Caged

Chapter 3

I awoke in the same cage, in the same basement and as usual, in complete darkness. It's been a few days since my genius escape plan played out, and yet again, I didn't get very far. Everything is hopeless, and all that's going through my mind is how I should've ended my life when I had a chance because this is no life worth living. Then, one thought came to mind. I can't die until I make him suffer.

I've been passing time by planning the old man's demise, playing out everything in my head. My body aches and any movement whatsoever caused a great deal of torture. Sometimes he'll place newspapers in my cage to do my business on, It's been the only connection I have to the outside world. I'm always hoping that my nine year old face will stare back at me because that means people are still looking for me and had hope for my return. Then again, that's impossible after being gone for ten years.

     I rubbed my forehead, touching the raw wound, which I had received from my not so graceful fall. I wish there was something I could do to get out of here but I've tried every possible trick in the book, and I mean all of them. When I was first put in here the floor was nothing put dirt, until I tried to dig my way out. The walls were wooden panels, but then I ripped them off the walls to try another escape route. Now everything is protected by a thick layer of concrete.

People take freedom for granted, for the life of me I can't remember what it's like to open a window and get hit by a fresh breeze carrying the smell of the fallen rain. He use to give me school books, he wanted me to be smart so I could do just about everything for him. It's one thing to give him my physical strength, but it's another to surrender my mind. I might be caged in hell, but the last thing that I'll give up on is my intellectual abilities. I've always been extremely smart mostly due to the family I was surrounded by as a child. I just wish some luck would come my way. Just wanting the smallest things in life is nothing more than a dream now. The only thing I want to be able to sleep in a bed and to have the luxury of feeling the soft, clean, sheets beneath me. I want to feel the soft grass under my feet, not just when I'm running for my life. But most of all, I just want to know what it feels like to be safe once again.

Maybe nobody wants to find me, maybe I did something wrong to put myself here. My thoughts got interrupted by the all too familiar sound of his heavy footsteps descend the creaky, wooden steps. He pulled the chain and I heard the buzz of the electricity, the artificial light scorched my eyes. What does he want with me now? I felt something land on my thighs. My eyes slowly recovered, and I squint at the object now in my possession. It was the daily newspaper, titled "Two men found dead in Maine's most notorious forest, now classed as a murder." My eyes opened wider, reading the same line over and over. We're still in Maine the same state I grew up in. So close yet so far from home.

"Look what you did! Now they'll find you."

"Good, about fucking time." His mouth twitched with rage and just as he was about to open it, most likely to spit horrid words at me, he fell face first on the floor. There stood a muscular man in dark jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. His hair was sun bleached, and his hair complimented his emerald eyes. His jawline prominent, I watched his mouth move. His eyes scan the room, I could see the sheer horror in his gaze as he searches the man on the floor for his keys. My sanity seeped back into my body and I could finally hear what he was saying.

"We need to get out of here before the cops find you." I didn't take in his words. The lock on my cage fell to the floor with a bang and as the dust settles I glance at him.

"You're free." This can't be real, wearily I stepped over the threshold shaking with fear. This is just all a sick joke, he's getting revenge on me for trying to run the other day. I stood a few feet away from the cage and the old man was still face down. The younger man tried to wrap a hand around my upper arm and I threw myself away from him. Scanning for a way I could get past him and run.

     "You don't have to be scared, I'm here to help. I'm sorry for scaring you but we really need to go." Tears began to form in the corners of my eyes. Please don't let this be a joke.

"H-how did you find me, how did you know where to find me?" A realization hit me, I haven't spoken to a sane human being for a decade. His hand grazed my dirty cheek wiping away the tears and I flinched. I could see the hurt in his eyes, more prominent than any other emotion swimming around in there.

"We were best friends Athena, I've been looking for you since day one." Now we're both a crying mess. My pleads of being found have finally been answered after all these long, agonizing years.

"Maximus?" His smile could light up the world, his dimples perfectly placed on each cheek, and the skin around his eyes wrinkled with joy.

"I'll catch you up, once we get out of this disgusting place." I watched his hand gently grab mine, he leads me out of my own darkness and into his light. I can't remember the last time I felt like everything would be okay.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, but you need to hide, I know you're scared but don't worry okay? I won't let them hurt you." He hid me under the stairs, I was still speechless and before he let my hand go I grabbed his arm.

"Please don't get hurt, you're all I have left." That cocky smirk I so used to see as a little girl crept onto his face.

"If only you knew of the things I did to find you, you wouldn't be scared for me. You'd be scared for them." Just like that, he left me.