One Good Reason (4 page)

***

Day
1

Ava
awoke sometime during the next day, she could tell by the light shining through
the bottom of the door.

After
screaming and crying for what seemed like hours, she’d crawled back over to the
tiny sheet on the ground and cried herself to sleep.

She
kept waking, expecting it to all be just a dream. Things like this were only
meant to happen in books, not in real life. Not to Ava. And what was the
‘information’ the man was talking about? What information? She came from a
small town, the only information she knew was the local gossip of the tiny
population.

Up
until now, Ava had led an un-interesting life. Nothing crazy ever happened to
her. She never let herself get put in dangerous situations, yet here she was.
Somehow, she’d ended up here.

What
about Olivia? Was she okay? Had she safely gotten back to the hotel? Did she
tell the police about her abduction? Were there people out there right now
looking for her? Or had they captured her too? Taken her to a place like Ava
was in, with no way of escaping. No one would know of their kidnapping. No one
would suspect anything for at least another week when Olivia didn’t turn up to
classes. Who knows what could have happened to them by then, if they would even
still be alive…

“I
hope you’re okay, Olivia,” she whispered to herself.

She
moved her body; it ached from lying on the hard ground. She stared into the
darkness, praying for a miracle,
someway
out of this
hellhole.

She
stretched her body out, her legs rubbed into the dirt. It must have been thirty
degrees in the room she was in. With no window, the only air she had coming in
was from underneath the door. She tucked her hands underneath her head trying
to cool down.

She
needed to go to the toilet. She didn’t think her bladder could hold on any
longer.

She
closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to think of something else. She
tried this for several minutes and then gave up. Nothing would help. It had
been hours since she’d used the bathroom. She could go in the corner of the
room since it was only dirt…

No,
she thought.
What if they found
out and saw that as misbehaving, they would punish me…

She
slowly got to her feet, deciding she had no other option. Her back and neck
ached as she walked towards the tiny bit of light coming from the bottom of the
door.

She
took a deep breath, frightened about what would happen next. She hadn’t come
yet to thinking that the room she was in was safe. It was dark, hot,
uncomfortable, and scary. But no one had come in since the man put her in here,
giving her some sense of security.

She
placed her fist to the door and knocked quickly.

Nothing.

She
took another breath and knocked again more loudly.

She
saw a shadow move over the door.

“What?”
a man asked behind the door.

“I…I
need to go to the toilet,” Ava stuttered.

She
heard the locks on the door unlock. She took a step back from the door and
watched it open slowly. She squinted her eyes as the light beamed into her
room. She covered them with one hand, trying to adjust after being in the dark
for so long.

When
her eyes finally adjusted, she lowered her hand and looked up at the Thai man
in front of her.

“Hands,”
he demanded.

She
looked down at her hands, which were stained with dirt and held them out in
front of her. The man grabbed them roughly and tied a zip tie around them
tightly.

“Ouch,”
she cried as it pinched the inside of her wrist.

The
man then grabbed her wrists with one hand, the other one holding onto his
rifle, and pulled her down the hallway.

She
stumbled at first, and then found her footing.

It
was only a few steps down the narrow hallway when they stopped in front of a
doorway. The door was already opened. Ava looked inside the very small room and
saw only an old toilet and basin. The tiles were an off white, the walls an
apple green colour.

The
man pushed her inside and stood at the doorway. She looked at the toilet in
front of her. There was no lid and the seat was stained a dark yellow. The bowl
had stains all inside it like it had never been cleaned. It was the most
disgusting thing she had ever seen.

She
looked back at the man, expecting him to have his back turned, but he didn’t.
He stood facing her with a serious expression, rifle still firmly clasped in
one hand.

“Please
turn around,” she asked softly.

The
man shook his head.

She
clenched her jaw. She was not about to cry. She wasn’t going to cry over this,
even though she felt like any dignity she had left was about to be taken. She’d
lived in a small farming community where she’d grown up, having to go to the
toilet in all sorts of places, including the bush when she was out helping on
someone’s property, and there wasn’t a toilet in sight. It wasn’t that it was
the most disgusting toilet she’d ever seen that made her want to cry, but the
fact that she would have to go in front of a man who was holding her against
her will. A man who she knew nothing about. A man that could rape her, beat
her, and possibly even kill her.

