chapter 6

"Now, let me show you how much of a monster I can be" he said. He reveal the tongue ripper concealed in the sleeve of his cloth on the right hand. Fighting his grip on my neck is useless and my mouth is left helplessly open in my futile attempt to breathe.

I felt a wave of pain pass through me as the sharp blade of the ripper cut through my tongue and my struggle against my oppressor increases until he finally achieve his aim of cutting my tongue completely off.

"Let's see how you'll get to call me names again." he said, holding my dangling tongue in front of me as blood start to pool up in my mouth.

"Can you repeat what you called me earlier?" He said mockingly while putting his hand to his ear.

I open my mouth and allow the blood in my mouth to splatter on the floor. I am loosing a huge amount of blood as seconds ticks by but he doesn't seem to care, in fact he is not done with me yet.

He brought a bucket of water forward, wears protective cloth and gloves, drag me by my legs then dip my legs in the water, I have no strength left in me to rebel as I have already loose alot of blood and my consciousness has started wavering. I feel sleepy.

He connect the wire to an electricity source and the next thing I felt was the wave of electric shock course through me, making my whole body to vigorously shake, He electrocuted me and my vision starts to fail, my eyes slowly roll into it's socket till all I can see is complete darkness and I gladly embrace it with only one person left on my mind as I slip into unconsciousness. My twin.

Chapter 2

Josh's pov:

I electrocute her and watch with joy as her eyes rolls into her head. I remove the wire and reinsert it again, I watch as the electric current shook her body but there was no reaction from her, I furrow my brows together in confusion,'What could be wrong?' I thought. I disconnect the wire from it's power source and toss it a away to a corner. I move closer to her and place my fingers on the carotid artery on her neck to check for her pulse which is proving so hard to find until I later felt a weak thump against my middle finger, I smiled knowingly. I brought my mouth to hear ears and whisper,

"Don't play games with me Elena, I know you're alive" I said, expecting her pulse to accelerate but instead I felt nothing. I try over and over again, checking her wrist and every pressure point on her body but I find none.

'Does she have to faint?,' I ask myself. I still want to play with her a little bit more but she fainted already. I kick her body by the ribs, spilling the bucket of water and expecting some reaction from her motionless body but I get nothing, not even a wince of pain or the scream I love to hear.

"Is she dead?" I voiced out asking no one in particular.

I bent over her wet body and shook it, call her name and even threaten her repeatedly but she remain unresponsive.

"Fuck!, this girl is damn weak. She's dead" I lament. Checking my wristwatch, the time is just 11:30pm, I pack her lifeless body in a sack and waited till it's 12:30pm then i dump it at the nearest street, leaving the scene hurriedly without looking back when I heard approaching footsteps. The rain start to fall mercilessly, when I got home, I was completely drenched, John and Joan (Elena's parent) are seated on a three seater sofa cuddling together and Elina (Elena's twin) sat on the rug at their feet with a thick checked blanket draped over her body, all their attention shifted to me the moment I stepped in. 

"Uncle!, You're completely drenched. Wrap this over yourself before you catch a flu," Elina said, offering her blanket to me. Unlike her feisty sister, she has the caring attitude of her mother which makes to appear weak to me but now that her sister is gone, she can take up her place, weak or not I thought, smiling at her.

"John, do you have any news on Elena yet?" I ask sounding concerned. Ever since the day I kidnapped her, I've been pretending to be the most concerned person so that I can get more information about the cops ongoing investigation but now that she is dead it's no longer necessary. I turn to see Elina coming with a hot cup of tea in a tray,'here comes my new play mate.' I sinisterly smiled before turning my attention back to josh.

"No, but the cops are trying their bes....." He was about to finish his statement when his wife Joan, lashed out angrily.

"I dare you to finish that statement John!, for the past five years. It's been five years John!, my baby has been missing and yet you go to work and sit down to watch your favourite football match like nothing happened, preaching to me everyday about how much the cops are trying. Why don't you be a man and go out there in search of her yourself, be a man for onc....." 

She was interrupted by the ringing of the landline phone. Elina went to pick the call and place the phone on speaker.

"Good morning this is the Valiant Police Department, the station nearest to the abandoned train station in Chestville. My name is Billiard. Everyone was silent as no one uttered a word. I check my wristwatch and the time reads 3:40am, no wonder the cop had said good morning, I thought.

His voice resounded again and this time I replied since no one his ready to.

"Hello, how may we help you" I replied.

