First Visions: Second Sight Book One

Chapter Twenty

It seemed as if hours had passed until an iota of light finally entered the basement. It was still dim, but Kate could finally get a look around at her surroundings and ponder over any possibilities for escape. It was tough to get over how surreal it felt to be in the same place as her vision. Cori dozed on and off and Kate tried to convince her it was safe to sleep. It wasn't like Kate would fall asleep with her adrenaline pumping. Now, Cori was huddled in a small ball on the floor with her body still full of tension even in sleep. Being held captive for weeks by a sicko who barely fed you and had to take you on supervised bathroom trips was enough to make anyone break. However, Cori was doing a pretty good job of holding it together.

The silence from upstairs was almost too much to take. Kate guessed he was sleeping, but there was no way to be positive. For all she knew, he could be sharpening the knives he planned to use to butcher her into a million pieces.

For a while, her only thoughts were how much it was going to suck if she died already. She still lived at home and was nowhere near finishing college. She swore if she made it out of here alive, she would no longer be spending her life in hiding. Screw that. She had wasted these past two years when she could've been dating, going to college and meeting new friends. The idea of having some Irvine pervert be one of her first real sexual experiences was horrifying.

Was she going to turn into a Dateline special and not be found for years after being forced into sex slavery? Diane Sawyer would interview her while she would sit there with a dead look in her eyes, since any spirit would have been doused out long ago. How did a girl survive that with her body and mind intact? She already felt her sanity was a precarious situation. She saw people's private memories on a regular basis. Years of this might end up making her certifiable as it was—no need to speed up the process.

As much as she wanted to block it out, she also comprehended she had a responsibility to protect Cori. If he wanted her to service his friends for money, Kate doubted he had the moral scruples to not demand the same of Cori. If it came to it, Kate would try everything to convince him to ransom the girl back to her family instead. Determined to figure out a plan, she began to jiggle the handcuffs. Looking behind her body at her bound wrists, inspiration struck. "Cori, wake up," she called over to the girl, trying not to have her voice travel upstairs.

Cori stirred and then rubbed her eyes. With some manipulation of her body, she was able to get up into a standing position. Looking around with a confused gaze, she inquired, "What's the matter? Is he back?"

"No, but I broke my wrist when I was ten!" Kate told her in a delighted voice. Cori gave her a look that conveyed how annoyed she was to be woken up by her idiocy. Kate continued on, "I've been too panicked to think straight, but I just remembered something that could help us. I fell off my bike and although I wore a cast, it never healed completely right. I have really small wrists on top of it. I bet I can get out of these cuffs!"

"What, are you a magician now?" Cori sounded disbelieving of her plan. Kate began pulling against the handcuffs.

As she wiggled her right arm, she felt concerned that maybe Cori had a point and she shouldn't have bothered to wake the girl up. Maybe she'd be better off if she simply followed the guy's orders and hope he'd let them go after she performed her service. Perhaps the john would end up being a handsome businessman and he'd be captivated by her beauty and agree to help rescue them.

Who was she fooling? It would be another crackhead like their abductor and he'd rape and beat her until she wished she was dead. Moreover, Kate didn't remember hearing of any abductors who suddenly decided to free their captives. Both she and Cori had seen his house and what he looked like. Why would he risk letting them go?