She
turned her body away from the toilet and slowly started to move her hands up to
her undies to pull them down. Her wrists were tied, making it a difficult task.
She tried not to take notice or think about the man watching her, as she
switched her hands back and forth on her thighs trying to pull her undies down.
She did her best at getting them to knee length without exposing herself.

Ava
grabbed the sides of her dress and ruffled them up in her hand to lift them
just below her bum cheeks, and then squatted just above the toilet seat,
careful not to let herself touch the seat. It was no easy task, her hands were
bound and with nothing to hold onto, her legs had to take all her weight and
keep her steady.

She
could feel the seams of her dress ride up behind her, exposing her backside
only slightly, but just enough she wouldn’t get it wet, then she relieved
herself.

When
she was finished, she looked around for toilet paper. When she saw none, she
could do nothing but stand back up and pull her undies back up. She let her
dress fall to her knees again and turned, flushing the toilet, and then walked
towards the basin. She turned the tap and washed her hands, drying them on her
dress.

Thankfully,
there wasn’t a mirror to look at, she could tell by the state of her skin and
dress that she was filthy, she didn’t need a mirror to tell her that.

 She
turned back to the man, who showed no expression on his face, as he let her
walk past him into the hallway. When she turned her head, she saw the man who
had carried her into her room standing at the front door with his arms crossed,
looking at her.

She
instinctively started running towards him. He had been the only one to talk to
her so far and he had mentioned ‘the information’ that he needed from her.
She’d cried out to him all night, pleading with him to come back to her, she
didn’t know what he was talking about, but he never came. Now, he was there,
only meters away.  

“What
do you want from me?” she screamed out to him. However, before she could get
close to him, she was yanked back hard by the roots of her hair.

The
Thai man had grabbed her hair so hard she had tripped on her feet and fallen to
the ground. She scrambled on the floor, trying to get up, but the Thai man
kicked her hard in the ribs. She coughed for air, the kick winding her. She
clutched her sides with her hands, rolling over in agony.

She
arched her head up to the man at the doorway, but he was still standing in the
same position, unfazed by what had happened.

And
why would he be? He kidnapped you, Ava.

The
Thai man grabbed her wrists, pulling her hard to her feet and sending a jolt of
pain to her wrists. She cried out in pain.

He
dragged her down the hallway and back to her room. With one quick movement, he
shoved her inside, sending her to her knees on the ground, and then shut and
locked the door behind her. Her wrists were still tied as she dragged herself
to her sheet and curled up into a ball, crying because of the pain, and crying
because of the reality of what her life had become.

4 HANGING ON

Day 2

Ava’s stomach growled loudly. Her ribs still pained her and now her
stomach cramped from the lack of food. She didn’t know how long you were able
to survive without food and water. Her body was becoming weak, her hunger
unbearable. She’d taken it upon herself to try and drink the water from the tap
in the bathroom a couple of times, both times resulting in a slap across the
face from the different Thai men who guarded her door and took her to the
toilet.

When
she’d thought she couldn’t go any longer without fluids or food, she heard the
locks on her door being opened. It was the first time anyone was entering her
room without her requesting to leave for the toilet.

Ava
pushed herself up against the wall, her arms wrapped around her knees as she
watched the door open. The light shone through the room making it hard for her
to see, but she was able to make out a man placing something on the ground. The
door closed and the darkness set in once again.

Ava
stood and walked towards the object on the ground next to the door slowly,
listening as the locks were turned.

She
knelt down and saw through the light a wooden plate with mashed up food on it,
and a wooden mug next to it. She lifted the mug to her lips, swallowing its
contents without even tasting it to see what it was. Thankfully, it was water.

She
grabbed the piece of bread, loaded the mashed food onto it, and began eating.
She didn’t know exactly what it was. She could taste bits of meat, bean, potato
and herbs and other things, she didn’t know what though.

It
only took her a couple of minutes to eat everything on the plate, including
licking the plate clean. When she was finished, she left it where she found it
and moved back to her sheet.

A
short time later, a Thai man entered the room and collected it quickly, and
then she was left alone once again.

The
meal hadn’t filled her, and the water hadn’t clenched her thirst, but it had
helped. She didn’t know how often she would be fed or offered water, she only
prayed it would be more than every couple of days.

