Chapter Text
“I-spy boats!” Chris exclaims.
Buck looks where Chris is pointing and sure enough there are rescue boats coming their way.
Soon they are all being loaded onto the boats. Buck looks at the firefighters who have recused them. “My phone isn’t working but my husband is a firefighter with the 118, he’s on shift. Can you radio them to let them know that Chris and I are fine but we are searching for Harry and Robert who were on the ferris wheel when the tsunami hit.”
“Of course,” they promise. “Can you tell us your name?”
Buck nods. He’d forgotten about that.
___
“I’m here cap,” Doug hears Maddie say into the radio.
He turns and sure enough there she is, just in time as they were about to get into the boats to head out to the ferris wheel. He pats the spot next to him and Maddie is quick to sit down there.
She feels fear fill her knowing that Buck is still out there. At least Genevieve is safe but she hates that Genevieve has a broken arm. And that Genevieve had to watch a woman nearly die.
Doug hears a voice on the radio asking to speak to the captain of the 118 so he brings the radio to his ear, so that he can only hear it.
“This is the captain of the 118,” he confirms.
“Can you let firefighter Diaz know that his husband Buck and son Chris have been found safe and sound but that Robert and Harry haven’t been found yet and were on the ferris wheel at the time the tsunami hit. Buck’s phone was ruined in the tsunami so he hasn’t been able to get in contact with Eddie yet.”
Doug smiles. “Of course I’ll let him know. Thanks for updating me.”
He then puts the radio back down and turns to Eddie. “That was one of the other fire captains. Chris is safe. They found him seeking shelter on top of a fire engine. He doesn’t know where your husband is, they got separated in the tsunami. Chris also said that Robert and Harry were at the top of the ferris wheel when the tsunami hit which means we should be seeing them shortly.”
Eddie nods. Part of him is filled with relief. Chris is safe. But where is Buck? His terror remains. He looks at Maddie and sees that she is shaking. There is some comfort that he isn’t alone in his fear. But when he sees just how terrified Maddie is he wishes he was alone in his fear as he doesn’t want her to be that scared.
As they approach the ferris wheel they hear people calling for help. They see that a few other firefighters are already there.
“Help up here,” a woman yells. “My husband’s hurt.”
Doug tells the first boatload which contains Hen, Ravi and Lucy to help the guys on the lower levels of the ferris wheel. He says that the other boat which has him, Maddie, Chim, Eddie and Max will help the lady’s husband.
“Eddie,” Robert yells as he looks down and sees him. Soon Harry is also calling Eddie’s name.
Doug sighs. “Eddie, you can get the two kids down and into a rescue boat, the rest of us can focus on the lady’s husband.”
“Thanks Cap,” Eddie says.
Eddie looks at the depth of the water and the height of the ferris wheel. Considering the slipperiness of the ferris wheel and the fact that they don’t have enough ropes for everyone he reckons it will be safer for Harry and Robert to jump down, that way they won’t have a chance of getting hurt by banging into the ferris wheel. They will just be jumping into the water.
“Jump. One at a time though,” Eddie calls up.
“You go first,” Robert tells Harry.
Harry just wants to get off the ferris wheel so he nods. He looks down and Eddie tells him where to jump, saying to jump out as far as he can so that he doesn’t risk hitting the ferris wheel on his way down. Harry nods and then he is jumping. He goes down into the water and he is quick to kick his way back up to the surface. As soon as he does Eddie is next to him guiding him onto one of the rescue boats.
Once Harry has jumped Eddie then calls for Robert to jump. So he does and once he surfaces Eddie guides him to the boat.
Harry starts crying. “Buck and Chris were on the pier when the tsunami hit. Have you heard from them? We saw the wave sweep them away.”
Eddie gulps. “Chris has been found and he is safe. Buck hasn’t been found yet.”
Soon both Robert and Harry are crying. Eddie looks at them and sees that a rescue boat is set to go back to land. He asks where it will be going after that and is told they will be going to the field hospital.
Eddie looks at them. “Go with them to the field hospital and stay together. I will get in contact with someone to meet you there. Don’t leave the hospital until either Buck, I, Athena, Michael or Bobby are there. Stay together.”
Harry and Robert nod and promise that they will.
Once they are gone Eddie grabs his phone. He decides to try Athena’s number first. She answers on the first ring.
“Athena, where are you?” he asks.
“I’m at the field hospital. We got in a pile up and Genevieve’s arm got broken.”
Eddie is surprised to hear that.
