Unfound

17

Hours ticked by as the days passed slower and slower. Each wasted second going past lessening my chances of getting out. Tick, tick, taunting me. By now, I had learned that I couldn't overpower Seth without some sort of help, and those stupid, stubborn shelves refused to come to my aid as much as anyone else. The books and games he provided too weak to do anything but anger and alert him of my attempted escape.

So, I buried myself into the books. Seth occasionally bringing me a new one when he brought me dinner. The new books he brought were less heavy than the ones he already had in stock, both in content and physical weight as if he were taunting my failing to escape.

The food he was bringing me was becoming more and more healthy, as if he was trying to keep me in shape for something, though it wasn't helping. I was losing weight. Way too much to be healthy at this point. My ribs were beginning to peak through my skin, on only the sixteenth day of being in the basement. I wanted to do something, maybe alert him of it, but I didn't know what he could do about it. I wouldn't eat more of his food than I already was. I couldn't stomach any more visits from him. Seth must have noticed and started this change in diet, but I wasn't a large fan of eggs or any other heart healthy fat and oil. I was more into potato chips than kale chips.

It was hard to gain any motivation in the isolation, or I would have tried to stay fit with some basic exercise. Maybe I could even trick my brain into thinking that a workout would help me defeat Seth, but I couldn't bring myself to try. Failure was all I could envision for the foreseeable future. I was skinnier then when I was first brought to the basement, but not skinny enough to squeeze through the basement windows, and escape before, during, or after my shower periods also seemed impossible. The only thing worse was that I had been down here for so long, I started getting cramps. My period wasn't far away and I didn't want to ask Seth for any products. Giving him power over supplying me for that too was not an option.

I was pondering over if I would be able to provide myself a makeshift pad out of ripped material from my own clothing before Seth burst into the basement. His presence shocked me, it was way too early for him to be back already, the sun shining almost directly overhead. I observed him as he began to pace the room.

He was whispering to himself under his breath, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." and circling the table as if he were a race car in the Indie 500. Something was seriously wrong. I should have picked up on it days ago when he came back with newly dyed blonde hair. He had screwed up. I don't know how or when, but someone knew something about him. It was all I could do to try to keep the smile off of my face.

He suddenly stopped pacing, slowly turning to face me. His arms crossed his chest, one of his hands stopping mid stroke of his invisible beard. A dark smile slowly spread across his grim face. "Kara, dear, I almost didn't see you down there." He dropped his arms and lowered himself until he was on one knee. He didn't come closer, staying about ten feet from where I still sat, holding onto the book. "You have one seriously determined mother fucker of a boyfriend, don't cha?" His smile stayed, but his tone had completely changed, becoming similar to that of the Joker in Batman.

I slowly closed the book, marking the page I was on before setting it down softly beside me. I knew this wasn't going to go well. "I'm not entirely sure I know what you're talking about, Seth." I said as calmly as I could muster, "Are you talking about you, or Liam?" I couldn't hold the smile off of my face as his fell, eyes growing dark.

He stood slowly, the blonde locks falling over his eyes, and began to approach me. I held my ground, still sitting on the mattress, but showing no fear. He crouched down beside me, not laying a finger on me, "What's his last name?"

I was taken aback, "Excuse me?"

"Liam," he growled, "What's his last name?"

I couldn't give away his true information. The look in his eyes told me he wanted to kill him, and there was no way I was going to let it happen, "Hogan. His name is Liam Hogan." I swallowed, making it audible so he would think I was nervous about giving away his true identity. I was just hoping there would be some Liam Hogan in the area to occupy him for a while. I paused, considering what I had done while Seth stood up. Had I just sent some other poor Liam to die? I shook my head as Seth started to walk away, "Do you know what he looks like?" I couldn't stop myself from asking before it had come out of my mouth.

He turned slowly again, taking up his spot next to me, this time putting both of his hands on my thighs and if holding me down. His broken smile came back to his shadow of a face, "Yes, my dear, I do. I understand why you were so attracted to this boy. I thought I'd seen him before, but now I'm sure. And this time, I'm going to kill him."

I took a sharp intake of breath, "Why? You have me already, isn't that enough?"

He tilted his head slightly to the left, examining me as I had him just a few seconds ago. "I don't want to give you false hope, my dear," he spit, anger consuming him, "but your Liam has started a war he didn't even know existed. He's the first person ever to get my face out to the public and his little investigation is starting to irritate me." My heart fluttered, he was looking for me! "I had to leave my job because of the bastard. The people there would surely report me to the police."

My mind soared. The people at his work had to know where he lived, right? He smiled at me, loosening the grip he had on my thighs, leaving nail markings behind. I felt my face relax slightly, relieved that people were looking for me. Seth caught it. He quickly came at me, face inches from mine, "You're not getting a lucky break, don't even think that, Kara. I'm one step ahead of the police, always have been, always will be. No one knows my real identity, because I'm supposed to be dead! You can't find someone who doesn't exist." He laughed, "The funniest part about this, Kara, is that you are the one who buried me. You are the one who made people believe I was dead so that I could get away with taking you!" He roared with laughter, every humane aspect of him diminishing in his delirium, "I'm dead because of you, so that I can live, and you weren't even aware of it, wouldn't be if I hadn't told you." He threw his head back in a mad fit of laughter, nails still digging into my legs.

I had pushed myself up against the wall as far as I could, trying to get away from the mad man. Nothing he was saying made any sense. I had never killed anyone and I definitely had never seen him before all of this mess. I had never buried anyone before, never even been to a funeral. There's no way I had supposedly 'killed' him after I met him a few weeks ago in that cafeteria. "Wha... what do you mean, Seth?" My voice wavered as I swallowed, trying to keep myself steady in the midst of all of this unstableness.

Seth calmed himself, hands releasing his grip. Rubbing his thumbs over my thighs instead of his nails. The shadows came back, but his wildness had left. He was serious now, all laughter had subsided. "Why, you see, Kara, you know me. You've known me for a while now, you just didn't know it. I'm from your childhood. Look at me, Kara. Look closely. What do you see?"

He was inches from my face, trying to let me get a good look. He somehow managed to change his face for me, softening his features until he looked many years younger. His face began to morph into a...a child. I gasped as the memory began to play over and over again in my head on a loop. "The little boy." I whispered, looking down into nothingness. My brain was screaming at me. How could I not have seen it. His hair color was different, his scar was gone. But he'd always been there. Following me. Behind me every step of the way. Followed me. At the grocery store, the bus stop, hadn't he offered me gum once?

"Louder, Kara, louder!" He roared.

I looked up to meet his gaze, eyes the same as the image in my head. "You are the little blonde boy that I saw that night I was rescued from the basement. From the first time I was kidnapped. You were there." My mind was racing, my heart began to thud, "You've always been there."