Family Business

The Abyss

Thursday May 30th Lake Mohawk, Sparta, New Jersey, USA 12.50am

Florence opens the van sliding door and gasps in horror at the sight of Prudence lying on the ground her silk red blouse destroyed with marks from Gretchen's trainers. Hurriedly she removes the pillow case. "What the hell Gretchen!" she roars as she removes the kitchen tissue from Prudence's mouth "look at her, she could have lost conscious. any longer and we would have a problem on our hands."

"Oh your such a goody goody two shoes Florence, she's fine, she can't breath at the best of times".

Henry hands a bottle of Poland Spring still water to Florence. Florence sits on the floor of the van . She rises Prudence's flush warm head and gently feeds some water through her lips "is her inhaler in her bag?" She asks Gretchen

"She dropped it trying to run away didn't you Roly-Poly, you did? little good it did you now DID IT!" roars Gretchen

Henry grits his teeth "keep your voice down Gretchen, you'll wake the neighbours up, I'll get her one!" He turns to Gretchen "Don't touch her".

The left side of Prudence's body feels completely numb, her neck aches as Florence gently raised it and puts the the water to her lips which feels like manna from Heaven. She wheezes a whistle like sound through her nostrils as slowly her lungs began to work again. She still hasn't ushered a word, she can't remember the last person she spoke too, she thinks it was Gretchen, she can't remember, she's relieved to be alive. She wriggles her fingers and toes as best as she can, the neckties still cutting into her. The plastic of the inhaler is gently placed between her lips "take a puff" orders Florence, she takes a shallow breath, can barely hold her breath for a brief second, another puff is blasted into her throat. She closes her eyes and thinks asks herself 'does she speak?' her main aim now is to stay alive, she has to be tactful, she has to survive. Her attention turns to her wrists and ankles "Please untie me, I'll get clots".

"Untie you" mocks Gretchen as she smacks her hard on her thigh "ahhhhhhh" squeals Prudence as the pain numbs her fleshy thigh even more "You fucking love ties Roly-Poly, your biggest regret in life is that it's a mans stupid piece of clothing and not a woman's!!.

Prudence held her tongue, she feared Gretchen at the best of times, always tried to stay out of her way as much as possible, her best form of attack is silence. She knows it won't take much to get another kick or slap from her. She watches as Henry cuts the ties with knife 'Do I say thank you?' she asks herself, she decides not too instead concentrates on moving her wrists and ankles to get the blood flowing again.

'How can they do this to me' she asks herself, her thoughts turn to Rosamund and the firms executive kidnapping insurance "I don't see why your worried" Rosamund would tease "You're too fat to kidnap, I'd be the target".

Now here she lay even walking up a flight of stairs didn't feel as painful.

"Grab a leg" orders Henry to Florence. Prudence moans as she's dragged along the floor of the van, her glasses slide uncomfortably along her face and her body tenses in fear that they are going to just drag her out and wallop her off the ground. They stop just as her feet overhang outside the vans sliding door. She begins to cry, Gretchen breaks into hysterics, enjoying the torment. Prudence readjusts her glasses "What's wrong you big baby" mocks Gretchen as she puts on dopey voice.

Henry jumps back into the van "help me sit her up" Florence obliges, she gets into the van and with effort they manage to sit Prudence upright. "We should have just dragged her along the ground, how else would you get a beach whale to move.

"Gretchen!, stop it" warns Florence. Florence feels guilty as she looks at the exhausted corpulent frame of Prudence, she bits her lower lip and tries to ignore the thoughts, she places the bottle of water between Prudence's lips, here take another drink".

Henry rests Prudence's suit jacket on her large thighs. Florence looks towards him, the night is rolling on and she is anxious to get inside "We better get inside".

"Yeah" agrees Gretchen. Prudence jumps as Gretchen jambs her head right up against hers "time to get your fat ass moving Roly Poly". Prudence adjusts her glasses then puts on her suit jacket. Henry and Florence grab an arm each. Prudence groans and wheezes heavily as she is helped to her feet "here, take another puff" the inhaler is forcefully placed between her lips. As three quick blasts of medicine is flushed down her throat.

Her legs feel twice as heavy as normal. After a few moments the others let go. Henry walks ahead "Follow me!" He walks towards a cheap dark laminated worn door. Prudence waddles slowly behind, every limb ached, she huffed and puffed with every step. They enter into a hallway with dated floral wallpaper and a patchy grey carpet that looked like it should have been replaced 15 years ago. Prudence sighs at the sight of the stairwell she isn't sure she has the strength, Henry is half way up, he stops and looks at her "ahhhhhhhh" screams Prudence as her hair is forcefully pulled and her head forced backways "MOVE ROLY POLY!" orders Gretchen. Prudence fans her face, she stops herself from crying again. She begins to clamber up the stairwell. She feels like she is breathing through a straw, her body has been through hell and now this. Her breathing is heavy, she stops occasionally, trying to catch a breath that never quite comes, she forces herself to continue, eventually she reaches the top, completely breathless. Henry opens a room door "In you go".

