by CeeCee James
“The vitamin drops? Yes, I sure did.” Mrs. McGregor leaned forward toward Elise. “I hope you don’t mind, dear. Simon gives them to me every night. Good for the health and you looked so piqued when you came to the door. I was worried.”
“Harry, Grandma. Harry.”
Elise looked at the tea. Already, the room was spinning.
“So, Grandma, I think Elise and I have some stuff to talk about. We need to catch up a bit. Do you mind?”
“Of course not, dear. I have my garden to tend to.” The old woman stood unsteadily on her feet. She smiled at Elise. “I know you have to go soon, but maybe you could pop out and look at it for a minute?”
“I’d love to. How about right now?” Elise grabbed on to Mrs. McGregor’s words.
“Not now.” Harry snapped his fingers at the dog and Dinah inched closer. A low growl rumbled from the dog’s throat. “Maybe next time, Grandma.”
“Okay,” the woman gave a sweet smile. “Next time, then.” She shuffled from the room. A minute later, the back door could be heard closing.
“So,” Harry began. “You came to see me. I knew you would.”
“You…did?” The light from the windows seemed extra bright. She squinted and tried to look non-threatening.
“Drink your tea, Elise.”
Elise raised the glass and Harry touched the bottom, helping to tip it up. She gulped it down, spilling a bit from the corners of her mouth.
“Good girl,” he coaxed softly.
When the cup was empty, he took it from her and set it on the saucer. He looked at her, and his face flushed. “I just can’t believe you’re here. Finally, after all these years.” He leaned over and took her hand. “You’re so beautiful, just as you always have been.”
Elise took a deep breath, feeling very relaxed. Her tongue felt thick and awkward. Concentrate, Elise. Don’t let your guard down. “You’ve been waiting for me for a while.”
“For a long while.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. The light reflected off his bald head. She resisted a giggle that tried to bubble up.
“How long, Harry? Because I just met you.”
His eyes narrowed. “You can stop that now.”
“Stop….”
“Stop pretending. Now.” Dinah heard the tone in his owner’s voice and her chest rumbled in response.
Elise tried a different tactic. “Tell me about the time we met, Harry. What did you think when you first saw me?” She tucked a wisp of hair around her ear and smiled.
“You,” he breathed out, “were beautiful. The most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen.”
Elise waited. Harry looked down at his fingers and picked at one of his nails. A shy look came over his face. “I still remember the secret messages you sent me.”
“Messages?”
“Painted on the mushroom.”
Like a spinning kaleidoscope, the picture of the memory came together. She closed her eyes. He did know her. “The Alice and Wonderland play,” she whispered.
“Yes. I knew you remembered. I saw it in your eyes that day in the bookstore. You were just as happy to see me as I was to see you. And then, when you mentioned the book, I knew what you wanted me to do.” He scratched Dinah’s neck, who still watched Elise fiercely. “But we had to keep it a secret. Keep it on the down-low.” He emphasized the last words with a head bob.
“Your Grandma said you just came back. From treatment?” Keep him talking, her inner voice told her. But her rational mind was working as though through thick mud. She could barely formulate a sentence, let alone an escape plan. What was in those drops? Was it the same thing that Steve had ingested?
Was she about to die?
“Treatment.” He rubbed his scalp. “Shock treatment. They wanted to stop the voices. They weren’t real, they said. But I knew what they were. Memories and promises. It all came together when I saw you that day.”
“Tell me more.” The words came out slurred. She did her best to sit up straighter.
“It seemed like fate when I saw you there at the bookstore. I remembered how you wanted to be with me. And, I saw a way I could make that happen.” His pupils seemed to grow even larger. “Our own little world, Alice.”
“My name’s not Alice.”
“Elise.” He walked closer and brushed her hair off her shoulder. “Same thing.”
“Why did you try to kill me on the horse, then?”
“You were a bad girl. You told the cops about my bugs. You needed to be punished.” He studied her. “And now you’re sleepy. I need to get you to bed.”