“We found Robert and Harry on the Ferris Wheel and they are going with a group to the field hospital now. I told them to stay together and to not leave until either Buck, you, me, Michael or Bobby gets there. Another fire station called and told us that Chris is safe. We don’t know about Buck yet. He got separated from Chris in the tsunami.”
He hears Athena audibly gulp. “Copy that,” she says. “I’ll make sure to get Harry and Robert when they arrive. And I’ll find out which fire station has Chris and will get them to bring him here. I’ll look after all the kids and I’ll call Bobby to come out and search for Buck. You just focus on your job, I’m sure lots of people need help.”
Eddie sighs. “You’re right.”
He says bye to Athena and hangs up, putting the phone in a plastic bag before putting it back in his pocket. He then heads up the ferris wheel to help his team.
___
After harnessing up and climbing up the ferris wheel Doug and Maddie reach the gondola with the couple asking for help. Maddie’s entire body is on fire, her broken ribs not showing her any mercy during the climb, and it takes all of her strength to focus on the task at hand and not give in to the pain.
The whole ferris wheel shakes and looking at the structure it is clear that soon the whole thing is going to go. Doug is quick to speak into the radio, telling everyone that they need to evacuate everyone as soon as possible before the whole thing goes.
Eddie climbs halfway up the ferris wheel before finding someone who is scared to get down and go in the water so Eddie gets the harness out and starts to help them.
“What happened here?” Maddie asks the couple in the gondola that is near the top.
“He hit his neck when the wave came and now he can’t feel his fingers.”
Maddie exchanges a look with Doug, both of them knowing that this isn’t good.
“My arms went numb, a couple of minutes later my legs gave out,” the guy says. “Am I paralysed,” he asks, staying surprisingly calm considering the question he is asking.
“It’s too soon to tell,” Maddie says, trying to keep her voice as calm and soothing as possible.
“You said you lost sensation in your arms first and then your legs,” Maddie asks, looking for clarification.
“Yeah,” the guy replies.
“Well that might be a sign of swelling which means you bruised your neck instead of breaking it,” Maddie says.
As she finishes saying that the entire ferris wheel rocks even more. Maddie turns to Doug. “We need a backboard and we need it now.”
Doug nods, not even commenting on Maddie telling him what to do. He just radios, asking for someone to get a backboard up to him asap. He then radios for a helicopter, knowing they will need it to get the guy clear of the ferris wheel before it goes down and to also get him to a hospital as soon as possible seeing as they are looking at a possible spinal injury.
All the firefighters stationed at different points on the ferris wheel pass the backboard from one person to another until soon one of them is passing it to Doug.
Maddie puts a C collar and neck brace on the guy, in order to help him remain as immobile as possible to reduce the risk of further injury. With the help of Doug she then gets the guy onto the backboard, being as careful as possible when they do it.
Soon the guy is talking to his wife, talking about a pen and papers and saying how they were always a disaster. Maddie goes all weird and fuzzy watching the two of them sign the divorce papers. Doug lets out a low growl and grabs Maddie arm, gripping it tightly. Maddie swallows hard. She had let herself forget for a second that divorce isn’t an option for her. But how she wishes it was.
Soon they hear the sound of the helicopter above them and they are then transferring the guy onto it.
Once the guy has been lifted to safety Doug looks down and sees all the debris floating his way. He sees how the whole ferris wheel is rocking.
“We need to go now.”
He looks at Maddie and the other woman. “We’re going to have to jump.”
The other woman doesn’t hesitate. She jumps and seconds later they see her surface and other firefighters are helping her onto the rescue boats which are hurrying a bit away so that they won’t be in the path of the ferris wheel when it falls.
Doug looks at Maddie who is trembling. “Once we jump we’re going to have to swim fast so we don’t get hit by the ferris wheel when it comes down.”
Maddie just shakes even more and her eyes glaze over. Doug sighs. They don’t have time for this.
He stands behind Maddie and wraps her in his arms. Once he has a secure grip on her he jumps. Within seconds they are in the water, Maddie still in his arms. Doug kicks his way to the surface. When he surfaces he quickly checks how Maddie is doing. Her eyes are closed and she is trembling all over.
Doug hears the creaking of the ferris wheel and he looks up to see it falling. He swims as fast as he can and only just gets him and Maddie out of the way before the entire thing crashes into the water, right where he and Maddie had been only seconds earlier.
