To Keep It Secret // wattys2017

CHAPTER 14: THE CALL

Suddenly I hear the loud sound of sirens. The sounds that I normally find annoying is the one thing I love the most right now. It must be more than five police cars. And they are coming closer. I widen my eyes and I feel tears escape from my eyes. They found me?!

Two long dark days past but the sound of the loud sirens are still repeating in my head. The moment I heard them my heart started pounding and my emotions got stronger all at the same time. I got something I didn't have experienced in a long time, hope. Then noise got louder and louder and there was even a moment I was smiling. 'They are coming to get me.' I whispered over and over again. Then my whole world collapsed. The sounds of hope screaming sirens got softer and softer, until the only sound in the room was dripping water again... When I thought it couldn't get worse the door of the basement flew open. I have never seen anyone as mad as the man in the doorway. He ran in my direction and grabbed my wrists with his strong cold hands. The threw me on the ground, tied my hands even tighter than before and kicked a my stomach hard until I passed out because of the pain. I remember him saying that it was not smart of me trying to escape and that I would pay for everything my family had done to him. His voice was loud and angry full of hate and abhorrence.

I strike my fingers over the bruises on my arms. I feel warm tears gliding over my cheeks. With the sleeve of my shirt I wipe my tears but my eyes can't stop letting the tears go. How long have I been here? Six days? Or maybe seven? The worst part of all is that I have no clue why someone would do this to me. What have I done to make someone so hateful and angry? He said he wanted revenge, revenge for what my family did to him. A memory of yesterday flashes through my head.

'Dammit!' I curse and try to remove the bandage. With my eyes still closed I sit on the cold ground trying to hear if I have company. No one in the room. I am too afraid to open my eyes and take a deep breath. 'Come on Jayden. You can do this. Don't be afraid.' Slowly I let the light fall on my eyes and I look around the room. My hands get shaky and sweaty and my eyes fill themselves with tears. I look left of me. A grey empty wall with one little window which lets the cold breeze enter the room. I look to the right. In the corner an old wooden table is covered with dust and there are play cards lying on the ground. Two empty chairs keep the old table company. In the other corner a little fridge keeps the bottles of whiskey and beer on the right temperature. My whole body shivers and for a moment my ears are blocked. 'This is the place I was kidnapped last year...'

It's two days after I found out about the location of where I am right now. The last couple of days I wouldn't get left alone. There was no opportunity to escape. Then my eyes shoot open and block my mouth to keep the words I wanted to scream in my throat. I need to get the fuck out of here! I am sick of my sub consciousness trying to let me remember all those horrible things. 'Jayden, he is really back. He isn't death. You need to get out of here, now! You escaped before, you can do this. You just need to calm down and try to think of a way to get out of here. Otherwise, he will kill you...' I mumble panicking to myself. I rip the bandage off of my head quick since I am getting really good at it. 'I have been stuck for too long here.' I untie the rope around my wrists which takes me a little longer. I look at the iron chains on my ankle. It's weird what I am going to say but there is an advantage of being locked up in this particular basement with these chains. Nothing has changed here, like he was waiting for me to come back and be his prisoner again. It gives me the creeps. Locked up with the same chains, which... I know how to unlock... One of the rings has a little opening which is open enough to remove from the chains. That means that I can break the chains. I pull the chains hoping they will break and 1... 2... 3...! My foot is free. For a moment I don't move to check if it's still as quiet as before. No one heard me. I stand up and groan when I stretch my leg which has a huge deep cut in it. I clench my teeth and squeeze my eyes out of pain. I walk over to the door and slowly open it. The door cracks and my eyes shoot open. Gladly they didn't hear it. I look into the deep hallway and see a door open a few meters away from the one I am standing. 'It's the room where he sleeps.' I take a deep breath and look over to the end of the hallway. There is hanging an old, probably defect, cellphone screaming for my hands to dial a number. Without a doubt I walk on my toes in the direction of the dusty phone. Let's pray it still works. I stop in front of the door where he is probably watching tv, since I hear voices which aren't coming from the two men. I am too scared to look inside and press my skinny body against the wall. I lean with my head against it and look to the ceiling. 'You can do this Jayden. Don't be afraid.' I whisper to myself without someone else being able to hear it. Suddenly the door gets slammed and I jump up with my lips holding the scream in my mouth. My eyes are still closed afraid to look of he is going to hurt me. My body shrinks and my feet are nailed on the cold concrete floor. After more than thirty seconds not moving or even breathing I open my right eye slowly. My left eye follows and what I encounter starts the working of my lungs again. The hallway is empty. That means he is in his room, but maybe not for long. I walk a faster then before on my toes in the direction of the old cellphone and by touching the dusty phone my body releases a deep breath. Carefully I tap on the numbers of the one person that comes up in my head first. 'Five... And... Three... Eight...' Before holding the phone against my ear I look over my shoulder checking of the door is still closed. I hear the low tone a phone makes when you are waiting for someone to pick up their phone. Suddenly I hear a "click."