She
lay back down on her sheet, whipping her hair from her face as she closed her
eyes. With nothing to do in the darkness and no energy to do anything, the only
thing left was to sleep and hope that help would come soon. Hope that someone,
anyone, was out there looking for her and that they would find her and save
her.

***

Day
5

Ava
sat in the corner of her room drawing in the dirt. Five days since her
kidnapping had passed. Five days of praying that, it all was a dream; none of
it real, but it was real. It was real and it was happening to her.

She’d
stopped screaming and crying every day and night, and trying to take water from
the basin’s taps and had been rewarded with breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals,
along with plenty of water. She couldn’t be completely sure that the meals were
rewards for her behaviour. The Thai man who had kicked her in the stomach when
she had tried to run down the hallway on the second day, still pushed her hard
into the ground and kicked her in the legs or backside when he returned her to
her room from a toilet break. She tried not to go when he was outside her room,
but she could never tell who was on guard until they opened the door.

The
Australian man still had not come to see her, and she didn’t dare try and look
for him anymore down the hallway.

The
only men she saw were the three Thai men who guarded her door. She knew there
were more though, maybe five of them.

During
her long days and nights, she listened to the sounds outside her door. The
different voices speaking to each other, the toilet flushing, the doors opening
and closing, and vehicles coming and going. She’d come to identify the
different voices of the Thai men, and when she thought the Australian man had
left her, she would hear his voice. He never spoke loud enough for her to make
out full sentences, every time they needed to talk about something important,
he would order them outside so she couldn’t hear.

The
men still tied her wrists to go to the toilet and the experience wasn’t any
less comforting. Then men started to stare at her provocatively. She’d even
seen them out of the corner of her eye rubbing their hands down their crotch as
she pulled her undies down to go to the toilet. Thankfully, she’d become quite
good at not exposing herself.

She
had also come to use the time to wash under her armpits, which the men didn’t
seem to mind. Five days had passed without washing herself, and with the heat,
she really was beginning to stink. Her skin was black with dirt, her hair
knotted and greasy. She wanted desperately to wash more of herself with the
basin, but feared she would be starved again.

She
still slept as much as she could to pass the time, the loneliness was sending
her stir crazy, but she’d rather be lonely than with the Thai men.

Just
as she finished drawing the stem of the flower in the dirt, she heard the locks
on the door open. She stopped and stood up. She had already been fed lunch and
the plate and mug had been picked up. She never had anyone enter her room for
any other reason.

The
door opened and in stepped the Australian man.

Her
heart began to pound against her chest as she watched him step forward.

“Come
with me,” he said.

She
hesitated.
Come where? To do what?
She wondered.

“Now,”
he said more sternly.

She
found her feet and walked towards him slowly.

“Hands.”

She
followed his instructions and held out her hands as he wrapped a zip tie around
her wrists. He then grabbed with his hand and led her out of her room. He took
her down the hallway towards the front door.

She
hadn’t been this far before. She slowed to look into the small kitchen on her
left that she hadn’t noticed on her way in. The man tugged against her hand
harder.

She
followed him as he opened the door and led her down the stairs onto the grass.
There were Thai men on the verandah like when she had arrived, with their
rifles.

“Where
are you taking me?” Ava asked as he led her down the side of the house. As they
walked, Ava looked around the house, taking in the forest around her and the
men surrounding the house.

“Apparently
you stink,” he replied.

“Excuse
me?” Ava responded shocked.

“The
men keep telling me how much you, and the room you are in, stink. I thought it
was time you got clean.”

“But
how-” she cut herself off as she saw just beyond the house, a small, fenced
off, outdoor shower.

As
they reached the shower, she started to panic. The fence was made of wood,
stood waist high, and hanging off the edge was a brown towel.

The
man stopped and pulled her to face him. He grabbed a pocketknife from his pants
pocket and cut the zip tie.

“There
is soap on the bench in the corner. We don’t have any shampoo or conditioner,
so you’ll have to make do with the soap. There is the towel to dry yourself,”
he said, pointing to the towel. “And on the other side is a fresh pair of
underwear and a dress for you, since your clothes need to be washed.”

Ava
looked at where he had pointed, and then nodded her head. She couldn’t say no
to a shower, she knew she desperately needed one. She walked around the back of
the shower and through the opening in the fence.

She
started to lift her dress up when she noticed the man was still there.

