The Fortress by Catherine Holland (english reading book TXT) 📕

The Fortress
Prologue
1900 AD

The rebellion had been going on for nearly fifty years when everything finally stopped, since the Americans had re-taken the land that had once belonged to them; the Arabic community had been in up-roar. They claimed the land was rightfully theirs including the legendary HighCliffe Castle.
The senior negotiators for both the Americans and Arabians had been making serious headway as to who owned what land, when it was discovered the documents had been forged. These documents included the deeds to the land dating some one hundred years before. Both negotiators were enraged and accused each other’s brethren of stealing the original documents, and then replacing them with fakes.
A massive battle followed and carried on for several months, the Arabians finally admitted defeat once their army had been greatly depleted. To this day nobody knows who made the documentation switch, but the Arabians did leave a parting message for the Americans written in stone on the front of the Castle, the plaque read;

To all those who took what was not theirs we will one day have retribution and re-claim what it rightfully ours. For your treachery you will pay in such a way that has not yet been performed.

The Americans were at a loss, for all their efforts none of them could decipher the meaning of the threat but left the plaque as it was in memory of a victory, and an empty threat. Until now...


Chapter One

Present Day

The residents who now occupied the small sleepy town of HighCliffe, Florida had grown ignorant in their rise to power. They perceived themselves ‘untouchable’ as they were part of the world’s most powerful and influential countries.
Whenever topics were scarce, they enjoyed re-telling the legendary HighCliffe Castle battle, and then speculate as to what the meaning of the threat was.

* * * *

Clara was uneasy, she had just finished her first day of College and with it a serious debate over HighCliffe Castle and to whom the land truly belonged to. The two new students that had transferred in from an out-of-state school had been the ones to start the debate.
Their tutor had grabbed the debate and had let it escalate to the point of losing control of the class, once the debate had finished a tension had hung in the air. Clara couldn’t wait to get out of the classroom; she headed home for lunch taking the longer but more scenic route which led her past the Castle. She stopped for a few minutes to gaze at the Castle.
Her cell phone started to ring; she looked at the caller ID and saw it was her brother Ryan. “Hey bro, what’s up?” “Nothing, just wondered where you were?” “I’m on my way home now; did you want me to pick something up on my way back?” “Well if it isn’t too much trouble can you pick up some rocky road ice cream?”
“Yeah no problem, see you soon, bye.” “Oh, Clara? Just before you go you should know that someone called here for you about five minutes ago.” “Did they say who it was or what they wanted?” “No but it was a male voice, they also left an answer phone message for you.” “OK, well I’ll be back soon with the ice cream so I’ll listen to it then, OK I've got to go as there’s another call coming through, bye.”
Clara hung up and put the caller on hold through, “Hello?” There was only silence that followed, “Hello is anyone there?” Clara could only hear heavy breathing down the phone then a lot of static. In her shock she dropped the phone, and as she bent down to pick the phone up a few things happened in quick succession.
There was a screeching of tyres behind her which was strange as there had been no vehicle on the secluded path as she’d walked down it. A door opened and someone jumped out, the next thing Clara knew someone was behind her and had put a cloth over her mouth and nose. It smelled like chloroform, she’d used it in science to knock the animals out that she’d been running tests on.
Clara could feel herself falling asleep, she struggled with her captor but it was already too late. The person gagging her was too strong; Clara struggled once more for breath before everything went black.

* * * *

Clara’s captor picked her up and put her in the back of the black transit van, he then jumped in the back of the van with his captive, slamming the door behind him. The driver of the van sped off towards his destination, leaving behind Clara’s back pack and ringing cell phone on the gravel pathway just outside the entrance to HighCliffe Castle.


Chapter Two


Even though the police had been called, flyers put up asking for information on the whereabouts of sixteen year old Clara Hartsbridge, and an appeal on live television, it was all to no avail. All the police had managed to find was Clara’s back pack and cell phone at the entrance to the Castle.
Her brother Ryan had assisted the police in their inquiries and launched a massive man-hunt for his sister. As the days turned into weeks, the police lost hope of finding her alive. A town curfew had been placed and was being strictly enforced. All females under the age of eighteen were to be in by nine, and every female over eighteen was to be in by ten.
This really did nothing to help as Clara had been taken during the day, young females had begun going out in two’s and three’s to avoid the same tragedy and most of them carried cell phones so that anxious parents could check up on their children at any time day or night.