'Who is this?' My heart flutters by the sound of her voice and for a moment I forget where I am. I feel so happy. I miss her so much and all I want to do right now is holding her in my arms with the intension of never letting her go. 'Hello? Who is this?' I wake myself up out of my thoughts before she wants to hang up. 'Camila...' That's all I can say. I am afraid she is still mad and that she will hang up on me. 'J- Jayden. Is that you?' I nod with close eyes. 'Yes.' I try to focus. I need to tell her everything, fast. 'Camila you need to listen to me and please don't interrupt me. I am serious.' I wait for a moment. 'I need help. I am stuck in a basement in Seattle. Rotten flesh. He is back. Call my mom. He is back. Call my mom.' A rough hand squeezes my shoulder painfully and pulls me away from the cellphone which is now hanging down with Camila still listening. 'Argg!' I groan and look around for the person who is grabbing me. My eyes meet his and I freeze. 'N- Nathan?' The boys hand pushes against my dry lips and before I can defend myself he pinches a spot in my sweaty neck. BLANK.

My head feels heavy and I notice my hands aren't attached with thick ropes anymore. I hear two familiar voices talking to each other like they are in a fight. 'We can't keep her here forever.' The younger voice defends. 'Yes we can! Everything we have been through is their fault and now they are going to pay it back. They took something away from me and I take something away from them. Now, get me a that thing I asked for earlier.' The older man commands a little louder. 'And don't use that phone again. You hear me?' Wait... Did I hear that right? Don't use that phone again? Wait, what? I remember me how I felt when I turned around facing him. I felt betrayed. I still can't believe he is the one who kidnapped me. Thomas was right all along and no one wanted to believe him. I had my doubts about Thomas, I really did. But it all seemed to nonrealistic. I know Nathan for more than a year now. Why would he do this to me? I am stuck in a smelly basement with two men with unknown and unpleasant intensions. The man keeps saying he wants revenge for what my parent did to him. What did my parents do that was so cruel that he would kidnap that daughter to get his revenge? And what has Nathan to do with all this? How do they know each other and why is he helping him? When I called Camila I knew I would get in a lot trouble if they caught me. I was preparing myself for the horrible punishment I would get but then I heard the words of the man. 'And don't use that phone again. You hear me?' Did Nathan say he was the one who used the old phone? Why would he first try to ruin my life and then take them blame for me? And what did the man ask for earlier? All these questions give me a terrible headache. My body is exhausted but sleeping is the last thing that's on my mind right now.

They moved me to a smaller room inside the building. The room doesn't smell like rotten flesh and it includes a bed with an old grey blanket. Is it weird to say I am glad I don't have to lay in a cold smelly basement anymore? I mean, I am still locked up with two crazy men... The past days I was devastated. The feeling of never being able to return home, cuddling my parents, having fun with my friends and going to school every day was terrible. I felt broken and like I couldn't be fixed, but after the phone call with Camila I got hope. Hope that they will be looking for me. I will pray every day that they are going to find me...

I walk over to empty wall in front of me and strike my fingers over the scratched figures. I made those drawings last year... A tear rolls over my cheek. I look down at the lines I made on the wall with a sharp stone. Five... Ten... Fifteen... Twenty... Twenty three... I was locked up here for twenty three days. Twenty three long and lonely days. I was now laying on the filthy bed drowning in my own thoughts about what happened last year. Then I realize something I didn't realize before. That voice.... I finally know why it sounds so familiar.... He came back for me. He has been here for weeks. The incident in the bakery. I didn't hallucinate, it was really him.

'Argg...' I groan and I rub my forehead. My back is stiff because of the hard ground and my feet are ice cold. A little breeze touches my bare skin. The smell of rotten meat is invading my nose and I try to open my heavy feeling eyes. I try to sit instead of lying on the concrete floor. 'Where am I?' I ask myself confused. My hands are tied and chains are keeping my right foot from moving. I feel myself dizzy and like I have to throw up. 'What is happening?' I ask myself but I already know the answer. I have no clue where I am and why they are chaining me like I am an animal. I look around and my lips are shaky, just like my hands. The room is empty, like no one has been here before. 'Help! Please! Help!' I scream but deep down I know there is nobody here to rescue me. With my hands on my cheeks I try to remember what happened. 'I drank something... My eyes started to feel heavy and my head started spinning. I had trouble with speaking. My eyes couldn't hold themselves open anymore.' I can't remember where I was... 'Think Jayden, think. Please remember.' I beg myself. I widen my eyes. 

'Mister Andrews?'