The Captive

by Crystal Hayes

  Walker

  For nearly 3 years I have been confined to Shane Carter’s room. Shane had watched me for a few months at my restaurant before he ordered his men to kidnap me. I woke up in his bed, at his mansion, chained to his bed. The chain was long enough to reach the bathroom, but not the bedroom door. His room was on the 4th floor, from what I could tell from the window. I climbed out it one day and almost got away, but he caught me and had it bolted closed afterwards. At first, I refused to eat, but he would chain my arms and legs down to the bed and force feed me with his butler or body guards. And if I still refused, he would drug me up to be compliant. I screamed for help and fought him. Every day, he would rape me, sometimes multiple times, and every night he would bathe me. I hate him. I wished him dead. But after a while, I stopped. My hope died that someone was going to help me. I had… problems with men. Shane knew about it. After being with him for a week, I started to faint less when he would touch me. But his mere touch, made me feel gross… dirty.

  One evening, before Shane came home from work, I woke up to find the chain unlocked. I glanced around the large room, but there was no one around. I rubbed my thin ankle and slid my naked body from the silk sheets. The drugs, from refusing to eat last night, were still in my system. My body was heavy. I walked to the door, unsteady on my feet, and found a pair of sweats folded by the door. Normally, I would hear the bedroom door open. I pulled on the clothes and cracked open the door. I peeked out, cautiously. The hall was… empty? It had never been empty before. Guards usually stood every few feet. But now there wasn’t a single soul. I hurried out the door and down the left hall. I had no idea where the exit was. I reached the end of the hall, and looked around. I felt like I had just robbed the place. A grand staircase stood before me. No one around. What the hell was going on? I hurried down the stairs almost falling down them, with my weak legs. It had been nearly 3 years since moved this much. I made it to the front door at the end of the stairs and yanked it open. Pouring rain. There wasn’t even a car around. I forced myself out into the cold rain and down the driveway. I yanked on the gate. It wouldn’t open.

  “No!” I cried, shaking it. Let me out! I moved to the right and found a door just big enough for people. I pulled on it and it gave way, easily. I rushed out and crashed into someone. Fear flooded my veins as I looked up to see a man. I gasped for breath trying to calm down, feeling faint, and pulled away from him.

  “Are you alright?” He asked. I yanked back from him and hurried down the street. There was a moving truck tucked around the corner. There weren’t many houses around here and it looked like it was going to be leaving in a minute. It was almost completely full of boxes. I climbed up into the trailer, grabbed a packing blanket, wrapped it around me and climbed on top of a huge stack of boxes.

  “I just have to grab the last couple of boxes!” A guy’s voice said from outside the truck. I tucked my head into the blanket, squeezing my eyes shut, hoping not to be seen. A few more boxes were packed into the trailer, the door rolled down and latched from the outside. The truck roared to life. The rocking motion of the truck as it moved, lulled me into a deep sleep. I felt relaxed now that I wasn’t trapped at Shane’s house.

  Troy

  I nearly screamed like a bitch when I moved a box and a head fell limply off the box I just moved. I handed the box off to one of the workers. I slipped my arms up, under the body that laid on the stack of boxes and lifted it off them. It was the kid that had crashed into me outside in the rain. I pulled him to my chest, wrapped up in the blanket, and slowly made my way to the end of the truck. It wasn’t raining anymore but the ground was still slick.

  “What’s that?” A worker asked. He glanced at the head hanging out of the bundled blanket.

  “I found him in the truck.” I told him. “Is my bed set up?”

