“What did this anyway?” I asked. Before Logan could answer Jamie came down the stairs, running so fast that he almost tripped over his own feet. He stumbled down and handed me everything I had asked for. “Oh, and get a towel or something for this blood. He’s losing too much,” I said. Jamie nodded and ran back upstairs. I wiped away
as much of the blood as I could and then I got to work at stitching him up. I had to get Logan’s help to hold the flesh together as I wove the needle and thread in between his flesh. Jackson’s chest rose and fell steadily, but I wasn’t sure it was going to continue.
“You know, at some point you’re going to have to tell me what’s going on, so it might as well be now,” I said, hoping that since we were both doing the same thing Logan might choose to tell me a few things.
“It’s not my place. If Jackson makes it through this I’m sure he’ll tell you anything you want to know, but first just focus on saving him.”
“And if he dies?”
“He’s not going to die.”
Jamie returned with a towel and began mopping up the blood that had seeped around Jackson’s body. I worked swiftly, knowing that I could take this needle and try to fight my way out, but I knew that people didn’t help enemies, they helped friends, and if I was going to get a chance to escape it was going to be because I had endeared myself to them. I knew all about Stockholm Syndrome, where the captive became enamored with the captor and eventually turned to do their bidding, but the reverse was true as well, the Lima Syndrome, where the captors started to become friendlier towards the people they were holding prisoner. If I could just endear myself to them and prove to them that I wasn’t a threat they might go a little easier on me, and then I’d take my opportunity and leave this place before it was too late.
So I did my best to save Jackson, or at least make it appear as though I had saved him because I was sure that the wound was fatal. Logan still wasn’t telling me what had caused this and I was just about getting tired of the secrets, but it wasn’t as though I could do anything to make him speak. I simply had to do what he asked and try and get Jackson through it all. When I finished I sat back, wiped the sweat off my brow, and mopped up the seeping blood that was smeared around the wound.
“Is that it? Is he going to be okay?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ve done all I can. If he’s going to pull through then he’s going to need somewhere comfortable to rest and let his body to all the heavy lifting, but I’ve got to say that it doesn’t look good. I know he’s a tough man, but there are limits. That type of wound is one of the deepest I’ve ever seen. Really, he needs to be in the care of a hospital.”
“No hospitals,” Logan said.
“But Logan-” Jamie began, but was cut off by a sharp glare. I decided not to get in the middle of these family disputes. It seemed as though there was a great deal of tension between the three of them and I had no idea why. I had been brought here for a purpose, and there were some people hunting them, but who?
“Let’s get him upstairs,” Logan said, and then looked at me, “You come with us too.” I was covered in blood and sweat, and I nodded. He and Jamie held Logan.
“Be careful of his wound,” I said. They nodded and staggered up the stairs slowly. The three of them took up the entire width of the stairs so there was no chance of me slipping by them, but I stepped carefully and waited until we were out of the basement. I knew they weren’t going to leave Jackson unattended, so if I did escape I’d only have to deal with one of them, which was most likely Logan, and I felt confident that if I had a head start I should be able to make it back to the city. Of course, that wasn’t counting for the mysterious wolf who had led me to them. I still hadn’t seen any sign of the wolf around the cabin, and I wondered if it was actually still out there, lurking somewhere, waiting for me again.
We got to the top of the stairs and to my dismay Logan took Jackson himself and ordered Jamie to look after me. I would have rather had been left alone, but I thought that Jamie was easier to manipulate.
“What am I supposed to do? Just stand here? You can’t put me back into that room when I’m like this,” I gestured down to my blood-soaked hands and clothes. Logan sighed.
“Fine, have a bath and clean yourself up. Jamie, make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid. You know how important this is.”
Logan carried Jackson to another room while Jamie showed me to the bathroom.
“Are you going to keep a close eye on me?” I asked. Jamie blushed and didn’t say anything in response. He opened the door and gestured for me to enter, and then he closed it on me. I stood against the door and rested my head against the wall, trying to think of away to get out. Again, there was only a small window in this room that was purely there to let the steam out and wasn’t large enough for me to escape. I rubbed my hands together and looked at the blood on them. I was frankly amazed that Jackson hadn’t already died from the wound he had suffered.
I hadn’t lied to Logan; I did actually need a bath, so I turned the faucets and watched as the water filled the tub. Steam rose through the air and I searched the cabinets for any kind of bubble bath, but unsurprisingly the men didn’t have anything like that. I climbed into the warm water and watched as the blood and sweat was pulled away from my skin. I let myself fall into the warm water, letting the heat embrace my body. I thought about what I was going to do next. One of the brothers had been neutralized by some outside force so I only had two to deal with, and one of them was young, and had already shown signs of weakness. If I played this right I might be able to get a chance to escape, but I had to play it cool.
I washed myself slowly, trying to spend as long in the bath as I could. I let the water soak my flesh and soon enough the water had turned crimson. I pulled the plug and the water gurgled. I stretched out my legs and let the water flow away from my body, taking all the darkness and grime with it. I felt more myself, refreshed and ready to take on any challenge. I stood up and watched as the red liquid was swallowed by the bathtub, leaving behind a clean white bath.
I stepped out and grabbed a towel, and then I called to Jamie. It took a few moments for him to respond, and when he did he only spoke through the door.
“I need you,” I said, making my voice as pleading as possible. I waited a few moments, and then the door opened a crack.
“What do you want?” he asked, still hesitant to come in. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room. I was still stark naked, my body glistening with liquid, my supple flesh exposed. When he saw me his face turned red and his mouth hung open. His eyes ran over my body and then darted away, as though he was afraid and ashamed of everything he witnessed. He stammered and tried to get away but I maneuvered him against the wall so he couldn’t escape. I made sure my breasts brushed against his body, and I could already feel him bristling with arousal. He could have been no more than 19, a few years younger than me, and yet he seemed so much more naïve than I was at that age, but then again he had two older brothers to take care of him, whereas I had nobody.
“I just wanted a little help while I dried off, and a little company. I have to admit that I’ve been quite shaken this whole time, as you can imagine. I mean, you can see everything that’s happened to me, and you were just so brave when you rushed out to help your brothers. It takes a special person to run into danger like that, and you should be proud. I can tell that they’ve had a strong influence on you, you’re lucky to have them in your life.”
“I know,” Jamie said.
“I guess I just feel a little safer with you being around. I wasn’t lucky like you are. My family was…well, they never really wanted me around. I learned from a young age that I was going to be alone in the world. I guess things would have turned out differently if I’d have had a couple of siblings like Jackson and Logan taking care of me.”
I picked up a towel and began rubbing myself down, bending over, using every inch of my flexibility to give Jamie a good view. I wondered if he had even seen a naked woman before in the flesh, for he was looking at me with great curiosity.
“They’re good brothers.”
“I know, and you seem like a good man yourself, which makes it so confusing about why you’re keeping me here against my will and why you were going to…do what you were going to do.”