Caged

by E. M. Leya

  "I'm not even sure it works anymore after the cage." Danny shrugged. Then as if he didn't want to talk about cocks anymore, he asked, "so what did you do after fourteen?"

  "At sixteen it was all about driving. I would beg my aunt to let me take her car. I loved driving. I went down to get my license the morning of my sixteenth birthday. I finally got my own car at seventeen. It was a beat-up old truck, but it was mine. I loved it. Then at eighteen I was focused on graduation and looking into colleges. Of course, through all that, sex was still one of the most important parts of my life too. Teenage years were a horrible jumble of sexual desire and insecurity. The only time I was comfortable with myself was when I was on a computer. There I knew I had control. It's still kinda like that now. It goes back to how I was telling you none of us are grown-up, we just fake it. We do what we are comfortable with and hope for the best with the rest of the stuff. My aunt died soon after that, then I had issues at college with some bullies and dropped out."

  "You had issues with bullies? You seem so strong."

  "Anyone can have issues with bullies. Doesn't matter your size or your age. People can be mean."

  "What did you do?"

  "What I shouldn't have done. I quit school and hid in my apartment. I got lucky and someone contacted me online about working for them and I got a good job, but honestly, dropping out like that could have fucked up my future. I should have stayed and gotten help with the issue because I'm sure the bullies just found someone else to pick on. I should have said something to someone and tried to stop them."

  "What do you think people will say about me?"

  How did he answer that? "I'm guessing it will be a little of everything. Most people will have sympathy for you. Feel bad about what happened, but there are some out there who will make you feel dirty and as if it was your fault. You need to be ready for those idiots and stand up to them. I never want you to think this is your fault."

  "But I went with him. I went to play with the puppy."

  "I'm thinking most kids that age would. It was why Larry used that ploy. He knew it was illegal, yet he did it anyway. Larry is the one who did wrong. He's the one who should be looked at as the guilty one. Not you. I looked online earlier and they've already started making up stories. We're just going to ignore it and forget the lies because we know the truth. You couldn't have changed what happened. None of it was your fault." He couldn't say that enough, though he wasn't sure Danny believed it.

  "I just want to be normal." Danny stared across the kitchen.

  "You are normal. You'll feel more normal every day now. You just have to learn how to get to know who you are now that you're free. Figure out who Danny is when he's not held back by Larry, the locks, and the abuse."

  "It seems so hard."

  "It might be, but you'll get there." Marshall drained the pasta. "Do you want to eat or should I set this aside for now and we can go shopping?"

  "Are you hungry?"

  "I'm good either way."

  "Then let's go shop. I'm not used to this much food. I might have to take it slower. McDonald's almost made me sick."

  "Yeah, not only is it hard on your stomach, but you're not used to a lot of food. We'll have to be careful. I'm sure your body is going to have to adapt to a lot of things now. Sleeping on a real bed seems to be a plus," he teased.

  "It was like floating on a cloud," Danny confirmed with a huge grin.

  "Go get your shoes on and I'll grab mine. We can head out and shop for a bit, then come back here and eat." He touched Danny on the shoulder gently. "You're doing good."

  "Thanks, but I don't feel like it." He sighed as he walked off.

  Concerned everything was going to crash down around Danny, Marshall swore he would keep a close eye on him. One hour at a time right now because it was clear one day might be too much. He would take it in steps and hopefully, get Danny back on his feet and ready to face the world.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Danny leaned against the couch with his feet under the coffee table as he learned how to use the controller to the video game. Games had sure changed since he'd last played. Larry had a gaming system in the basement when he had been locked down there and he'd played non-stop. There had only been a few games, but he'd loved all of them. It had been his only distraction to the pain.

  Now, with Marshall on the couch beside him, they both tried to figure out what they were doing. The game didn't seem hard, but they were on a quest to find treasure and neither one of them was able to figure out where the hell it was hidden.

  Danny laughed as Marshall cursed. "It has to be close."

  "We should have gotten a Disney game or something. Those I can figure out." Marshall sighed.

  Danny didn't care if they found the treasure. This was the most fun he'd had in years. He'd never been allowed to play the video games once the boys came, and now, with Marshall, he was enjoying having someone to have fun with. He could forget for a short time and just focus on the game.

  The sound of the doorbell had Marshall dropping his controller. "Saved by the bell." He jumped up.

  Danny paused, his body tense as he wondered who was at the door. Had someone found him? Was it Larry? Maybe the media? He watched as Marshall looked out the peephole and smiled.

  "It's my friend, Rani." He quickly opened the door.

  Danny swallowed hard, ignoring the game as he watched a tall, black man walk into the house. He smiled and gave Marshall a half hug before stepping back. "If I keep spending my nights off here with you, I might as well move in."

  For a moment he wondered if this was Marshall's boyfriend, but wouldn't he have told him that? He'd mentioned Rani when they'd gone shopping the night before and only called him his best friend. He never mentioned anything more.

  "I've told you I've got the room." Marshall shut the door and turned to the living room where Danny was still sitting on the floor. "Come in and meet Danny."

