House of Dolls

Her Failed Escape

Nathan had Kayla locked away for a few days before he attempted to have any contact with her, feeling she needed a cool-off period before he would approach her. Kayla would spend the first two days banging on the walls and her door in hopes that someone would hear her. She would scream for hours, but no one would come. She didn't realize her room, as well as the whole basement, had been soundproofed. The only time Nathan approached her was to slip her food through the small service hatch he had installed at the bottom of the door. He had made the changes himself to avoid suspicion during construction. Nathan sat upstairs, watching Kayla try to attract the attention of anyone she could. He had hidden cameras in all of the rooms to keep an eye on his victims and make sure he was aware of their movements at all times.

The day had finally come for Nathan to communicate with her. As he approached the bottom of the stairs, he descended the basement and locked the door behind him. Nathan then entered through a different door, securing it as well. At the top of the stairs, he had a heavily reinforced door, and at the bottom, he had another. Nathan was the only one who could lock or unlock either of the doors.

Nathan then approached Kayla's door in an attempt to speak with her. "Hello, dear. You know you're going to hurt yourself if you keep kicking the door and walls. I can't have you all battered up and bruised."

"Screw you! You freak! "Kayla screamed with disgust toward Nathan.

"That's not very nice. I'm here to take care of you, not hurt you. Have I not been taking care of you since you arrived?" Nathan knelt to make sure Kayla could hear him as she crouched to the floor.

Kayla's anger turned into desperation as she slumped over, beginning to sob. She spoke in between every inhale as she started to hyperventilate. "How are you taking care of me? You drugged me and locked me in a room, you psycho."

"Again, not very nice. Name-calling will get you nowhere with me. But really, would you have come down on your own? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have. You're part of my doll collection Kayla, so you need to accept that. You can't leave, nor will I let you leave." As Nathan turned to sit with his back against her door, he let out a short sigh and a light devious chuckle.

"Nathan, what do you mean I can't leave? You can't keep me here!" Kayla began to get furious again. All she thought of was what Nathan had done to her. "Let me the hell out of here!" She screamed as she kicked the door once more. Her kick jolted Nathan forward, making him feel disrespected.

"Listen, Kayla, I want you to be able to come out here, but I'm not going to open the door unless you calm down. I have restraints nearby, and I don't want to have to put you in them. Do you understand? Now calm yourself down before I calm you down!" Nathan had a stern tone in his voice. He wanted Kayla to know he would not continue to accept her behavior.

Kayla sobbed in despair as she realized no one would come to look for her in Bloomsburg. She was far from anyone in town, didn't have a cell phone, and didn't have a vehicle. Nathan had gone to great lengths to ensure that no one could trace her back to him. Before purchasing another phone, he disposed of her cell phone and destroyed his burner phone.

"Look, I am giving you a good life here. If you do as I tell you, I will give you a little freedom to come out to the common area. Continue to act out, and I will keep you locked in that single room until the day you die. Is that clear?" He wanted to reiterate to her that she would never leave.

She whimpered, responding, "Yes, I understand."

Nathan returned to the first floor of his grand estate. For the next few days, he stayed upstairs, watching Kayla on his computer and only going downstairs to feed her. During that time, Nathan had been watching her on the monitor to see how she would react. He decided to let her out to stretch her legs because she seemed to have calmed down. As he entered the basement and approached her new cell, he bolted both doors behind him once more.

"Kayla, did you finish your food?" he asked calmly.

She considered ignoring him, but decided to respond to keep his rage at bay. Kayla had no idea what Nathan was capable of, and the thought of him killing her kept playing in her head, so she replied. A chance to escape was all she thought of, and playing nice could benefit her in the long run.

"Yes," she responded softly.

"Good girl. Do you think if I let you out of your room for a little while, you can remain calm?" Nathan had started to feel that he could trust her.

"Yes, I promise." She had still been terrified but remained calm so Nathan would open the door and let her out.

Nathan slowly unlocked and opened the door to her room, noticing Kayla as she stood with a look of defeat on her face. She had not washed up or showered, which seemed to disgust Nathan.

"Why haven't you showered? You look filthy. I need you to turn around and go wash up."

Nathan began to close the door to lock her back in, but Kayla charged him just as he was about to. She had so much adrenaline pumping through her that she was able to push him far enough, causing him to lose his footing. Kayla was not aware that two large reinforced doors kept her in the windowless basement. Frantically she tried to turn the knob, but she got nowhere.

Kayla realized she was in big trouble at that moment. Her only way out was blocked in front of her, like an impossible exit to freedom. The escape seemed hopeless, but she persisted.

Kayla pressed herself to the door and began to scream for help. "Somebody, please help me!"

She quickly turned around, attempting to flee, and saw Nathan charging at her. She tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. Nathan, enraged, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her body to the ground. Her face hit the side of an end table as she fell, busting her mouth open. As a terrified expression fell over her face, blood began to pour from her mouth.

Nathan stood over her and screamed, "I said I didn't want to hurt you! Now, look what you made me do!" He proceeded to drag Kayla back to her room by her hair.

She clung to Nathan's grip, kicking and screaming as she was dragged to her room. As he threw her on the bed, he reached down and picked her up from under her arms. Nathan then restrained her by the wrists and ankles with restraints he had painstakingly installed. Kayla sobbed uncontrollably, stunned by what had just occurred. Nathan swung her desk chair around and sat by the side of her bed.

He slowly brushed her matted hair away from her eyes and the side of her face as he whispered in her ear, "You're a mess."

He stood up and turned to the bathroom, grabbing a washbasin that was under the sink. Nathan then filled the basin with warm soapy water, grabbed a rag, and went back to Kayla on the bed. He sat back on the chair, dipped the rag in the soapy water, and began to wash the blood off of her face. Kayla remained still as she whimpered, not daring to make him mad again. Nathan leaned over to Kayla once more and whispered, "Next time, I will kill you."