He swims the rest of the way to one of the rescue boats. Chimney helps Doug get Maddie onto the boat and then Doug climbs onto it. They then do a check to make sure that no one else is still in the water and once they have confirmed that everyone here is in one of the rescue boats they then make their way back to shore.
___
Chris is tired and so is Buck. But his phone is destroyed and he knows he needs to be able to get in contact with Eddie and everyone else.
They don’t even have his jeep as it was parked on the pier last he saw it. Even if he knows where it ended up now he knows it is probably destroyed. And he can’t exactly use his phone to call an uber. On account of his phone being destroyed.
He sees some fire fighters heading inland and hears that they are going to the field hospital. It is near one of the malls so he asks for a ride there. Once they get there Buck makes his way to the mall, carrying Christopher who is tired.
When they get there Chris says he is hungry and it has been hours since either of them have last eaten. So a phone can wait a bit longer. They make their way to the food court which is incredibly deserted and empty compared to normal. Buck assumes that is because of the tsunami.
Soon he and Chris are sitting at a table eating McDonald’s burgers and ice cream.
“Do you think Robert and Harry are ok?” Chris asks quietly.
“They were at the top of the ferris wheel. The water never reached that high,” Buck says.
Chris nods, seeming reassured by that.
Once they have eaten they go to the phone store and Buck buys a new one. When he shows them his id he is able to get the new phone on the same plan as his existing one. Much to Buck’s relief and surprise the SIM card from his old phone still works meaning that he hasn’t lost everything that was on his old phone.
The store staff help him transfer the SIM card to his new phone. He thanks them and then calls Eddie immediately. Eddie doesn’t pick up and after 3 tries Buck assumes it is due to Eddie working. He is probably busy helping people. Buck sends Eddie a text telling him that he and Chris are safe and that they are making their way home where they will wait for him.
Buck then orders an uber and eventually they get home. Once they do, Chris goes to the tv and starts playing a video game. Buck decides to call Athena to see how their day went and to update her on Robert and Harry.
She answers almost straight away.
“Buck? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. I’m safe and at home. Chris is with me as well.” Buck stops, then feeling choked up. “When the tsunami hit Harry and Robert were at the top of the ferris wheel but that was the last I have seen or heard of them. I’m sorry, I don’t know where they are, I should have looked after them better, I should have一”
“Buck,” Athena cuts him off. “Robert and Harry are safe. Eddie spoke to me when they were responding to the ferris wheel and he sent Robert and Harry to the makeshift field hospital. They are there with May, Brooke, Genevieve and I. We have just finished up here so I will come over to your house.”
Buck sighs in relief. Him and Athena hang up and Buck makes his way to Chris. “Robert and Harry are safe. Athena is with them. She is going to bring them and all the girls over here. They should be here soon.”
“We should make something for them to eat in case they are hungry,” Chris says.
“That’s a good idea Chris. We don’t know when any of them last ate.”
So Buck and Chris head to the kitchen. Chris organises snacks and Buck works on making something a bit more substantial. He has just finished cooking when there is a knock on the door.
He makes his way to open it and soon everyone is piling inside. Buck stares at Genevieve. Her arm is now broken and in a cast.
“What happened to your arm?” He asks.
“There was a big car crash. A car smashed into us and lots of cars crashed into other cars,” Genevieve says, sounding remarkably calm about the whole thing.
“Because of the tsunami no one else came for ages. We had to hold pressure on the wound of someone who was bleeding out,” May says.
“I thought she was dead,” Brooke says.
“Me too,” May says, trembling slightly.
“I knew she wasn't dead,” Genevieve says quietly. “She just needed a small rest from the pain. That happens a lot with Mommy which is why I knew she would be alright. Mommy always is and she is normally hurt way more than the lady today was.”
Buck doesn’t know how to process that information. Athena sees the food and tells the kids to take the snacks to the living room. Once they are gone she turns to Buck. “Are you alright?”
Buck tries to take a few breaths and struggles. Athena guides him to a chair and Buck sits down on it. Athena guides him through his breathing and eventually Buck can breathe normally again.
___
The rest of their shift ends up being very busy and longer than normal due to what happened. Maddie spends the entire shift trying to focus on her job but getting more and more scared about Buck. It doesn’t help that as the day progresses they see more and more bodies.
At one point they get sent to a call where the leakage in the water along with a lamp sparking resulted in an explosion. Which is when they discover that a building had a gas leak. That is a hard call. They have to use the full gas protection face masks with O2 when they go into that building. They find many people in the building. Every single one of them is dead. There must have been a gas leak at some stage that no one caught as they were so busy with the tsunami.
