The Fortress, Catherine Holland [best books to read non fiction .TXT] 📗

a high alert; we’ll have to take her some other way.” Ahmed sighed but knew his brother was right; there would always be other opportunities to take the girl, he just had a flair for the dramatic. Bastien continued to drive into town, stopping at the gas station to refill and to buy a map.
They then headed towards the hotel where they booked a room for the night, once inside their room Ahmed turned on his brother. “Bastien, why are you wasting our money on this place?” Bastien looked calm and collected as always; “Because my brother, in a town this small with all of these kidnappings people will talk.
“And I have my suspicions that the officer who pulled us over will check to make sure that we did what we said we were going to do; it draws less attention to us if we appear to be law abiding citizens. It will also make things run a lot smoother for us.” The two brothers stayed up late into the night coming up with multiple different ways to kidnap Ellen; once they had made their plans they fell into a heavy sleep.


Chapter Seven


Dana awoke slowly and painfully, the last thing she remembered was spitting in Ahmed’s face; then seeing him take out a long thick piece of bamboo and then feeling unbelievable pain. Every inch of her body hurt and she desperately needed a drink.
She could hear screams for help coming from the other side of the room. She instinctively knew it wasn’t Clara; the younger girl had remained mostly silent giving the illusion of being compliant; and then throwing their captors off balance with her defiance. She knew that Clara had been beaten, but was unable to judge just how badly, she felt a kinship towards her, after being held captive with the girl for so long.
So the screaming must be coming from the two girls who’d been brought in hours earlier. In a way she felt sorry for them, they had no idea just how bad things coudl get here; and she wanted to try and prevent them from suffering the way she and Clara did. Taking a deep rasping breath into her lungs she said; “Scream all you want, it won’t make any difference. No-one can hear you.”
Dana’s voice had been quiet, yet it had carried around the room. A voice replied, hoarse from screaming “What do you mean no-one can hear us? Where are we? What’s happening?” Dana cleared her throat and winced; “When I first got here I tried screaming for help, it didn’t get me anywhere except for a beating and a sore throat.
“I don’t know where we are, somewhere underground I think. And we’ve all been kidnapped by some Arabian psycho’s. What’s your name? What’s the last thing you remember before waking up here?” Dana wanted to keep the girl talking, to try and keep her calm. “I remember walking with Abbi to the library at College, we were going to meet Ahmed and Bastien.
“They’d asked us for our research data on the Castle. I felt really sleepy after drinking the coffee they’d given us. My name is Toni, Toni Adams.” A small voice in the darkness said “I’m Abbi Holt, what Toni has just said is the truth; I’m now guessing that they’d drugged us and brought us here, but I don’t understand why.”
Dana felt Clara stir on the bed next to her, and let out a breath of relief. Clara’s voice was low and raspy, and she sounded as though she had a bad head cold from where she’d been crying. “I think I know why we’ve been bought here but I hope I’m wrong.” There was a moment of silence then Dana asked, “Why Clara? Why have we been brought here, wherever we are.”
“The Castle; its all about the battle for the Castle and the land, remember the plaque on the front of the Castle, the one everyone ignores? Well I think we are reaping the rewards for what our ancestors did. I hope I’m wrong though because that means someone else is going to end up here with us.” Dana didn’t like where this conversation was going, like everyone else in town she’d laughed and ignored the supposedly empty threat on the plaque.
But given her current situation at the moment, it seemed as though that threat was now being fulfilled. Abbi’s voice floated out in the darkness, “How have you two managed to survive here all this time?” Dana replied, “They give us three bathroom breaks a day and feed us some really horrible cold food, it’s almost impossible to get it down your throat.
“They give us a half glass of water in the morning and another half in the evening. If they remember that is; sometimes they’re just spiteful and don’t bother to let us go to the toilet, or give us any water or food. It really is a prison here; they blindfold you whilst they give you food and go to the bathroom, but you have to be quick or they’ll just pull you out regardless of whether you’ve finished or not.” She added bitterly.
“how many beatings have you had?” “I’ve lost count, but it’s always Ahmed that does the beating, Bastien doesn’t hit us, he just stands there and lets it happen; then if we get knocked out its him that brings us back down here, although if Ahmed gets really pissed off he’ll bring you back himself, just to get another hit or two in; and that’s after you’ve been hit repeatedly with a piece of raw bamboo.”
Dana shuddered at the memory, she sensed Clara cringe inwardly as well; they had all but given up hope of getting out of this depressing place, only her thoughts of seeing Max again and talking to Clara kept her sane. The girls fell into silence and Dana found herself slipping back towards the relief of sleep, and of being able to see Max’s face again.
She felt her eyelids droop and let sleep claim her, a small smile playing on her face as she imagined herself laying in a large, warm and comfortable bed in the safety of his arms.

