by Brandi Bell
Not long after I stopped crying I heard him coming down the stairs again. My nerves were so shot I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be to whatever crazy he had in store. He approached the cage with two sandwiches and two bottles of water.
I looked at him with apprehension. He placed one of the sandwiches and a bottle of water through the cage for me and sat down on the outside with the other ones.
“Come sit and eat with me,” he said.
I didn’t move right away so he yelled, “I said come sit and eat with me now.”
I scrambled forward quickly to try to keep his anger at bay. My stomach was turning and I had no desire to eat, but I feared what would happen if I told him this. I took the water bottle and took a long drink, downing half the bottle before I realized it. I then looked longingly at the bottle, not knowing when he would allow me more. I took a tentative bite of the sandwich. I really hoped it wasn’t drugged or poisoned. The latter I doubted with his obsession with Ruby and me.
He started trying to make small talk, like we were on a date. I couldn’t understand his level of insanity, to think locking a girl behind bars would help him get close to her.
“So the cage, how did you learn to make it?” I asked.
“The same witch that made my invisibility spell, made this and said that it could contain anybody. Witch, vampire, shifter, no one can escape this,” he said proudly.
I was really curious what kind of witch had these powers, and what this insane man would end up paying for it. I seriously hoped I never ran across him, doubtful since I was locked in a cage.
“You are so special, Jade. I’m glad that you are accepting we'll meant to be with each other. I’ll undo your hands now. You have pleased me.”
He opened the door and cut away the tape. I tried to shake the feeling back in my hands. It would be much easier to do tasks, like eat and drink now that he freed my hands.
“I just don’t like being in a dark room in a cage. That is no way to win over a girl,” I tried.
“I can’t trust you yet. You tried to run once already, besides I know Ruby has to be in the cage, and she still needs to be rehabilitated,” he replied, the crazy gleam in his eye returning.
“Is there at least something to do? Sitting in a cage staring at the wall is really boring. That’s not the best way to woo a girl,” I suggested, playing on his desire for me to love him.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” he replied with a crazy grin.
“ I can bring down a TV or magazines. I can go buy some magazines, girls love magazines,” he mumbled to himself, like I wasn’t sitting across from him.
“Jake, a TV would be fine. I have never been the kind to read magazines. Only books, and those are on my Kindle so no chance of that happening,” I said, hoping to distract him from his manic rambling.
“Yes, yes of course. Bring down a TV for Jade the nice one. Ruby can’t watch though. She needs cured first, but Jade can watch,” he said to himself, as he took off towards the stairs.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. It was so stressful trying to please the crazy man, but I didn’t know what else to do but try to convince him it was safe to left me out of the cage. I hated the feeling of being separated from my magic.
Jake returned fairly quickly with a TV. It was a smart tv, so at least I was able to watch Netflix. It was a very small comfort while being locked in a cage. I hoped to find a news app to find out if there was anything about our disappearance.
He scrolled through Netflix trying to get me to tell him what I wanted to watch. I really didn’t care to watch anything, I only wanted something to fill the quiet. I told him to pick something so he put on some loud action movie. I laid down on the bed and feigned sleep.
Before long, he got up and left the basement, thankfully leaving the TV on for the noise. I wondered how long I had until Ruby took over, this was the longest day I could remember. By the time the action movie ended, I was gone to the darkness.
Chapter 12
I gasped as I came to. I was soaking wet, laying on the cold concrete. My hands and feet were bound with tape again. My mouth was also covered. I wondered what all Ruby had done to piss off Jake the abductor. I couldn’t call him the stalker anymore. Knowing her it could have been anything, or a lot of things.
The TV was moved over by the stairs, I’m guessing his rehabilitation did not go the way he wanted it to. I shivered from being wet and cold. I had no way of knowing how long Ruby had been like this. I was so thirsty, and scared. I had to use the bathroom, I hadn’t been since the previous morning, but Jake was no where around.
Eventually I heard the door creak open and he made his way down the stairs.
“I’m sorry, Jade, I meant to be here when you switched. I missed it last night and Ruby gave me... issues, that’s what we'll call it. She will take a lot of work to rehabilitate,” he rambled.
“You are in luck. My witch friend gave me a collar that blocks your power so I can let you out of the cage when you earn it. But I don’t trust you that far yet. Let me untape you. That was only for Ruby,” he continued.
He came into the cage and ripped the tape off of my mouth. I screamed in pain again. Damn, that hurt. He placed a metal choker around my neck, and then untaped my arms and legs.
The choker felt even worse than just being in the cage. It felt like I was completely empty inside. I hoped this wasn’t going to permanently affect me. It was too much to think about and I started sobbing. I tried to rein it in, so that he wouldn’t see me cry, but it was no use.
“Stop crying,” he demanded.
“I can’t!” I sobbed. “It’s so empty inside, what’s the point.”
“The collar isn’t hurting you, you’re just making it up to try to trick me,” he said with suspicion in his eyes.