Soon after that depressing call dispatch lets them know that they can finally finish their shift. All of them are exhausted when they pull into the station. Doug sends everyone else home but gets him and Maddie to stay for a bit longer. The two of them are quiet as they work on restocking everything and cleaning the trucks.
Maddie is almost falling asleep as she stumbles along to do what Doug instructs. And now that the adrenaline of the rescues has faded all she feels is fear. Pure fear. She can’t cope with another brother dying. She needs Buck to be alive. But Doug has kept in contact with other fire captains and the field hospital and hasn’t heard anything. She knows Doug only kept on checking for Eddie’s sake, not hers. But Doug hasn’t heard anything about Buck all day and now she is so so terrified.
___
Eddie is exhausted by the time he gets home. And scared. They still haven’t heard anything from Buck. However he knows that Chris needs to be his priority.
When he opens the door the first thing Eddie hears is Buck’s voice and relief fills his body.
He rushes into the house and gives Buck a massive hug. He then turns and sees Chris and Genevieve and he gives both of them big hugs as well.
“I’m so relieved that all of you are ok,” Eddie says.
All of them hug even harder and they stay in one big group hug for a few minutes, although everyone makes sure to be mindful of Genevieve’s broken arm.
It is clear that all of them are tired and soon Chris and Genevieve start yawning.
“Time for bed,” Buck announces.
Chris and Genevieve start protesting even though it is obvious how tired they both are.
Buck shakes his head. “I let you both stay up later than normal, until Eddie was home like you asked. But he is home now and you have seen him.”
“I don’t want to sleep alone,” Chris says quietly.
“Same,” Genevieve whispers.
“The two of you could sleep in the same room,” Eddie suggests.
Chris and Genevieve look at each other briefly before nodding. Soon they are both making their way into Genevieve’s room as she has the slightly bigger bed. Eddie and Buck settle the two of them in, with Genevieve on the right side so that her broken arm is on the edge of the bed and isn’t at risk of being accidentally bumped by Christopher.
Buck tells them a bedtime story and both Chris and Genevieve fall asleep before it is done. Eddie gently tucks the blankets around them and then they carefully leave the room before making their way to the living room.
Buck and Eddie collapse onto the couch next to each other.
“I’m so relieved you’re ok,” Eddie says to Buck. “It was a terrifying day. From the moment I found out about the tsunami to the moment I arrived home and finally set eyes on you I was terrified that I would never see you again.”
Buck sits up, feeling slightly confused. “Did you not get told when Chris and I were safe? I asked them to tell you.”
Eddie frowns. “One of the other captains told Doug that Chris was safe but that Chris had said he got separated from you in the tsunami and that Robert and Harry were on the ferris wheel when the tsunami hit. We were just reaching the ferris wheel at that stage so I soon saw Robert and Harry.”
Buck gasps. “You spent the whole day worried I was dead? Chris and I never got separated. I was with him the whole time. When they radioed saying that Chris was safe they also told him that I was safe.”
“So Doug lied,” Eddie says.
Buck nods, anger on his face. “I know he hates me. But he made you spend longer than you had to being terrified I was dead. That is so cruel. I know he’s a horrible person but I am still surprised he would sink that low.”
Eddie goes pale.
“What is it?” Buck asks, feeling worried.
“Maddie,” Eddie says quietly and Buck feels his heart sink.
“Maddie spent the whole day terrified for you from the moment we found out there was a tsunami and I said you were at the pier today. Both her and I struggled to keep it together all day because of how scared about you we were. But I think she struggled more. She actually passed out from fear at one point, when she first heard that you were at the pier. And she doesn’t even know that you are safe. Doug knows. But we both know he won’t tell her that you are safe.”
Buck buries his head in his hands as he tries to not cry. “We don’t even have a way of letting her know I’m safe. She won’t be able to find out until your next shift so she is going to spend that entire time terrified I could be dead.” Buck gasps in horror as he has a new thought. “What if Doug just completely lies and tells her I’m dead?”
Eddie shakes his head. “Surely he wouldn’t do that. After all, he knows his lie would eventually be found out.”
But Eddie doesn’t sound sure of what he is saying.
Both Eddie and Buck end up sitting there in silence. They had spent their day scared for each other. But now they are back to the fear they are more used to, a fear for Maddie.
____
Maddie feels completely drained when they finally get home. But now her adrenaline has gone and her fear is eating her alive. And she doesn’t dare voice her fear, knowing that Doug hates her brother.
