The Clock Is Ticking – Episode 47

Sequence 47

 

****

 

She walked into the bathroom and closed the door, she turned the shower on and walked over to the sink and began to undress as she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked fragile and delicate, her bones almost frail beneath her hands.

 

She couldn’t believe it took her this long to realise that Thomas was a monster she had to try and escape from him before he killed her.

 

She sighed and shook her head as she stepped into the shower.

 

The water hit her head and she closed her eyes forcing herself to relax. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, dried her body, walked back to her room and quickly got dressed.

 

She was feeling a whole lot better she spread the bed and cleaned up the room as she waited for Thomas.

 

After an hour or so, the door swung open and Thomas walked in.

 

‘Max is here to take you,’ he said coldly

 

She looked at him and shook his head, at one point she had loved this man with everything in her but now she loathed him.

 

‘I can’t believe you locked me up in this room for three days,’ she said ‘You deserved it.’

 

‘You are an animal you are sick Thomas you need help.’

 

His face contorted in anger as he raised his arm and slapped her hard across her left cheek.

 

A single tear fell down her face and she wiped it away, ‘I regret coming down here with you,’ she said

 

‘You had no choice, a slave you were a slave you will always be,’ he laughed He snapped his fingers and Max appeared out of thin air.

 

‘Shall we?’ Max told her

 

She nodded her head, followed him out of the house to his car and climbed in. Zita had a bad feeling rising up in the pit of her stomach as she buckled her seatbelt. Max started the engine and drove off in record speed- doing his seat belt while he was driving.

 

She lay in the back seat and the motion of the car lulled her into dozing. Minutes later, the car slowed down to a stop, she sat upright as the front door opened and someone handed Max a box.

 

Then the car started up again and this time she fell into a deeper sleep, she hadn’t been sleeping much the past few days due to the intense pain in her belly. ***

 

When he pulled onto a narrow dirt road, he got out of the car he had driven her to a remote construction site.

 

He went round to the passenger seat and climbed in. Then he started mauling her, tearing at her clothes.

 

She opened her eyes and looked at him in a puzzled way.

 

‘What are you doing?’ she asked

 

‘What I should have done a long time ago,’ he responded coldly.

 

He shove his hand under her skirt and grabbed her panties , pulled them down and off her, ripping and tearing them as he did so.

 

‘Max!’ Stop it, she screamed and tried to sit upright but he pushed her down on the seat.

 

He grabbed at her top and ripped it apart, the buttons popping and flying. Then he unhooked her bra and removed it completely, he stared at her breasts in amazement before he cupped them.

 

‘Get your filthy hands off me,’ she growled, shoving his hand away He slapped her hard across her face she saw stars.

 

‘Behave!’ he snapped

 

‘Thomas won’t be pleased with this,’ she said

 

He laughed, ‘The same Thomas who wants you dead?’

 

‘What?’

 

He grabbed her arms and taped them behind her back as he unzipped his pants and slid them down.

 

‘Max don’t do this, I am unwell,’ she screamed He ignored her and entered her anyway.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled out of her, got dressed and stepped out of the car.

 

Zita had tears running down her face, she felt powerless.

 

‘Get out,’ Max ordered

 

Zita shook her head.

 

‘Zita get out.’

 

She remained silent.

 

He looked at her for a minute before he flung the door open and pulled her out of the car.

 

‘I am sorry but this is where the road ends for you,’ he pulled a pistol and pointed it at her.

 

An unaccustomed feeling of helplessness washed over at the sight of him pointing a gun at her.

 

‘Why?’ she asked, her voice shaky

 

‘I am just following orders,’ he responded, his voice was cold and harsh his face was blank and devoid of any emotion.

 

Zita froze with fear and her heart thumped. She thought of running but she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot if she stood up. ‘Please don’t kill me, please,’ she pleaded

 

Max ignored her, he pulled the trigger and set the bullet free and it pierced her then he shot her again. Blood oozed out as she panted, struggling between life and death.

 

She looked up at him pleadingly, he pointed the gun again and shot, this time aimed at her heart. This moment it pierced her heart and she breathed her last. He laughed out loudly and hoarsely then clapped his hands together. *****

 

Vanessa arrived at her house as the sun was going down and the darkness was settling in. She stepped out of her car and walked towards the door she pushed the door and walked into the living room.

 

When she walked into her room and found her husband lying on the bed.

 

‘Hey,’ she said putting her bag on the table and kicking her shoes off her feet.

 

 

He glanced at his watch and looked up at her, ‘What time is it?’ he asked. His voice was full of anger.

 

She sighed and looked at her watch, ’19:00,’ she said

 

‘Where did you go?’

 

‘Church.’

 

‘You went to church without cooking for your husband. Has the church now become more important than me?’

 

‘There is food in the house, couldn’t you have cooked something if you were that hungry?’ she shot him an irritated look.

 

‘You expect me to cook for myself when I have a wife?

 

She remained quiet she was too exhausted to argue with an insensitive husband. She undressed and stood in front of the mirror, her breasts had grown tremendously and her baby bump had gotten quiet big even though she still had a few months to go, she rubbed it a bit before she changed into something comfortable.

 

‘You expect me to cook for myself when I have a wife?’ he asked again

 

She turned to look at him, ‘Well,’ she began, ‘other men cook in their homes especially when their wives are expecting, what’s so hard about you preparing a meal for us?’ she snapped.

 

‘Is that what your pastor has been teaching you? ‘ He stood up and walked to her.

 

‘Ba Andrew I am really tired and I am in no mood to argue, I will go and get your food ready.’

 

She turned to walk out of the room but her husband stood in front of the door, blocking her. She sighed and boldly pushed him. He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her so she could face him.

 

‘I am the man of the house and I deserve some sort of respect from you,’ he said, his words held an angry tone.

 

Vanessa averted her eyes she could smell the thick alcohol smile on his breath.

 

‘You’ve been drinking?’ she shot him an accusing look.

 

‘And so?’

 

‘Let me go, I can’t talk to you in this state,’ she said calmly

 

He laughed, ‘You’ve been sleeping with the pastor haven’t you? That’s why you are falling to cook for me now.’

 

‘I am not a whore like you,’ she yelled at him.

 

‘You bitch,’ he punched her hard right across the face, ‘How dare you call me a whore?’

 

 

‘You piece of shit, can’t you see I am pregnant, how could you fucking hit a pregnant woman?” She screamed as she cupped her searing cheek.

 

He pushed her down and kicked her while she tried to get up.

 

‘Ba Andrew, please.’

 

‘I will kill you,’ he said yelled

 

‘Please!’ she pleaded and he stopped hitting her.

 

She stood up slowly with tears flowing down her face,’ You are a monster,’ she cried

 

He grabbed her again and she struggled to get free but when she finally did, she picked up the wine bottle and while holding the neck of the bottle with two hands hit him in the back of his head.

 

He groaned and put his hand to his head. Vanessa grabbed her bag which had had her car keys and phone and she was out of the door.

 

‘Come back here!’ he was yelling but she ignored him, when she was finally out of the house she locked the door behind her back and rushed towards her car, she had to get away from him.

 

She could hear him banging on the door as she got into her car, when she was finally settled in, she drove out of the compound hoping her unborn child was wasn’t in danger.

 

She thought about driving the few miles to her mother’s house but she knew her mother would side with him so she decided to drive Mattie’s place. This time around she was done with her marriage she wasn’t gonna look back.

 

****

 

TBC

 

 

 

#########

 

 

THE CLOCK IS TICKING

 

Ella