Taken

"I had to wash the filth away..."

The warm water trickled softly down my back as I scrubbed and scrubbed, sobbing hard as I scrubbed my back, stomach, thighs... it was so dirty... the way he touched me... he took my virginity. And why? Just to get himself off... It was sick!

But...he was so gentle.

He would ask if it hurt... he didn't go all the way in... he was so careful... like he wanted me to enjoy it too... he said "I love you..." while we were doing it. Maybe... it wasn't meant to be cruel. Maybe he wasn't trying to hurt me... maybe... he was just trying too... express that feeling in a physical way. Maybe he wasn't trying to make me feel violated. Maybe he really was meaning to be sweet and kind and... he wanted to express his love.

I stepped out of the shower and slipped on the silk, pink nightgown that was provided for me. My whole lower half was sore, I could barely feel my thighs, and it was a pain to walk. How long had we gone at it? Two? Three hours? I can barely remember any of it... just flashes of him caressing my body.... but I knew what happened. And every memory had me more and more confused as to what I wanted to do.

I walked out of the bathroom and yawned in to the back of my hand. Seth had already made his way upstairs so I was once again all alone. I was thankful Seth left the light on, or I would have been stuck in the complete, pitch black, dark, with no idea where I was walking and what I could possibly run in to. I didn't want to injure myself anymore than I already have. My neck has a severe rope burn, my legs and thighs were...well...you get the point.

As I paced back and forth, like I usually do every single night, I figured it would be about that time again. The local News has been updating on my case every single night. And it must have been that time of day when the News would be broadcast. I crouched down in front of the television and turned it on. Something.... anything to cheer me up... anything to make me feel better.

"An update on the missing persons case of seventeen year old Ruby Waters. The local police have found the remains of an unidentified woman believed to be Ruby, in a ditch just off the I-85 Ramp. Officers are now on the look for a suspect..."

So they think I'm dead. They already gave up on looking for me alive. The last missing persons case they took 6 months before thinking he was dead. Frankly, I was a little offended. They thought I was already dead. Was I not strong enough to fight?

"The family of the missing teenager are continuing the search." Then there was my family. They never gave up on me. That was us. We never EVER gave up hope. They were gonna find me.

I shut the television off and went over to my bed, running my fingers through my messy, damp hair, curling up in a ball under the blankets. Tomorrow, is shopping day. Tomorrow... my plan is put in place.

...

I woke up extra early that morning, turned on the television, just so I had background noise, and got to work. I went in to the bathroom and went through a cardboard box marked "Do Not Touch" obviously something Seth thought I would obey. I'm not that much of a good girl. I can be bad.

Slowly and carefully I opened the box and rummaged through it. A pocket knife, some clothes hangers.... nothing that will really help me. Other than the knife. I took the knife and a clothes hanger and went to get dressed. Some blue jeggings and a white t-shirt, nothing too far out there. I slipped the knife in my jeans in the back and pulled my t-shirt out so it was covering the concealed weapon. No, I wasn't going to try and kill Seth. He'd over power me easily. I took the clothes hanger and hid it under my pillow before rushing back to my bed. I heard Seth's footsteps come down the hallway and the door once again creaked open... he made his way down the stairs with a huge grin on his face.

"Sorry about this my dear Ruby... but I have to go grocery shopping." He pulled the rope out from behind him and I walked over to the post he always tied me too, looking down at my feet. I was always terrible at lying and keeping secrets, which explains why nobody trusts me with their secrets.

Seth wrapped the rope around my stomach, my arms kept at my sides so I'm unable to move them... little did he know I found a way to make sure the ropes were loose so I could easily move my arms and grip on to things. Once he finished tying me up he stood back to take one last look at his work.

"I'll be back in an hour sweetie. Don't you go anywhere." He laughed and started heading back up the stairs.

"Not like I have a choice." I replied making my voice sound angry and bitter. He shut the door and I waited....and waited...until I finally heard footsteps upstairs, and heard the front door open and shut. I moved my arm enough to grip the knife. I slowly worked at the rope, sawing it off before grabbing my clothes hangar and running up the stairs. I placed my ear on the door to try and listen, just to make sure that Seth actually left. When I heard no noise, I tried to open the door. The doorknob turned.... I slowly pulled at the door....and it opened! In Seth's moment of panic he must have forgot to lock it!

I stepped out of that cold, dark underground room for the first time in a month. In to the sunlight. It was very hot up here, which indicated my approximate timing to be correct. Mid to late July. I looked around the house. It was nice. Huge! It looked like something straight out of MTV's Cribs. I walked down the hallway to what I assumed was the kitchen. The table long...glass...with matching black chairs. A poster of Gene Simmons on the wall. And a pen and notepad just sitting there on the table... ready for my use. I grabbed the pen and sat down, writing a letter to somebody...anybody who found it.

"Hello,

This is Ruby Waters. I'm alive, and healthy, but I may not be for much longer. I was warned about trying to contact the outside world, but I couldn't help it...it was worth the risk. I needed somebody, anybody to know where I am.

I don't even know where I am. How far away I am from home. But I do know this....the name of my kidnapper. Seth Chandler." I closed the piece of paper, wrote down a random address somewhere in town, and opened the front door, placing it carefully in the mailbox.

I then retraced my steps, checking to make sure that I didn't move anything dramatically. As soon as I got to the top of the staircase where the basement was....

I heard the front door open, and I froze.