The Rabbit Hole

Chapter 9

The rain still hasn't stopped coming down, every now and then I see the discontinuous and tremendous flash of lightning as it cuts through the black clouds in the sky. The sometimes soothing drum of the thunder as it follows the flash of lightning, and the angry crash of thunder that breaks through the silence with its powerful roar. These are the small things that remind me of my living in this dark pit. Living through each second passing and wondering when and if he's going to come bouncing down those squeaking stairs, wondering what horrors he brings. All I can see now when I close my eyes is his face, his minor scarred face. His scary and yet oddly familiar face, like I've seen it before. Then it hits me, it hits me in an instant like a bullet finding its target. It comes to me like the tremendous flash of lightning as it cuts through the black sky, my mind illuminated by the remembrance of his familiar face. I have seen him before. A week ago at the mall. The scrawny man who bumped into me, his body still carrying around that car oil odour. He's the one, it's him, and to think I made fun of Casey for being too jumpy about it. If only I had listened, been careful, none of this would have happened. I would have been home right now, cuddled up on the couch and watching Survivor with Mom, eating a bowl of snacks and listening to Daddy snore on the couch. God, I'm so starving right now.

Footsteps up above, sounding a bit stuffed and many. Either that psycho is dancing to the rain shower or there's someone else inside. Oh God, no. Please don't tell me that there's another crazy in this house, please don't tell me there's another that's far more worse. I hear voices, muffled but I can hear what their saying. They're arguing, it sounds like a woman. "What the hell happened in here? Look at this mess." She says.
"I had a bad day okay!? Just leave me alone." He exasperates to the woman.
"Bad day? What sort of bad day?" She asks, sounding a little startled.
"Suzanne. Suzanne is pregnant." He replies to her, sounding like a child with a broken toy, and in this situation I'm that broken toy.
"Suzanne? You brought another girl?" She asks and gets no response.
Something hard lands on a table, I think, and then followed by footsteps heading closer to the basement, closer to me. I hear the padlock rustling around as whomever it is that's coming unlocks it. The trapdoor opens.

A woman comes stepping down the stairs, staring at the far corner, glaring at me. There's nowhere I can go so I just crouch into a corner and sit there cuddled up with my knees pressed to my chest. My heart beating at my ribcage. She comes down slowly at me. "Hey? Has he hurt you?" she asks softly. I don't respond to her. "Samantha!" He shouts out to her from upstairs, and I can tell she's terrified of him like I am because she jumps up and quickly goes back upstairs to him. I don't know who that woman is or what's her relation to that monster up there, but maybe, maybe if I can play this just right, I can get her to help me leave this place.
I'm so starved. I wonder what it is they're doing on the outside to help find me. Casey. I know she's worried sick about me. I hope she's doing okay, I hope they're all doing okay.

*

It is dark and stormy out there, the night couldn't be any more of a burden to the worried parents of the Brooks family. Gordon Brooks, Heather's father, has got the aid of his neighbours and organised a search party for his missing daughter. Even in the endless rain and the shade of the night, the males of every family have gotten up and joined Gordon on the outside, searching for Heather. They've been gone since the day's morning and have not yet returned. Casey waits for any news about Heather at the Brooks residence, sitting alongside Mrs. Brooks, her mother, Heather's Grandmother and also some neighbourhood friends. Mrs. Brooks is all beside herself, staring out of the window and at the shaded night rain, waiting for any news of her daughter. The police promised to keep them informed of their findings but there has been no word from them ever since the morning.

An hour later the men finally return from their search, empty handed. Gordon walks up to his wife and pulls her into his arms -his way of telling her the bad news. Casey falls into her father's arms, crying as well. "You didn't find anything? Anything at all?" Mrs. Dillion asks her husband. "No, Honey. We were unlucky today, but tomorrow we'll be up bright and early." Mr. Dillion says reassuringly.
"Thank you all for coming to help out." Gordon says to everyone.
"Hey, there's no need to thank us. I know if it were my daughter missing, you'd be there for her too." Replies Mr. Dillion, all the while keeping Casey closely at his side, fearful of her disappearing as well.
Gordon guides everyone out of the house. After everyone has left the house, only Heather's parents and Grandparents remain in the house. As Grandma goes on to make coffee for everyone, the house phone rings. Gordon answers. "Brooks residence, Hello?" he says to whomever is on the other end of the phone. In less than ten seconds, Gordon slams the phone down in anger. "Who was that?" Grandpa asks. "The fucking news people." He replies angered.
"How'd those scavengers even get these numbers?" Grandma asks as she approaches with a tray of mugs filled with coffee.
"It's beyond me." Gordon replies and stands by his wife.

*

The rain is calm, I haven't even heard any commotion coming from upstairs, just a few bumps here and there but nothing else. The footsteps again, approaching the basement. It opens and I see that it's her again. The woman from before. Samantha, I heard him say. She comes down the stairs with a tray of food in her hands. She steps down from the final step and peers back over her shoulder for a second before laying the food a few feet from me. She slides the tray closer to the mattress, "Eat up," she whispers, "You need to eat. For the baby." She adds. I quirk an eyebrow at her, confused as to why she's helping me. "He's asleep. You should eat up quickly, he's not supposed to know I'm doing this." She says in a whisper. I stare at the tray for a moment, peanut butter and jam sandwich, not particularly my favourite but I'm in no place to be picky. I eat up as quickly as possible, chomping down at the sandwich so fast I even nicked my tongue with my teeth. A cup of water to help settle it all down, and I'm done. She grabs the tray and starts to leave, "Hey, wait please," I whisper back to her, "Help me. Help me get out of here please."
"I can't...he'll kill me too." She replies, terrified as well. Then back up she goes, leaving me all alone and sobbing to myself in this shadowy pit.