Taken

by Sarah Jayne Harry

  He turns back to the TV and I watch as his arm comes up and rests on the back of my cushion, his hand gently brushes against my shoulder. I shiver in disgust. He must mistake it as coldness because he edges closer to me and wraps his arm fully around my shoulder.

  “Don’t touch me.” I say, removing his arm. He glares at me then puts his arm back around me.

  “I will touch you if I want to.” he says. I shrug away from him and stand, planning to head back to my cage, but he just grabs my arm and pulls me back down so forcefully that I fall backwards and land on him. Something has changed in his eyes, there is no anger there. I dread what happens next.

  Damien gets to his feet and pushes me down onto the sofa, then he climbs on top of me. I struggle to get free but he holds my wrists tightly. The next thing I know, he's kissing my neck.

  “GET OFF ME!” I yell at him but it’s no use. I can feel his body grinding into me. I do what I know best. I knee him where it counts. He recoils and screams out in pain holding himself between his legs. I take that moment to free myself from under him but just as I get free, he grabs my shoulder and does what he does best. He punches me in the face.

  When I come around, minutes must have passed. I know something is wrong. I swallow my fear as I look down my body. I’m laying on the sofa with my dress hiked up to my waist and there is Damien, with his trousers off, with his manhood inside me.

  My head is fuzzy from the hit and I mumble a few words. Damien looks up at me then and glares at me, like it’s somehow my fault that he’s doing this.

  “Stop.” I say. Of course, he doesn’t listen, instead, he quickens his pace and grinds into me huffing and puffing. I notice my hands are tied to something behind my head and I struggle again to get free, my movement only encourages Damien though as he grunts loudly. I stop and lay perfectly still. Tears fall from my eyes yet again as I wait for him to finish.

  10 minutes pass and he still moves against me. My tears have run out and I try to zone out of the moment, imagine myself elsewhere. A few minutes later and finally he moans one last time before he stills. Sweat covers his forehead lightly and his chest moves quickly from his hard breathing.

  He climbs off me and pulls his trousers back on then he unties my wrists. I quickly pull my dress down and scurry off the sofa. With nowhere else to go I hurry back into my cage and slam the door shut, which in turn locks it. I huddle into the corner and close my eyes. I pray that I get to leave this place soon.

  Damien doesn’t say a word for the rest of the night and soon he goes into his bedroom and falls asleep, his snores echo around the cabin.

  I don't sleep that night.

  CHAPTER 29

  A few weeks pass without any problems. I eat when I'm told, clean when I'm told and even sit on the sofa when told. For weeks I let him touch me, by that I mean that he doesn’t force himself on me but his hand is constantly on my knee or around my shoulders. I am even let out of my cuff for an hour a day, Damien has a gun pointed at me the entire time but at least I’m not chained up. I don't complain or fight back. I have no energy left in me to try and escape. I have been here for just over two months and this time, I don’t think I’ll be rescued.

  Everyday Damien likes to remind me that they won’t find me. Everyday he tells me I belong to him and that he has the power to change things in an instant. Depression slowly sinks into my core and wears me down. My spirit is slowly being crushed.

  It's 7 am and I have just woken up. I suddenly get a horrible feeling in my stomach. A moment later, I quickly grab my bucket just in time to throw up. I sit there and heave for what feels like hours but really only a few minutes pass.

  When I'm sure my stomach has emptied itself, I sit back against the bars of my cage and breath. I ask Damien for some water which he quickly gets for me. When I've drank it all, I look up and see him staring at me. He even has the decency to look concerned.

  “Are you alright?” he asks.

  “I'm fine.” I tell him, then I start my chores. For the rest of the day, I clean, eat and repeat.

  During dinner, which is another roast, I find myself eating a lot more than I usually do.

  A few more days pass and every morning like clockwork I am sick again. It’s been five days since it started and I'm starting to worry. One day, during my hour of freedom, I ask Damien if I can go outside and get fresh air because I don’t feel well. He has started to trust me to not escape and I don't know how he will react to my request.

