The Enchanting Rapture (#1)

Chapter 3

Annika

     Her breaths came out in heavy, labored pants. Her chest rose and sunk frantically from exertion. Everything hurt in the worst way, every inhale and exhale brought in a new wave of burning agony. 

     Annika hung by her wrists, bare from head to toe. Her naked body was exposed, and the cuts all over stung terribly. Annika's head was bowed in shame and fear, fear that Frite would wake up and come to take another pound of flesh, another pound of her soul.

     Frite lain in his bed. It made sense, they were in his bedroom. Where else would he rest? Annika never dare close her eyes longer than a blink. Frite seemed to always know when she was at her most vulnerable.  

     Her toes brushed the floor, giving her body a minimal support. A burning sensation ran tirelessly through Annika's awkwardly positioned shoulders, but there was nothing she could do about it. The joints were not accustomed to the uncomfortable orientation.

     Frite-with a rather dull knife-made Annika's punishment one that would surely haunt her nightmares for years to come. He'd carved into her flesh mercilessly, laughing at her cries with the cruelest grins. Bloody words decorated her skin, along with precise cuts and slices.

      "You don't smile enough!" he screamed at her while she whimpered, "why don't I help you with that?" 

     Frite had then cut multiple smiley faces over her body. Annika didn't know if she would ever heal properly. 

     Her head snapped up when he snored loudly in the most disgusting manner. His fat body moved around before he settled once again. Annika gazed out the window and knew it had to be at least four in the morning. Everyone was sleeping, even the animals were resting their limbs.

     A fit of rage slithered it's way into Annika's thoughts. She had to get out, she couldn't take being another's property, it wasn't right! Annika would, without a doubt, lose her mind if she stayed any longer.

     She surveyed the room for the first time. Annika wasn't really too interested in the color of Frite's drapes while he was torturing her to no end. But now that he was in a comfortable slumber, Annika allowed herself to formulate some type of plan. His keys were in a safe on the side of his mattress, she saw him put it there with her own eyes, even though both were swelling rapidly. 

     But what unlocked the safe was the tricky part. The key to that box was currently around his flabby neck. How was she supposed to get it?

     Annika looked up at the chains that were bolted in the ceiling. Maybe if she pulled hardly enough at it, it would come out? But it was bound to make noise! Annika wanted to scream in frustration. 

     Then an idea hit her so hard it hurt, or maybe that was the bruised ribs? 

     Going out on a limb, she put her plan into action. There was no more time to lose, and Annika was overwhelmingly impatient. The captured creature might have already escaped! 

     With a heartbeat pounding about like the spirit of a ferocious beast, Annika hollered out in her overly hoarse voice,"Frite! Frite!" 

     His body immediately came up, dark eyes wild with evil and ire. The blankets scrunched up around his waist. His gaze narrowed in on her, hatred at it's finest. Annika didn't have it in her to flinch, she was too numb to care.

     "A slave!" She exclaimed breathlessly, "I saw him running away on a horse, he's escaping!" Annika gazed out at the window where the outside was darker than Frite's heart. No one was escaping, but Annika knew she was convincing. If she weren't so terrified, she'd probably give herself a round of applause.