Savior (Book One)

Chapter Thirty-Five

It’s been a couple of days since Henry locked me in here. I was hungry, since Henry hadn’t brought me anymore food. My stomach would growl obnoxiously and I would occasionally shiver due to the coldness of the room. It had only been a day when I finally gave up any attempts to escape. I was a prisoner, unable to get out of my cell. And no matter how many times I pray to Father, he has yet to answer to any of them, as if he couldn’t hear me, or something worse had happened to him. Either way, I was stuck down here and it didn’t matter what I tried, there was no way out. The door upstairs was made out of steel, I noticed, the paint chipping away from my nail marks to show the metal parts, and there was no window for me to open in order to escaped. I was a mouse trapped in a cage, ready to be eaten by the cat. My fate was sealed, and I couldn’t do anything to change that.

I sat huddled in a corner, a tatty, worn old blanket wrapped around my shoulders in attempt to create a bit of warmth for myself. My head lay on my knees and I watched blankly as a rat scurried out from under a worn table, darting across the floor to a tiny hole that rest in the wall. At least he could escape. Must be nice. I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, shutting my eyes and trying to imagine myself in a warm place. A beach maybe. And perhaps I could imagine myself laying in the sun, a cool drink in my hand, and a faint breeze against my flesh. I would have my feet buried in the warm sand and glasses on my face to shield my eyes from the sunlight, which looked like gold shining against the ocean. I would probably have a book by my side, a good mystery to sate my boredom and curiosity. Maybe I would hear birds chirping in the distance, singing a song meant for the gods above. I would be so relaxed…so calm. I wouldn’t be here in the cold, wondering when I was going to be fed, or if I had already been forgotten.

And thanks to my ADHD brain, I was reverted back to the cold place where I sat, alone, and freezing. Not even the clothes on my back, nor the blanket around my shoulders, kept me warm. Every so often I shivered, gripping the blanket tighter to myself, surprised when it didn’t tear from being pulled so tautly over me. I should probably move, get some movement in my joints. Moving might get me warm.

With that in mind, I stood up and began walking around the room, sometimes digging through boxes to find interesting things. I found an old typewriter, some of the keys missing and the paint peeling off of it. I also found a cool looking birdcage and even some old, dusty, books. I grabbed a couple of books and walked over to the thing that was a replacement for a mattress. I sat down and opened one of them up, coughing as dust flew up in the air.

I must have read for a few hours before I happened to doze off. When I awoke, my scent was assaulted with the smell of mash potatoes and gravy. My stomach rumbled loudly, my eyes fluttering open then widening as I caught sight of Henry standing in front of me, a plate of steaming food in his hands. I wanted so desperately to grab that plate and devour every crumb on that plate…but, I refrained. I didn’t quite know what Henry was capable of, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to find out.

So I sat there patiently, watching as Henry set the plate down in front of me, his face expressionless as he pushed the plate towards me. “Eat.” He ordered, his voice stern.

I gulped and stared back at him, not making a move towards the food. How did I know that it wasn’t poisoned? He only wanted me here for the money, right? Why not kill me and get it over with? No one else would even notice that I’m gone. Well…my friends might notice. My heart constricted tightly in my chest as I thought about my friends. I wonder…how are they? Did they miss me? I mean, I did miss two more days of school, thanks to Henry locking me up. Did they even notice that I wasn’t there? I had two classes with Anabell, one with Charlie and Sarah, and a few more with my other friends. They probably would think that I was sick and couldn’t come to school. Anabell may think that I was taking a few days to collect myself, since…I was there when Allen died. I may not have witnessed it, but seeing him dead like that…she probably thought that I needed a few days off. The worst that could happen would be if they thought I was transferred to another school. I was living with someone else now, a different family. Even if Henry didn’t lock me in here, I probably would be in another school. I frowned and bit my bottom lip as the scent of food wafted back towards me. My stomach growled hungrily and I desperately tried willing it to stop, as to not embarrass myself any further.

Henry crossed his arms over his chest and I gulped, watching as he stared at me with intense grey eyes. “I said eat, Skylar. You can only go so long without starving to death. And I can’t have that if DSS decides to check in, you know. If I have to, I will force feed it to you.”

I gulped and stared down at the plate, the mash potatoes and smoked turkey calling my name. Hesitantly I reached forward and brought the plate closer to me, taking the fork in my hand before I began devouring the meal like a hungry savage. My taste buds danced at finally having something other than spit to taste, my throat singing in harmony as it was soothed by the heat of the meal. It took me only mere seconds to devour the whole plate, my stomach pains now dulled thanks to the food. Henry handed me a small cup of water and I drank it quickly, not even caring that it was warm, and tasted like a faucet. I was just glad to have water in my system. I think I was getting seriously dehydrated. I set the cup down, refreshed, and watched as Henry gathered everything and placed onto a table.

After a couple of seconds he turned, pinning me with a blank look that slightly scared me. Just what was he thinking in that head of his? Was he thinking about ways to kill me? No…Not likely. He did say that he needed me alive in case DSS did a drop in. Then what was it? Why was he looking at me like that?

Henry pursed his lips and pulled something out of his pocket, the material looking like wadded up cloth. My brows furrowed, but I said nothing as he stared silently at me. “Strip.”

What? My eyes widened and I immediately shook my head, backing up into the wall. “W…What? No! It’s cold in here! I’ll freeze to death if I don’t have my clothes!” I cried, my eyes wide as I stared at the man in front of me. Was he crazy? I thought he didn’t want me to die? If he took my clothes, I would die of hypothermia. Wasn’t that a contradiction to his plans?

Henry narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m giving you something else to wear. Now strip or I’ll make you strip.”

His voice was so void of emotion that I shivered with fear and shakily stood up, ripping off my clothes just like he asked. I immediately regretted the action, since it was way colder in here without my clothes. I ended up shivering violently as he took my discarded clothes from me, flinging the wad of cloth that he took out of his pocket. Confused, I un-wadded it, my cheeks pinking as I realized that it was a woman’s lace nightgown. I looked up at the other man with disbelief, my mouth gaping open like a fish out of water. “Y…You expect me to wear this? It…It’s a woman’s nightgown!” I protested.

Henry crossed his arms over his chest, barely sparing me a glance as he looked around the room. “It’s better than nothing, right?” He looked at me and a smirk formed on his lips, his eyes darkening into something…evil. “Besides, you look so much like a woman that I feel compelled to treat you like one.”

My heart sank in my chest at his reveal and I lowered my eyes to the floor in shame. He was right…I did look like a girl. But, that didn’t mean he had to treat me like one. I was a male, for goodness sake! Surely he would know that, since I was standing nude in front of him. He was a complete monster. Forcing a child into a basement for the sole purpose of getting money from the government. What kind of person does that? Sure, I wasn’t a child by no means, but I still looked like one, and in this world, I was but a mere boy.

What he was doing was vile, and evil, and completely illegal. He should be punished for his sins, and I hope that he gets what he deserves.

Without another word he left, leaving me back in the dark alone, and freezing. I took one look at the nightgown, and without another word I put it on, ashamed that I had to do such. I had no other choice, though. If I didn’t put it on, I probably would have frozen to death within the next hour. Not that this flimsy cloth would do anything. However…it was better than nothing. I guess it was back to the blanket, then. At least that kept me somewhat warm.

As I got situated back onto the mattress, I laid down on my side, tears streaming out of my eyes as I once again cried myself to sleep. I didn’t know how long I could handle being treated like I was a worthless toy, thrown on the street. I just hoped that this wasn’t all that was in store for me. If it was…then I probably would have to kill myself for it all to just end.