  “You what?” he asks dubiously.

  “Please? You can cuff me if you want but I need fresh air or I am going to throw up again.” I plead.

  After a few moments of silence, he agrees to let me outside. He knows that I am sick every day and since he obviously won’t take me to a doctor, he has no choice but to grant me a simple request here and there.

  He doesn’t cuff me, he does however grab his gun and keeps it pointed at me.

  ✽✽✽

  The weather is quite mild for June, not too cold and not too hot. The grass prickles my bare feet and tickles my toes and the sun warms my skin. I smile as I take a few steps away from the cabin and look up at the sky, the clouds pass by slowly and birds chirp in the trees.

  I find a patch of grass on the ground and sit down, for a moment, all my worries slip away. Damien grabs a chair from inside and sits down, the gun in his hand still points in my direction.

  I lay down on the grass and close my eyes. My mind replays the past few days, every morning I throw up and I have started craving foods that I haven’t had in years. I also haven’t had my period this month. I pray that it’s something else but I know It’s not.

  I'm pregnant.

  I sigh as I accept the fact, am I ready to be a mother? No, I am not, but what choice do I have. A new determination settles over me. I have to escape. Not for me, but for my unborn child. I won’t give birth as a captive.

  An hour passes and I'm still outside soaking up the sun and breathing in the fresh air. I stand and turn back to Damien, to tell him that I'm ready to go back inside, I don’t want to push it and be out for too long. As I step closer though, I notice that he’s asleep. His eyes are closed, his mouth hangs open in silent snores and the gun now lays across his lap.

  I wait a few moments, sure he is going to wake up, when he doesn't, I act. I slowly tip-toe away and into the trees. When I'm far enough that I'm sure he won’t hear, I start to run.

  As quick as I can, I jump over tree roots and duck under branches. I run for as long as I can.

  A short while later, I'm standing behind a tree catching my breath. I'm not sure how long I've been running but I have ran far. In the distance I can hear him shouting.

  I start running again.

  Soon enough, I come to a road. I follow it, hoping to find someone. Luck is on my side as a car comes around the corner. I wave my arms. It screeches to a halt and a woman steps out.

  “Are you crazy? What are you doing out here in the middle of the road? I could have hit you.” she shouts.

  “Please. You have to help me.” I make my way over to her, hoping she will listen. She must see the panic on my face because after a few moments I am in her car.

  As the car starts moving again, I finally relax. I am free. I think about how lucky I am that I had chosen that exact moment to run away. A moment sooner and I may not have been so lucky, and then who knows what would have happened.

  My luck soon changes back though because not a minute later, another car comes speeding around the bend of the road and collides right into us.

  The car is wrecked, as it’s pushed backwards along the road.

  My head slams back into the seat, a shot of pain shoots through my neck. I glance out the window, only to see Damien stepping out of the other car, looking dazed and confused.

  I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean forward, the woman in the front seat is dead and I can hear my captor getting closer. I push open the door and scramble out onto the road.

  My head still h
urts and my vision is clouded but I start walking in the opposite direction. Damien must have recovered before me though, because a couple minutes later and he grabs me, tossing me over his shoulder.

  I kick and scream at him and after a few minutes of dragging me back through the trees, he lowers me down and then he punches me in the face. He picks me up and carries me bridal style back to my prison. I black out a few seconds later. My last thought before everything goes dark is that my baby is OK.

  When I open my eyes again, I am surrounded by darkness. I'm back in the basement. I sigh in relief as I see that the only injury I have is from banging my head in the car, which left a horrible cut on my head and a headache. I place a hand on my stomach and imagine the little baby slowly growing. I debate on whether or not I should tell Damien the news.

  “Why would you try to run away?” Damien’s voice brings me out of my thoughts. “Are you not happy with me?” he cries sadly. I frown at him, he’s clearly delusional.

