The Trapped

38

38

- B L A I R E -

11.13.16 // 7:30 a.m

I AM SHAKING. Every single bone in my body feels as if it has turned to liquid. My blood has gone cold and my stomach is quivering, making bile rise in the back of my throat. The bag of dead, raw fish and raw meat feels heavy in my hands. The smell is horrid, making me want to throw up even more.

T is standing close behind me, his warm breath blowing down my neck, his arms around my waist as he kisses my neck. I close my eyes and think about anything else besides the feeling of his slimy hands running up and down the length of my arm. I feel dizzy and nauseous as he begins to talk with that cold voice that sounds like pure silk as each syllable passes through his dry lips.

"All you have to do is feed the animals. That's all, we do this all the time, Rose. Stop acting surprised," he whispers. But, that's the thing, we don't do this all the time. I am not this Rose girl he is talking about and the thought of him thinking I am someone else makes me sick.

He is sick.

"You're insane," I mutter through gritted teeth and he swivels around to stand in front of me. "I hate you."

He growls under his breath as he brings his hand above my head. I close my eyes, expecting the blow, but nothing comes. I flutter my eyes open and his fist is still raised in the air, but his blue eyes are soft as he smiles sweetly. It made me shiver.

"I will not hurt you, my love," he says as he kisses me with his cold lips. I can taste the stale coffee and alcohol as he forces his tongue into my mouth. I gag and he pulls away abruptly. "Never be disgusted with me, Rose. We are lovers. Now, go feed the animals."

I shake my head, feeling tears start to slide unwillingly down my cheeks. He grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks it hard, something he tends to do often.

"Do it, or I will kill someone right in front of you and make you bury the body. Do you want that, Rose?" He ask and I shake my head no. "Then go and feed the animals."

I gulp nervously as I begin to walk slowly towards the people in cages. I can feel T's intense gaze on my back and his eerie presence close behind me as I come to a stop right in front of the first cage. The girl looks up at me with empty, brown eyes. She is maybe sixteen and she is on all fours with a lion costume on. She growls at me and I take a step back on instinct.

"Just throw the meat in there, Rose. It isn't that hard," T says from across the room. I reach into the bag with shaky hands and my fingertips brush over the soft, wet meat. I pull back and the girl growls again as she eyes the bag of meat hungrily. "You don't want to piss the lion off, Rose. Just throw it in there," T says and I begin to cry silently.

I reach into the bag, grab the meat and sling it through the slits in the cages. The girl, if on instinct, attacks it like it is a real animal and I almost throw up as she bites it ferociously, the blood splattering all over her face. She is completely brainwashed.

"Keep going," T says and I move to the next cage where a woman, also dressed as a lion, stares at me with horror filled eyes. "I will be right back, don't talk to them. And if they talk to you, scream for me," T tells me before leaving the area. The breath immediately returns to my lungs when he is out of sight.

     "Hey," the woman I am standing in front of speaks up. "I'm Maria, what's your name?"

     "You aren't suppose to be talking," I whisper back, feeling my heart start to thump rapidly in my chest. Maria, however, did not look the least bit scared as she stares up at me with dazzled eyes.

     "I would rather die than be here. Listen to me, I can get you out." My ears perk up and I raise an eyebrow up at her. I look over my shoulder, making sure T is nowhere in sight before speaking again.

     "How?" I ask and she smiles sweetly. I rub my sweaty palms against the red nightgown as I tap my bare foot impatiently against the cool cement.

     "Straight down this path and turn to your right. There will be a dead end, but there is a small door with loose bolts, very easy to open. All you have to do is figure out how to break the latch," Maria rushes out quickly. "But hurry, Master T is a very fast man."

     "Thank you. I will get help, I'll come back for you guys, I-" she cuts me off with the flick of her dirty hand.

      "There is no escaping for us. Get out! Now!" She says and I nod before dropping the bag and scrambling in the direction I was told to go in.

     "Hey! She's running away! Master T," someone behind me shouts and my heart really starts to beat, very, very fast and I couldn't control all the nasty pictures in my mind of what T is going to do if he catches me.

When I reach the brown, dusty door, a wave of relief washes over me knowing that Maria didn't lie. The latch is locked down, but it is loose. It is easy enough to break, but with my bare hands? It would be impossible. So I kick it with my bare feet, the crusty metal scrapping painfully against the bottoms. The pounding of the door plus all the commotion that is going on behind me makes the pressure in my head increase as I keep kicking.

"Come on," I mutter as I kick it one last time and the latch breaks off. Just then, a loud gun shot goes off and a scream crackles through the thick air. I fumble with the handles to get the door open, but I am so nervous and my palms are too sweaty and everything is happening so fast.

Just as I go to pull the door open, an arm wraps around my waist and pulls me back. T picks me up and slings me on the ground with full force. My head thuds against the cement and I bite my lip to keep from crying out in agony. The whip marks on my back tear even more and my breathing increases as I feel the pain slash me open.

"You stupid foolish girl!" He shouts down at me as he kicks me in the rib cage. "How could you do this to me! Why would you try to leave me? I gave you everything, Rose!"

He kicks me again and I look up through hazy eyes.

He is crying.

His eyes are red, his lashes wet as he continues to beat me with his bare hands. It is as if someone has taken over his whole body, he has no control over himself, at all.

The last thing I see, before everything goes black, is T sliding down the wall with his head in his hands and his body trembling, looking completely and utterly broken.

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Such a long chapter compared to the rest. Thanks so much for reading. Please vote and comment! Sorry for grammar..

-jayymckenziee