He came close and wrapped his arm under her armpit. “Come on, sweetheart. Stand up.” She stood and wobbled considerably. Her last course of action was to pretend she was way more drugged than she really was. A laugh tried to work its way out of her again. Pretend. Right.
The scent of old shoe-polish and stale cologne filled her nostrils, igniting the nausea from earlier. She swallowed hard.
“It’s okay, my love. We’ve got this. We’ll never be separated again. We’re going to find our own wonderland.” Carefully, Harry led her through the living room.
In the foyer, she saw the sunlight shining through front door’s window and nearly whimpered.
“This way, little Alice.” He guided her to the left.
She turned as if to go with him.
Tensed her muscles.
And broke free, racing for the door.
“Fetch!” Harry yelled.
She’d just reached the doorknob and struggled to turn it when Dinah was on her. Harry watched with cold eyes from the end of the hall as Dinah clamped her teeth down on Elise’s thigh. She cried out, still trying to open the lock. All these locks. Her hands felt like flippers as she batted them against the bolts.
“Dodo!” The dog released her, leaving a bloody trail on her pants. Harry approached her and grabbed her by the hair. “Such a naughty girl,” he hissed in her ear. Yanking her by the hair, he dragged her down the hall, ignoring when she stumbled.
There was a door at the end that looked like it had once been painted shut. An eye-hook lock hung from the top of it. He roughly yanked the door open to reveal a set of stairs.
“Down the rabbit hole you go,” he said, dragging her down the stairs.
“No, please. No!” she yelled as she was forced into the dark basement.
“My little Alice,” he yanked her across the cold floor to a cot and forced her to sit. “You must stay here until I’m ready to make you queen.”
Chapter 24
Harry flung her onto a cot. He held up a finger in warning. “Be good, or I’ll send Dinah down the stairs to handle you.”
Elise’s leg throbbed and she nodded. Fear fought with her dizziness.
“You’ll see, sweetheart. This will all work out.” He whistled and Dinah ascended the stairs ahead of him. Harry climbed after her, hesitating at the top. “If not, the Jabberwocky will come.”
Cold chills ran down Elise’s back. “I’ll be good,” she whispered.
“I’ll be down later with some food.” He didn’t look back as he shut the door. She heard the lock fasten.
Still feeling dizzy, Elise looked around. A bit of light filtered through a tiny window near the top of the ceiling, a window far too small for her to fit through. But it gave her enough light to see her surroundings, and for that she was grateful.
The air smelled musty from mold and decades-old dust. It didn’t seem like anyone had been down here in a long while, other than to recently move in a cot. She touched the surface of the cot, her face squeezing in fear. Since it was new, it meant he’d planned to bring her here all along.
She shifted on the cot, causing a shard of pain to fly up her leg. Grimacing, she pulled down her pants to check the wound.
Blood oozed from five puncture marks, but seemed to have slowed down. Bruising caused a dark red circle around the wound. Her eyes closed in pain as she eased her pants back up. There was nothing she could do about it now
.
She tried to stand, but the room whirled and immediately knocked her back on her butt. Luckily the cot was there to catch her. Hot tears squeezed out of her eyes as she held her throbbing head.
The basement was dank and cold. The concrete floor was covered in a river of cracks, and two metal pillars held up the beams to the first floor. In the back corner sat a complete kitchen counter complete with a 1970’s style Formica, obviously replaced long ago.
The cot she sat on had a pillow and an old quilt. She held the quilt to her face and sniffed. It smelled of fresh laundry soap. Just that simple normal thing nearly unwound her. No one knows where I am. I’m never going to get out of here.
Stop it! You are in no position to indulge in self-pity. You’re strong, smart. Think your way out.
How do you think your way out when there’s only one way out? Heaviness descended on her. She couldn’t tell if it was the drugs or hopelessness.
She rested her head back on the pillow and tried to assess the situation.