  “Let me go.” I say.

  “I could give you the world but you refuse to behave.” he starts pacing the floor in frustration and I take a minute to look at him. He also has a cut on his head from the collision, as well as a badly bruised nose. He must have broken it. I am surprised that’s all he got.

  “You took me from my family and home, why would I be happy with you?” I almost scream at him, “Just let me go.”

  “You are mine!” he shouts. “Do you understand that? Don’t forget, I know where you live. I can go and visit your family any time I want. Remember that for when you want to misbehave next.”

  My blood runs cold at the threat. He wouldn’t. Would he? Don’t be silly, Tayla, of course he would, he's already shot your mum. I blink back the tears, I can’t let him hurt my family.

  He turns, facing me again, then frowns, “This is your home now.” he says then storms back up the stairs, a second later, the door locks.

  For the rest of the night I try to sleep but find it difficult. This is the first time he has threatened my family. He’s right. He knows where I live, what’s to stop him from going to my house one day? Dad would most likely be at work, leaving Mum alone. He would kill her. Dad would lose us both. Then he would go back and kill him. I can’t let anything happen to them.

  I think of my baby then, if I’m right and I am pregnant, I can’t risk losing her either, I have to tell him, I don’t think I have any choice, I have to stay healthy, I can’t risk my unborn child.

  I have to be good.

  CHAPTER 30

  The next day, I can’t bring myself to focus on anything. When I finally slept last night, I had the worst nightmare. I saw my parents dead, Damien was standing over their bodies laughing like a maniac. Now, all I can see are my parents, dead because of me. If I have to be good and play nice in order to keep them safe and stop that dream becoming a reality, then so be it.

  For the next few days, I do nothing but sit in the basement and eat the food that Damien brings me. I don’t say a word and I don’t act out. Slowly, my mood worsens and depression sinks in even further. I have lost all hope of being rescued. I mostly just sleep now, to make the time pass more quickly.

  Everyday, I continue to throw up, I have no doubt that I am pregnant, what else could it be if not? With the thoughts of having a small human being growing inside me, I am determined not to be stuck in some depressed funk. I can still behave and work my way back up the stairs. The first step however, is telling Damien the news. I have to find the courage to tell him, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

  Again, I go over the pros and cons of telling him. The main pro is that I would be safer, surely he wouldn’t hit a pregnant girl. That pro extends to the fact that my baby would be safer too. The main con is that he may not want to be a father, what if he makes me miscarry? Or what if he gets rid of me, would he just let me go or give me to some other creep with a fantasy?

  Everyday, Damien comes down to bring me food, he also takes my bucket to empty it, he brings a clean, hot cloth for me to clean myself up with and everyday he makes sure I have a blanket to keep warm.

  I am thankful for those kind gestures, however small they may seem, he didn’t have to do anything. He could have just left me down here, only coming down himself to feed me.

  I stay in the basement for another week before I bring myself to talk to him about the matter at hand.

  One day, Damien is bringing me lunch. This is it. I tell myself. I have to do it now. I take a deep breath and call over to him. “Damien.” I say, he doesn’t say anything as he walks down the stairs. “Damien, I have to tell you something.” I try again. He puts the plate on the floor in front of me and without a word, starts walking back out, I sigh in frustration and do the only thing I know that will work, “I’M PREGNANT!” I shout at him.

  He freezes mid-step but doesn’t turn around, after a minute he simply walks out. I’m confused. I expected some kind of reaction from him. I sigh, what now? With a shake of my head, I focus on the food in front of me. I quickly stuff it in my mouth and chew. It doesn’t satisfy my hunger.

  Damien eventually comes back an hour later and makes me take some pregnancy tests. After the results show, all of which are positive, I see his mouth turn up ever so slightly, as if he is trying to hide his smile. Afterwards, he goes upstairs, still not saying a word.