  “Not yet, but the couch isn’t buried.” He told me. He jumped off the truck to the ground and helped me down slowly. I carried the body into the house and laid him on the couch. I wasn’t sure why he was with my stuff, but he wanted to belong to me, that was fine too. I opened the blanket a little and checked to make sure he was alive and that I didn’t just move a dead body from a crime scene. He was alive and freezing. I looked around for a bathroom labeled box and pulled out several towels. I dried him off him best I could, leaving his clothes on, and laid a towel under his head. He slept like he was dead. He looked tired. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was pale. When I carried him, I felt his ribs, even through the padded blanket. He was too skinny and he didn’t have any shoes on. But his clothes looked new and his long black hair was well taken care of. So he seem homeless. And he looked too old to be a run away. I gently turned his face towards me. He looked like he was 20. If he wasn’t homeless or a run away, then why was he so skinny? Was he starved? I left the packing blanket wrapped around him and went back to work, unpacking the truck. I had the workers help me assemble my bed that was buried. As soon as I got my bed together, and dressed it, I carried him upstairs. I tucked him in and let him rest. He shouldn’t be asleep much longer, should he?

  Walker

  I cracked opened my eyes. I felt anxiety fill me when I felt the comfortable bed beneath me. I thought I had gotten away. He must have found me again. I curled up on my side, depressed. I heard a door crack open and I waited to be assaulted. I expected him to beat me like the last time I almost got away.

  “How long do you plan on staying in bed?” A voice asked from behind me. It wasn’t Shane. The voice was soft, gently even. I slowly turned over, eyes wide. It was the man I crashed into when I escaped. He leaned against the doorframe. He had nice blue eyes and nearly black hair. “First, you almost knock me on my ass in the rain, then you stow away in my truck, and now you loaf around all afternoon in my bed.” He groaned. He didn’t sound angry even though his words were a little harsh. He walked to the edge of the bed and stared down at me. “Can you talk?”

  “Yes…” I whispered as I drew away from him.

  “Do you have anywhere to go?” He asked.

  “No.” I said sadly. He reached out his hand. I pulled back, instantly trembling. He stopped.

  “Why don’t you stay where till you get back on your feet?” Surprise filled my face.

  “I- okay…”

  “I’m Troy.” He held out his hand for me to shake, but I pulled back more. He took a step back, giving me a little space.

  “Walker.” I muttered.

  “Can you help me unpack?” He asked. “I have a couple roommates moving in but one won’t be here for a week and the other should be here tonight sometime.” I slowly nodded, my shaking easing a bit. I slowly climbed off the bed, but my foot got caught on one of the dozen or so pillows scattered on the floor. I felt myself falling towards Troy. My anxiety skyrocketed. Don’t touch me! My face fell against something soft. My spun at the thought of being touched by a man. “Are you alright?” I slow opened my eyes to bright green fabric. I slowly looked up to see him pressed against the wall, holding a pillow that caught me. He smiled softly. “I won’t ask what happened, but when you’re ready to talk, I’ll listen.” I stood up straight. He tossed the pillow back on the floor as he stepped into the hall.

  “…men…” I whispered following after him.

  “What?” He asked turning back to see me.

  “Fear… of men.” I’ve always had it, but it was never as bad as it was now, thanks to Shane. Troy flashed me a charming smile; his bright blue eyes shining under his messy dark hair. My heart fluttered slightly.

  “I’ll keep my distance then.” He said with a chuckle. I followed him down the hall. He tapped on the door next to his room. “You can have this room. Bathroom is here.” He tapped on the door between the bedroom doors.

  “Whose room was
I in?” I asked quietly glancing back at it. There were 3 other doors across from Troy’s room. I was sure 2 were bedrooms and the other was a bathroom.

  “Mine. You’ve been asleep for about 15 hours.” I stared at him confused as we walked.

  “15 hours?” I asked amazed. When was the last time I had slept that long? Not since I graduated high school. Troy pulled his cell phone out as we reached the stairs.

  “What kind of mattress do you like?” He asked.

  “The kind you had I guess.” I told him. It was like sleeping on a cloud. He dialed a number on his phone and ordered the bedroom set. “I’ll pay you back, when I get a job.” He waved me off, like he didn’t want me to pay him back.

