Baby

Chapter 3

Be wary of walls;
what is meant to protect can also entrap.
- G. Boston

I had woken up when I heard the banging. I've never heard anything out of my home before, so I knew it was something bad. I didn't know what to do. Then I heard someone trying to get through the door to my home. I quickly darted under my bed, curling up into a circle.

I heard the voices, and I knew it had to be the bad men coming to take me and Master away from our home. I tried to stay very quiet as they looked around at my stuff. Then I saw one of the bad men move to grab Millie. I whimper as I realize I forgot her, and now they will hurt her.

Then a man quickly turns toward me, causing me to squeeze my eyes and mouth shut, laying completely still, hoping he won't see me. I hear walking, and then my bed is abruptly lifted. My eyes pop open, looking at the man's wide eyes. I don't move. He looks at me, shocked for some reason, and then his eyes seem to soften.

I don't move; I won't fall for the bad man's tricks. I look at him when I notice he is holding Millie. He reaches Millie toward me, but I flinch back in fear, squeezing my eyes shut. He starts to speak to me softly, making shh sounds, trying to trick me into trusting him so he can take me. "It's okay, sweetheart; we're not going to hurt you."

I look behind him, seeing the big door open, revealing stairs. I quickly try to dart past him to go find Master, but just before I make it, a different man grabs me. I scream in fear, hoping master will come and save me. I push and shove at the bad man, trying to get him to release me, but he just keeps making shushing noises and holding me.

The man from before comes over with Millie again. I immediately stop screaming and watch to see what he is going to do with her. He holds her out to me with a soft, friendly look on his face. I quickly snatch Millie, holding her to my chest and hugging her tightly, momentarily forgetting what is happening around me.

The man holding me says, Let's go, and I look up at the man who gave me Millie with fear and curiosity. I glance at the weird thing he has wrapped around his body. I glance at the other men to see they also have it. I slowly reach out, watching him to see his reaction, but he just stands still. I touch the strand wrap, tugging at it confusedly before releasing it.

The man looks at me with a strange look on his face. "These are my clothes; do you have any?" He asked me gently. I frown at him, shaking my head. Why would anyone wrap themselves in such strange things?

He moves his hands, pulling off a layer of the wrap and wrapping it around me, either ignoring or not noticing my flinch. He sits the wrap on my shoulders, then looks back at me in question, "What's your name?" He asks me, and I hesitate to answer for a minute. "Baby," I whisper to him, and he nods. "Baby," he says, confirming, and I nod.

"Okay, Baby, my name is Aries, and that is Hero, Shadow, Blaze, and Donkey," he tells me, pointing to each of the men. I look at each of them, making a note in my head of their names. I turn back to Aries and say, "Your bad men." I inform him as if he didn't already know. He looks at me, confused. "What do you mean?" he asks, confused.

I look at him, trying to tell if he is lying, but he seems genuinely confused. "That's what Master said," I tell him, watching as his jaw clenches as my words hear a sharp intake of breath from someone behind me.

He looks down at me. His face is becoming soft once again. "You mean Mason?" He asks me, and I look at him confused, not knowing who that is. He nods, reading my facial expression. "Alright, well, we aren't going to hurt you," he tells me. I nod slowly, not really believing him. He nods to his men, and they begin to leave through the door. He turns back to me. "Come on," he says, holding out his hand.

I look from his hand to his face, confused. "I can't leave; it's not safe," I tell him, shaking my head. "I promise I'll protect you," he says, still holding out his hand. I stood there for a moment before slowly grabbing his hand. He pulls me toward the steps, and I follow him hesitantly.

When we reach the top of the stairs, I'm shocked to see a bigger room that looks kind of like mine. I glance around, trying to find Master, but he isn't here. The man continues pulling me towards a big door.

I stop when the door opens, gasping at the sight.

There are big green things that Master told me about and green stuff on the floor. The man tries to pull me out of the door, but I pull back, not letting him. He looks back at me, confused. "Have you ever been outside?" he asks me. I shake my head quickly.

"No, I have to stay in here; it's dangerous," I say, trying to tug my hand away to go back inside, where it's safe. He doesn't release me, holding my hand gently but firmly. He walks closer to me. "It's okay; I promise it's safe," he says as he grabs the wrap on my shoulders, instructing me to sit Millie down on the floor.

He then puts my arms through the holes, and he reaches down, pulling the wrap closed again. In front of me, the wrap makes a weird noise as it closes. I pick up Millie from the floor, hugging her again as he gently tugs at me. I hesitate before following him down the gray path.

We walk until we reach a weird, huge black thing. I look at it confused as he straddles it and puts his hand out on things sticking out. Suddenly, the black thing makes a loud growling sound. I gasped loudly, backing away. It sounds like the growl master told me the dangerous wolf creatures make before they eat you.

The man looks at me before getting off the wolf and walking toward me. He makes shushing sounds at me. "It's okay, it won't hurt you; it's just my bike," he says, tugging me towards it. I hesitate to follow, but he seems to trust the 'bike, so I follow, standing next to it. He suddenly lifts me by my waist, causing me to gasp again.

He smiles at me as he sits me down to straddle his bike, telling me where to sit my feet. Looking down at Millie, he frowns, and I worry he is going to take her away. "Why don't we put her in my bag so you don't lose her?" he suggests, pointing to the bag on the back of his bike.

I nod, watching as he opens it before putting her safely inside. He then moves back to me, straddling the bike again. He reaches back and grabs my hands, pulling them around his middle and clasping my hands together on his belly.

The bike growls again, then starts to move slowly. I grip him tighter as the bike moves faster, watching in awe at the world passing by us quickly.

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