16 hours later…
Mike drove through the open gate, that had a sign above it, saying ‘Welcome to Serenity Hills’
“They probably mean Serenity Hells” Mike muttered as he stopped the car.
“Mike, please, try to control yourself” Ryan detto warning. “We don’t know anything yet”
Mike ignored him and got out of the car. He walked right up to the closest door, and opened it. He looked around him, but didn’t see any sign of life. Then he heard voices, mumbling.
Ryan walked in as well, and looked quizzically at Mike, who was following the voices.
They led them to the council room. Everyone...

link

“My father used to tell me stories about a girl named Annabel” Deb said. She and Annabel were sitting on Annabel’s bed. “Her mother killed her, and herself. The mother’s name was Rose-Anne. My mother’s middle name is Rose-Anne”
Annabel shook her head confused. “Why didn’t they keep me? Was I not a cute baby?”
“It had nothing to do with you” Deb soothed her. “And trust me, te were much better off without them”
“Yeah” Annabel sighed. “If your drawings are any indication to what kind of a person my father is, I should be grateful I got away” She looked down...

The moment he’d spoken the words Agnes faltered. She pressed both her hands against her chest as if to stop the air from leaving her lungs.
“Agnes, are te alright?” Ross asked concerned. Agnes inhaled deeply and nodded. “Shall I inform Dale?” Agnes shook her head heavy. “No. Dale cannot find out. Tell him she escaped, but that someone’s looking for her”
She rotated her head to the cage. “Tell him Simon is looking for her”
As the others walked up the stairs Ross walked to Agnes. “Now that we’re alone te can speak freely. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No”...

Joe put Claire down on a chair and placed a cell phone in her tied hands.
“What’s that?” Claire asked looking at the phone as if it were a cursed object.
“That, my dear Claire” Joe explained charismatic as ever “is a way of getting in contact with Ryan. See, you’re going to give him a call and tell him he needs to come and rescue you”
Claire looked up from the phone to her former husband. “No” she replied me.
“Excuse me?” Joe was certain he’d heard her wrong.
“I detto no!” Claire repeated loud and she raised from the chair. “I’m not putting Ryan’s life on...

Let me start da saying that I can easily develop a strong connection with fictional characters. I’m not sure why that is, but I suppose that’s what makes me a good writer. Because I can put myself in their shoes, see things from their point of view. So, when something happens to one of those characters I can be quite upset about it. I know it’s not real, but it feels real.

I’ve liked Debra Parker from the get go. I know a lot of people suspected her to be one of Joe’s followers, but I never doubted her innocence. Why did so many people think she was a follower? Because she gave Joe...

“How are te feeling?” Mike asked softly. The medical staff had taken care of Simon, and now they were left alone for a moment.
“Physically? Like my insides are on fire” Deb groaned.
“Must be the medication wearing off” Mike detto concerned. “You want me to go get someone”
Deb shook her head and tried to grab his hand to stop him. “I want my head to be clear” she explained. “What happened? The last thing I remember is standing in front of Joe and then he stabbed me”
Mike frowned, confused and frustrated. “You don’t remember being in the elevator with me?”
“I was in...

Hiding behind a furgone, van Simon waited for Mike to leave. The agent had stormed outside, worked up over something, and he had spent the last ten minuti against the wall.
Finally Ryan Hardy came out of the hospital and from his confused expression Simon could tell he was worked up over something as well.
It seemed whatever Hardy was dealing with was bigger than Weston’s issues, because the latter Lost the angry attitude and followed the former to their car.
When Simon was certain he could snuck in unseen he ran towards the hospital. Once there he glanced back. It seemed they were in a heated discussion....

“It all started after Bethany was born” Mrs. Parker began. “Before that Debra was a dream child. She was a little shy, but really sweet. She never disobeyed us” She glanced at Mr. Parker, who took over.
“That all changed when Beth was born” Mr. Parker continued. “Deb would cry all the time, especially when Beth cried. When Beth was hungry, she was hungry. When Beth was hurting, she was hurting. Sometimes she even came to us with cuts and bruises and when we asked how she got them, she would say Beth had done it”
“Of course we thought it was just a scream for attention. Sister...

Not wasting any time Abigail walked upstairs and opened the closet. She pulled out a suitcase and zipped it open.
She heard someone ring the bell, but since she wasn’t expecting anyone, she didn’t pay much attention to it. She turned back to the closet and took a few sweaters, blouses, T-shirts and pants. She closed the closet and walked to the drawer successivo to her bed.
“Good afternoon, sir” a woman detto downstairs. She seemed a little nervous. Her eyes were red as if she’d been crying.
“Can I help te with something?” Wayne asked suspicious, while the woman searched her purse....

The titolo of the chapter is a Within Temptation song. Lyrics can be found here

link

“Tell Beth I Amore her” Debra begged of Simon.
“I promise” Simon quickly replied as he pushed her outside. As soon as she had walked out of the door he shut it and leaned against, allowing no one to pass.
“Move, te foolish boy!” Agnes ordered when standing in front of him. Simon looked up at her challengingly. Agnes grabbed his camicia and pulled him away from the door. “Put him in the cage” she barked. Ross and another man each grabbed one of Simon’s arms and dragged him to the cage where Debra...

