“Hi.” Meloney whispers, “I’m Meloney.”
The other girl pulls her head up and looks at me with pain and fear in her cloudy eyes.
“Hi.” She whispered through her tears.
Maloney wanted to more but the other girl seemed scared. So they just sat there in silence for a couple hours. Maloney couldn’t stand it thought she wasn’t talking. Maloney didn’t know if she wanted to talk, but Maloney defiantly did. Maloney took a shot on what she wanted. She scooted closer to the girl.
“Are you okay?” Maloney asked. The girl looked at Maloney angered.
“Am I okay?” she whispered harshly. “I’m chained to a radiator in some guys basement god knows where it is, and you are asking me if I’m okay… so Maloney yes I am having the best day of my fucking life.” She said with a little bit more anger then was needed.
“Ooh well I’m sorry I asked.” Maloney said slightly insulted.
“You should be.” The girl shot back.
Maloney decided to give up on talking to her for the time being. Maybe she would become as use to it as Maloney has. This basement would never be home but Maloney got use to it. This basement was more of a home to Maloney than her real home. Here she at lease felt loved. Well as loved as she could be. So Maloney took her hurt feelings and scooted away with the little bit of happiness she had. Maloney began to think of other ways she could talk to the other girl without her losing it.
Maloney thought of how she felt when she first got here. She was scared and alone. She didn’t have anyone here with her. Nobody to tell her it was all going to be okay and they could get out together. She had to think of a way to escape without being caught. She saw him take the other girls he’s caught into the small room at the other end of the basement. She sometimes saw a little metal table in the middle of the room with straps hanging from the sides. She never saw anything else that was all she could see when the door was swinging shut. She was just happy she wasn’t one of the girls being carried into that room. She has lasted here longer than any other girl. She could never figure out how Jonah always knew when the girls got out of the old rusty ankle bracelets. But she knew she would be the first person to escape here. She would run and find a way home. Maloney picture herself running throw woods in the dark, breathing in fresh air. Maloney could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry in front of the other girl. She would seem weak and not able to handle where they are now. She took three deep breaths and let them out slowly, distracting her from the thought of being free. She felt the tears slowly going away and decided no matter how mad or scared the other girl was she began to talk to her.
“So what’s your name?” Maloney asked sounding as cheerful as she could.
“Christie.” Was all that she said in such a depressed voice it seemed to suck all the happiness out of the whole world. With that it was the end of the conversation. And you could see that Christie thanked god for that.
Hours seemed to go by and Christie began to doze off. Maloney could see she was going to be asleep soon. Her head would begin to fall to the side and snap back up with a sharp breath in. Christie began to claw at the ankle bracelet. She didn’t want to stay another night, day, hour, minute, not even a second longer than she had to. Maloney keep looking at the old wooden stairs and then back at her work. She had almost gotten it off, but every time she moved her nails the bracelet come right back to where she began. Maloney began to focus on her escape plan instead of staring at the door in fear Jonah would come in at any moment. A few minutes after midnight it come lose and she slipped her shrunken, shriveled foot out of metal ankle bracelet and become free. She was about to scream out with joy even though she only had the strength to walk a few feet. So Maloney began to crawl to the dark corner, she was throwing half her food into, and began to eat.