  ✽✽✽

  Once again, I am left alone. I wouldn’t normally complain, I have been alone since I was put down here, but after the news he just received, the quiet worries me. I don’t know how he is reacting, is it good or bad? I stand and walk around the dark room, trying to hear for any noise upstairs. I can hear a quiet drilling noise and banging every know and again. What is he doing? I wonder.

  A couple hours later and it's getting dark and there's still no sign of Damien. I guess I’m sleeping down here again. I grab some blankets that were brought down and make myself a bed then lay down, but just as I'm about to close my eyes, the door bangs open and footsteps stomp their way in.

  Damien comes over to me, looking like a mess. He has dishevelled hair and smudges of something on his face. With a crazed smile on his face, he releases me from the cuffs and pulls my hand till I’m on my feet. I look at him, trying to figure out what he’s up to, normally he’s asleep by now.

  He guides me up the stairs and into the living room. I can’t help but notice he is being very gentle with me and I don’t know if that worries me more. What is he up to?

  I suddenly get a blindfold put over my eyes and I follow carefully and slowly as I’m led to another part of the cabin. Scenarios play over and over in my head as I try to think what’s happening right now. Am I being sold off again? Does he not want me now I’m pregnant? Is it something worse?

  I don’t have to wait long to find out as the blindfold is removed from my face. I look at Damien, waiting for some kind of explanation, but he only looks at me with a worried smile on his face. I frown slightly then look beyond him and into the room he's led me too.

  My mouth falls open and my eyes widen. It is so much worse than I thought, but I should have expected it. I think I kind of wanted this to happen the most, more than any other possible scenario. This is the least scariest scenario.

  I am standing in the bedroom, his bedroom, a room I have never been in before. I take in the dark maroon walls and beige carpet with flecks of maroon in, and the simple, minimalist furniture. However, it’s not just his room now. His stuff has been moved further onto one side of the room and on the other side? A brand new floor to ceiling, wall to wall cage that covers nearly half the room. In that cage, is a new double bed and a chest of drawers, and on the bed? The worst thing ever. Gift bag after gift bag, a huge teddy bear and a balloon saying ‘Congratulations’.

  CHAPTER 31

  He has officially lost it. All day he has been waiting on me hand and foot, bringing me blankets to keep warm, bringing me plates full of food every hour, I'm not even in chains anymore. OK I'm still in a cage but it's a big ca
ge with a warm bed.

  Damien had gone out earlier and bought a lot of stuff for me, from clothes and shoes, even toiletries, to books and DVDs with a portable DVD player and some colouring books.

  I am now sitting in my ‘room’ watching a DVD. Damien is hovering over me, every couple of minutes, he asks if I need anything. “No.” I tell him for the hundredth time and he slumps off to the kitchen.

  I know I’m still a captive and I should be trying to escape but honestly? Things are looking up. I still pray that I get rescued, but if I don’t? At least I'm safe and comfortable.

  I hear the front door slam and lock. Damien has gone out. I take a minute to breathe and think about my new situation. I'm pregnant so obviously I’ll need to go to a hospital at some point for check-ups, surely Damien has to understand that. I will have to find a way to bring the subject up with him and maybe, hopefully, that will be my chance to escape.

  “Dinner time.” comes Damien’s voice when he walks through the door. He steps into the bedroom carrying two large pizza boxes. I blink and stare at him and then a thought crosses my mind. If he’s going out to shops and getting takeout then people are seeing him, his picture has been on the news multiple times from when they were reporting my case. Someone will recognise him. A grin slips onto my face, he’s being sloppy, it’s only a matter of time before someone puts two and two together.

  “I knew you would like this.” he says to me as he unlocks my cage door. I don’t tell him that the pizza isn’t why I’m happy.

  I open the box and the steam from a pepperoni pizza hits my face, the smell overtakes my senses. It’s been so long since I’ve had anything so delicious and I quickly grab a slice and take a bite, groaning as the taste hits my tongue. It’s heavenly.