Light as a Feather

Chapter Twenty-Five

        Annabelle woke up cold and in the fetal position. She felt herself wake up before she opened her eyes, which felt sticky and crusty. She could probably thank her tears for that. Annabelle gingerly placed her hands underneath her, and pushed herself up to a seated position, still without opening her eyes. She felt cold metal underneath her. But then she felt herself swinging. Terrified, she snapped her eyes open. She scanned the area to find that she was in a cage. Literally. A huge cage that was hanging from the ceiling, upon further inspection. The back of it was completely black, but in the front there were about six steel bars, allowing her to see. Annabelle tightened her hands on two of the bars that trapped her until her knuckles were white. The room she was in was dull. The only colors that were in the room were gray and black. Black pieces of cloth hung down from the ceiling, and the only window was tiny. There was a door near the bottom of the room. It was like a dungeon. 

        Annabelle realized that there was another cage off to the right with another person in it. When she squinted, she found that it was a hunched over man. "Hey!" she yelled. "Who are you?" 

        The figure turned in his cage, and Annabelle realized who it was. It was her very own Uncle Leo. His eyes were sunken, his face looked older than it ever had, and he had more facial hair. He looked at her sadly. "Annabelle." 

        "Uncle Leo! What happened?" Annabelle asked. She sounded hysterical, but she didn't care. 

        "Oh, Annabelle. It was horrible. I'm sure he'll tell you soon enough, but... Cornell captured me. He knew you came to see me. After you left, he made sure you were gone. I had started to paint what you asked me to, and was off to a good start, but he came and captured me. He punched through the painting, ruining it. I knew there was no saving it. After he did that, he threw me into this cage. I'm so sorry, Annabelle. Our powers are most likely gone." He looked so upset that it made Annabelle's heart hurt. She checked her pockets quickly. There was still Esmie's address, her cell phone, and... eyeliner. 

        "I'm sorry, Uncle Leo. This is all my fault." 

        He shook his head. "No. It's not. He's had to have been watching you for days." 

        "How would he do that?" she asked. 

        "I don't know." 

        They sat in silence for a few minutes after that. Annabelle tried out her powers. She tried to make it snow in the little room, but it didn't work. She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "We've got to get out of here."

        "You know that's not possible," her uncle said. He said it softly. 

        Annabelle was about to answer, but then the door at the bottom opened. A man with a bald head and a permanant sneer on his face walked in. He was wearing a black, long sleeved shirt and leather pants. There was a cape (not kidding) around his neck that was as long as a wedding dress's train. He looked as if he had stepped out of a storybook. 

        "Ah, so the beast awakens!" he said, smiling an evil grin. It was disgusting. Annabelle didn't answer. She only stared. "Not talking, are we? I can't imagine why. It's such a good day." He swept into the room, leaving the door open. He looked up at Annabelle. The ceiling in the room was high, but the cage was low enough that Annabelle could see the details of the man in front of her. The cape, she found out, had small, gold designs on it. She couldn't tell what they were until she stared at them for a while longer. They were feathers. 

        "My dear, you have certainly been through a lot. Would you care for some wine?" 

        "Not from you," she hissed. She turned her eyes away. Her shirt was ripped and her jeans felt constricting now. Her black ballet flats had smudges on them. She was sure that her face was smudged with dirt, and while her hair had once been in a ponytail, it now hung loosely around her face, probably disgusting. She wanted a shower, but of course she didn't ask for one.