Family Business

Prison

Thursday May 30th Lake Mohawk, Sparta, New Jersey, USA 12.45am
Prudence's face feels like it was in a thousand degrees furnace, it gets harder and harder to stay conscience. Her left side was now completely numb from lying on it. An earlier attempt to swap sides was met with a ferocious kick on her backside from Gretchen, that was her one and only attempt.

She gave up on trying to move the kitchen tissue in her mouth, it proved fruitless, her main concern now was that it doesn't choke her. Her glasses fully steam up gave her even less visibility. With her little strength she meekly wiggles her fingers and toes again. Her lungs feel lifeless, each breath becoming more shallow and light.

Her eyes well up with tears. She doesn't want to die this way, she has to stay alive, she can't let Gretchen kill her. She thinks of her parents, Rosamund, her husband and children "She wonders if they know and says a silent prayer that they do". Her face is burning up, the cheap polyester pillowcase over her head acting like a furnace. She is now living the nightmares. She now recognized the voices in those dreams, they are her captors. Her whole body now drenched in sweat. She could barely make out the snarky remarks from Gretchen, she didn't have the energy or capacity to reply, her feet digging into her, the humiliation of being her foot rest. She says another prayer that she will get the opportunity to give Gretchen her justice.

Gretchen can't wipe the grin off her face. She feels like she has won the lotto, she believes she has won the lotto in the form of Prudence's family fortune. She sits back bouncing her heels off Prudence's lower left side of her tummy. She imagines Prudence poor after she takes her for everything she's got. The thought excites her as she digs her heels into her tummy "I'll cut out the food coupons Prudence and send them on to you, you'll need them". Prudence wheezes hard barely conscious a foot digs and tears into her right cheek. Gretchen stretched; her left food jams against Prudence's face she didn't know where, she doesn't care "Nah, I won't send you food coupons, you don't need more food, look at you like a beached whale, completely helpless, always said you were a weakling".

"The van snails along the row of houses the lights off, as silently as possible. "This is it" Whispers Henry for no reason. He looks at Florence; the colour is drained form her face "It's going to be okay Florence "You'll be hidden away in Nova Scotia near your daughter and grand children, they will never find you".

Henry slowly turns into the driveway and comes to a slow stop at the large double door garage. Florence clicks the door handle and slowly opens the door. As quietly as possible she opens the rail up Garage door. Henry slowly drives in and parks beside the dodge charger and comes to a stop. Florence her arms shake as she lowers down the rail door.

Prudence feels the van come to a stop, or is she hallucinating, she is not sure anymore, she doesn't have the strength to wiggle her fingers or toes anymore. She can't fight it, her lungs aren't strong enough, she isn't strong enough.