Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (book recommendations .TXT) 📗

She was free to move away from the wall, but the shackles on her wrists remained, leaving her slightly vulnerable to the crazy woman keeping them captive. Scarlett scouted the room for an exit, but the only way out was through the damaged, worn-out roof, or through the door with the crazy lady on the other side. She'd not signed up to the gym four times a week to not be able to kick down a door when she needed to.

She raised her knee to her stomach and pushed her foot against the door, breaking the padlock on the other side. The door creaked open slightly as the other women watched in horror.

'You're one crazy bitch, Scarlett,' said Alice cheering her on.

'I'm not the only crazy bitch around here,' she replied, not removing her focus from the door.

She slowly pushed the door to, making sure not to make any more noise that would alert their captor. Scarlett didn't just go to the gym four days a week but also took a self-defence class too. She wasn't going to let people like this woman take advantage of her. Scarlett was a fighter and had a strong will to never give up. She'd get out of here one way or the other but as a survivor.

'Stop,' Ally commanded, as Barnes pulled up at a slight distance near an old shack of a house. 'This is it, I'm sure of it.'

'Are you sure?' said Barnes.

'That's what I said, wasn't it?'

'Okay, let's wait for back up to arrive,' he instructed before Ally darted out of the car.

She crept quietly towards the house as Barnes lifted himself out of the driver’s seat, slowly creeping towards her. Ally peered through the broken window of the old shack, unsure of what she'd find inside.

'What part of wait for back up, did you not understand?' he whispered with fury.

She continued to ignore him and noticed inside a table with food and drink. Why would anybody want to live here? This is definitely the right place. Turning her head and glancing around, Ally picked up a large piece of wood that was situated at the side of the house and grasped it tightly, in case of emergency.

Ally edged closer to the front door, pushed it open quietly, and made her way silently through the house, investigating the room as Barnes followed close behind.

'The food's still quite warm,' she said as she felt the bowl of soup situated on the table.

'They've got to be nearby.'

Ally heard a bang as a door inside the room slowly creaked open and the padlock fell to the floor. Ally gave Barnes the instruction to be quiet and keep an eye on the door. She raised the piece of wood to her shoulder, ready to strike. The door crept open slowly and a dark redheaded girl came running out in shackles. Ally didn't hesitate for a second and smacked Scarlett Thatcher to the floor with the wood she'd grasped so tightly.

'Who are you?' Ally yelled at the girl as she felt the line of blood dribbling on her forehead.

'Scarlett Thatcher,' she said. 'What the fuck do you want with us?'

'What? We're not keeping you here,' she informed Scarlett. 'A girl called Hannah Jones was being held somewhere nearby, which we believe to be here. Do you know where your captors are?'

'No idea. So, who are you people anyway?'

'I'm Detective Inspector Ally Miller and this is my boss, DCI Barnes,' she introduced herself.

'Please, get us out of here,' she pleaded.

Suddenly, the three of them heard chatting from outside, and darted for the prison room, quietly shutting the door behind them. Ally sat down beside Scarlett, while Barnes hid behind the door, holding Ally's piece of wood tightly.

The woman slowly opened the door, wondering why the lock was broken. As she entered she noticed Ally sat on the floor.

'Who the hell are you? she asked, knowing every girl’s face in the room, and Ally wasn't one of her girls.

Barnes slammed the piece of wood straight on the top of her head, knocking her to the floor unconscious. Then he removed the handcuffs from his coat pocket and placed them on her wrists. The woman was in her forties with dark blonde hair and a medium build. Barnes called for back up and informed other officers of what they'd discovered, while Ally consoled the other victims, giving them food and drink from what she found from inside the house.

Minutes later backup arrived and Barnes shoved the captor inside the police car, instructing the officers to keep her in holding, ready for them to interview her. Barnes noticed Ally's face was full of thoughts as he approached her.

'What's the matter?' he asked.

'I just thought about something. We heard talking as we hid, but only this woman entered. I don't think this woman was working alone,' she expressed her concern.

'I think you're right,' he said before running outside and telling the remaining officers to search the surrounding area.

Then Ally remembered something. Hannah Jones had a penetration mark on her skin from something like a needle. She must have been injected with something. Ally grabbed a pair of latex gloves from her pocket and walked back inside the house, searching all the draws for any needles. She found nothing and she felt frustrated with herself before another search place sprung to mind.

She ran out of the house and searched the bins and black bin bags close by. It was never the nicest of jobs but it needed to be done. She didn't feel comfortable until she'd searched everywhere, knowing the forensic team might not have searched the bins. She wanted to nail the bitch that held these women against their will and to find her accomplice.

Dirty tissues, food waste and stinky food cans