“I’m not making it up. I just can’t help it. I’m cold, wet, thirsty, and hungry. You have me laying on a cold concrete floor in a cage that cut off my magic, and I have to pee. Now you just make my magic disappear all together. You are cruel,” I spat at him. I no longer cared how he would punish me.
I knew logically I should be scared, and trying to manipulate him so I could escape, but the emptiness took over, and the world was just bleak.
“I’m not cruel! I did this to Ruby to help her. I did nothing mean to you. If you let me put the leash on you, you can shower and change clothes,” he said as he tried to placate me with his manic speech.
“Whatever,” was all I could muster.
He came into the cage and attached a strange silver leash to the collar, and then put a blindfold on me. I was beyond caring at this point. The collar just zapped my will away. I knew feeling like this was wrong, I knew what I should attempt, and what I should be feeling, but I couldn’t quite reach it.
Jake physically stood me up, then started leading me, I assumed towards the staircase. My assumption was confirmed when I walked into the first step and banged my shin. I then carefully felt for each step before moving forward. When I got to the top I tried to step up again and went back down to the same level, I hated that feeling, but had no willpower to say anything.
He continued to lead me silently down what I guessed was a hallway and into what I could smell was a bathroom. He removed the blindfold, and I blinked a few times to adjust to seeing light again.
“I’m going to remove the leash now, but I'll be waiting right outside the door for you, so no funny business. There is a towel and clean clothes right there.” He pointed to a small stand that had a stack of clothes and towels on it.
He removed the leash and left the room, and I just shuddered. I was glad he left me alone to get cleaned up, but hated how I felt with this collar on. I was determined to work up the willpower to ask for the cage, so I could have this removed.
I stripped off the clothes that we had been in since he took us, and used the toilet. It took me a few minutes to figure out the shower but once I got the water nice and hot I stepped under it.
/>
It felt so good to wash away the grime and warm up. I scrubbed myself pink trying to get the feeling to go away, but it was no use. I stayed under the water until it started turning cold, then finally got out to get dressed in strange clothes. At least it was better than putting the wet dirty clothes back on.
After I dried off and dressed, I noticed there was a hairbrush, and a new toothbrush on the sink. I took advantage of it and brushed my teeth and hair, not knowing when I would be allowed to take care of my needs again.
I couldn’t find anything else to stall in the bathroom with, and not wanting him to just burst in, I opened the bathroom door. He immediately reattached the leash and placed the blindfold back over my eyes.
He lead me to the kitchen and sat me at a table then removed my blindfold again. It seemed silly to me that he wanted to blindfold me just to take it off again, but I found no point in telling him this.
I sat quietly and looked around to catalog any details, so I could remember to use later if I escaped. He had his back turned to me at the stove cooking, what smelled like eggs and bacon. My stomach gave a loud growl.
“I’m sorry, Jade, I’ve been a terrible host, not feeding you enough. Are you thirsty? I have coffee going?” Jake said, almost sounding normal.
It really creeped me out, how he acted so normal about kidnapping me, making me sit at the table with a leash and collar around my neck, and holding me in a cage. “Coffee and water would be great,” I managed to squeak out.
He grabbed a coffee cup and a bottle of water and sat them in front of me before he returned to the stove. I grabbed the water bottle and drank the whole thing greedily. I didn’t realize how dehydrated I was until that moment. Since the water was gone I turned to the coffee and took a sip. It was a little piece of heaven in this truly messed up situation.
Jake was done cooking breakfast and placed a big plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me. I no longer cared that I had to eat with a psycho, I was hungry and I dug in.
I finished my plate before he even made it halfway through his.
“I really haven’t been feeding you enough, have I?” he asked.
“Um no, I eat a lot I guess.”
“I'll feed you more, and find you more water, if you behave.”
I stayed quiet, not wanting to converse with him unless I had to. He finished up his breakfast and then put all the dishes in the sink.
“Can you put me back in the cage and take this collar off? I can’t stand feeling so empty,” I said with tears in my eyes.
“Um, the thing is, only the witch can take the collar off. He made it that way so you couldn’t get out of it,” he admitted.
“I don’t know how you think that anyone could want to care about you when you take away everything that makes them whole,” I spat at him.
I immediately knew I went to far. He drug me to a door and down the stairs and flung me back in the cage without a word, then stomped back up the stairs and slammed the door.
Way to go, Jade, I thought to myself. I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut and pissed him off again. I found a dry corner in the cage and curled up in a ball there and cried again. I never realized how weak of a person I was until I was trapped in this situation. It made me really wish I had some of Ruby’s strength and courage.
After what felt like several hours I heard the door open and Jake stomped down the stairs again. He sat a sandwich and two bottles of water just inside the cage, then turned around and left again.
At least he remembered I needed to eat. I wondered if he was feeding Ruby, and what would happen if he didn’t? Maybe that was part of the reason for my increased hunger. It was a theory maybe we would have to test out if we got out of this mess alive.
I drank the first bottle of water while I ate the sandwich but decided to save the second bottle until later. After I finished what I assumed to be lunch I realized I had another problem. My bladder was full again, after having liquid more frequently today. I wondered how long it would take Jake to come back again now that I had pissed him off.