* * * *

Dana separated from her friends on her way home for lunch; she was in her final year at HighCliffe College and was having an argument with her boyfriend Max. “Listen Max, I know that you’re worried but you don’t need to be, I’m with friends at the moment and I will be tonight.”
“That’s not the point Dana, just because it’s the first night that the curfew’s been lifted it doesn’t mean you have to get tarted up and go out.” Dana stopped walking, “Tarted up? You think I’m a tart? Well at least now I know how you really feel about me.” “I didn’t mean it like that, i know it’s been a while since you went out but what’s wrong with just staying in and renting a movie?”
She gave a shallow laugh, “I don’t think that’s a good idea Max.” “Why not?” “Because every time we’ve rented a movie, you always try to seduce me and you know what my feelings on that topic are.” Max fell silent, it was true what Dana had said. The week before whilst they’d been cuddled up on the sofa, Max had tried to seduce her.
She’d stopped him and had said that she wasn’t ready, Max had given her the cold shoulder for the remainder of the movie and she’d left shortly afterwards. “I’m just saying though, if you’re not ready by now then when will you be?” Dana snapped at him. “Is that all you can think about? Give me a break Max, we’ve been seeing each other for two months! And the last three weeks you’ve done nothing but try and get me into bed.
“I’m sick of it, let me put it this way; if all you want me for is sex then you can forget it and we’re over. I’m sick of the pressure i’m getting from you.” “Dana i’m sorry, i had no idea i was putting you under pressure, i don’t want us to lose what we’ve got. Come over tonight after College and we’ll talk, i’ll cook up a dinner for the two of us.” Dana was intrigued, “What are you going to cook?” “It’s a surprise, but don’t eat anything or you won’t have any room for your meal.”
“OK sweetie, i’ll see you later, i’ll be over at about six thirty.” “OK, see you then; bye.” If Dana had known that she would never meet Max, then maybe she would’ve eaten something. As Dana had walked from the safety of her friends whilst arguing with Max, she found herself at the pathway entrance to the Castle.
Her phone rang and she answered it thinking it was Max. “Hello what do you want?” There was only silence. “Hello?” A voice was breathing down the phone then there was static. Dana dropped her phone and bent down to pick it up, she suddenly heard the screeching of tyres and a door open. Someone jumped out and knocked her to the floor, she tried to get up but the person had her pinned to the floor.
Her head was roughly jerked up causing her to cry out in pain, then a cloth was placed over her mouth and nose. It was a smell she recognised but couldn’t place, her vision was becoming blurry and then knew no more.

* * * *

When Dana had passed out, the person got off her back, picked her up and put her in the back of the black transit van, leaving her books and cell phone on the floor. He then jumped in the van, and slammed the door behind him. They drove off towards their destination and Clara was about to get some company.


Chapter Three


Dana woke up with a splitting headache, her vision was still blurry but she could hear someone screaming nearby, the sound was going through her head like a jack hammer. Dana tried to move her arms and legs but couldn’t. When her vision finally cleared enough to see, she looked around her and saw that she was in a dimly lit large room.
The walls were made of stone and the room smelled musky, she located the source of the screaming which was coming from a girl tied to a bed to her right. The girl was screaming for help and staring at someone she couldn’t see properly. Dana lifted her head and saw a figure stood by an open door, she could glimpse a set of stairs leading upwards.
The figure saw that Dana was awake and moved forwards into the light, her instincts were to flee but that was impossible as she was tied to a bed with strong and sturdy rope. The figure now stood at the foot of her bed and Dana saw that he was roughly in his early twenties, clean shaven and looked Arabic, he had short dark hair and dark eyes.
He stood at roughly five foot six inches tal but couldn’t judge properly as she was lying down. “Well Dana, i’m glad to see you’re awake, the headache will pass in a few hours.” “Who the hell are you? What do you want with us?” She asked, remembering the screaming girl next to her. “Who i am isn’t important at the moment, but i want is.”
“Oh God, you’re going to rape and kill us all aren’t you?” The figure laughed, it was low