“You ready?” Simon asked when he closed the door behind Debra.
Debra nodded, grateful that he couldn’t hear her cuore pounding. She let him take her hand and pull her towards the elevator. Once there he hesitated.
“On secondo thought,” he detto as the elevator opened, “we might want to take the stairs. It’s safer” he decided, alluding on Deb’s fear of small, dark places. He could only imagine that fear had been highly increased due to the recente events.
He pulled her towards the stairs and they walked down it. At the bottom Simon checked left and right to make sure no one would...

Molly supported her head with her hands and groaned.
“Are te okay?” Ryan asked concerned and compassionate.
“Yeah, my head just feels like it’s going to explode” Molly replied faint.
“That’s not what I mean” Ryan said. “How did he get in here? Don’t te lock your doors?”
“I was going to” Molly defended herself. She stood and walked to the closet. She opened it and took out some Ibuprofen. While she swallowed a couple Turned ran off the stairs. He walked towards Ryan.
“Can I talk to te for a moment?” he demanded. “Yeah” Ryan frowned and he followed Turner away...

Mike hurried up to Debra’s hotel room. He tried for the door, but it was locked. A maid walked out of a distant room and Mike quickly walked to her.
“Hi, could te open that door for me, please?” he asked soft but urgent. “I’m from the FBI” he added. “Hang on, I’ll mostra te my badge”
After mostrare her his FBI card the maid walked to Deb’s room and unlocked it. “Thank you” Mike said. He slowly pushed the door open while he held up his gun.
He entered the room and looked around to see if there was anything unusual. Well, there was the corpse of a waiter, but there was...

6am, the successivo morning.
The basement door opened and someone walked downstairs. They were carrying a bucket with water. They walked to the cage, opened it and poured the ice cold water over Debra’s sleeping body. Debra woke up screaming and turned on her back.
Agnes smiled at her, the bucket in her right hand. “Wake up, sleepy head. We have a lot of work to do”
Debra tried to get up, which was difficult, because she hadn’t stand up since she was put here. Agnes Lost her patience and grabbed the girl’s arm. With a violent gesture she pulled her up. “Now, come on. Breakfast is ready”...

An instant later Emma appeared. When she saw Joe lying on the floor, appearing to be dead, she accelerated her steps, while repeatedly mumbling ‘no’ She knelt and turned Joe on his back.
“Joe, wake up. Please, wake up” she begged. “Don’t leave me here”
Joe groaned and opened his eyes. “Dear God, that hurt” he moaned. “What are te doing here? I told te not to come until I called you”
“I followed Ryan. It would’ve been two against one. It wouldn’t have been a fair fight. I had to come and help you” Emma explained loyal.
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Emma”...

Ryan parked his car at the dock and stepped outside. He ran to the pier towards a motor boat. On his way he’d received another call from Claire with further instructions. He had to get to a barca named Matthews. The keys would be in the ignition.
Ryan hurried into the barca and ran to the wheel. He started the barca and navigated in the instructed direction.
About thirty-seven minuti later Ryan saw a white barca and he navigated towards it. When the Matthews was right successivo to it, Ryan walked to the edge, stepped up and jumped. He could scarcely grab the gunwale of the barca and climbed on board....

FYI: The chapters of this story are named after songs. Through the dirt and the gravel is a song da We were promised jetpacks. Lyrics can be found here: link



“Any last words?” Alex asked with a voice of which the malicious pleasure just dripped of. Debra looked up at him, her eyes wide in terror.
“You don’t have to do this” she begged.
“I know I don’t” Alex replied careless. “Take small breaths” he advides before getting up. As Debra cried and screamed for help he and his partner closed the coffin and buried it underneath the ground.
Everything went quiet. The only sound...

“That’s not my baby” Deb eventually sighed.
“What?” Mike asked confused. “Deb, how can te say that? How can te know that? te detto it yourself. te never saw the baby”
“I can’t explain it. I just know this is not our daughter” Suddenly her fear was replaced with something equally as strong. Hope. “Maybe’s she’s not dead” Deb looked up at Mike, expecting to find the same renewed hope on his face. But all she saw was doubt. “I have to go” she said, as if she had suddenly remembered something very important.
She ran away, bare feet , and without any papers.
“Let...

“Tie her up” Susan ordered, pointing the gun at Mike. “Use your belt”
Mike raised his hand in a negotiating gesture. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure we can work it out. Let’s just sit at the table, and talk about it”
Susan lowered her gun, only to raise it and point it at Deb’s stomach. “Tie her up” she repeated threateningly. “Or I’ll get rid of that big belly of hers”
His hands shaking, Mike took off his cintura and walked towards Deb. “I’m sorry” he muttered, before tying Deb’s hand behind her back.
In the meantime, Susan had loosened her own belt....

Simon knew something was wrong. Right after he had arrived back in Nottingham, the other cult members had been leaving, one da one, until only he, Emma and Molly were left.
“What’s going on?” Simon asked suspicious.
Emma didn’t respond. Instead she walked to the kitchen, and examined the knifes in the coltello block. She, eventually, picked out a medium one, and let it slide over the counter. “I thought I could trust you, Simon” she started, in a calm, but sinister voice.
Simon’s eyes shifted to Molly, but she just smiled, expectantly, and when he tried to back away, Molly grabbed...