“Hey! Jake! Remember me, down here? I could use some help!” I screamed hoping to get his attention.
I guessed that he couldn’t hear me, or he just didn’t care because he didn’t come. After what felt like an hour with my full bladder he came down the stairs. It might have been a shorter time.
“What do you want, Jade?” he asked with a sneer on his face.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I said as calmly as I could manage.
“Maybe you should tell someone that you could care for. Since you can’t care for someone who collars you to protect you from your evil half,” he sneered.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“The collar doesn’t just cut you off from your magic, it cuts you off from Ruby. She is evil I was trying to help you,” he said with less of a sneer.
“The emptiness is Ruby being gone? Where is she?” I asked frantically. “She has always been there. What happens when night comes? Will I just die then?”
A shocked look came across his face, “I didn’t think to ask. Come on, you can use the toilet and I have a phone call to make.”
He opened the cage door and I followed him upstairs. That question must have really bothered him since he skipped the leash and blindfold this time. He left me at the bathroom without a word, and went off to make his phone call. I used the bathroom and washed up, then wondered what I should do. I wanted to escape, but I really was scared the collar could kill me. Until I knew for sure, I needed to stay here.
A few minutes later a knock came at the door, “Jade, are you done?”
“Yeah, just a minute.”
“So, I had to tell the witch about how you and Ruby are in the same body, he told me I'm crazy and that is impossible, but he will come over tomorrow to remove the collar. He refused to come over tonight.” A truly guilty look came across his face when he said this.
“Well if I might die tonight, can we at least go outside? I won’t run. I want this collar off if I don’t die. It’s too empty inside,” I pleaded.
He must have felt really guilty, he gave me Ruby’s boots she’d been wearing and put his own shoes on and we went into his backyard. It felt so good to have fresh air in my lungs and the sun on my face. I could see we were in a semi run down residential neighborhood.
I wish there was an opportunity to get away, but this damn collar was keeping me from trying. I was between a rock and a hard place. I was terrified I was going to die, but that emotion was even muted with the collar on.
Jake was very quiet, which surprised me. I took advantage of the silence and enjoyed the outdoors. If I was going to die, at least I was able to experience the outdoors once more.
After we had sat there for quite a while, Jake turned and asked what I wanted for dinner. This shocked me so much I was speechless. He must have been feeling really guilty, and scared I was going to die as well. What would I want for my last meal?
“Chinese food? Honey chicken with fried rice, no onions?” I asked.
He nodded his head yes and walked into the house to order food. I was really shocked he left me outside alone, but I guess he was fixated on me dying and not keeping me in place. I debated trying to get free again, but I was too scared to leave. I wished I knew a way to get this damn collar off myself.
A few minutes later Jake came back outside, his eyes were wide open, “You’re still here?”
“Where am I going to go? I’m either dead at sunset, or I need your witch to get this off of me,” I replied.
“Fair enough. I really did order the Chinese food,” he said.
“Ok”
“I’m sorry if you die. I just need you to love me like I love you.”
“You can’t force people to love you. Jake, that isn’t how it works.”
“If you don’t die, I’ll teach you to love me,” he said, with a determined look on his face.
I dropped the conversation, there was no point in a
rguing or upsetting him, especially if I was going to die in a few hours. The doorbell rang not long after we stopped talking, and we ate in silence in the kitchen. I had nothing to say to him and he left me alone.
It was getting close to time for me to change to Ruby by the time we finished eating, so he made me go back in the cage, in case Ruby did come around. He no sooner than closed the cage door and everything went black.
Chapter 13
I came to feeling creepy eyes staring at me. I hadn’t missed that feeling. I was tied up again so that was a good sign for Ruby, I thought. I was staring right at Jake when my eyes adjusted.
“That is some freaky shit!” Jake almost yelled.
“I’m just glad I’m not dead,” I replied, glad he hadn’t taped my mouth again.
“I’m going to take off the tape, Jade. Then you can get cleaned up.”
“Ok”
I guess being nice to him won him over. If I could get the collar off, I had a chance of escaping, I thought to myself as he was cutting off the duct tape.
“I take it Ruby still came around?”
“Yeah, the bitch is slow to learn, but she will learn. I’ll make her learn,” he said, the crazy was back full force.
I followed him up the stairs, he didn’t bother with the leash or blindfold again. He was getting comfortable, which was good for me. I made my way to the bathroom and did my routine, showering til the hot water ran cold again.
He wasn’t waiting at the door for me to finish, so I made my way to the kitchen, hoping he had some food. I was beyond starving again.
“Have you been letting Ruby have her blood?” I wondered.
“No, she won’t get blood til she submits,” he said, with a crazed gleam in his eye.
My stomach audibly growled. “I think I’m eating for both of us then.”
He looked angry, then quickly masked it, “I won’t starve you yet, Jade, but eventually if she doesn’t rehabilitate I’ll have no choice.”
My stomach dropped at hearing that. I had to find a way to get out of here before it got to that point, or worse.