“You’re
not just going to stand there are you?” she asked.

The
man smiled. The first smile she had ever seen him do. “I’m not about to walk
away or turn my back on you when you could escape on me.”

She
frowned at him.

“Would
you rather I have one of the other men come out and watch you?”

“No!”
she quickly said.

She
knew the man wasn’t a nice guy, he was holding her against her will, but the
other Thai men still seemed to be worse than he was. He had not yet hit her
like the other men had, or looked at her as if he wanted to have his way with
her, so if it had to be anyone, she would choose him.

She
sucked in a breath and turned her back to him. She pulled her underwear down
and off her legs, kicking it to the corner of the fence. She then lifted her
dress up over her shoulders. She hadn’t been wearing a bra when she was
kidnapped, so she now stood their naked as she tossed her dress in the corner.

Ava
covered her breasts with one arm as she turned towards the shower. She jumped
back when she turned the water on, not realizing the water would be cold. She
looked for the hot water tap, but there was none. She braved the water and took
a step forward, letting the water run down her filthy body. She watched the
water hit the wooden floor beneath her, dark with dirt. She took a quick look
behind her and saw the man was still watching her, his expression a serious
one.

She
turned back to the shower, picked up the soap, and started scrubbing down her
body, using her fingernails as a scrubbing brush. Once she scrubbed and washed
herself top to toe as best she could, she turned the tap off and wrapped the
towel around her.

She
squeezed the excess water out of her hair and walked over to the clothes
hanging over the fence. She took the plain white cotton undies and put them on.
She then picked up the light blue cotton dress and held it up in front of her.
It had small shoulder straps that were knotted at the shoulder. It had a
neckline in it, but not a revealing one. Thankfully, she could feel there were
breast cups sewn into the garment.

She
looked at the man and then back at the dress. He could have made her wear
anything, yet he picked something that wasn’t going to make her feel vulnerable
and exposed. It’s almost like he cared for her…
Yeah, right!

She
pulled the dress over her head, taking the towel off in the process. She then
draped the towel over the fence and pulled her fingers through her hair, walking
back around the shower to the man.

“Better?”
he asked her.

Ava
nodded in reply, his eyes shifting down to her feet uncomfortably.

“Good.
Now come with me, we need to talk about something.”

Ava
walked next to him as he led them back up into the house. She tried her best to
ignore the stares of the other men on the verandah and on the couch in the
lounge room as they passed. When they approached her usual room, she expected
to see the plain room with the sheet on the ground, instead she now saw a
mattress on the ground with a sheet and pillow.

She
stopped short of the door.

What
did this mean?

“You’ve
behaved the past few days, so we thought we would treat you,” he said leading
her into the room. “By the way, my name is Hayden.”

Ava
was too gob smacked to reply.

“Sit,”
he motioned to the bed.

She
didn’t listen to him, instead, she turned towards him and threw the best punch
she could, catching him off guard and connected her fist with his jaw.

His
head barely moved at the punch. His face stayed serious. “A thank you would
have sufficed.”

 “You’re
a fucking asshole! Do you know that! You give me a mattress and pillow because
I’ve behaved myself?” she screamed in his face. “How about you let me go! You
kidnapped me and I’m meant to be thankful for a fucking mattress!” She pushed
against his chest, but he grabbed her hands to stop her, holding them tightly
in his hands.

“You’re
a low life piece of scum,” she hissed through her teeth.

“We
kidnapped you because you hold the information that we need. Information I
intend to find out.”

“What
information?” Ava cried out.

“Information
about
Thornakorn
.”

“
Thorna
-who?”

“Don’t
play dumb with me. You know what I’m talking about.”

“No
I don’t!” she yelled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! You have the
wrong person! My name is Ava Harris; I’m from a small country town. I work at
the local convenience store. I only came here on a holiday with my friend. You
have the wrong person!”

She
tried to twist herself out of his death grip.

“Fine,
play it your way,” he said, throwing her onto the mattress. “You will tell me
what you know about
Thornakorn
. I will keep you in
here for the rest of your life until you tell me what I need to know.”

She
watched him walk to the door. She got up and ran after him quickly, but she was
too late- he had already shut the door and started locking it by the time she
got to him. She banged and kicked the door, screaming at the top of her lungs,
“You’ve got the wrong person! Please! Hayden! You’ve got the wrong person!”