Harry remembers me from high school. Scrunching her face in concentration, she tried to remember him. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t place him, maybe because of his missing hair. Possibly, he was taller and more filled out now. She thought back to the time she tried out for the play. It hadn’t been a good experience. The hardest part had been the horrible embarrassment of singing in front of everyone and still not making the part. Even worse, they’d given her the consolation prize of working on the set.
The stage manager had handed her a bucket of paint and ushered her over to a big mushroom. “Paint it,” one of the stage hand’s directed. And so she did. No one had bothered to explain what their expectation was, so she’d done swirls and diamonds.
He’d said it was a secret code. What did he think she’d said? And, how had he even seen the mushroom?
Elise covered her mouth with her hands as the realization sunk in. Of course. Harry had played the caterpillar. She remembered a skinny kid, four years younger than she was, pretending to smoke the hookah pipe. He’d acted so goofy that she’d teased him by asking if he really was smoking something.
She remembered the last day when they told her they wouldn’t need her anymore. He’d come up to her, looking so bashful that his acne-covered face blushed to an even deeper red. “You’re my queen of hearts,” he’d whispered.
Didn’t she hear that he’d left without finishing the school year? She couldn’t remember, her already fuzzy brain protesting at how hard it was being made to work right now.
The pillow felt softer by the second under her head. Just give me a minute. I’ll figure all of this out a minute.
She woke up with a start. The light from the window was gone. Her heart beat hard as the thick blackness of the basement seem to suffocate her. Breathe. Just breathe. You’re going to be okay.
Slowly, she sat up in the bed. Her tongue felt like a carpet and she was dying of thirst. Her head gave a sharp throb but settled down as she stayed upright.
As she lowered her feet, they bumped against something on the floor. Immediately, she drew them back up. Her shoes were missing. Don’t think about that right now. Just figure out what you touched. Cautiously, she lowered one foot and felt around. Metal scraped against the basement floor.
She reached out with her hand to feel what it was.
A metal bucket. Maybe to relieve herself in?
Raising her hand, she bumped into something else and it clattered. Blindly, she reached out again, this time her hand finding a metal edge. She traced it around to discover it was a TV tray.
Suddenly, she noticed a new scent in the air. Yeasty. Bread maybe. Had food been brought down? Was there something to drink?
Almost without control, she felt around on the tray, nearly crying out with gratitude when she discovered a cup. She brought it to her mouth and took a sip, trying to be cautious. Water. Her thirst took over and she drank it with greedy gulps, no longer caring if it was poisoned.
The cup was half-way empty when she reluctantly placed it back on the tray. Gently, she felt around some more, her fingers jerking away when they touched something soft. She reached again and discovered a sandwich.
Her stomach growled as she brought it to her mouth. She took a bite—peanut butter and jelly—and chewed slowly. Her excitement dropped at the vision of Harry standing over her watching her sleep, and her blood ran cold.
She swallowed and closed her eyes. Don’t think about it. Just eat and drink and figure this out.
After a few more bites, her mind went back to Harry. Who was he?
He was a carpenter.
A carpenter.
Like a flash, she saw how this all played out. He’d been the one who designed the Escape Room. He hadn’t cared about who he hurt or killed. He just wanted to create a distraction to steal the book. He’d known how to copy her key.
She shook her head as she remembered the construction crew at the horse ranch. He’d heard her talk about riding horses on her birthday through the bug in her house, and he’d been waiting there that day. And she bet the entire bookstore was bugged. He probably listened to everything she said, including when she talked to the Detectives, Dave, and Brad.
He knew when she was at work and when she went home.
A white truck flickered in her imagination. Was he the one at the neighbor’s house every day? Had he been watching her that closely?
This is crazy.
No crazier than being trapped in a basement by someone calling you Alice.
Goosebumps crawled up her arm as fear made another concentrated attack.
Grabbing her head, she squeezed her temples. No. No. No. This isn’t going to help. Don’t let your imagination have control.