  Rani stepped to the couch and grinned. "Hi."

  Nervously, Danny got up and faced him. "Hi."

  "Don't tell me he's got you playing video games already." Rani glanced at the TV. "That's all they do at work. Marshall claims he's on the computers all day, but the truth is, he is with the others playing games half the time. The guy is addicted."

  Marshall shoved Rani playfully. "Don't act like you don't join in."

  Danny just stared, unsure what to say and feeling as if he should leave. He was an outsider.

  "At times, but I don't put in the time you do." Rani ran his hand over his bald head. "Don't worry. You'll be better than Marshall in no time. He sucks at these games. He's always losing to the others."

  Danny wondered who the others were. "We both suck at this one," he finally answered.

  "Well, do you mind if I give it a try?" Rani took a seat on the couch.

  "Go for it." Danny moved aside after gesturing to the controller.

  "Don't go far. I'll show you how it's done then you can kick his ass when you two play." Rani reached for the control.

  "Beer?" Marshall asked.

  "Yeah, sounds good." Rani was already restarting the game.

  "You want anything, Danny?"

  Danny turned and looked at Marshal, frozen for a minute at how casual this all felt. It was strange to have Rani walk in and just sit down as if it was the most natural thing in the world. What would it be like to have friends like that? To be able to walk into another person's house and be that comfortable? "Another bottle of water, if you don't mind."

  "Not at all." Marshall turned for the kitchen.

  "So, sit down and tell me how horrible staying with Marshall is. Has he got you painting in the basement yet?" Rani asked with a teasing smile.

  "No, but he mentioned it." Danny sat, but at the end of the couch, leaving a lot of distance between him and Rani. "I don't mind. I owe him for all he's done for me."

  "I'm sure he'd argue that point. He doesn't help anyone unless he wants to. He's been trying to get me to help him paint since
he moved into the place, but I work too much."

  "He said you're a doctor?"

  "I am in Oman, but my license isn't valid here in America. I'm working on that, but it means putting in a lot of work." Rani worked his way through the game, making it look easy. "It will be worth it when it's done, but right now, I'm exhausted."

  He had no clue where Oman was. He'd never heard of the place. Then again, other than Mexico and Canada, he couldn't have told you where any place was. Larry didn't allow him books with maps or anything like that. Hell, he could hardly name all the places in the United States. He took a deep breath, again thinking about how much he'd missed out on learning.

  "Here ya go." Marshall handed him a water before setting a beer down on the table in front of Rani. "Would you look at that. He's already gotten farther than we did and he's been at it five minutes. I swear the man's brain is enormous."

  "No, just my ego." Rani grinned. "Seriously, it's not hard. You follow the clues." He continued playing. "So tell me what you two have been up to? I have to hear about your life since I don't have one."

  Marshall sat down in a chair beside the couch. "Not much of anything. We did a little shopping, a little cooking, and a little relaxing. Tomorrow we go in for the official sit-down interview with the police, then Danny has a doctor's appointment."

  Rani paused the game and turned. "Everything okay? If I can help—"

  Marshall held up a hand. "He's fine. Just a follow-up to some tests they ran at the hospital and to do a few routine things like check he's up to date on immunizations and such.

  Rani focused on Danny. "You feel okay?"

  "Yeah, other than…" His face heated. "Yeah, I feel good."

  Rani's eyes narrowed. "Other than?"

  Danny glanced at Marshall. He hadn't meant to say anything. He didn't want Rani knowing about the cock cage and the injury to the skin around his most private area.

  "Just a rash. He's got medicine for it. It's going to take some time to clear up," Marshall told Rani.

  "Need me to look at it?" Rani asked.

  Danny was sure Rani was just being nice, but he nearly choked on his water at the thought of anyone else seeing him so up-close and personal. "No, it's okay, just tender, but thanks. I have a question though. The doctors said my x-rays showed I'd had broken bones before. How do they know if it was a long time ago?"

  Rani frowned. "A lot of them?"

  "They said my ribs, my arm, and a finger. I can see how they would assume the finger." He held up his hand to show his ring finger on his right hand a bit crooked. "But how do they tell the rest."

  "Usually because the x-rays will show it didn't heal exactly straight or a difference in the bone density. Do you have any pain from those areas?" Rani asked.

  "No, maybe a little in my finger sometimes, but not bad enough to worry about. I think I might need glasses too. Now that I can really watch TV, I find it's easier when I'm closer. I'm not sure that means anything, but I'd like to check." Danny glanced at Marshall. "I always wanted glasses."

  Marshall grinned. "And I'm supposed to wear them and don't. The hospital put in for emergency Medicaid for you, so everything should be covered. We'll know soon. We also need to find a good therapist. Do you know anyone, Rani?"

  "Nope, not my area. I can ask around if you want."

  "Let us talk to the doctor tomorrow and see what he says. I'll let you know." Marshall glanced at Danny. "I think that's about it as far as medical stuff. We also meet your attorney tomorrow right before we meet with the police. Jeremy recommended a guy to help Danny work through this. I called him this morning and he was very willing to take Danny as a client. Hopefully, he won't need him for much, but it's good to have him if he does."

