The decoy

Chapt 4

Chapter Four  

            That first night young Sebastian Clark had slept with his hands still bound behind his back. He lay on the grass and straw and made some mental notes before he allowed himself the comfort of sleep. The pen he lay in was one of five others.  He could smell the distinct odour of dogs and knew these wooden cages were used to keep animals. There was no food or drink in his pen but there was a bowl of water in front of the one next to him. A dog would be able to stick his snout through the slats and drink from the bowl. Sebastian would not be so lucky. He couldn't reach the water.

            There were some thick blades of straw and with his hands behind him, Sebastian was painstakingly able to insert six of the thicker blades, one inside the other to fashion a drinking straw nearly three feet long. He slipped the straw between the slats of wood that made up his pen and into the dog's water bowl. The bowl was shared by all of the animals and it held more than a gallon when full. Tonight it was half empty but the dogs slept and there would be enough to keep Sebastian hydrated. It was a "glass half full" in this case. He knew he could live for days without food but he needed water and the dog's bowl would keep him alive. His thirst quenched he lay back and eventually slept.

            Sebastian was woken the next morning by a jolt of nearly 6000 volts of electricity from a stock prod which the tall thin man had quietly slipped through the slats and pressed against Sebastian's left thigh. The shock knocked the wind from him and left Sebastian rolling on the ground in agony. The tall man opened the pen and slipped a chain around Sebastian's neck and then locked it with a small key lock. He released Sebastian's hands while Sebastian gasped for air and tried to regain his senses. The prod was designed to control cattle and it had left the smell of burnt flesh where it had made contact with Sebastian's leg. His hands were still tied and he rubbed the burn with his other leg and fought back tears which welled up in his eyes. A fifteen foot leather leash was attached to the chain around his neck and Sebastian was dragged by the leash from the wooden pen.

            The man said, "I am not going to kill you yet. I know that you saw me drop that girl's body. I didn't want to kill her. She got very stupid and it cost her, her life. I will only kill you if you force me too like she did.  Now I've brought you something to eat."

            He pulled Sebastian out into the yard where there was a wooden picnic table. On the table the man had a tray with bread, peanut butter and a small container of milk. He gestured for Sebastian to sit at the table.

            Sebastian considered not eating. He thought maybe if he starved himself he could force the man to release him but he realized it likely would just cause the man to hurt him. There was every reason to believe that this man would kill him. It would be best to play along to build his strength and wait for an opportunity to escape. Sebastian knew the stories of Patty Hearst and Elizabeth Smart. Both of these women yielded to their captors and eventually they developed Stockholm syndrome but it allowed them to survive. Jaycee Dugard had survived for decades with her tormentor. Once given the chance to escape they didn't take it, choosing instead to stay with their kidnappers. In the case of Elizabeth Smart she was even seen attending parties with the man who took her from her bedroom. Dugard worked for her abductor.

            Sebastian would be careful. He would try to build a confidence with the man and then when an opportunity arose he would run. His hands were loosened and he ate and talked calmly with the man.

            "I really didn't see that much."

            The man interrupted him." What did you tell the police? You said you spoke with them. How much did you tell them?"

            "I said I saw an escalade. That's all I saw." He didn't tell him that he had given a vague description. He had said the man was tall and thin.