Yanni POV
Arriving at the address after a journey of only a few minutes, although it feels like hours have passed, I climb from the cab and stretch my back and shoulders. I am so tense and anxious that my body aches terribly, the old shoulder injury I received when I was younger after being hit by a surfer in the swimming zone choosing now to bother me. My head is throbbing with pain, likely due to the speed it is attempting to formulate plans, replay conversations, and also to torment itself with with horrifying images and thoughts.... Is she still alive? What is happening to her? Will we arrive in time?
Images of her battered and abused body flash before my eyes, so real in their intensity I feel physical pain!
I presume they are so vivid in detail as a result of witnessing her raped by McHale, those images burned into my hippocampus for all eternity now. Those visions, along with the snippets of information Syd has shared about her horrific past with Harry have amalgamated into the most sickening and harrowing mind movie!
Im going to Murder that fucker Harry!
As Noah pays the cab driver I attempt to contact Laura one last time, and finally get a response. She is horrified that Harry has Syd and tells me she understands my need to save her but warns against entering the property.
She tells me to wait for her and her team to arrive, not wanting an escalation of any violence that may be occurring, putting Syd in further danger.
Promising to wait I hang up the phone and turn to Noah, repeating Laura's instructions, but with no intention of waiting for her. I don't care how many sick pervs are in there, I'll risk my own safety to get her out. Noah advises we wait but I'm not listening, intent on gaining entry to this house in any way necessary, and he knows me better than to try and stop me, which is how we find ourselves circling the home to find a possible entry point, but with no luck.
"Yanni, we really should wait for Laura and her team, they'll know what to do. We are way out of our depth here. I don't want us to be the reason she is in further danger" Noah implores
I whirl around and grab him by the collar. The urge to put my fist in his face is immense, the anger and fear I feel threatening to overwhelm me. Why is he so hesitant about helping me?
Pulling him close to my face I growl a response....
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME NOAH!?
You are the entire reason she is in any danger at all right now! Either shut up and help me get into this house or fuck off will you!
What if something terrible happens to her while we just stand out here scratching our balls? Could you forgive yourself? I know I couldn't!"
His face falls, he lowers his head and
mumbles something I don't catch.
Pressing him to repeat it, I stare at the top of his head as he takes a few seconds to breathe before he looks up at me sadly and repeats himself....
"Yanni. This is all planned. You, me, us....... this!" he gestures emptily.
"Us being here, now..... it's planned. He planned it! He knows we are here, he wants you to witness Syd's suffering, his control of her, his power over her, and over you! He wants you to watch as he and his cronies defile and torture her in ways you can't even begin to imagine. You were supposed to be here. I was supposed to bring you here. Do you understand what I'm saying Yanni?"
I hear him speaking, but my mind is refusing to comprehend, unable or unwilling to process his words.
I am crushed by the weight of the hurt and betrayal I am feeling. My friend... my brother, someone I trusted unquestioningly has betrayed me and fuelled by that utter fury, the racing adrenaline in my veins and the fear inside me, I roughly shove him away from my trembling frame and he falls backwards into a large rose bush, a yelp leaving his throat as thorns pierce his clothing, tearing into his skin, small rivulets of blood beginning to trickle down his forearms, seeping into his shirt and trousers.
"Well if we're expected then let's get in there! Don't want to keep that sack of shit waiting do we?" I hiss.
Striding purposefully I head towards the front door with Noah trailing behind me.
"Yanni..... please!! The reason I didn't tell you we were expected here is because I realised that Sydney is not who I thought she was. I really thought I could sort this out before it got this far, that I could keep her safe..... away from Harry. I don't want to hurt her anymore, and I don't want you to see that either. He really does intend her serious harm. Please, I know I don't deserve your trust, but can I ask for it anyway? We've known each other so long now, please judge me on our past relationship, not on my recent behaviour! Let's wait for Laura and her team, get Syd out safely and make sure he can't hurt you either" he pleads.
"No Noah, I can't wait, he could be hurting her right now while I'm wasting time arguing with you! You either come with me now or get out of my way" and I continue towards the front door.
