CHAPTER 60

Carly counted the hours as they passed by. The clock on the wall was clicking,each time louder than the last. Maybe it was because of the silence in the room. She had been left alone for several hours after she had declined the food that Kelley had offered her. Honestly it looked delicious and her stomach was grumbling since the last time she ate had been the previous day, dinner at Dylan's. She just wasn't in the mood for the entertainment which Kelley on the other hand seemed to enjoy immensely. Any attempt to discover who was the person behind all this had failed and her only hope,the girl who Kelley had addressed as Ravenna had been barricaded in her room. It was nearly towards nightfall,an hour till the open windows would be no longer useful. She knew that her friend's were worried and were probably looking for ways to locate her and that's why she knew she would not save any room for tears. Instead, she continued to struggle, working her head tirelessly with  an aim to discover something. She sat down and stared at the laptop continuously as if she hoped the password would jump right out of it displaying itself in front of her eyes. Dylan had this night and the next day to figure out where she was supposed to meet these psychos. How she was supposed to do that, she herself had no idea. She should have been more careful when she left the apartment. She should have at least told her that she was going out. She knew Dylan would have offered to take her and she hadn't wanted to disturb her. She already had a lot to deal with and her head needed all the rest it could get. That had just been stupid and she was realizing it just now. Maybe if she hadn't been so hard headed,all this wouldn't have happened. Yeah,regrets always came after and that seemed to have become her permanent personality. She couldn't blame anyone but herself. She got up and headed to the door she had seen Kelley take Ravenna through. She stood there and listened. She heard a gentle humming and some movement on the other side. She tried the door but it was locked. She knocked lightly.

                    "Ravenna?" she said almost in a whisper through the key hole. She listened but there was no replied. She tried again and this time the movement and humming stopped. It was a moment before she heard some footsteps coming to the door. "Are you there? It's Carly. We met earlier before your aunt locked you up." 

                     "I was told not to talk to you,"she heard her gentle voice say.

                      "Do you want to talk to me?" she asked hopefully.

                   "I will be in trouble if I do."

   Carly didn't know how long she had until Kelley or whoever else came back into the room. It was night time and they were likely to spend the night in the same house so they could watch her. What she knew was that she needed to convince this girl to talk to her, get her to open up to her,to trust her and maybe that way she would know what to do next. Maybe even get the password to the laptop which she hoped would still be in the same position as she tried to access the password. What she would do with whatever she would find there would have to wait until at least after she had achieved her first goal. 

                   "How about we play a game? You don't have to talk to me. We will just write it down somewhere and then we can pass it back to each other through the tiny gap below the door,okay?" She heard a tiny sigh then an okay after some seconds and was relieved. "Okay, I'll look for a pen and paper and then write a question down,you are going to write an answer and pass it back to me. I will see if you are right."

                   "That's sounds childish."

    She hadn't expected her to say something like that. She thought for a while then got the best reply she hoped would work.

                    "I know but we are both bored. Don't you think it would be fun to  have someone to play with for once?" She knew she was grasping at straws and that was just a guess. That Ravenna had been closed off to the world by whoever her mother was and most likely didn't have any friends. She had decided to try it anyway,just in case it worked. "I want to be your friend Ravenna." She waited a minute and was about to walk away giving up when she heard her voice again.

                    "I would like that."

   She smiled then immediately went to the shelves. She found a book and tore a paper in the middle where it wouldn't be noticed quickly then took a pen and wrote down a question. ‘What's your favorite color?’ That was an easy question that wouldn't freak her out. She pushed the paper through the gap below the door and waited. It came back after a few seconds. She smiled. Why was every little girl so fond of pink? It had always been her favorite color until she had grown out of it much later after highschool. She went on asking her questions in that line and it got to a moment where the answers came back quickly. She knew that she had achieved something at least. What remained now was to know if the girl trusted her enough. How would she do that?  She looked at the paper when it came back and this time,there was something else written below the answer. It was her own question and the moment she saw it,her heart skipped in shock. 

     ‘Why does my mom want to punish you?’ This girl definitely knew something. She looked at the paper, going over the question over and over again but her eyes went past that. She looked at it more closely and something clicked. Her eyes went wide in shock and her heartbeats fastened their pace. She studied the paper more wondering if it was really what she was thinking. That handwriting looked really familiar. It wasn't just familiar, she knew it for sure. She remembered it from the pieces of paper that had been sent to both Dylan and Emily. She gasped.

