A World Unkown

chapter 10

April 30,2024 2:00pm: Adalyn

            According to Calebs watch that somehow has not lost its battery yet, we have been here nearly two weeks. Which means I have been gone from my home for over a month now. I couldn't help but wonder if my parents were doing anything about it; last year when I left home to my friend's house after a bad fight with my mother I was gone for days before they even noticed I was not there.

I began sweeping the floor with a firmer hold at the memory. Now look at me, cleaning a barn whilst being held captive on what had to be another planet with a boy from my class which I always wanted to try and get to know.

Well. I guess I got the chance I was waiting for after all. Chiding myself for making light of what was probably our deaths my eyes drifted over to one of the stalls.

Caleb was currently in there with one of the creatures we decided to just call horses since they resembled them. I didn't miss how he was very timidly creeping past the horse to get to a dirty patch which he needed to scoop up.

I snickered at the image; his face contorted in wearisome squint while leaning as far forward as possible just barely reaching the spot with his rake. Yes, these were quite large animals which we don't really know anything about. Though most of them have seemed relatively docile. Save for a few.

Approaching the stall of one of these strange horses now wielding my own rake, a very nice horse named Star was inside. To say I was perplexed by the fact these 'people' or whatever they were actually named them was an understatement. 

They seemed to not care about much else other than what information they could get from us or using us for chores.

We have been brought here every day this past week and left for up to five hours in order to get this large stable in tip top shape. Though this did allow me to get quite used to this horse named Star; she was one of the gentlest and calmest animals in whole barn along with a few others.

"Hey Star" I greet her while stepping into the stall with her. She stood near the back corner munching on what was left of her hay. Her aqua stripes along her neck and legs stuck out to me as it always did, how on earth does that work? The 'people' who took us have that patterning as well when they are not in their disguises. 

I still couldn't even begin to think how they were able to make themselves appear as human.

We had moved onto filling the hay racks in all thirty stalls finally, we always saved this for last in order to easily sweep the floor without getting it dirty all over again.

"We have thirty-two minutes" a pause "and a half" Caleb looked from his watch greeting me with a pleased look on his features. 

I scoffed "oh, are you happy that thing can count the seconds as well?"

All I got was a nod before he hefted one of the hay bales up, heading for the nearest stall.

It was a wonder how we both managed to act as though nothing was wrong at times. I enjoyed the back and forth bantering we engaged in whenever alone, as this was what kept me and probably him as well, from not crumbling under the pressure.

That night or at least I think it was night; on what could only be described as a spaceship, when Caleb showed up in that opposite cell, I really thought I had finally lost it. The only other person I had seen since being taken was that girl who got killed the first day I was there. Leaving me with only my thoughts and the creatures who I had seen in it's true form when they thought I was asleep. That was when I really was convinced, I was going to die there alone.