"The body of a young teenage girl was found in a deserted alley in Chestville by one of our officers during his routine night check. We ran some finger prints test and checked our data base for matches and check our records for cases of missing reports filed. It was confirmed that the her name is Elena Bradford, leading us directly to your family" he said, explaining the purpose of the call.

I glance back to look at a shocked Joan who now look like a duplicate of her real self because of the daily stress she put herself into while searching for her missing daughter, my rag doll.

John breaks the silence by asking the main question that i've been refraining to ask.

"Is she alive?" he ask with anticipation and a glint of Hope in his lemon green eye, we have almost the same eyes, body features and mind, almost.

"Yes but she was found in a very critical condition and had been rushed to Penelope regional general hospital. She's......" 

Joan did not wait for the rest of what the cop has to say because she already dash out of the house with John hot on her tail.

This is exactly what i dread the most, how can she be alive?.

Chapter 3

Joan's pov:

I try as much as I could not believe the Cop that called earlier when he said the body that was found has the same finger print as my Elena. I don't want to raise my hope only to have it crushed again. I've lost count of the number of calls that we've received from different police stations, claiming that my daughter has been found, I need to confirm this myself, it is a must. I sit down uncomfortably  in my seat while John pull up in front of the hospital, I did not wait for him to return from the parking lot before i entered the hospital building. I went to the receptionist desk, gave her the name of my daughter and asked for her ward and she ask a police officer to escort me to the ICU ward. 

"Because of the critical condition in which she was found, she had been placed on 24hrs surveillance. Visitors are not allowed to visit her alone without an escort or letter of authorization by the police, sorry for the inconveniences ma'am" the receptionist explained.

I was escorted by the Cop to the ward in which possibly my daughter might be admitted. I am yet to confirm if she is the one and I refuse to believe without seeing.

"You can only look at her through the glass door" the police officer explained, stating my boundary when we got to the front of her hospital room. 

Even from this far and with the glass door separating us, i know that the bony patient on that bed is my daughter, her hair is still the same blonde hair my daughter has, she and her twin have that and many other features in common, the only way you can tell them apart is by their eyes colour, Elina has my grey stormy eyes while her twin has my father's Ocean blue eyes.

The moment I set my eyes on the patient that was placed on life support in the ICU with different monitoring wires connected to her body, I knew immediately that she is my daughter, I can feel the connection between us grow back. It is a motherly instinct that can't be explained and unless you are a mother, you can't understand.

A tear escaped from the corner of my right eye and soon both of my eyes are tearing up, a warm hand took hold of mine and squeezing it to comfort me, I look up to see josh beside me with a hard look on his face, I know he's trying as much as he could not to break down but I could not control my tears, I place my head on his chest and cry my heart out. I cry because she is finally back, because it's truly her. She looks more lean than the last time I saw her, her face looks pale and the exposed part of her body is covered with bruises. My chest ache with unexplainable pain at the sight of her battered body, I cant believe my baby was abused and left to die, my tears continue to flow endlessly and the thought of leaving her all alone again when Josh said it's time to go home. The thought alone, It hurts more.

"She's going to be fine" Josh said, trying to convince me to leave the hospital.

The ride home from the hospital was filled with silence as we were both occupied with different thoughts on our mind but I couldn't help but to wonder about who could have treated my daughter with such a high level of inhumanity. They will surely pay, I'll make sure of it.

Chapter four

Joan's pov:

Days roll into weeks and weeks into months but my daughter is yet to wake up from her state of Coma. I was denied the opportunity to stay at her side by the police and only the nurses and doctors are allowed to enter her room freely without restraint.

Josh came three weeks ago to check on her and was asking questions about her daily treatment routine, he looked so worried, more concerned than I was, I couldn't help but to smile at his fatherly instinct. Thankfully, he was there when the doctor came around to announce to me that Elena will be shifted off life support in two weeks time because she's finally showing signs of regaining consciousness. Josh left with a relieved smile on his face few minutes after the doctor left and hasn't come back to check on her.

"Good evening doctor" I greeted the doctor that was about to enter her room with a tray of injection but he replied with a wave of his hand. He has a jet-black hair and had a face mask on. I couldn't see his face well. That's strange, I thought. He injected Elena with a yellowish liquid, came out of the room and left in such a hurry that made my suspicion rise, my instinct tells me he the doctor that just left was up to no good. 

"Have you ever seen that doctor before?" I ask the police office stationed at Elena's door and he shook his head.

"Don't you think his behavi..." I didn't get to finish my statement as Elena's body starts to jerk wildly with force on the bed with her chest rising and falling rapidly and her breathing unsteady. The monitors attached to her body starts to blare out loudly, within a fraction of seconds, doctors and nurses start trooping into her room. I watch helplessly through the glass door as they try to stabilize her and all I can do is to cry. 