                "Oh my God!" she didn't know how the words left her mouth. What mother would use their kid for a sick thing such as this? Had Ravenna been forced to do it or had she gladly accepted finding it fun to work for her mom who she guessed neglected her most times? Ever since she got there,the woman had not even set a foot inside the house not even to check on her daughter. She rose up quickly and went to the other door leading outside. She stopped to listened and when she didn't hear anything or anyone, she went back to Ravenna's door and knocked. She decided not to write it down.

          "Please,I know you don't like being here. I know you don't like your mom either and I need you to help me. If you know the password for the laptop, please write it down for me and I will help you get out of here. I need to get back to my son too." She stopped and waited but no reply came. She closed her eyes feeling like her attempt was going down in shreds. "Your mom is not a good person,I know she is abusing you. I know that she has been using you to play her sick games and we need to put an end to that. Don't you want to go out there in the world? Go to school and have friends who are around your age?"

After waiting for several more minutes with no response coming,Carly gave up and walked away from the door just a few seconds before Kelley walked in with  bags full of shopping. That explained why she had gone for too long. She realized the peace of paper they had been writing on was still in her hand. She quickly folded it and put it away in the inner pocket of the jeans she was wearing. Kelley didn't notice anything. She walked past her with the bags and headed to the kitchen. She returned a minute later and sat down on a couch opposite her with an apple in one hand. She took a bite.

                  "Hungry yet?" she asked as she chewed on the piece then offered the remaining one to her.

  She looked away in disgust,"I'm never going to taste your saliva in my mouth ever again."

   Kelley grinned,"Oh, really?" She didn't reply. "Don't be so choosy Carly. I don't think your pretty ex-lover still loves you the way she used to back in highschool."

                   "How do you know about all that?"

                   "I have my sources,"Kelley replied and bit the apple again. 

                    "You mean the woman who was outside earlier?"

                    "Maybe, maybe not. It was a pretty interesting story and quite tragic in the end but I'm guessing you are back to pick up the pieces?"

                     "That's none of your business."

                     "Oouu, don't get so defensive. I'm just trying to have a conversation."

                    "Why don't you tell that woman to come face me herself. What is she so scared of? That I will recognize her and report her?" She forced a laugh,"Oh,I almost forgot that I don't even have any access to a phone. I'm probably in the middle of nowhere with two psycho murderers who even have the strength to close off a ten year old from the world,bored to death in her own room."

Kelley dropped the apple on a table and faced her.

                    "If you are talking about Ravenna, that's not any of my business. It isn't yours either so,I would advise you to keep off it."

                  "Tell me, don't you feel any remorse? She is just a kid. She shouldn't be involved in any of this."

Kelley frowned which made her wonder if something had slipped along her long string of words.

                 "What are you talking about?"

    She looked at her indifferently but didn't utter a word. They looked at each other for a while until Kelley stood up and walked up to her. "You know, I really liked you Carly but you are beginning to piss me off. If I were you,I would sit silently and hope that your ex will come through for you and you will be back to your son. Isn't he supposed to be undergo surgery a few days from now? I would really hate it if something happened to you and your son have to grow without a mother."

   After all that speech and the seriousness in Kelley's eyes, she knew that all those things were possible to occur. But then,if Dylan did what she had been instructed and they all met, what would happen then?

               "What are you going to do to her?"

                 "Dylan?" she asked rhetorically.  "On my part,I just want to have a little talk with her. Maybe make her feel what she made my sister feel. What happens next is up to my partner."

   Carly didn't have to be convinced to know that this woman was not bluffing. She needed to reach out to Dylan and warn her. The real question was,how? The only option she had was to work harder trying to convince Ravenna to help her and do that without causing any alarm. 

                  "I'm going to make dinner and this time,I would advise you to eat something. We don't want you collapsing because of the hunger and also,you are going to need your strength." With that, Kelley walked away from her and disappeared into the kitchen. She let out a heavy breath and a tear she had been fighting hard. She quickly wiped it away and went to stand at the window looking outside as darkness encroached the area. Lights were flipped on and she jumped. She blinked severally trying to adjust to the light as her mind slowly strayed. What was Dylan and the other's doing? Would they manage to sleep through the night? On her part she knew she wouldn't. It was unlikely for them either. Did her parents know that she had been abducted? What if they blamed Dylan for it? And Teddy,how was her little son? She felt painful tears sting her eyes and this time she let them flow freely. It was no use acting tough while all of her being felt everything negative out of this.