The Devil's Mask

Conversations

I don't know how I could have fallen asleep again, I was starting to become hungry, and the wounds in my arms and legs didn't look very good. Previously, I tried to scream and hit the heavy metal door, just hoping anyone would just hear me and let me out of the basement.

I feared the time the Grabber would come down again, yesterday he came down and only introduced himself to me, but even that scared me. I guess that eventually he would feed me, as he must have known that a human cannot be without eating for a long period of time.

The sun was already up, and even if it was summer down here, it was freezing cold. I wasn't able to sit on the ground due to the low temperatures the pavement had. So I just sat in the bed, still hoping to find a solution to get myself out of here, but when I wanted to get up and inspect what looked to be a broken black wall phone, the hinges of the metal door began to screech, meaning he was about to come in.

In that exact moment, I froze again, standing next to the mattress and in front of the door, praying that whoever was behind that door was the police and not him.

Unfortunately, the Grabber entered the room with a tray of what I thought it was food. He still wore that awful mask, and while he approached me, he said," I see someone is awake, good. I came earlier this morning, and you were sound asleep, so cute."

A shiver came down my spine, so he had entered the room without me even knowing?! I should have heard the door open, but due to the blood loss, I could have been too weak for my body to wake up.

"What are you doing there, standing? Come, come, sweetheart, you need to eat while we discuss what's going to happen to you." The Grabber spoke with an imperative but at the same time a sweet tone, it seemed like two personalities were living inside him.

I don't know how I had the strength to come closer to him and sit back down again on the old mattress where he waited for me. He was just crouching in front of me, just patently waiting for me to eat.

Even if I was scared to death, I needed to have some well-deserved answers, but in order to do that, I had to cooperate with the psychopath who trapped me in here.

"Why don't you eat? You'll starve if you don't. I want you as healthy as possible, darling." He said it with a menacing tone. He was forcing me to eat what looked like scrambled eggs with some bacon and a glass of water, but how could I be sure that the food was safe to eat?

"I-I don't know if the food isn't poisoned." Even if I wanted to say more, when his eyes became cold and intimidating, I instantly stopped talking. I didn't want to anger him, but with this comment, I think I did.

"Do you think I would have poisoned you? You have to trust me, darling, you have to know I wouldn't do anything bad as long as you behave." The Grabber warned me with an insulted tone, as if I had said the worst thing ever.

So I slowly took the plastic fork and started to eat. It wasn't bad, or at least I didn't notice any strange flavors that could mean I could be drugged. He was still looking at me, observing that I wouldn't make any harsh movements or try to escape. If I was honest, I wasn't really thinking about fighting him and trying to flee, mainly because I thought he would just tower me as he was taller and looked really strong.

When I finished, he smiled and said, "Good girl, I knew you were an obedient girl. Now I thought you could say something yourself, I didn't kidnap you only to talk to a wall." He chuckled, as if he enjoyed this dynamic.

When he called me all those disgusting names, I couldn't hold back a feeling of uneasiness, and now he wanted me to talk about my things. What was he thinking? I genuinely wondered if he truly believed I would talk as if nothing happened and I were just his friend.

As his features toughened, I understood he was getting angry, so I preferred to talk before he would explode.

"I-I don't know really know what to talk about..." I shyly said. I didn't want to anger him more than he already was, but as I expected him to yell, he just softened his features again, and slowly he took off the top part of that scary mask.

"Do not worry, darling, I understand you are a bit shy, but you are here, where you are truly meant to be. You should tell me a bit more about yourself, how was your life before coming?" The Grabber said

Being able to see his top half, I could analyze his face better. I saw his uncovered blue eyes and how his brown, starting to gray, hair fell on his forehead. I couldn't see his nose, but that was enough, at least I knew better how he was expressing himself in a non-verbal way.

Not only that, but I just realized that I stopped thinking just to analyze him, he might have thought I liked him. So to try and not seem scared, I answered.

"My life before being trapped in here was fine, I went to school and I had my hobbies. I'm not as interesting as you think I am."

At that moment, the Grabber looked at me with what it seemed like a caring look on his face. "Oh dear, I know you're more than a normal teenager, you are the best in your class. Why is that so? Is it to stand out between your younger siblings and feel love?"

How could he know that?! He must have been spying on me because no one could really know how I truly felt. But that meant he also knew my siblings, so they might be in danger. At that moment, I burst into anger. I wouldn't want to wish the situation I'm in now on my siblings, so without thinking twice, I launched myself.

I wanted to hurt him, even if I didn't know how or if I even had a chance defeating him. Quickly, he caught me and pinned me down to the mattress. He was really strong, and with my slim physique, I wasn't able to take him off of me.

"Did you think you, little girl, could hurt me? That's pathetic, but this time I won't do anything, if this happens again, you'll see, honey." The Grabber said, his face was really close, and his voice indicated the danger I would get into if I tried again.

Then, without a word, he went upstairs, but not before locking the metal door, leaving me alone again in this basement. I decided I would fight. I would do it for my family and for myself.

I thought I was capable of getting out, but it wouldn't be until I tried again and again that it would show how wrong I was.