by Sara Schoen
I let out a sigh. When, or if, I got out of here I would never see the world the same way again. It would be altered and distorted. I could never be carefree, I would always be looking over my shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Garrett asked penetrating my thoughts. He completely broke the scene that I had created, reminding me that I was, in fact, still in a nightmare.
"I was fine," I said sadly.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you are in a way, Garrett."
"Here, let me take this blindfold off, we're here now." The slick black fabric was lifted from my eyes, shattering the mental image and reminding me I was trapped with no way out. We were in a concrete box. There wasn't a spot of paint or attempt to decorate the room. It had been stripped bare except for the boxes that were stacked in the corner of the room.
I was starting to feel claustrophobic as I felt the walls start closing in on me until I caught sight of sunlight. There was one window, it was small, but I could climb out of it if I wiggled and moved. That's when hope flashed brightly in me for the first time since my capture. I had a chance to escape and I wasn't going to let it slip by without a fight.
"Hey that window! We can get out!" I said moving my hand out of Garrett's and letting his hand drop from mine as I hurried toward the window.
"You can't; it's sealed, and it's too small anyway. I know. I've tried," he said, with a sadness coming through his words.
I ignored him at first as I attempted to climb on a stack of boxes. I stacked three on top of each other and made my escape attempt, but Garrett was right. When I attempted to push it open, it wouldn't budge. Steve had sealed the window shut.
"Damn it!" I yelled, slamming my fist onto the box below me and causing the stacked boxes to collapse. The boxes toppled and I was sent crashing to the floor. I let out a scream of pain as my back cracked from the impact and my head hit the concrete floor at full force.
"Are you okay?" Garrett yelled as he ran to my side. He sat down next to me and looked over the area around me for any blood before he pulled my head into his lap and attempted to sooth my pain by petting my hair down.
"You've tried that too?" I asked as the pain subsided. He had shown no interest in escaping earlier, because he knew there wasn’t a way out.
"Yeah, I tried to escape once or twice after my mom died. That's the reason most of the exits are closed off and blocked. The other is because the girls thought of other ways to get out. Not that it did them much good, they didn't know where they were or what they were running toward. They just ran in the woods for hours until he found them."
"Then what happened after that?" I asked as I absentmindedly took his hand in mine and squeezed it as pain rippled through my entire body.
"If he liked them, he'd bring them back to the house. Punish them for trying to run away, and if they gave in they lived a while longer. If not, they were killed and buried out back..." His voice drifted uncomfortably with the conversation.
"How did he punish them?" I questioned, continuing to push the conversation so I could get answers.
"Different ways, any way he could think of that he determined was appropriate punishment. It depends on how much he liked them or how angry he was at them for running away. Sometimes it was even something they did to upset him, like revenge for him."
"Like what, do you remember any in particular?"
"Do you remember the rules?" he asked with a sigh, looking at me directly for the first time since we came down here. I sent the butterflies in my stomach into overdrive.
"I know some of them," I said with an uncertain tone. I think I could remember rule number three, if I was lucky. I only knew rule number one for sure and that was to do as I was told—conformity to this way of life.
"You should learn them, they will tell you the mistakes the others girls made. I won't be able to be seen with you while Dad is home so I won't be able to help you with him. That's why I had to cut out of breakfast before you could eat."
"Why?" I asked suddenly filled with horror. Garrett was the only sane one in the house, I would even begin to lose it—other than my lunch that is—if he left me alone with Steve all the time. Garrett was all I had left as a form of normalcy. I needed him to be around me, he protected me around his father. He really was trying even if it was hard for me to see all the time. I felt at ease with him, well maybe not perfectly, but not as sick as Steve made me feel.
"It's against my rules."
"Isn't helping me against them too?" I asked curiously. He nodded slightly, knowing that I was thinking of this morning when he started the dishes and then attempted to get rid of his father so I could get out from his hold. The realization hit me like a brick; I could see that if I didn't get with the way of life here quickly I'd die.
"Can you tell me what happened to one of them, any of them? I need to know something," I pushed the topic.
Garrett's eyes turned a deep black as his pupils grew in fear. My constant questions were starting to bother him, but he was learning that I was persistent; it would be easier just to answer my questions. "None of them are pleasant stories, Anna," he warned, pleading with his eyes for me to stop asking questions. He just wanted me to accept my new fate without any fighting, almost like it was killing him to remember these things about his father.
"Just tell me one, I need to know."
He sighed, realizing that I wasn't going to give up easily. He looked pained to even think of a story to tell me. His eyes grew darker the longer he thought about it and that's when I knew I was in a living hell.
"Rule six on your list, that you belong to him and only him, was made by the eighth girl that came in here. She was different than the ones before, very physical, it was as if she didn't care about my father's approaches. At times I thought she even enjoyed them." He looked deeply into my eyes, sending my heart crashing into my chest as he gauged whether or not I could handle the story.
"Please continue," I said, stroking the top side of his hand in an attempt to give him comfort. He looked at me shocked for a moment, then nodded his head and continued.