Without bothering with the formality of knocking I turn the doorknob and find it easily swings open. Pushing it wider I step forward as quietly as possible, making my way into the large and very beautiful entryway, Noah close behind me.
I listen for any sound and hear nothing, praying again to that God I don't believe in that we are not too late to save Syd from this horror.
"Where are they?" I whisper to Noah who shakes his head at me as we venture further into the home, passing the staircase and heading to the back of the house, tip toeing across the marble floor in the direction of the kitchen before hearing the sounds of distant raised voices floating up from below us. A basement!
Continuing towards the kitchen we find a set of stairs in the floor, the entrance to a wine cellar, and we cautiously follow the loud voices downward. The hardwood steps doing little to absorb the volume of our approaching footsteps, although given their raucousness I doubt they'd hear us if we were to tap dance our way towards them singing show tunes!
We reach the bottom of the stairwell and surprisingly find an open elevator door, just 2 buttons on the control panel.
-HEAVEN
-HELL
I shudder and wonder which this basement one is? Given its location I presume this room to be HELL, but who's Hell?
Harry has a warped and insane mind, his views and desires reaching far beyond anything acceptable or sane if the few sick details Syd has previously shared with me are anything to go by. Hell for any regular person would be that evil bastards Heaven. His
Nirvana!
"What now?" Noah whispers, his voice piercing my thoughts like a pin in a balloon, returning me to the now.
"We have no weapons, no idea how many of them are in there, and no plan. It's madness Yanni! I told you, he is expecting you.... he'll wait for you. You witnessing his full and total ownership of Syd, and getting to see how that crushes your soul is what is driving him right now. He wants to hurt her, and he wants to see it hurt YOU! Yanni.... he will wait, and we have to wait for Laura. It's the only way we have any chance of getting Syd back safely. PLEASE!?!!"
I turn my attention to the door, creeping as close to it as I can in an attempt to hear how many voices there may be inside the room, pressing my ear against the wood while desperately trying to think how we will get her out of here!
My stomach is turning over and over, like a washing machine on a spin cycle.
Unwelcome images of what may be occurring behind this door again flash before my eyes, a huge ball of nausea washes over me and my legs are barely holding my weight. I have to do something!
"Fuck this shit, I'm going in. You go back outside and wait for Laura and her team, I'll do my best to stall them, presuming they don't just kill me as soon as I enter the room!"
As Noah struggles to find a reason to stop me entering I turn the door knob and push the door open and am greeted by a row of silent masked faces. My eyes scan the large bright white and clinical room, looking for Sydney. There are various strange looking pieces of equipment spread around the room, some of which I've never seen before, some not so unfamiliar. Racks of paddles, bindings and whips line the walls, along with some very dangerous and scary looking items, including some ornately decorated daggers and knives!
My stomach drops at this sight and I step fully into the room, attempting to pass the human barrier of masked men.
A disembodied voice reaches my ears from behind the row of six shroud wearing, masked men opposite me, who step apart allowing a tall tuxedo wearing figure to emerge from the centre of the row and stride confidently toward me.
"YANNI!! Welcome! We've been expecting you. Come in, sit down, we have a front row seat reserved just for you!"
HARRY!!
Clapping me on the back as if we are old friends Harry guides me to a large overstuffed Queen Anne carver style chair and indicates I sit. Placing a hand into his pocket he removes some cable ties, and while looking into my eyes he pulls a face that suggests he is apologetic about our current situation, but takes my left hand and begins to strap it to the chair arm, continuing to speak as he does.
"Apologies for the restraints Yanni, but Im sure you understand why they are required. Once we begin our show the guys wont want to be interrupted, and I will guarantee that once you see what they have in store for our Dolly you will want to interrupt" he smirks slyly, struggling with the cable tie. Idiot!
"Harry, I can assure you I do not want to interrupt......."
He fixes me with a cold stare and opens his mouth to speak but I continue...
"........ I don't want to interrupt.... I want to participate"
"WHAT??" he asks incredulously, suspicion all over his face.
"I want to join in" I repeat, praying with every fibre of my being that Syd can't hear me or will forgive me these words if she can, and also that the God that I now only 'probably' don't believe in but strangely keep praying to, can help me stall things here long enough for Laura and her Cavalry to arrive and save the day.