I cry because of the painful memories attached with the ICU, I lost my dad 15years ago in the ICU when his condition suddenly spiralled out of control like what's currently happening and eventually died. Then, he was a stroke patient with full body paralysis and was brought to live with me. He became sick and was diagnosed with anal cancer, the doctor explained that it was caused by the continuous deep penetration of his anus during intercourse which caused a fissure in his anus lining thereby allowing impurities to escape into his bloodstream. My dad was Straight and till today, I don't understand how he become gay or when he start practicing gay or he managed to practice gay in his paralyzed state.

  "God please, I've lost her once, I don't want to loose her again. I don't want to find her only to loose her again" I internally pleaded with God. The nurses continue to move in and out of her room, i try talking to them but they are just too damn busy to tell me the condition of my daughter. Few hours passed before they all start to leave, I guess her condition is now stable. I sigh in relief.

"She's okay now and we hope she wakes up soon but there is a 50% probability that she might have a temporary amnesia when she did. The cops will be here to ask you some questions." The head specialist doctor walked up to me and said, before I could ask any question, he squeeze my shoulder with a reassuring smile and left.

"Mrs Bradford we will like to have some words with you" I heard a voice say behind me and I turn to see to cops standing.

"Okay." I replied. They walk me to the waiting area and motion for me to sit.

"I am Craig, Valiant Police department sheriff and this is my deputy, Simon" the man who I now know to be the sheriff said while introducing himself and his assistant.

"Can you tell us what happened before the emergency Bell in your daughter's room went off?" The sheriff ask while his assistant brought out a note, pen and pencil.

"A doctor came in, he injected her with a yellowish liquid and left hurriedly, the next thing I saw was my daughter's body shaking on the bed vigorously while she start fighting for her life" I replied. Bead of tears start to form in my eyes, threatening to fall and the sheriff offered me his handkerchief.

"Thanks." I muttered and he waved it off dismissively.

"What do you notice about the strange doctor you just mentioned?" 

"He has a dyed jet-black hair, round skyblue eyes, his nose and mouth was covered but his nose is pointed through the mask." I replied.

"Do you notice any thing else?"

"No" I replied. 

His assistant showed me a rough sketch of my description, looking at the sketched face closely, I couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity away. I feel like I know the person in the drawing.

"That will be all, thanks for your cooperation" the sheriff said and left with his assistant.

"Joan, please tell me she's okay" John said as he came running to me breathlessly.

"She's fine John, the doctor has finally find a way to stabilize her" I replied while wondering how he got to know, I don't remember calling him.

"Thank goodness." He said.

"Let's get going it's almost night time, the police does not permit anyone to visit to her again until she wakes up.

"Oh!." He said, clenching his fist beside him.

"Whats the matter?, Why are your fist clenched?" I asked and watch as he quickly unclench them.

"It's nothing. Don't worry yourself too much Joan, she will surely wake up and when she did, those that did this to her will pay!" He replied, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist back. 

The ride home was silent as usual, I couldn't get the sketched face out of my mind, the face looks exactly like Josh's or was it John's? I thought. They both have round eyes but not skyblue eyes, Could it have been contact lens? Maybe am just being a pessimist.

"Joan, we are home already" John said while tapping on my shoulder lightly, snapping me out of my dazed state.

I alight from the car and went straight to Elina's bedroom to bid her goodnight. She was already asleep when I entered, I sit beside her sleeping body then kiss her forehead and reposition the blanket on her body, a low muffled masculine sound at her door attracted me, I slowly made my way to the door on tiptoe and the muffled sound become clearer.

"How dare you fail again!" The first voice said accusingly.

"You accuse me of being a failure when you can't even father a child" the second voice said mockingly. 

Last time I checked, there are only two male in this house which is Josh and John, I thought. I open the door and I was shocked by what I saw.

Josh and josh had their hands on each others neck, fighting for dominance. I've never known either of them to be violent but the look on their faces and their bloodshot eye was really scary.

"Can someone please tell me what this is all about?" I questioned and they both release themselves, dropping their hands beside them like nothing happened. If I hadn't been staring at them for long, I might actually believe their pretence.

"It's nothing serious." John replied dismissively while josh stormed off angrily.

The both of them has been behaving strangely ever since the day we found Elina.

I walk back to Elina's room and lock the door behind me pretending like I heard nothing about their earlier discussion and I can't seems to differentiate their voices.

Could they be involved in this?