* * * *

Clara tried to relax her back muscles, but the spasms still continued. She tried to block the pain out by listening to Dana’s gentle breathing but failed; the pain in her back seemed to be intensifying to the point where she thought it might be on fire. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, and yet despite her efforts a small moan of agony escaped her lips.
A voice close to her said “What’s wrong?” “My back, it feels like it’s on fire, it’s been this way since Ahmed beat me with the bamboo.” A short silence and then; “Why don’t you escape the pain-.” “I’ve tried it’s not working!” She snapped. The voice remained calm and gentle. “OK, now listen to my voice; let your mind go blank and think of a time when you were happy the most, go back to that place and let the memory overtake you, let it drown out the pain.”
Clara closed her eyes as the fire raced up and down her back, she took a deep painful breath and let it out slowly, she let her mind empty of emotion as though she were a robot; she then held on to the memory of when her parents had been alive, talking and joking as they sat on a train in the underground. As they passed under a tunnel a few stops from their destination she felt the cart jolt violently beneath her.
She saw her mom and dad’s faces twist in fear, horror and realisation as the train de-railed. Her mom flung her body across Clara’s shielding her as the train lurched sideways and was thrown into darkness. Something sharp sliced at her leg and she felt the ripping agony and hot blood pouring down her leg. Her head hit the underside of the seat she’d been on and saw black spots dance in front of her eyes.
She screamed at the agony of her leg and head, and then knew no more as she was lurched once again head first into the bar under her seat. Clara’s eyes opened wide; she screamed and screamed, over and over until she lost her voice. Eventually she passed out from the combined pain, gladly falling into a deep and dangerous sleep.


Chapter Eight


Ryan woke up in agony and sweating, he’d yelled out in his sleep and the sound had caused Max to come running in alert and tensed to fight. Ryan calmed himself down and swung his legs out of his king size bed, walking to the bathroom to splash cold water over his face.
He had questions running through his head, one after the other; where had the fire in his back come from? Were the pains in his leg and head real or imaginary? He’d never been involved in the train crash that had killed his parents, but his younger sister had been! Ryan’s head shot up so fast he cricked his neck; he turned for the toilet and was violently sick.
He felt ready to pass out, but held on to the reality in front of him; he knew on some level that Max was hovering near him, worried; but at that moment Ryan didn’t care. He stood up and rinsed his mouth out, then brushed his teeth still trying to understand what he’d just experienced, unable to make sense of it Ryan left the bathroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
He made himself a mug of cocoa; he did it on autopilot, it was a drink that had always soothed Clara. As he walked to the living room he sat in Clara’s soft arm chair, tucking his legs beneath him just as Clara would; the pain in his back, leg and head lessened as he took his first sip of the hot drink. Max sat in a chair opposite him, concern etched on his face.
Ryan sat in silence for a few moments before speaking, “Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” Max replied, “I thought someone was trying to kill you with the way you were yelling.” Ryan winced visibly, and then looked at Max. “Sorry, I’ve never experienced anything like that before; and I really hope I don’t ever again.”
Max hesitated before saying, “Do you want to talk about it? Maybe it will help.” “Maybe.” Ryan conceded, he then took a deep breath and said; “This may sound strange, but have you ever felt as though you were in someone else’s head whilst asleep?” Max shook his head so Ryan continued. “That’s what it felt like, it was as though I was inside Clara’s mind; she was re-living the day our parents were killed, I felt everything she went through. It was like I was right there with her.”
Max shifted to get more comfortable, “So, you shared some sort of psychic link with Clara?” Ryan shook his head, “No, I don’t know. It’s difficult to explain; it felt as though I’d been hypnotised or something, I heard a soothing voice in my head and then found myself in Clara’s dream. Although I don’t remember how I got there, it was like we were one person.”
Ryan ran a hand through his short dark hair; he was confused as to how