Deeply Red

Snowed in.

(Amy's POV)

It's been a few months since that first dinner with Darrel. I was beaten, and locked up in the basement for days for how I reacted to the puzzle of me on the night of that camping trip. Travis didn't bring me food, didn't let me change my clothes, and he cut off the power to the basement for eleven days.

Thankfully he'd leave me a small cup of water every day on the bottom step of the basement stairs. But eventually once my birthday arrived he finally took pity on me, and let me upstairs for another meal with Darrel. That's when I started living on 'autopilot' around him. It's hard keeping my cool when I see the weird twisted shit he has.

Puzzles of me sleeping or half naked. Fucked up board games he made, a twisted version of operation that looks eerily like me, but instead of little trinkets stuck inside the holes, its miniature organs. 

On the bright side I've earned more privileges. I'm allowed upstairs and am free to roam the house while Travis is at work during the day but not at night. He doesn't trust me to not to try to escape while he's asleep again.

 My last escape attempt was almost successful. I made it out to the car garage but when I tried to run through the garage door it woke up Travis he ran in there, busted through the window, and he locked me in the basement again. There is a camera in every room of this house now, bathrooms included. Every window, and door to the outside world locked from the outside.

I don't really have much of a choice but to do what he wants, especially since he put this thing on me. My hand reaches up, and touches the shock collar around my neck. I recount the memory of waking from being drugged to sleep at dinner. The collar locked around my neck, this was a response to having found my stash of weed. 

I swallow a lump in my throat as I stand from the bed in one of the spare bedrooms. I gaze out the barred window at the snow that's been coming down for hours. I'm not sure what month it is anymore but I'm guessing around December or January. The sound of a door opening, and closing comes from across the house breaking me from my thoughts. I walk out of the room, and down the hall towards the front of the house to see Darrel taking off his coat.

"I got a call from Travis, the snow storm caused a bunch of road closures. He's getting a room at a motel in a nearby town until the roads clear tomorrow morning. I'm staying in the house with you tonight," Darrel says taking off his boots. "Jesus H. Christ that's cold is the fireplace not lit? It's as cold as my shed in here."

"I don't have a key to the mudroom," I explain softly.

"Oh, right," he says walking swiftly to the mudroom to fetch some firewood.

I follow him into the living room, and sit on the couch as his gets a fire started. The warmth, and the light of the fire fills the dimly lit room in minutes. We both watch the flames silently, the only other sound than the crackling of the fire is the electronic whirring of the camera adjusting to the light in the upper corner of the room.

"Are you hungry? I could make some chicken alfredo for dinner," he asks from his spot on the floor.

"Sure, that sounds good," I say.

He gets up, and heads into the kitchen. I pick up the remote on the table turning on the TV looking for a movie to watch. I put on the movie 'Flubber', and stretch out on the couch. I'm so entranced by the film that I almost didn't hear the chime of the one way intercom on the security camera in the upper corner of the room. Learning from past experiences I stand quickly, and get closer to the camera. It chimes again before Travis's voice comes through its small speaker.