  “Yeah, same card. Can you deliver it by days end?” He was quiet a moment. “No problem. Thanks.” He hung up the phone and started down the stairs. “You’re bed set will be here by tonight.” He pointed to the small cabinet next to the stairs. “Sheets, towels and blankets.” He said. At the bottom of the stairs to the right was a living room/kitchen combo cram packed with boxes. Oh joy… “Boxes labeled Danny go in the room across from mine. Faye boxes go in the room across from yours.”

  It took almost 5 hours to sort and unpack all the boxes. But I knew the lay out of the house really well now.

  “Dinner is being delivered.” Troy said rubbing his shoulder and plopped down on the couch. He had been putting books away in the office to the left of the stairs, for a while. Behind the office was the laundry room.

  “So why did you move?” I asked, my eyes drifting to the kitchen, to my left. I sat sideways on the loveseat, my knees pulled to my chest. It had been a long time since I was last in a kitchen. The truck had been parked in a ritzy neighborhood. So Troy must have had some kind of money.

  “The house I had before was too big. I left it for my older sisters and parents to fight over.” He said seeing my eyes gazing at the chef’s kitchen. “Why do you like to do?”

  “Uh…” I thought. “I hadn’t really thought about it in nearly 3 years…”

  “Why?” I lowered my eyes to my knees, staying quiet. “Use the game room as you like and there are tons of books in the office.” He said, sensing my hesitation. The game room was on the third floor. I hadn’t noticed the stairs when we were leaving his room earlier. And luckily, the movers had taken the pool table up there, instead of Troy and I heaving the heavy thing up the stairs ourselves. There were a couple huge TV’s up there too, along with so many games and gaming systems I didn’t even know where to start. “Take your time to get adjusted before you try to get a job, ok? There’s no hurry.” He offered me a warm smile and for the first time in 3 years, I smiled as well.

  “Thank you.” I said quietly, resting my chin on my knees. I nearly came out of my seat when the front door was thrown open.

  “Sorry, sorry.” A female voice said. “I could get them to shut up for five minutes.” A woman said stepping around the corner, into the living room. She was dressed in a nice blouse on and a cha-cha skirt. “Damn little demons anyway.” She muttered. Her green eyes landed on me. “Who are you?” Her voice was dark. I felt my anxiety raise a little.

  “Faye, this is Walker. He’s going to be living with us.” She stomped forward towards the loveseat. I scrambled away from her, pushing myself as far back as I could from this terrifying person. “Faye, stop.” She turned her glaring eyes on him, but he didn’t even flinch. I blew out a deep breath.

  “You picked him up off the street, didn’t you?” She asked.

  “As a matter of fact, I did not.” He stated proudly. She smiled.

  “You met him like a normal person.” She stated sighing.

  “No. I found him hiding in the back of the moving truck, unconscious.” He told her. She was about to turn to me again, but stopped when his hand grabbed her arm, gently. “Androphobia.” He whisper low enough that I couldn’t hear it. Her green eyes turned to me but they were soft. Sympathetic. I hated sympathy. I turned away from her and lowered my eyes to my knees, as I wrapped my arms around them. “Dinner should be here by now.” Troy muttered trying to lighten the mood. My eyes drifted to the kitchen again. Thoughts of what I could do with my new freedom… the things I could make entered my mind. Tiramisu. Lasagna. Japanese food. Chinese food. Italian food… I hadn’t been able to even think about what I wanted to eat for the last 3 year. Shane made all the decisions. I frowned at my own thoughts. I about jumped out of my seat when the doorbell rang. Faye gave me a confused look before turning for the door. Troy slipped cash from his wallet, into her hand before she slipped away to the door. He climbed over the couch and followed her to the door. He took the bags and carried them to the table between the loveseat and kitchen island.

  “Walker, come eat.” Faye said as she walked to the table. I pulled myself from the loveseat and joined them.