Chapter Five

We got a call from the hospital this morning that Elena is awake. I and John both head to the car and I could not just overlook the fact that  John look tensed throughout the ride to the hospital.

"John, what's going on with you?" I asked worriedly when he pull up at the hospital front..

"Nothing. Just happy that our daughter his finally awake" he said, giving me a fake smile that doesn't reach his eyes. I waited for him till he comes back from the parking lot and we enter the building together.

When we got to the receptionist, we were directed to the doctors office.

"Take the turning on your left, the doctor is waiting for you in room 21b." The receptionist said and we follow her description.

"Mr & Mrs Bradford you're welcome, have your seat" the doctor greeted us politely and wait for us to settle in before starting the conversation.

"Congratulations to the both of you once again. Your daughter is a fighter, it's not everyone that can survive all she went through. Her tongue was cut off and she almost bleed to the point of death before she was rescued" he said.

"You mean, Elena can't talk?, Do you mean to tell me she can no longer call me mom?" I ask the doctor in a low shaky voice with tears in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to tell you all this but it is a must for you to know her current state of health" the doctor replied with a solemn look on his face. 

"It's okay Joan, let's hear the doctor out" John said while squeezing my hand under the table.

"Most importantly, you need to know that what happened to her seven days ago before the police placed a restraining order to prevent any one from visiting her was a failed assassination attempt" he said.

"What!, You mean someone tried to kill my daughter?" I screamed.

"Please you need to calm down, you need to be in the best state of mind when you meet her or I might be forced to restrain you from visiting her" the doctor said.

"Okay, fine. Am calm now" I replied, trying to control the raging anger in me. My anger is burning like a fire, begging to be let free without restraint but I need to suppress it, for my daughter's sake.

"Your daughter is currently suffering from temporary amnesia, she might not remember some things or some people." he paused to make sure his words are understood before he continues, "she will be experiencing some signs like headache and dizziness, it's normal, and also being a victim of abuse has taken its toll on her, she has been diagnosed to have PTSD so please, mind the way you behave in front of her or you might end up scarring her. She might be discharged in a week's time or less than that if there is more improvement on her health. Thanks for your time." The doctor concluded.

" You can go and see her now, she is in the female private ward" he stood up from his seat and brought his hand forward for a shake with John.

"Don't forget to keep her safe after she get discharged, you can't tell if her assailant will return." He added when we were almost at the door and I nod my head in appreciation.

........................

We've been in the hospital room together with her for the past 2hrs. Our only means of communicating with her is through the small note book she had been writing her words on and it breaks my heart to see her like that, I fight off the tears that is threatening to fall, I need to be strong for her.

Mom, was the first word she wrote on her notepad as she smiles happily then she asked about her sister.

 I was so happy that she could remember her twin sister and also recognize us, her parents.

It would have hurt me deeply if I finally get to see my daughter after 5years only for her to stare at me blankly and unable to recognize me.

"Do you remember josh?" I asked and she shook her head. I brought out my phone and search for his pictures and I came up with none, that's strange, I have almost twenty pictures of josh on my phone, including the last one we all snapped before Elena went missing.

"John, do you have your phone with you?" I called out to John who has retreated a corner, ever since we arrived he only came close to Elena when he wanted to greet her and after that, he had a worried expression on his face.

"No, I left it at home" he replied. Strange, so strange. John is not the type to forget things but I brushed it off.

"Don't worry dear, he and your sister will come to visit you before this week runs out okay?" I asked and She nods her head in understanding while her face lit up in excitement at the mention of her sister.

The door opened and a nurse walked in.

"I am sorry to interrupt your personal moment but hospital's visiting time is over. She need to take her medications and have a lot of rest, I hope you understand" she explained.

I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her all alone by herself but we have to leave, I went to her bed, kiss her forehead.

"Bye my love" I said and she smiled.

Chapter six

Joan's pov:

"I don't want to go since you already said she can't remember me." josh said with a pained expression.

"C'mon josh, your presence will only help her in remembering." I replied.

I've been trying to get Josh to visit Elena ever since she woke up two days ago but he refused.

"No Joan, it will only hurt more if i am to stand in front of her and she fail to recognize me."

"Please, I promise she'll recognize you." I pleaded and tug on Elina's cloth, signalling for her to plead with her uncle.

"Please uncle, pleaseee.." she pleaded while giving him a puppy eye look.

"Okay, okay, I agree. Stop giving me that look" he said while raising his hands up in mock surrender.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see john glaring daggers at his brother the whole time, if only looks could kill, josh would have been dead by now.

