Caged In

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It was a brand new day. The morning started out normally, and around lunchtime, the man came downstairs. “You, you, and you. Come outside with me,” the old man said, pointing to Tessa, Slate, and Alyce. The man threw a pair of shoes into Alyce and Tessa’s cages. Alyce grabbed her shoes and put them on her feet. They were a little tight, but she could wear them.

            Once Slate, Tessa, and Alyce were let out of their cages, they were lead outside to a yard, seeming to explode with weeds. “You,” the man said pointing to Slate, “are to mow my lawn again. “You and you,” he said to Tessa and Alyce, “are going to be planting flowers over there.” He handed them each a packet of seeds and a trowel. The man’s gaze focused on Slate. “Follow me,” he said, leading Slate into the garage.

            Alyce and Tessa walked over to where they were to plant the flowers. Alyce looked over a Tessa and noticed the tears forming in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” Alyce asked the shy ten-year-old.

            “I-I’m scared,” Tessa replied. “I-I can’t do this.”

            “Oh, it’s easier than you think,” Alyce said as she stood over and started to prod at the ground with her trowel. After she had formed a hole, she placed the seed into it. As Alyce was about to cover the hole, she noticed that Tessa was gone. Alyce looked behind her. Tessa was running for it. 

            “Get back here!” The old man yelled as he was running as fast as his weak, fragile body would carry him. The man reached for something, and Alyce realized it was a pistol.

            As soon as Alyce laid eyes on it she yelled, “Stop, Tessa!”

            Tessa turned around and looked at Alyce. Then, her eyes caught sight of the man.

            “Stop, and nobody gets hurt!” the old man yelled.

            Tessa was now frozen, standing in the middle of the street. To Alyce’s surprise, none of the neighbors had heard the commotion, although Alyce wished they had. Then they would report the man, and Alyce would be as free as a bird.

            The man slipped the gun back into the holster on his belt and walked towards Tessa. He jerked her arm, and dragged her back into the house. “Keep working!” he called to Alyce and Slate. Alyce and Slate exchanged nervous looks, then went back to working.

                                                          ======================

            Long after, Alyce finished planting all of the seeds. Slate had finished before her and had been inside for about an hour. Alyce walked into the garage where the man was and laid her tools down. Without a word, the man walked her back inside.

Once she was in her cage, she looked into the cage across from her. All she saw was a boy staring into the distance. “Excuse me?” she said, looking towards him. The boy kept staring into the distance. About five minutes later, he looked at Alyce. “Um, do you know where Tessa is?” she asked.

The boy pointed to his ear and shook his head, and Alyce realized what he meant. The boy was deaf. Alyce looked away, feeling bad. “Do you guys know where Tessa is?” Alyce asked Slate, Skye and Blake.

“None of us do,” Slate mumbled.

“Okay, sassy one,” Alyce responded.

“Hey, I was chosen to work twice. I have a feeling this dude hates me more or something."

Alyce just shook her head and rolled her eyes. And no one even wondered about Tessa.