She took a deep breath, held it for seven seconds, and back-tracked.
He’s a construction worker. Specifically, he’s a carpenter.
He loves Alice and Wonderland and knows every line and phrase.
She thought about the dog. What was it that Harry said to get the dog to guard her? She’d been so out of it then, she could barely remember.
There had to be something she could work with here. Just as soon as it got to be light.
I might not have the chance to wait that long….
If it’s daylight then Harry would have to go to work. Would he leave her there?
No, he wouldn’t.
She had to figure a way out now.
A faint glow of moonlight filtered through the tiny window. Not enough to really see by. But she had to try.
She stood and carefully walked across the basement, barely raising her feet to feel around. Thirty-five steps. Her leg throbbed as she felt the cinder blocks that made the other wall and turned to walk back.
What was that? She heard police sirens. Brad! He was looking for her! Blue and red flashing lights spilled for a brief second through the basement’s window as the police cars drove by. She limped across the floor to climb on the cot and pressed her face against the dirty window. I’m right here! She slammed her fist on the glass.
The glass didn’t even shudder.
Brokenhearted, she slunk back down to the cot. Could she break the glass and scream for help before Harry heard her? It was an option, but not her best one. Her fist wouldn’t work. She looked around for something hard enough that could be used.
Pillow. Blanket. Plastic cup and plate. Tin metal table and bucket.
She covered her face. Dear God, please get me out of here.
Tears burned her eyes at the thought of Brad. And Lucy! Please, please, please.
Chapter 25
Loud scraping woke her up. Elise groaned. How had she fallen asleep again? She didn’t know, but the fogginess in her brain had cleared. Her mind felt sharp and ready for action.
Boots thumping on the stairs made her roll over. She quickly sat up and straightened her shirt as Harry appeared. Dinah came down by his side, the animal’s hair raising along her back at the sight of Elise.
&n
bsp; “Breakfast!” Harry smiled as if he were preparing for his wedding day. “How are you doing, beautiful?”
She watched him cautiously. In his hands, he held a steaming bowl and a large plastic cup. Her hands immediately began reaching for the glass as if they had a will of their own.
“I brought you some breakfast,” he said, setting the dishes down on the tray. “Oatmeal and some H2O.” He glanced at the empty plate. “I see you found dinner last night. Good.”
He moved to sit next to her on the cot. She scooted away and grabbed the cup. “Thank you,” she murmured, her mouth dry. She took a few slow swallows as he leaned in close. He sniffed her hair and she struggled not to shudder.
“Even being down here doesn’t tarnish your looks,” his words breathed against her cheek. She fought to hold her composure.
“So!” he said, sitting straighter. “I have a plan. Would you like to hear it?”
She nodded.
His gaze flicked to the movie tray. “Eat. Eat.” He laughed. “It won’t make you grow small here.”
Biting her lip, she reached for the bowl. Milk sat on top of the oatmeal and held a greasy sheen. She took a small bite.
“Mmm,” she said, hoping it would appease him.
He seemed pleased. Crossing his legs, he rested his hands on his knee.
“So, like I was saying. I have a plan. I think I have a potential buyer for the book. Can you believe the serendipity of this book bringing us together? Bringing both of our dreams to fruition?”
Elise nodded and smiled.
“After it’s sold, we’re going to use the money to get away from here. I’ve already found a house. Very secluded, by a lake. No one will ever bother us again. We can live just like you intended. The White King and Queen.” His eyes shone feverishly.
Terror filled Elise’s heart.
“But for now,” he continued. “I need to make sure you stay a good girl. So I’m going to need to tie you.” He pulled out a bandana from his pocket. “Gag you. It’s for your own good. You’ll see.”
He rolled the bandana and placed it in her mouth then tied it tight behind her head. His fingers beckoned for her hands. Holding back a whimper, she held them out to him. He pulled them behind her back and crossed them together, then fastened them with a zip tie.