Unfound

10

The rest of the day I spent my time searching, ignoring the plate that sat on the table. The waffles and berries a taunt from him, his way of controlling me. I didn't think I could stomach the food that came from him, and the only thing I was craving was a way out. I could survive without food for up to a week,  and I knew if I was with Seth that long, I wouldn't want to survive anyway. I'd already prefer death over another kiss from his appalling lips, but I had no means to do anything myself, Seth had made sure of that. If he wanted me to die he wanted it to be from his hands, not my own.

I searched the walls, high to low, kicking and slapping the concrete, desperately hoping some part of it would give way and reveal anything. Once I had made my way around the room and ended up to the opening under the stairs, I figured there wouldn't be any other openings I could access from in here. I didn't know where that left me in my plan, that was really my only idea. The rest of my brain clouded with fear, unable to access the creative half of me.

To avoid being discouraged, I felt around under the stairs searching for the light switch. Instead I found something soft and sticky. Much to my horror when I pulled my hand out of the crevice I realized I had discovered a spider's nest. One of the newborn babies was latched on to my hand, it felt like it was staring me in the face. When it began to crawl on my skin, the other mass of babies followed, leaking out into the room. I shook the spider from my palm and took a step back. Mortified, I watched the parade of spiders march through the space. Some scattered up the stairs, and others disappearing along the walls and out the windows. When the seemingly endless stream of spiders ended, I shivered. 

I felt itchy all over as if they had made a new house in my clothes. I stripped down to my underwear and shook out my clothing. I made a mental note to ask Seth about a shower when he returned from work. Thinking about Seth coming back freaked me out more than the spiders, as I glanced towards my green prison door. Not wanting him to discover me in my underwear, lest he get any ideas, I gave my pants and sweater one final shake before throwing them on once again.

I made my way back towards the area under the stairs. One last spider crawled out from the crevice and made its way up the staircase. I huffed, If they're going to be released into this house, I thought, at least they're going into his territory. Plus I'd take the spiders over him any day. Pushing aside the hell hole that I envisioned Seth living in, I gently reached my arm back into the dark, careful to avoid the spider's corner, eventually coming across a light switch. 

The light flickered on, causing me to stumble back. I didn't realize how dark it actually was down here until there was light. Looking through squinted eyes I took in the marvelous colors and stacks of books and games. When my eyes had adjusted enough I carefully approached the shelves, afraid that the books would somehow leave me if I was too loud. I crouched down beside them and picked up one that caught my eye. "The Bride of Frankenstein", I snickered. I lightly stroked the binding, slightly in a trance before placing it gently back onto the shelf.

Some of the books looked worn as if they had been read hundreds of times, and others looked nearly untouched. I examined one of the more worn novels, finding a title I had never heard of before. I read the back cover to find it to be a murder mystery. I frowned, I couldn't imagine the other girls would want to read a murder mystery after learning more about our shared captor. I flipped through it quickly, taking in the scent of the old pages and the breeze they created on my face. I set it down on the floor next to me. I thought if anything, it could at least teach me how to better handle myself against a true villain. 

I searched through the other titles, finding classics like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Fahrenheit 451" mixed in with famous authors such as Stephen King and James Patterson. I guess I was finding out more about Seth through this search than anything else, not wanting to know if this was what flashed through his brain daily, constantly living in a horror novel as the monster stalking the innocent. I couldn't imagine that he set these out for us to enjoy as much as in order to keep us on the straight and narrow. These books were more of a threat than entertainment, and I think Seth took pride in that. 

I suddenly became very angry. Seth doesn't love or even like any of us, he just wants to know he hold power over someone. I wasn't going to let him have that power, and we were going to have some serious problems. I slammed a Stephen King novel down on the hard concrete floor, unknowingly throwing it open to chapter five of "IT". I skimmed the pages, the image of the bullies nearly killing the other younger kids solidifying my knowledge that people were more frightening than any supernatural being. 

I sighed and closed the book, placing it back on the crooked shelves. I stared at the shelves for a while. Then, hoping I could eventually pry one from the wall, I removed all of the books and placed them behind me on the hard floor. I then stuck my feet against the wall under the shelves for leverage, and pulled. My legs flexing at the effort I was putting into it, my arms starting to seize and ache, I felt the shelf move. I relaxed and examined the shelf. It had moved away from the wall. Barely, but there was a newfound space between the wall and the wood. It wasn't big enough to wedge my finger in-between, but if I could get this off the wall, I might have something large enough to cause actual damage to a person. A plate wouldn't be enough to even stun him after what I'd experienced the night before.  

I wanted to laugh or scream or something to celebrate, but I didn't yet know Seth's work schedule. He could be home at any time and I had already wasted half the day feeling around for a stupid hidden door that ceased to exist, or at least refused to let me access it. I carefully placed the books back on the shelves, making sure to put them back in the order I had found them. I didn't yet know what would make Seth suspicious of anything, so I decided my best bet was to be overtly careful until I figured him out. I couldn't exactly base a hypothesis about what makes him tick after a few days of minor interaction. Once all the books were back and I was satisfied, I grabbed the murder mystery and took up a spot on the mattress. Leaning against the uncomfortable wall, my body resting centimeters off of the even rougher floor, I dug into the book, pulling out any little information I could that would possibly help me make it out alive.