“Let’s go to bed, that was an insane shift,” Doug says as he passes her and makes his way upstairs.
Maddie stands frozen in place. She starts shaking and she wraps her arms around herself. Buck can’t be dead. He can’t be dead. But what if he is? How is she supposed to continue if he is? She can barely continue living as it is. She only lives so that Doug doesn’t kill Buck and Genevieve. But now Buck might be dead anyway.
“Maddie, are you coming?”
Maddie jumps and looks up at Doug who is now ready for bed. How much time has passed since they entered the house?
He looks at her. “You’re shaking. Why are you shaking? It isn’t cold?”
She stares up at him in his direction but finds herself looking through him. She never got over losing Daniel and she knows she won’t get over this either. Why does her life keep on trying to take away the few good things she still has left.
She starts crying and shaking even harder.
Doug slaps her in the face and Maddie doesn’t care. He pins her against the wall and she is just so scared that her brother might be dead.
He drags her to the basement and her mind is filled with horrifying images of her brother’s body.
He pulls out the blow torch and Maddie knows she should be scared of it. She knows how much it hurts. But her brother might not be in this world anymore and that hurts more than a blow torch ever could.
Doug slaps her in the face. “LOOK AT ME,” he yells. Maddie tries to focus on where she is. But it doesn’t matter. Her brother could be dead. So the only thing that still matters is Genevieve.
Doug slaps her again. “LOOK AT ME MADDIE. NOT THROUGH ME BUT AT ME.”
She can sense growing rage in his voice and realises that if Doug kills her then she won’t be able to go to Buck’s funeral. And that thought is the only thing that allows her to look at Doug.
“Finally,” he growls.
“You’re scared that your pathetic little brother died in the tsunami. Aren’t you?” he snaps.
Maddie shakes and just stares at him.
“AREN’T YOU?” he demands.
Maddie nods.
Doug glares at her. “Well you seem even more scared of that than you are of me. You didn’t even get scared when I got out the blow torch.”
She wasn’t aware he noticed that.
Doug grabs the blow torch. And whilst she is scared of it, everything dulls in comparison to her fear for her brother so she barely feels any fear about the risk of Doug using the blow torch on her.
“He’s alive,” Doug says.
Maddie stares at him, hope flooding through her eyes. “He is?” She asks, her voice breaking.
Doug nods. “I found out when we were at the ferris wheel. At the same time we found out their son Chris was alive. I lied. Chris never got separated from your stupid brother. They were with each other the whole time.”
Pure relief fills Maddie. Her brother is safe. Her brother is alive. She breathes out, feeling peace fill her.
Doug slaps her in the face and pulls out the blow torch. This time pure fear fills her body. How was she not scared earlier? She feels a puddle form and embarrassment fills her when she realised she wet herself. She starts shaking. “Please Doug, please.”
He stares at her intently, studying her fear. And then he is punching her hard in the ribs and Maddie screams as her already broken ribs are attacked.
Doug turns to her as he slams her to the ground and puts his fingers around her neck and he begins squeezing. Maddie’s body automatically struggles as she tries to pry his fingers away so that she can breathe. She looks up at Doug and pure terror fills her when she sees the determination in his eyes. Is he going to kill her this time? For spending the whole day thinking about her brother. She realises he might and as everything becomes blurry she starts to cry.
When she comes to, Doug slaps her in the face.
“HOW DARE YOU MADDIE! HOW DARE YOU.”
He glares at her, his face an ugly shade of red and then purple. Maddie starts shaking even harder. She is used to seeing his face turn red. But it is very rare he gets so angry that he turns purple.
He speaks again, this time his voice quiet but dangerous. “Before you knew he was safe you were more scared that your pathetic little brother was dead than you were of me. Meaning you were putting your brother first. Not me. How dare you. I should scare you more than the thought of your brother dying. But you were so scared about someone as worthless as him that you weren’t scared of me, even when I threatened the blow torch. You only became scared of me the way you should be once you knew he was safe. How dare you betray me.”
Maddie stares up at Doug feeling confusion and disbelief. Huh?
He laughs seeing the new expression on her face. “My poor confused Maddie,” he says as he reaches his hand down and cups her cheek. Maddie gulps. She has no clue what is going to happen next.
He gets off her and yells at her to sit up. Maddie is quick to do so. He then walks to the corner of the basement where there is a tarp covering a pile of things. Maddie has never seen what is underneath that tarp.