"Although I could see why Dad had picked her. She was young, but the oldest he's had yet, she was eighteen. She didn't even have a chance of someone to look for her, no warning or anything. I'm sure somewhere someone was looking for her, family or friends maybe, but the fact she was eighteen means cops couldn't help because she could have run away, lowering her chances of being found."
My stomach dropped, the look in his eyes was slowly growing darker at the memories that must be flashing before his eyes. He was losing himself in the story, and it pained him to remember. I wanted to stop him, to stop this, but I needed answers and had to push my growing feelings for him aside.
"She was beaten more often for her disobedience, she didn't like rules and didn't really try to abide by them. Eventually, she got used to the new way of life and attempted to embrace it. I think Dad used those chains you found on her. She had marks on her wrists and arms from being restrained." He paused for a minute to think over how he would explain the next part.
"One day, Dad had to go on a business trip. He had to leave us for about three or four days, but anyway, at that time I didn't have any rules except to respect her like she was my mother. That was my only rule, that way she had the power to punish me if I got out of line, just like a mom would. Although, one day, she decided she didn't want to be my mom." He looked at me with a gentleness I hadn't received from anyone since being taken, almost like he was trying to protect me from what had happened to the other girls.
"I can handle it, please continue," I begged, biting my lip slightly in fear for what he was about to portray to me.
"I stayed in my room mostly for the first few girls of my dad's psychotic break. I was about sixteen at the time and girls are always on a guy’s mind then. Meaning that it put me in danger if I was around them a lot." He offered a small forced smile to highlight the joke. It wasn't wasted, it made me feel better to see him smile, but the smi
le barely broke through the bleakness of my situation.
Garrett took a sharp breath before he continued, "She came in to give me my lunch, if I hadn't gone down it would frustrate her and she'd bring it up to me or toss it out. This time was different though, she showed up in a dress that Dad had bought for her when the summer got really hot even in the house. She had one strap hanging off her shoulder and had this look in her eyes that was focused. Before I could process the lust in her eyes she was on me, taking my clothes off."
I grimaced at the thought, I didn't want to picture that and I for sure didn't want to hear about it. In fact, I was slightly jealous and I couldn't explain why. Maybe because I had never enjoyed that part of a relationship, Andy died and I was taken before we could try it.
"She was determined to get what she came for. Not that I'm complaining, because in that instance no guy would, but it was just weird. The next few days, however long Dad was gone, we spent a lot of time in my room just going at it over and over again." He chuckled slightly, but stopped abruptly when he caught the daggers my eyes were throwing at him.
"There's a point to this, I swear," he said putting his hands in the air as a gesture of surrender.
"Please get to it," I stated with an icy tone that made him shiver.
"The point is when Dad came home, he caught us in the act." I felt fear shoot through me. I had seen how his dad had overreacted to Garrett simply touching my hand. Seeing them together must have sent him into a frenzy.
"What did he do?"
"He was furious. He tossed her out of the house, and threw her out into the woods. He beat me for two days straight, with little to no sleep in between, while he gave her a chance to hide. She didn't know where to go, she got lost the first day and Dad found her two days later day and dragged her back."
I swallowed as I pictured Garrett getting beaten repeatedly. I felt sick, I wanted to do anything to keep him safe and take his pain for him. It wasn't fair for him to be beaten, he was as much of a victim as we were.
"For the next whole day he took his anger out on her. I will never be able to get her screams out of my mind. He forced her to stay for another two months, never leaving us except for work and he'd chain her to his bed and lock the door behind him. When he found out she was pregnant..." He paused for a moment and then let the sentence fall. He never finished it.
"That's what the chains are from. That's why you are only his and his alone. That's what happened to my back. All those girls you saw on the wall were beaten, tortured, and imprisoned here. That's what you have to look forward to and nothing else, but death."
There was the sudden sound of tires on gravel causing Garrett to jump slightly. He put his hands under me, one on my back and one under my knees, and lifted me as if I weighted nothing. Without a word he started running back up the stairs without blindfolding me so I wouldn’t know where his hiding spot was.
"Where are we going Garrett?"
"We have to get out of here before he realizes you're gone!"
Chapter 5
"Don't say anything! I don't want him to hear us and then rush inside. So please be quiet and we will both survive today," he whispered to me urgently as he raced up the stairs.
Garrett was so terrified that he didn't care that I was able to see where his hiding place was. It was probably the one place he found solace in this house and now I had ruined it for him. I felt horrible for that, and even worse for the growing pain in my back and head from my fall.
As Garrett carried me up the stairs, I realized that we must be far away from a road because I hadn't heard any other sounds until the tires hit the gravel right next to the house. That just emphasized the rows of trees that I had watched pass by on my trip here. We were in the middle of nowhere, away from main roads, people and towns.
I could hear the car shut off, then Steve's footsteps on the gravel outside of the house as we breached a small opening that opened into the kitchen. How did this get here? Why is there a bunker underneath the kitchen counter? Garrett set me in a chair as he sealed the entrance, making it invisible at a glance, to anyone who didn't know it was there. That explains why I didn't see it before.