"Okay, let's move!" I screamed with feigned excitement while Elina starts to jump with immerse happiness.

"John!, Let's get going" I yelled snapping my fingers in front of him.

"Oh, sorry." he said and start to walk outside without waiting while Elina follow closely behind him.

"Not again Josh!" I yelled whilst I grab josh's hand from the corner he was hiding and drag him outside with me.

........................

"I'm not letting you out of my sight again." I said to josh when the car came to a stop.

We all alighted the car together when John pulled up in the parking lot because i insisted. John lead the way with Elina at the middle while I and josh followed behind them.

"Elena!" The deafening scream of Elina filled my ear as she ran to meet her sister on the hospital bed.

"Josh, Elena doesn't bite" I said to josh when he hesitated at the doorway, I winked at the Cop on guard at the door before I push josh in, making him to stumble forward.

I move over to Elena's bedside and neatly talk a stray hair on her face behind her ear.

"Elina love, how are you?" I ask and she nods her head in reply.

"Okay love. Look over there, can you recognize uncle josh?" I asked, Pointing to where josh is standing. She shakes her head in denial and I see josh sigh. Not so fast josh!, I thought inwardly.

"C'mon darlin', don't break uncle's heart, look more closely and you might recognize him" I tried again.

She looks at him for some seconds without blinking and when I almost lost all hope of her recognizing him, she starts to shake with fear.

"Elena what's wrong with you?" I asked with concern as she continue to shake. She hide her face behind me, using me as a shield.

"Baby, please tell me what's wrong, you're scaring me?" I pleaded with her as yelling might increase her fear.

She brought out her notepad and scribble some words on it then turn the note to face me so I can read what's written in it.

"Mom please don't let him take me away!, I can remember him now, he's the one that kidnapped me. Mom, It's uncle Josh"

I heard Elina gasp beside me as she slowly drop to the floor. Shit!, she read what was written in the pad.

"How dare you Josh!, how dare you do this to her. She trusted you, they both trust you. Why?" I yelled as tears start to cloud my vision. I expected him to run away or deny the accusation but he didn't, he started laughing out loud instead. He continued to laugh until John punch him hard in the face and he fall to the floor.

"Joan, Stop making this a big deal. I see nothing bad in playing with my niece. Moreover, I always enjoy her scream and plead for mercy whenever I cut open her skin with my knife." He said while rising up slowly from the floor.

"You a such a wretched soul Josh!, You are an animal." I screamed Whilst I clutch my daughters safely to my sides.

"Joan, do you know that the look on your lovely daughter's face was priceless on the day I took her virginity forcefully?, riding her like a horse all day long while dragging her around the floor like the rag she is." He said with pride with a sinister smile plastered on his face.

"You're evil, you'll rot in hell" I screamed.

"C'mon John, tell Joan how much you enjoy fucking her daughter with your mask on, drilling her with your dick until she can no longer walk" he said while turning to john and tapping him on the shoulder, urging him to talk.

I shifted my gaze to John in shock and he drop his face down in shame.

"Tell me he's lying against you John!, Tell me you didn't fuck your daughter?" I said in a quiet voice, wishing he would tell me it's all a lie but he didn't.

"Don't you ever dare to call me their father again, I am not their father!" He retorted.

"What are you talking about John?" I asked with confusion.

"I am not the father of your useless daughters. If you really want the truth so much then I'll tell you. I had you drugged and raped on our wedding night while I sit down to watch your sick ass get fucked in every hole. You enjoyed it so much that you moaned out loud like a whore. Yeah, more like the bitch you are!" He spat out angrily.

I was left speechless, my mind couldn't comprehend all the information I just heard.

"Not you too John" i said in a low and almost inaudible voice. My heart constrict together in shock as waves of searing pain passes through my whole body. I was in so much pain and shocked beyonds words, my breathing becomes shallow and difficult, I tried to breathe but I couldn't.

"FBI!. Raise your hands up above your heads and don't attempt to move!" I heard the Cops yell as they bust through the door but I couldn't see them, my vision become hazy and unclear. I know they are near but why does their voices sound so distant?, I thought. 

I try to stand up from the bed while using my hand to support my weight, my hand slipped on the bed making me to loose my balance, the last sound i heard before i was completely engulfed in total darkness was the cry of my daughter when i fall off the bed.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Who is the real father of the twins?, Where is he?

Does he  even know they exist?.

What happened to Joan?

What do you think will happen next?

Read the next series of;

 'The Devil In Flesh And Blood'

 To find out how the mysteries and conspiracies get solved while new ones arises.

Watch out for the sequel.