He walks around to the side out of her reach and lifts up one edge of the tarp. She hears him pulling a few things out from underneath the tarp before he walks over to her. Maddie’s stomach drops when she sees what he is holding.
“Clothes off,” he snaps.
Maddie is quick to obey.
He then grabs her hands and is quick to zip tie them together, doing it painfully tight.
He then grabs a dog collar and a dog leash and Maddie just stares at them. Knowing that considering they don’t have a dog he must have brought it just to use on her makes her pain and hurt increase.
He yanks her head forward and secures the dog collar around it. He then attaches it to the leash.
“Should we go for a walk?” He asks, using the tone of voice someone would use when speaking to a dog.
Maddie stares at him as tears start to fall down her face.
Doug yanks the collar and Maddie yelps at the pain in her neck when he does that. It is clear that she has no choice but to follow.
She takes a few steps and Doug shakes his head. “On all fours. Like a dog.”
Shaking Maddie slowly gets down. But when she tries to move, the zip ties on her hands make it almost impossible for her to. Doug sighs. He disappears upstairs and returns with a pair of scissors which he uses to cut the zip tie.
He then spends an hour walking all around the house, dragging Maddie along by pulling harshly on the leash, making her move at a pace she can barely keep up with. By the end of it she is sobbing and her knees and legs have horrific carpet burn.
“I’m hungry considering we didn’t end up eating all shift. I’m sure you are as well,” Doug announces.
When Doug says that Maddie realises she is hungry. But she sees a glint in Doug’s eyes and she stills, knowing he has something planned and that whatever it is she won’t like it.
Doug places the leash around the leg of a chair. Maddie could undo it but she knows better.
Doug whistles as heads to the kitchen, keeping the light in the room that Maddie is in off.
Maddie sits in the dark by herself for 30 minutes before Doug returns and turns the light on. When he returns he is carrying two plates of food. He places one on the table and then one underneath the table, right underneath the other plate.
Maddie’s cheeks burn red. She knows which plate is for her.
Doug grabs the leash and moves it so that she is secured to the leg of the chair he is sitting at. He then yanks her arms behind her back and zip ties them together. Maddie sobs.
Doug doesn’t have to tell her what is required. Sobbing the whole way through it Maddie reluctantly gets down on her knees and leans forward. She has to basically smash her face into the food to even get any of it down. Doug’s plate was roast chicken with vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy. Maddie’s plate is just mashed potatoes and gravy.
Her face gets messy as she eats and she cries even harder. But she doesn’t have another option as she is hungry and she knows that if she doesn’t eat this then Doug will use it as an opportunity to punish her or as an excuse to starve her.
Once she has finished Doug gets up and then returns with a dog bowl full of water. Maddie starts crying even harder. Considering they don’t have a dog she knows it is another thing he purchased purely for the purpose of humiliating her.
She cries as she drinks the water, hating how in order to drink it, water gets into her nose which causes her to panic.
She has almost finished drinking when Doug shoves her face fully into the dog bowl. Maddie starts panicking as her lungs burn and her body starts the fight for air.
When Doug releases his grip Maddie surfaces from the bowl with a gasp. She is still thirsty but she is too scared to drink anymore.
“Have you had enough to eat and drink?” Doug asks.
All Maddie can do is nod.
“Then let’s finish our walk,” he says.
He grabs the leash again and undoes the zip ties. Maddie doesn’t attempt to stand. She just gets back on her hands and knees and cries the whole way as Doug drags her back down to the basement.
Once she gets there Doug pulls the tarp away and for the first time Maddie sees what is underneath the tarp.
It is a fully set up dog crate. An empty one that is on the smaller side. She can see that it will be a tight fit and that she will have to be squashed up small to fit inside and she will barely be able to stretch or move.
Maddie’s heart sinks even further. Doug laughs when he sees the look on her face. He lets go of the leash and Maddie reluctantly crawls over to the dog crate. Doug smiles at her obedience.
He opens the cage door and pulls Maddie’s arms behind her back and zip ties them together. He then grabs her ankles and zip ties them. He removes the leash but keeps the collar on her before he shoves her into the dog crate and closes and locks the door behind her.
He then makes his way to the end of the basement and walks up the stairs whistling as he goes. When he reaches the top of the stairs he turns off the light and closes and locks the door behind him.
The space she is in is way too small and she feels claustrophobic. Having her arms and legs restrained doesn’t help. Her entire body is in pain and Maddie feels completely humiliated and worthless. Maddie starts crying and she is still crying when she finally falls into an exhausted sleep.