Chapter 85

The brown car arrived in Vredenburg when Sarah slowly gained consciousness. She could hear voices but she was confused and disorientated. It was like she just had the worst nightmare ever, yet her nose and face were throbbing violently. She remembered what had happened. She was abducted by three guys. The one responsible for her pain was the one with tattoos on his face.

'What are we going to do with her?' Mike asked.

'Let's take her to my grandma's house,' Victor said. 'We can keep her in the garage.'

'How the fuck do you want to do that?' Numbers asked from the back. 'What if your grandma sees her?'

'She won't know shit. She's old and doesn't know what's going on around her anymore. She never goes into the garage. Grandma doesn't even have a car. My grandfather used to drive her around when he was still alive.'

'Yes, but what if she screams?' Mike asked.

'As I said, my grandma's almost dead and she would not hear a thing,' Victor said. 'I've got a key to the house. The garage door has a lock on the outside as well. There's a door leading to the garage from the house. We can lock that door just in case. We'll take the key with us. My grandma has no business in the garage. We can tie the bitch up in there and come back to feed her once in a while entering through the outside door. I used to keep my stash at my grandma's house and she didn't know shit.'

'What about the neighbours? If she screams, they will hear her,' Numbers said. He noticed movement from Sarah's body.

'Well, then we need to gag her so she can't scream,' Victor said.

'She's awake. Give me your jersey. I want to cover her head,' Numbers said to Victor. Victor got rid of his jersey thinking that it needed a wash. It smelled of sweat and cigarettes. He handed the jersey to Numbers who then wrapped the jersey around Sarah's face and tied the sleeves behind her head in a knot.

'Okay,' Mike said. 'Which way now?'

'Turn left here,' Victor said. He looked at Sarah who was lying in the back seat next to Numbers. There was no way she would be able to see where they were going with that jersey wrapped around her head as long as he did not verbally give directions. He continued directing Mike by means of pointing in the direction instead of telling. Sarah could feel the car swaying every time they took a turn. There were too many turns for her to memorise. She would never be able to find her way out here again especially not in the condition she had been in any way. She struggled to breathe with the smelly jersey pulled over her head, but she did not dare to make a move, not after she had seen what they were capable of. They were strong and violent. They would not think twice to kill or rape her. The thought of rape aggravated Sarah's anxiety levels. Her heart pounded roughly in her chest and throat. She needed more oxygen, but instead, she tried to calm her breathing. Why did they kidnap me? Sarah though. What were their plans and why did they mention her children? She knew she was going to die, but she prayed to God they would not hurt or rape her first. If they had violent plans, she hoped it would be quick. She asked God to take good care of her husband and children which she missed now more than ever. The car had stopped, and the doors opened.

'This is it guys,' Victor said. 'Wait here.'

Numbers noticed Victor disappearing through the front door. He looked at Sarah that was lying next to him in an uncomfortable position. He noticed her body again and felt slightly aroused, but they had things to take care of first. He had to keep his head clear because any mistake now would cost them dearly. He was sure there would be a time in the near future to have intercourse with her. Once the war was over and the power had been destroyed, then there would be more than enough time to enjoy every inch of her body whether she resisted it or not. That would not matter anymore because they would have taken over most of the Vredenburg and Saldanha areas. Numbers slapped her on the buttocks and felt the firmness of it. 'Soon honeybunch,' he said. He could hear Sarah's breath racing. There was something about the power they needed to destroy. What if he doesn't destroy it and somehow try to take it over? Numbers thought. If he could achieve that, then he would be untouchable, because Mormo and Hecate said this power was so great it could destroy them all. He felt excited about the thought. Maybe, just maybe he could own this power.

Victor locked the front door behind him. He regarded the bunch of keys in his hand as he walked towards a single brown garage door to the left of the house. He fiddled with the keys in the rusty lock of the garage door. Victor struggled to get one of the keys into the hole. One of the smaller keys fitted perfectly sliding into the lock. Victor jimmied the key, and the lock turned slightly. For a moment he thought he was going to break the key off inside the lock, but it turned and the lock disengaged. He removed the lock and pushed the door up using force. It screeched open in desperate need of oil. The infrequent use of the garage door did not make things any easier. Moments later the door was opened fully allowing light into the dark garage and stale air. Victor walked through the garage and locked the wooden door leading towards the house. He looked around for something usable amongst his grandpa's old belongings. There were crates with some tools and some old window frames. Victor opened some of the crates until he found what he was looking for, a rope. It was thick and brown. He could use it to tie up Andrew's mother. Now he just needed something solid to tie the rope onto. He could not afford her running around the garage, kicking the door and causing a racket. That would raise unwanted attention and ruin their plans. Victor noticed a thick steel pipe running down the side from the roof where it disappeared through the wall leading to the house. He wondered if the pipe was strong enough to withstand a desperate woman trying to escape. She would most certainly pull the pipe by jerking on the rope. He decided against it. He looked up and noticed the garage did not have a ceiling. Thick wooden beams were visible in the dark roof. Victor threw the rope over one of them and pulled it tight. There was enough rope left to tie down an army of women. He left the garage and walked towards the car.

