An eerie silence permeates the space, and I walk through the building looking everywhere I can think of: the green room, dressing room, costume closet, scene shop, rehearsal spaces, classrooms, even the light booth and all the catwalks above the house. The doors to the administrative offices are locked, and I look over at the doors that connect the theatre building to the music building. There’s a light on. No one should be in here; the theatre has long been emptied, but there are music students that occasionally use this building on the weekends.
As I’m turning off the light, I notice the door to the basement practice rooms is slightly cracked open. It’s not an unusual sight, but something in my gut tells me to check down there just in case.
I’m walking through the corridor when I notice a light on in a room at the end of the hall and I quietly hustle over to it. Most of the rooms are fully soundproofed, but a few of the rooms at the end of the hall are older and still need updating.
A muffled cry comes from the room, and I rush to the door, sickened by what I see inside.
Emma is face down on a piano bench, her wrists bound behind her, her ankles tied to a broom that is attached to the legs of the bench. The broom is holding her legs open like a spreader bar.
“I’ll make this good for you,” Jeremy’s muffled voice says as he kneels between her legs and moves his face close to her cunt.Mycunt. I’m about to open the door when I notice the knife in his hand.
Fuck.
I pull out my phone and silently curse when I realize there’s no signal. I can’t leave her here to call the police. There’s no telling what that sick fuck will do, and she’s already lived through enough nightmares.
A plan forms in my mind, and I swallow down my nerves at what I have to do. I pull up the camera app and hit record,sliding my phone in the front pocket of my shirt with the camera facing out.
Jeremy’s face is inches from her body when I violently throw the door open, startling him. He falls back onto his ass, nicking his leg with his knife in the process.
“Back the fuck away from her.”
He recovers quickly, adjusting his grip on the knife and scooting closer to her exposed skin. Her skirt is flipped up, and I can see a scrap of lace on the floor from where he must’ve cut her panties off.
He drags the tip of the knife up the back of her thigh as she whimpers, chanting “Please don’t do this, please don’t do this” on repeat.
I want to kill the sick fuck. But first I need to get him away from her. I inch closer, letting go of the door as it snicks closed behind me.
“Don’t come any closer!” he shouts, a manic edge to his voice. He doesn’t sound like his normal self.
“I said, back. The. Fuck. Up.” I take a step toward him, and he points the knife at me.
“You really don’t want to come any closer.” There’s a crazed look in his eye and his voice is eerily calm, which is really fucking unnerving.
When I take another step, he moves the knife between her legs, holding the blade against the upper part of her thigh. “Do you know how quickly she’ll bleed out if I nick her femoral artery?”
I freeze at his words, my heart beating rapidly as the room starts to feel like it’s closing in on me.
“Minutes. She’ll be gone in minutes, and it will beall your fault.” He pulls at his hair with his free hand, tugging on the blond strands.
“Okay, let’s be calm and talk about this. We can figure something out.” I hold my hands up in surrender, taking a step back.
Emma is in the same catatonic state, still chanting, her face pressed into the bench.
I drop to a knee, and Jeremy’s head pops up. “What are you doing? Don’t do something stupid.”
“I’m just going to take her pulse,” I explain. Leaning closer to her ear, I repeat it for her. “I’m going to touch your neck and take your pulse. Okay?”
She grows silent, nodding her head slightly.
Gently pressing my fingers against her neck, I count silently as I stare at my watch. As expected, her pulse is racing, but it slows slightly at the end of my count. “You’re doing so good for me. Deep breaths, okay?”
“Einstein,” she rasps, turning her head toward me, and I nod at her as my heart breaks. When a tear streaks down her cheek, I swipe it with my thumb, spreading the moisture around her face as I try to comfort her with my touch.
I hear the faint squeak of a sneaker on the polished floor of the hallway and remember that I hadn’t checked in with Nate. Hoping I’m not imagining things, I stand, backing away slowly to make Jeremy think I’m retreating. I see what looks like a flashlight out of my periphery.
“You can have her,” I say loudly.
Emma shudders as several tears fall down her face.
