known. 

"Hmm?" the woman asked, looking at Claire and Marcia, before turning to look at Hero, who briskly nodded, "Good,".

Awkwardly almost, the woman slowly backed away, closing and locking the door behind her. One questioned lingered in 17-year-old Hero's mind; What the hell was this?

 

 

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Broken By Him