r/nosleep
The Girl on the Chain by reddit user asdeathbeckons
I was a handful for my mom growing up. My father left us when I was three, and, unfortunately, I didn’t make things any easier for my mother. I would break things around the house as I bounced off every wall, annoy my mother endlessly when she just wanted peace and relaxation after long days at work, and I was responsible for my dog Matty getting hit by a car after letting him run loose instead of putting him on a leash. Long story short, I wasn’t the perfect kid, but I loved my mother and she damn sure loved me.
My mom worked long hours at a plant not too far from our home. We lived in the country, with our neighbors spaced out around us. It meant we had our privacy, but it also left a kid as energetic as myself lonely after school. One when I was eight, I got off the schoolbus and noticed the prettiest butterfly I had ever seen. It was yellow, black, and a vivid shade of green. Instead of going straight home, as my mother had always instructed me to, I began following after the butterfly as it took flight down the road. Before I knew it I was lost, having ventured into a completely new part of the countryside that I had never been in before.
I knew better than to talk to strangers, so I did not try to flag down any cars passing in the street. I did, however, begin to have fun with my predicament rather than panic. I pretended that I was a pirate, and that a sea monster was chasing after me. I duck and hid behind trees and bushes, and accidentally stumbled into one of the thickest bushes that I had ever seen. I fell out of it on the other side, laughing as I landed on a pile of leaves, and then, still laying on the ground, noticed an old wooden fence. It was completely hidden from the road by the thick bushes and overgrowth surrounding the property; I hadn’t even noticed the house.
I stood up and slowly approached the gate, wondering what adventures I could get up to without getting caught. I could see a shed in that backyard, as well as an old, beat up lawn mower, a stack of rotting tree branches, and two bowls that must have belonged to a dog. I climbed through the wooden fence with ease and began sneaking my way over to the shed. When the girl sprang forward, I just about pissed myself. Scrambling backward on my hands and knees, my surprise turned to pure curiosity mixed with uncertainty at the sight before me.
The girl was about my age, with long, matted black hair that fell all about her shoulders. She wore an old, dirty, ripped flannel dress, but had no shoes. She had a foreign look about her, something I hadn’t expected around these parts. The most striking thing about the girl, however, was the fact that she wore a metal collar around her neck. A chain led from the collar all the way over to a long metal pole that stuck out of the ground by the shed. The girl could move only about seven feet in every direction.
I remember tilting my head as I looked at her, completely unsure of what to say or do. I was eight, but at the same time I knew that this was not right; This was not natural. Keeping my distance, I asked, “Are you okay?”
The girl just stared at me, her eyes so dark they were almost black. I moved a little closer, and this time spoke a little slower and more loudly.
“Are…you…okay?”
The girl shrank back as I got closer, choosing to huddle over by the shed. There was a big tree nearby, giving her plenty of shade. Even in the darkness, it was unmistakable how dirty she was. I moved closer, knowing that she would not hurt me. I sat down and offered my hand to her. “My name is Donald…what’s yours?”
The girl only stared. I sat with her for a few more minutes, trying to get her to talk, but eventually I realized that my mother would be getting home soon, and I would be in more than a little bit of trouble if she found that I was not there. I bid the chained up girl goodbye, and climbed back out of the fence. I used certain landmarks to remember the location of this house, and soon discovered that it was only about ten minutes from my own. I thought about the girl for the rest of the evening, and mentioned her to my mother as we sat eating dinner.
