CAGED

Chapter 4: Lost

Days, or weeks, have passed and it's becoming harder to keep track of the passing time. Every day is the same as the first. When I wake up he drags me to the shower and straps me in before beginning to cut his lessons into my flesh. One slice for each word of each rule, just so he can make his torture last longer. Some rules are easy like "Obey Master," that is only one slice on each shoulder blade. Some rules are harder like "Always Address Masters Friends As Sir or Madam," which is four gashes on each side of my collarbone.

At the end of the lesson I have to recite each rule back to him, word for word. If I make a mistake or forget a word, the lesson starts all over. Each time he has to start over he takes a tally. He uses the tallies later, after the lessons are finally through. I've gotten much better at remembering each word to Masters rules. Today I only messed up once.

After the lesson is through, master leaves me hanging in the stall by my wrists until my arms go numb. Sometimes he is kind enough to leave the water off, but majority of the time he turns the cold water on full blast. He leaves me alone but I can never can grasp how long exactly. Master is smart and has no clocks around for me to read. He is clever and wakes me at random points in the day or night so that my days and times are mixed up, leaving me disoriented.

Once Master decides that I've had enough of the water, he returns and cuts it off. He releases my bonds and let's me drop to the cold tile floor. He drags me into the room and opens the drawer in his dresser with the whips. Some days he is kind and he only uses the leather crop, but today he picks the crop with the spiked studs on it. I only had one tally for today, so I only get ten lashes. I am to count them out loud and if I miss a count he starts the tally over again.

"One!" I cry as the whip strikes across my arm and rips my scarred flesh open.

"Two!" The studs rip into the same spot on my arm and tears well in my eyes.

"Three!" He moved the whip so it struck my shoulder blades, reopening the cuts on it.

"Four! Five! Six!" Each time he brings the spikes down they hit the same spot on my shoulder blades. Master lifts his boot and kicks me in my chin and sends me backwards into my cage, the small rusting bars biting into my already broken skin.

"Seven!" I choke on my own blood as the spike rips into my throat.

"Eight! Nine!" I cough as he hits my stomach, blood filling my mouth.

"Ten!" I cry profusely and attempt not spit my blood out of my mouth because if I do that, Master will punish me again. I lay on the floor in a broken bloody mess as Master stands above me. He reaches down and fists his hand into my knotted hair as he lifts me to his face.

"You've been very good," his voice sends uncomfortable shivers down my bleeding back. "You're a quick learner and I like that." Master lifts me until my feet no longer touch the floor and I hold in the hiss that wants to escape. Master grins and it sends sick shivers through my body, I know this won't be good.

"I'm going to sell you in a week," Master tells me with a smile. Sell me?! To who? Why? Can't he just let me go?! "I have a high bidder for you. Sick son of a bitch too. You'll love him!" Master laughs as he throws me to the floor and kicks me into my cage. I whimper as he slams the door shut and sneers at me.

"Remember your lessons, pet, and it won't be too bad." With that said, Master leaves the room and shuts the door. I curl into a ball in my cage, finally spitting the blood from my mouth into the newspaper below me. I try not to cry as fear claws its way into my mind, body, heart, and soul. I thought Master was fucked up, but if Master thinks this guy is sick then I'm screwed! I lay in a bleeding, crying, shaking, curled up mess as I beg silently for Master to just kill me instead of selling me. I fall asleep in defeat, my mind telling me it wouldn't happen. There's no profit in killing me outright.