𝗜𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘆 - 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀

Part 3: Chains

Where am I?

Ella woke up cold and wet, probably from the rain last night. Her arms and legs shook and her teeth chattered as she tried to conserve energy for what was to come.

"Hello?" She sat up slightly and looked around the room. It was almost pitch black except for a small sliver of light coming from the window on the wall to her left. The man had tried to cover it with a large black towel in an attempt to block out all sunlight.

When nobody answered, Ella stood up slowly and cautiously. For some people the dark could be a sanctuary, a safe place but for her it was a nightmare, waiting to eat her alive. She tip-toed toward the window, looking around the room every few seconds just in case there were monsters. When she took her third step, she felt a rough tugging on her ankle. When she glanced down, she was surprised to see a large metal chain, holding her hostage to the wall.

"Please turn the lights on," She yelled at the ceiling as she sat back down, hoping someone could hear her. "I'm scared." She kicked herself back into the corner of the room when she heard someone stirring on the opposite side of her.

"Shhh." She heard someone, a girl, urging her to be quiet. The young girl stood up and walked towards Ella until the chains around her ankles prohibited her from going any further. "What's you name?" She sat down with her legs crossed in front of Ella who crawled towards her eagerly. "I'm Bailey." She smiled reassuringly and held out her hand, Ella took it in hers and squeezed it tight.

"I'm Ella," She answered as she studied the girl. I recognize her. She knew she had seen Bailey before but she didn't quite know where, and then it hit her. "I saw you on the news last month." She looked at her in a worried manner. "You went missing after those other two girls." Bailey looked at her with wide eyes and all she could do was nod.

"Did you say last month?" She was shocked, her mouth was open and her eyes showed confusion.

"Yes," Ella said. Bailey shushed her again so she began to whisper. "I remember, it was my moms birthday. December 29th."

What a great day that was. Celebrating her moms birthday was so much fun. It was just the two of them usually, she didn't know her dad and her older sister didn't live in the state. She remembered going ice skating and eating dinner at a fancy restaurant that had grilled cheese and hot cocoa.

Are you having fun mom?

Of course I am.

Happy birthday, I love you.

She recalled the conversation she had with her mom after dinner. They were both beaming, hoping that they would never forget the amazing day that they had just had. Ella wondered when she would be able to say she I love you to her mom again.

"Where are those other girls?" Ella mumbled. She looked at Bailey with pleading eyes until finally she scooted over to the corner on the left of her and pointed to a hollow figure laying on the floor.

Her body was pale and her veins showed through her skin as she took shallow, raspy breaths. "That's Meredith," She paused an took a deep, shaky breath. "She's sick."

The girl let out a cough and turned over on the floor, unsettling some dirt and leaves. Ella shivered as she stared at her. Her body was skinny and her skin was discolored. Even breathing seemed to pain Meredith, she wheezed with every breath. When Ella noticed that her face had blood on it, she turned toward Bailey who just stared back at her.

"What about that other girl?" Ella whispered at Bailey who was now staring at the floor and fiddling with the shoelaces on her purple converse. They were dirty and battered up.

"I'm not sure," She glanced up at Ella but didn't fully make eye contact. "One day he came in and grabbed her and she never came back."

That sentence sucked the air out of Ellas throat, causing her to panic and hyperventilate. Panic clustered in her stomach, causing it to flip around and spin in circles. Her breath was coming in gasps and she felt like she might black out. Her heart hammered in her chest, she could hear her heartbeat echoing in her ears as she tugged at the collar on her shirt and tried to free herself from the metal chain. Tension grew in her face and limbs, her mind replaying the answer that Bailey had given her. She never came back. Could she be dead? She was snapped out of her panicked state by Bailey shaking her.

"Ella stop," Bailey started to cry as she shook Ella. "Please stop." Her breath came in quivering sobs, it was obvious she was scared by what would happen if Ella kept making this much noise.

Her cries were cut short when the girls heard loud footsteps. Whoever is walking towards the room is large and strong, they could hear it in the way her approached them. Bailey ushered Ella back into her corner and she quickly obeyed her. They scattered back to the parts of the wall their chains were attached to and sat silently until the door cracked open, allowing a beam of fluorescent light into the room. The girls squinted and Ella got a better look at her new friends. She could tell Bailey had deep green eyes, like emeralds. They glistened in the light even with its deep yellow undertones. Meredith was curled up and facing towards the door but when she opened her eyes, they were also a shade of green. Hers weren't a deep green like Baileys or a grayish-green like Ellas, they were big and bright, like a sea foam color.

The man walked over to the window and drew the shade, making the room even brighter than it was before. The man was wearing a large red hoodie with light wash jeans. He had to be somewhere in his 40s. He walked over to each of the girls and placed a sandwich accompanied by a small water bottle in front of them. The contents of the sandwich were Ellas favorite, peanut butter and jelly. She had loved them since she was 3, since her dad left.

"Mister," Bailey got up onto her knees and looked up at him. His eyes were a deep brown. "Mer is sick," She pointed over at Meredith who was reaching for her sandwich but she couldn't quite grab it, she was too weak. "She needs help, can you please get her help?" He looked down at Bailey, then at Meredith.

"Get up," He pulled Meredith upwards by her arm, she couldn't stand. "I'll take care of you." He scooped her up like a baby and carried her out of the room after closing the window shade, leaving the other two girls in complete darkness, with nothing but each other.

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