Tell me what you think. I was told that this was unoriginal (I didn't think that it was in any way shape or form). Is that true?
Since I was young, I was taught not to go near the traps. The traps are metal cages that are partially buried, so we can't see the bottom. The sides seem to blend right in with the surrounding plants. The only surefire way to tell it is a trap is that it seems too good to be true. The only ones caught are the desperate, but sometimes they will catch the naïve too. Once they go in there is no getting out. The traps have the most delicious food I had ever seen. The monsters who set them have four long limbs and are white. They have lengths of hair that are all different colors. Some have hair all over their body, and others have no hair at all. I have heard that their skin comes in more colors than we have seen. I wouldn't put it past these monsters to be able to change colors just to toy with us. We can't fight them, THEY are smarter than we are, and have better weapons. I don't know exactly what happens after someone springs the trap, or at least I didn't until now.
I'm not sure how long I've been here. Time seems to move differently than what I am used to. I feel as if I've been here my whole life, but it's only been three months, however; because there is no way to tell time here I'm not sure. I miss the sandy beaches and mesmerizing ocean I call home. The only thing I experience here is long stretches of boredom, intersected with brief bouts of terror. The other prisoners and I only have each other, there is nothing else in this blue prison. We have no walls in this prison only glass to separate us from the outside world. There is a lot of time to think in here, and I have been thinking about the simple life I had. There are times I am happy that I only have my mother to mourn me when I am gone, but other times this thought makes me sad.
For as long as I can remember, Mom has always doted on me. This makes me feel guilty, because I am the reason she was in one of the traps. I've never told her this, I know her reply would be, I am also the reason she got out. Knowing she is right doesn't alleviate any of my guilt. My dad left the second after I was conceived. In the late stages of mom's pregnancy, she wasn't eating enough food, and she was lured into the traps. One of the pale monsters let her out when it realized she was pregnant with me. No one in the village knows why the monsters release our pregnant females, but they do. I always thought that it was because they didn't want to break up a family. It seems stupid now that I have an idea of what goes on.
I woke up falling. WHAM!
"Get off me!" someone screams as I scramble off.
"Sorry," I quickly mumble while ducking out of the way of the female's waving arms.
"Watch out for Bridget. She gets testy," a voice says behind me.
I whirl around to see a kind looking male approach. The best way to describe him would be red. He had the skin so dark red it was almost black. I had never seen skin so dark before. I can't quite decide if his eyes are blue or green. I'll just say it was a mix of both. He is huge. I know I'm average size, but he dwarfs me. He is almost twice my size. I don't know whether I should go with my first instinct that this male is good or run away because of his size. Most of the bigger kids in my school were mean and the even bigger adults let them act however they wanted.
"Hey now, don't be getting scared on me. I wouldn't want to have to clean the floor if you have an accident."
"I'm not scared, just sizing you up whoever you are," I posture while my heart starts beating a mile a minute.
His eyes twinkle with suppressed laughter as he replies, "You got fire kid. I like that. Stick close and I can teach you a thing or two."
"My name's not kid, it's Jerry."
"Well, Jerry I'm Steve."
As time went on I started to get a feel for the place and the ones in it. Mike, Steve, Bridget, Greg, and Brad had all been here weeks longer than me. I would later find out that this prison could hold up to ten of us and still be semi-comfortable. Mike, Bridget, Greg and Brad all kept their distance from me, but Steve took more of an interest. He kind of showed me the ropes and how to survive this place with my sanity somewhat intact. In the three short weeks I knew him, he became a good friend and mentor. I'm sure if we had more time I would have eventually looked up to him as a father figure, possibly in place of the father I never had. I started to really care for him even though he cautioned me against caring about anyone in this prison.
"So kid, you seem somewhat intelligent how'd you get caught?" I couldn't seem to break him of calling me kid. Looking back on it, I wonder if it was his way of trying to distance himself from me. Maybe even a reminder to himself not to care too much.
"I had just left home a couple months before. I wanted to see the world. At first I did OK. I was able to find shelter each night and enough food to get by, but one day my luck ran out. I couldn't find food anymore. I was starving when I came across the trap. Actually, I didn't really stumble across it the smells drew me to it. I was at the threshold when I stopped and realized what a mistake it would be to go in there, so I pulled back to plan. I eventually decided that I needed that food, but I wasn't going in there. So my brilliant plan was to use a stick to try and pull the food closer, if that didn't work I would try something else. I was able to move the food just not in the right direction. So I went on my tiptoes to reach farther and what do you know a gust blew me inside."
"What did you do to piss off lady luck?" He chuckles.
"I wish I knew. How did you get captured?" as soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew I shouldn't have asked. His face grew somber and he had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Remember not to care about anyone the pain when they're gone isn't worth it."
I never did learn who he lost because soon after that he became sluggish and fatigued all the time. The others distanced themselves even more from him. I'm not sure who muttered it first, but they would look at Steve and mutter, "...three months..." I didn't leave his side, but I started to worry, by the end of the week he could hardly move or talk. I was worried to death, but I didn't know what to do. When I went to bed that night I didn't think I would sleep a wink, but I fell into a deep almost drugged sleep and when I woke up the next day Steve had disappeared. I panicked and woke the others. The others shared a look and then Bridget stepped forward and said, "That's what happens here. The rest of us go to sleep and then we wake up and sometimes someone is missing. We think that the monsters drug us and take them. We aren't exactly sure what happens after they disappear, but we never see them again." After that I learned my lesson. Steve was right never get close to anyone the pain isn't worth it.
Brad was taken away next and shortly after that in quick succession the others followed by Bridget who held out the longest. The monsters brought more of us in, after the others were taken. I don't have much time left. I've been here for over three months, and the longest anyone has held out without being taken is four months. I have started to get tired lately and I think the monsters will come for me soon. On the up side, I will have finally left behind this glass prison, but I don't know what happens after.
The monsters came for me last night. It is a fate worse than death that awaits us. I now even know why they won't take pregnant females; it is so we don't die out. Those of us that get caught are eaten, but I just wish they had given me a fighting chance. They could have at least taken the rubber bands off my claws before they put in the boiling water!
