STRAIGHT ESCAPE.

Birds Whisper

...

Everything was so cold. The black, tiled wall was the only thing the little girl could see, rushed by some unknown man. She knew it was a man, no woman here was in charge of the punishments. The tight grip on both of her arms hurt her but nothing came out of her mouth. She knew what's coming was even worse.

I'm sorry.

Her clothes were ripped off her, her small arms quickly wrapped around her body as she tried to protect herself from the cold and whatever's waiting for her. Everything was pitch black. A creaking sound and quick enough, something fell down and started dripping down her bare skin.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!

It was burning. She tried to run away but the grip on her arms got tighter before something cold was tied around her wrists and to the wall. There was no way out, the burning water fell down so quick and abundantly on her face, she felt like drowning.
The little girl choked once, a faint sound came out of her mouth. Her entire body felt numb.

Things stopped making sense anymore. Anything she could perceive started becoming blurry, the water drops echoed loudly. She started feeling lightheaded.
It was too hot.

Please.

She fell down in a sitting position with her right arm lifted up against the wall, the water kept flowing down so hard that it was like her head was underwater.

A few seconds passed before she realised that she couldn't hold her breath anymore, it felt like she was going to explode.

A gasp escaped her mouth, followed by a scream.

"HELP !" she tried to get her hand out of the tight grip but it only sent her a wave of pain, filling her eyes with tears.

How was she back there? Why was she being punished?

It's not my fault.

I did what I could.

As her eyes started closing, a glimpse of red appeared in front of her, two soft hands cupping her wet cheeks.

"You're okay" the blurred face whispered, carefully caressing the little girl's cheeks in a gentle manner.

Behind her, a cold voice spoke up, causing a shiver to run down her spine. The burning water turned cold, freezing.

"Don't let her touch you," The cruel voice said, "or else you will become just as bad as her."

As heartless as it sounded, a glimpse of comfort filled the girl's heart. She looked up, still choking in the cold water.

"My special girl" The voice spoke up again, "Come with me."

A hand appeared in Paige's blurred vision, a fine hand with long and neatly polished nails.

Madame B.

She lifted up her free hand and took Madame B's. Almost immediately, the soft touch turned into a tight, painful grasp.

Paige let out a loud scream. She turned to the unclear face next to her, still stroking her cheeks a bit more firmly as if trying to snap her out of something.

"You're okay" She kept on muttering. "You're okay kiddo."

Paige looked at the vague red-framed face, trying her best to ignore the clawing of madam B's nails on her arms.