Prudence waddles in, she crunches up her chubby face from the stale musty smell. The walls are an incredibly bright pink, in the far right corner some mildew on the ceiling which will not help her lungs. She gasps at the horrid mattress she has to lie on, it is thin and dips in the middle. Beside it is a wardrobe inside it she can see her clothes that were stolen. 'Damn the police for being so slow' she curses to herself, 'they should have seen this threat'. Beside the door is a dark wooden dresser with mirror and a large stockpile of her medication 'how did the know she wonders'.

Florence opens an adjoining door "this is your ensuite!" it's a hideous lime green. "You'll just about fit in fatso" laughs Gretchen. Prudence continues to ignore her. "Prudence takes a look inside the ensuite, it is small, with matching lime green toilet, lime green shower.

Henry pulls out an old wooden chair by the dresser 'sit down'.

Gingerly Prudence sits down, as the chair creaks from the pressure of the weight on it. Gretchen returns with a selection of neckties "Your a businesswoman and what's a businesswoman without neckties". Prudence gasps hard with fear, she begins to panic, her body tenses no please, please no, please. Weekly she tries to brush away Gretchen with her hands when - smack Gretchens right palm thunders into her left cheek. The pain hits her like an electric shock, as it numbs her face. "Try and fight me off again Roly Poly and I'll hit the other cheek twice as hard". Enveloped in fear Prudence complies, the side of her face burns. The ties tighten around her constricting her movement. She groans as some tightly squeeze into her stomach. Making breathing even harder. 'Were those dreams a premonition' she wonders. Gretchen laughs as she places the ties around Prudence and ties her to the chair. She watches Gretchen bend down "Put your ankles together or I'll smack your big fat head again" threatens Gretchen. "Please no" begs Prudence as she feels the material brush against her ankles and then tighten "please not so tight" but her request was just met with laughter from Gretchen who tightened it even tighter". Prudence begins to wriggle her toes again, her airways feel like they are almost shut. "Look what I have Prudence". Prudence begins to scream as Gretchen pulls out some kitchen tissue from her pocket. Prudence's world began to close in on her, she begins to panic taking quick shallow gasps trying to get in any morsel of air, she feels her blood pressure rise "no, no, no'. Gretchen draws it towards her mouth, open up or I'll smack you several times, harder each time, bit me and you will never have experienced such pain in your life". The tissue enters her mouth blocking off any chance to breath through her mouth, her overworked and underperforming nose must now do all the breathing. Each breath quickly feels harder and harder to draw. Gretchen slaps some gaffer tape over her mouth. "Oh I am a silly billy" laughs Gretchen, "I was forgetting your wrists, you know the drill".

Prudence begins to cry, her tearful whines interluded with a serious of wheezy nostril breaths. She complies "the ties quickly tighten in around her wrists. She begins to wriggle her fingers too.

Prudence is panicking she is struggling to breath, her head feels lighter and lighter, her muffled screams getting no sympathy. Henry and Gretchen stand back as Florence videos and captures photos of Prudence.

The flush gagged face of Prudence worries Florence, her conscience is questioning her again, why is she doing this?, is it worth it, what if it doesn't work, she tries to ignore it, she hurries the videos and photos as quickly as she can. The muffled screams and flush face of Prudence, her glasses now steamed up, she can barely watch. She finishes her photography work "Ok, am done, lets untie her".

"Let's look first, show us, as Gretchen puts out her hand for the phone".
"Hurry up" orders Florence "Look at her!"

Gretchen dismisses her. She grins in delight at the torture Prudence is experience "You should see these Prudence, work of arts".

"C'mon and help me untie her we can't leave her like this, look at her".

Gretchen hands the phone over to Henry "Fuck her!"

"Henry hurry up!" grunts Florence, "Her face is as red as traffic lights".

Henry looks across "oh yeah", he hands the phone to Gretchen.

The gaffer team tears off Prudence's skin, she hasn't the energy to scream "Don't bite me, I'm helping you" announces Florence as she removes the kitchen tissue from her mouth. Her breathing is fast, shallow and gaspy. Florence takes an inhaler off the dresser and presses it between Prudence lips as she gives four or five blasts of the medication down her throat "possibly too much" but you need it. Slowly she is realised as Henry cuts the ties that glued her to the uncomfortable wooden chair". She looks at the red marks on her wrists, she can't see her ankles but assumes they are the same. She wriggles both, she must ensure she keeps the blood flow and she must stay alive.