Garrett turned on his heel and pulled me out of my seat as Steve's footsteps got closer. I could sense Garrett's fear as Steve started turning the doorknob of the front door. We were going to get caught and we’d both be dead.
Garrett slowed his pace as he got to the stairs, knowing they creaked under any pressure. I heard him take a deep breath to relax himself and then he looked pleadingly into my eyes, begging me to stay quiet as he started to walk up the stairs. The stairs seemed to extend forever as we slowly walked up them, trying to get out of sight before Steve got in.
We were half way up the stairs when there was a sudden pounding on the door, like someone was trying to force their way in. Garrett saw my expression change; I was hoping someone had found me, but he killed those hopes quickly. "Move faster Garrett!" I whispered as I pushed myself into him. I needed the comfort he gave me as the pounding on the front door got more forceful. God, I hope there are people looking for me.
"I'm trying!" he whispered urgently so his voice wouldn't alert Steve. There was another loud thud on the door as Steve slammed his body into the door again.
"We can't be seen together. We have to split up," I said as we made it back to the main room upstairs. Garrett set me down carefully on the couch and gave me a look of sorrow before he spoke.
"Do you think I don't know that?" he asked with pain and annoyance dancing in his eyes. It looked as if I was tearing his heart out.
Garrett lightly ran his fingers down my cheek as tears started to escape from my eyes. He placed his hands around my face, cupping my face perfectly in his rough hands. I could see the pain in his eyes, even at such a small action. It made me wonder if he could see the small spark of hope in my eyes that he gave me.
Anna, why are you doing this to yourself? I couldn’t place it, but there was a familiar spark, and suddenly I felt as if I owed Andy an apology
"Hey, hey look at me," Garrett whispered as I threw myself into his chest and hugged him to me tightly. I could hear his heart rate pick up as he pushed me away gently and looked me in the eyes with pain and sorrow shadowing his fears. "I need you to be strong."
"I can't..." I sobbed loudly, unable to control myself through the tears.
"Shh, please be quiet," Garrett said letting the fear take over his face and actions as he slapped his hand over my mouth momentarily. "Please be quiet. Just tell me about you, that will calm you down. Let's start with your name, you know mine, but I don't know yours." He said in a panicked frenzy.
"It's Anna, you already knew that!" I choked out as another loud bang came to my ears. I felt my chest heave as another strong fear started to strangle my heart.
"Shh, it's okay. I'll protect you as best as I can," Garrett said hugging me to him again momentarily.
"You sound like Andy."
"Who's Andy?" He asked as I sobbed forcefully, pressing myself against him tighter. I listened to his heartbeat and counted them as I tried to calm myself down enough to answer him.
"He's my boyfriend." I heard Garrett groan slightly as he held me tighter to him. "Steve killed him because he tried to protect me and stop Steve from taking me." I cried as the door finally burst open down stairs sending Garrett as far away from me as possible.
"I'm sorry, I will see you again really soon. I'm sorry that I can't stay with you. Please, just get into your room, look sick. He always takes it easy on girls when they are sick," Garrett instructed with a serious tone, but a torn expression on his face. He couldn't decide whether to stay with me or hide from his father.
"Kelly, I'm home!" Steve called from down stairs as the door slammed shut to seal it back into place. Garrett made a split second decision when he heard his father call up to me. He ran toward me and lifted me off the sofa and quickly put me in my room on the bed.
"Look sick. I promise, it will make it
easier." He flicked his eyes between the stairs where his father would be coming up any second and me. Garrett was afraid to take his eyes off me.
When he finally turned to leave I called out, "Don't leave me alone with him."
"You have to stay quiet. Remember my rules as well as your own. This is hard for me too," he admitted as his light brown eyes widened with sorrow. I knew he had rules that he had to follow too, but I couldn't let him just leave me. What was I going to do without his help? I didn't know what to do. I couldn't remember any of my rules, what was I going to do?
"Please don't leave me.”
"I have to." He grimaced slightly as he held his hands toward me to tell me to stay in bed. He tried to hide it as he went to his room, but I could see the pain he was going through leaving me alone. Before he shut the door he looked back at me, "I'm sorry."
I sat, stunned silent for a moment and tried to remain calm, but when I heard footsteps walking up the wooden stairs I couldn’t. The clunk of boots hitting the hardwood floors sent me into a terrified panic. I quickly laid down on the bed and tried to look sick. Each step gave me a new surge of fear, making my heartbeat quicken, tears race down my cheeks, and memories of Steve's advances toward me.
"Kelly, I'm home." He repeated from outside my door sounding angry about my lack of response.
Was I supposed to answer that? What was I supposed to say? I gripped on to the bed sheets and prayed silently that Garrett would think of something to save me. He said he would protect me, but what about now? Where was he when I needed him the most?
"Kelly, I'm home!" Steve called a little louder as he banged on my door. My confusion doubled, what was he expecting me to say? If I said the wrong thing would he hurt me? If I didn't answer would it be worse?
"Welcome home?" I asked more than stated, unsure if that was what he wanted me to say.
"Kelly, you know when I come home you meet me at the door!" He roared as he burst through the door and caused it to slam on the wall behind it.