'Bring her in,' Victor said to Numbers through the window of the car. He scouted around the neighbourhood, but it was quiet. 'We're clear, hurry up.'

Numbers got out and dragged Sarah by the feet sliding her into the backseat until she was out of the car. Sarah knew if she had only one chance of escaping, it would be now. She could hardly see anything. There were hands on her body guiding her. One was holding onto her arm and the other behind her back. 'Come on honey.' The voice of the convict said.

Sarah seized the opportunity and ripped off the jersey that hampered her vision. At the same time, she jerked her arm lose from the grip her kidnappers had on her. 'Help me!' she shouted and ran. She did not get too far when she felt her head being pulled back sending a sting through her scalp. Numbers grabbed her by the hair and jerked, almost pulling a chunk of her hair out. With his other hand, he grabbed her over her mouth and nose preventing her from screaming. Sarah struggled to breathe. Her eyes were watering up from the pain she felt in her scalp and now it was joined by the additional pain in her nose as well.

'One more move bitch, and we will kill you right fucking here, understand,' Numbers said through his teeth. His mouth was close to her ear as he pushed her towards the garage. He felt a slight nod of agreement from Sarah.

'Bring her here,' Victor said from inside the garage where the rope was hanging from the wooden column. 'Mike, go help Numbers.'

Victor saw the fear in Sarah's eyes when they came closer to the rope. She did not struggle anymore. He threw the rope around her hands and made some large knots. He then circled the rope around her feet where he made more knots than necessary. There was still a long piece left of the rope which he threw over another beam far away from Sarah. There he made another knot which he knew was unreachable for her. He left her just enough slack to allow her to sit down at least. He did not want to kill her from exhaustion, at least not now.

'Good job Vic,' Mike said. 'Now that's how you tie a bitch up.'

'Guys, I have to make a phone call,' Victor said. 'We need to get hold of Francois. The family must have phoned the police already, but I want Francois to handle this case. He will cover our tracks. In the meantime gag the bitch. There should be plenty shit lying around the garage to shut her up for good.' He regarded Sarah for a moment. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and walked out of the garage.

He dialled Francois. The call was connected after only two rings.

'Victor,' Francois's voice was loud and clear on the phone speaker.

'Francois, we need you to cover some tracks for us,' Victor said. 'We have great news, but there's no time to explain. A family will phone you shortly if not already. They will report a missing person.'

'Yeah.'

'I want you to take the case and sweep our tracks clean. You know what to do.' Victor said and disconnected the call and entered the garage again.

'Done?' Numbers asked.

'All sorted,' Victor said. He looked at Sarah. Numbers and Mike had found a roll of brown masking tape and an old oily rag. They had stuffed the rag in Sarah's mouth and taped it to her mouth by circling the masking tape around her head several times.

'This bitch will be as quiet as a mouse,' Numbers said. He regarded his handy work and nodded.

'Good,' Victor said. 'Now we need to clean the car. There's some blood on the back seat and on the inside of the door.'

Numbers got in behind the steering wheel and Mike jumped in the backseat. Victor rolled the garage door down with a huge effort. He made sure it was properly locked before he turned away and got into the car.

The quick and violent events had taken their toll on Sarah's body and mind. She collapsed to the floor only to find she had almost no space to move. The rope she was tied up with did not allow it. She could smell and taste the grease on the rag in her mouth. Her body was a helpless lump of meat where she sat on the cold concrete floor feeling the ropes tight around her wrists and feet. She tried to put her mind somewhere else, somewhere pleasant, but it was almost impossible. She had to prevent herself from hyperventilating because breathing through her swollen nose was hard and she feared the lack of oxygen to her brain would cause her to become unconscious again. The blood in her nose did not make things any easier and soon the blood would form clogs which would make her breathing situation even worse. The air inside the garage was stale. A small stream of light coming from underneath the garage door pierced the darkness. There was another small finger of light coming from the roof. Sarah tried to adjust her eyes to the dark garage but her mind was still racing with anxiety about the unknown. She thought that Andrew and Patrick had already called the police by now when they noticed the front door was open. Surely there would have been blood on the floor as well. What would happen to her if the police could not find her in time? Sarah though. Would they be back to feed me and give me something to drink? Sarah though. She wondered where she would be able to do her business if nature called and how would it be possible with both her hands and feet tied. Her hair was pulling out of her scalp because of the sticky masking tape that had been wrapped around her head to keep the gag in her mouth.