Chapter 8

At first the two young girls Abe had been abusing felt relieved when he left them on some errand. At least for a while they wouldn’t have to endure his hands on them and his sick and perverted demands. They lay naked on the bed hardly daring to speak to each other because Abe had forbid it. Still, they managed to whisper between themselves to commiserate and console one another in their misery. But with no recourse, all they could do was huddle on the bed and wait in dread for their tormentor’s return.

For a while, all was quiet. Then there ears were assaulted by the thunderous roar of the helicopter followed by gunfire and the deafening sound of rockets hitting their targets. They feared for the worst, especially immediately afterward when the eerie silence was broken by the sound of the front door banging open, followed by heavy boots hitting the stairs.

Melody, the blond and Susan, the black haired girl looked in desperation at each other. Then they tugged on their handcuffs to try and get free even though they knew it was a futile gesture. Abe had left them alone and cuffed before. At first they had taken it as a chance to try and escape but despite their frantic efforts all they got was bruised and chafed wrists and a stern warning from their tormentors. Now, not sure what was happening and convinced there were probably more soldiers coming to rape them, they renewed their efforts to free themselves.

Both waited in terror as the sound of the clomping boots reached the second floor. They followed the progress of the boots by the sound they made on the hardwood floors and by the banging of doors. They were almost in hypo-ventilation by the time the boots reached their room. There was a brief hesitation and whispered conversation and the door handle rattled. Of course, Abe had locked it. More whispered words and another try at the door, then nothing. The girls shrieked, cried and flung their bodies about on the bed when the door suddenly splintered open with a loud crash. But all was useless. All they could do was scream even louder, and try and shrink into the bed at the sight of several uniformed men barging into the room and staring down at them from the battered doorway.