Her attempts were hampered by the fact that Gene had fired several nails into her hands and arms, and that he’d stabbed her in the leg, so just standing up required a fair amount of effort. She wasn't really feeling any pain though, and Naomi didn’t think that was a good thing. It was like she had gone numb. Like her body was already shutting down.
She wasn't going to give up though.
Every time it crossed her mind, she pictured Sam. She couldn’t do that to him. If she didn’t make it out of this alive then she at least wanted to die knowing she had done everything within her power to live.
She felt a sense of urgency. Gene bringing her here was to make her suffer, but she wasn't sure he intended to kill her here. The fire where David and Eli died was her fault, and she suspected that he intended to make sure she died the same way they did. Naomi would bet anything that he was going to take her back to their old house, which had eventually been rebuilt, and burn her alive.
A shiver rocketed through her as she thought about it.
It was a horrible way to die, but it was how her brothers died so she supposed it was what she deserved.
She lost all track of time as her injured hands struggled time and time again to get herself undone.
Eventually, she managed to unlock the zip tie and her arms were able to drop down, the relief was instantaneous, but a second later came a rush of pain as blood flooded her starved limbs. With no time to stop, she roused herself when all she wanted to do was sink to the floor, close her eyes, and rest.
But she couldn’t rest.
If she passed out, she would wind up dead.
Fighting back, keeping going, was her only hope.
Raising her bound hands as high as she could, she brought them down as firmly as she could as she stuck out her bottom. It took several tries, but finally she was rewarded with the snap of the plastic ties.
She ripped the tape from her mouth, wincing as it took off a layer of skin along with it.
Then for a moment she gave in to the urge to rest.
Just for a second.
The world was shimmying in and out of focus and she honestly wasn't sure that she could keep herself conscious long enough to get out of there.
After just a few precious moments of rest, Naomi clambered to her feet and dragged herself out of the bathtub. Her legs wobbled wildly, and she feared she would collapse, but she grabbed hold of the wall and managed to stay standing.
Gene had left his tools of torture on the bathroom counter. She was pretty sure he had a gun with him, but she should still arm herself. She picked up one of the knives and a screwdriver, she was going to have to use her left hand since her right one had two nails in it and was mostly useless, but perhaps that could work to her advantage since he wouldn’t be expecting it.
Inching open the bathroom door, she was met with a familiar sight from her childhood. She’d been right. This was the hotel where her father used to take her. It was a four-room suite. The bathroom that she’d just left, two bedrooms, and a living room. Gene was at the table, his head bent, looking at whatever he clutched in his hands.
She weighed her choices.
She could attempt to take him out and stop him before he had a chance to hurt her or anyone else ever again. But she had never killed anyone in cold blood before, and killing him while he wasn't looking, if she could manage it, felt like it would be killing in cold blood. She had only ever taken the life of one person, and that was in defense of her sister. She just wasn't sure she could kill her stepfather no matter what he’d done.
Her other option was to sneak away. If she could get out to the hall, she could get someone to call for help while she watched the door to the suite and made sure Gene didn’t get out and get away.
She still hadn’t made up her mind when Gene made it for her.
He turned, his eyes growing wide as he caught sight of her.
“Well, well, well.” He stood and walked menacingly toward her. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you managed to get yourself free.”
Naomi shrunk back against the wall, partly because she needed its support to stay upright, and partly because she was afraid of Gene. He was the man who had been more of a father to her than her biological father. She still struggled to believe that he was the one who had done all of these awful, horrible things.
“I wanted to make you suffer like these beautiful, innocent little boys suffered.” He thrust a photo of David and Eli in her face. “But I realized that I can never make you suffer enough. I can never make you hurt enough. I can never destroy you enough. It’s time. I'm done. You die now.”
Although he’d told her his intentions, the bang caught her by surprise.
As did the sudden shaft of burning agony in her chest.
She looked down, shocked to see the blossoming red patch.