  I woke up early the next morning. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to do anything on my own. It was 5 am. Geez. I used the bathroom then walked downstairs. In the kitchen, I was alone for the longest time. I thought about what I wanted to cook. I settled on eggs and coffee. I made enough for the other two as well and set the pan in the oven on a low heat to keep them warm. I found the couple of lunch boxes, I had put away yesterday. I made a nutritional lunch for the two, which would also give them energy. I set the boxes aside with a note saying they should take them to work. They had mentioned last night at dinner that they had work in the morning and would be back by 5 p.m. I walked into the office and pulled out several books. It had been so long since I was able to read. I usually just slept all day or stared out the window. I had stopped crying a long time ago. I was sure I had used up all the tears for the rest of my life. I sat down on the leather couch in the office with the cook book. There had been so many to come out. I couldn’t wait to read them all.

  Troy

  My alarm screamed at me to get my ass out of bed. I dragged myself out of the warm blankets. Yesterday wiped me out. I could just sleep all day, but I had to work. I showered, dressed and wandered downstairs with Faye.

  “Morning.” I muttered. She laughed at me. She was a morning person. I was not. I spotted the lunch boxes first when we walked around the corner to the kitchen. “What are those?” I muttered.

  “Donno.” She picked up the note. “Walker made us lunch.” She set down the note and opened the oven. “And breakfast.” She took out the pan and set it on the stove. I grabbed two plates and set them down on the counter. She scooped out the eggs and poured them on the plates. I took them over to the table so we could eat. It was amazing. How could he make it taste so good? I wolfed it down and glanced over at Faye to see her getting more. “More?” She asked. I nodded. She poured the last bit on to my plate that I held out for her.

  After breakfast, I wandered around looking for Walker. He wasn’t in the living room. I glanced in the office to see him curled up on the couch, asleep. Faye peeked in behind me and smiled.

  “He’s so cute when he’s asleep.” She muttered. “How old is he? 18? 19?”

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “Why was he hiding in the moving truck?” She asked.

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “Why is he afraid of men?” I shook my head. “What did you ask then?” She asked as she pulled the blanket off the back of the couch over the sleeping body.

  “He doesn’t have any place to go and he likes my bed.” I told her. “I didn’t want to scare him anymore than he already was.” I raised my eyes from Walker to Faye. “Do you want a ride to work?”

  “Steven will be here in a few.” Faye said. “But you should get going. You’re gonna be late.” She teased. We walked out of the room and closed the door, quietly behind us.

  It was a long day. I was exhausted. I pushed opened the door to see Faye standing in front of me, in the foyer.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. She glanced back at me, a stunned look on her face.

  “We’re home.” She called. We saw Walker jump.
He looked pitiful. He was pale as a ghost and he tried to smile.

  “W-welcome back.” He said quietly.

  “Are you alright?” She asked moving forward. As we moved closer, we could see the sweat on his face. “Call your brother.” She whispered to me before moving next to him.

  “It-it was just a nightmare.” Walker said quietly.

  “Let’s take a rest.” She offered. I walked into the office.

  “I’m almost done.” He protested. She glanced at the crock pot before them.

  “You made pot roast?” She asked. Walker nodded. Walker asked if I could pick up some groceries last night after dinner, which I did after the other two went to bed.

  “I just need bowls.” He told her. She grabbed bowls from next to the fridge behind them, and set them next to the crock pot.

  “Why don’t you go sit? I’ll get this.” She ushered him to a seat at the table and returned to the kitchen. She loaded up the bowls and laid them on the counter. The two sat down and waited for me.

  “Dr. Becket, please.” I said quietly. The nurse transferred me to his office. I only had to wait a moment before my brother picked up. “Hey, David. How are you?” I asked.

  “Good. Do you need something or are you actually calling to talk?”

  “Can you come by after you get off work? I have a friend who needs your help.”

  “Like what?” He asked with a sigh.

  “He’s an androphobic and I think he might need medication.”

  “Has he been displaying any symptoms?”

  “He’s pale and sweaty right now.” I explained.

  “Anything else?” He asked.

  “Not that I have seen.” I told him. “I’m not really sure what else I should be looking for.”

  “Anxiety, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, and unable to articulate words.” I glanced back at the two sitting at the table.

  “Anxiety. He not displaying any others right now.” I told him. “But I’ll keep an eye out.”