  Danny swallowed a drink. "It seems like I've made so much work for everyone."

  "You haven't. Mostly, once you get settled, you won't have to do all this. Things will calm down. At least until they catch Larry, then you'll have to consider if you're going to want to be part of that."

  "I don't have to?" Danny liked the idea of never seeing Larry in person again.

  "I'm sure you have a choice, but when it comes down to it, your testimony is what is going to make sure he never gets out of prison," Marshall said softly.

  "Maybe we'll get lucky and the police will just shoot him." Rani's voice held a tone of disgust. "He deserves nothing more than a bullet between the eyes."

  Danny didn't say anything. How many nights had he listened to Larry hurt the boys and wished he'd had a gun so he could stop it? He'd cried as he'd heard the boys scream, the sound of their pain taking him back to when it had been him hurting.

  "We've got to find him first." Marshall exchanged an intense look with Rani. "I'm not going to stop hunting him until he's found."

  "Have you found any leads?" Rani asked.

  "I haven't had a chance yet. Once I get back to work, I'll have better resources. My home computer isn't set up like the one at work."

  What was it that Marshall did at work? Danny didn't know enough about computers to know why one computer could do something and another couldn't. He thought they were all the same. "You won't get in trouble for doing that at work?"

  Rani laughed softly but didn't say anything.

  "No, my boss is really understanding. He won't mind." Marshall smiled. "I'm hoping to introduce you to the two men I work for soon. They asked if they could stop by one night, but I figured you might need some time to get used to things first."

  "Thanks. I'm not sure how I feel around people. I feel like everyone knows what happened to me and that's embarrassing." Danny ducked his head. "Like I said before, they probably all blame me."

  Rani turned to him. "You are not to blame. That asshole kidnapped you. He's the only one to blame here. Don't you ever think this is your fault."

  Danny sat back because of the intensity of Rani's words.

  "Listen, because of the media attention, everyone probably will know what happened to you. It's unavoidable, but you are never the one to blame and people know that. You were kidnapped by a perverted pedophile who deserves nothing but death because of what he did to you and the other boys. You stand tall with your head up and be proud of the survivor you are. You never look at yourself as the one to blame." Rani stared hard at him. "You lived through more than many could. You were brave enough to escape when you could. You are strong and I want you to remember that. You give the police every bit of information you can to find this fucker so they can lock him up forever."

  "I don't know what to tell them. There was nothing to tell." Danny had tried to think of anything that would help, but nothing seemed important.

  "No one ever came over? He didn't share you with anyone?" Rani asked.

  "No, never. He took pictures and videos sometimes, but he said those were for his personal enjoyment because he liked to remember how I screamed." Danny bit his lip, remembering how Larry would find new ways to make him cry and scream.

  Marshall sat up straighter. "There were pictures and videos?"

  "Yeah, a lot of them. Of the boys too. Larry would sit in the kitchen while I cooked and watch them on his phone. I hated having to listen to them again and again." He looked at his hands folded in his lap. "When I was younger, he'd make me suck on him as he watched videos of when he'd raped me before. He said it was like double pleasure. He could feel my mouth and hear my screams."

  "Fucker," Rani cursed.

  Marshall's hands fisted. "Do you know if he shared those videos or photos with anyone?"

  Danny shook his head.

  "Did he have a computer?" Rani asked.

  "Maybe in the locked room, but I don't know." Danny wished he'd tried harder to see in that room.

  Rani glanced at Marshall. "It wouldn't matter really. He could send it by phone."

  Marshall nodded. "It's still something to look into."

  "What do you mean?" Danny asked.

  Marshall sighed. "There is a place online where perverts share videos and pic
tures like that with each other. If Larry shared them with anyone and we… The police can trace that, then there is a chance it might give us a lead to where Larry might go now."

  Danny swallowed hard. "Other people might see them?"

  "We don't know. He might have just kept them for himself. I can't know if the police found a computer or anything in the house. They won't share that information with us. As much as I hope for your privacy he didn't, I hope he did because that could be a huge lead to finding Larry." Marshall gave Danny a sympathetic look.

  "I didn't think it mattered, but there were a couple of times where Larry would threaten to sell me. He said that if I caused him any more problems, he had people who would buy me and they were a lot meaner than he was. He said that a lot when I was little and I heard him tell the boys the same thing a couple of times."

  Marshall again glanced at Rani.

  It was like the two men could communicate without speaking and it made Danny a bit uncomfortable. It was as if there was a conversation going on with them that he didn't understand. "Is that bad?"

  "No, it's good. If it's true," Rani said.

  "It means that Larry did have friends and other people he talked to. If it's true, there should be some evidence of communication and hopefully, he stays in communication with these people. The police can maybe track his calls, watch the people he knows. See if he shows up looking for help or a place to hide." Marshall smiled. "I know it sucks for you having this all out in the open, but they have to catch Larry. If they don't, there's a good chance he'll kidnap another child and just start the whole process over."

  Danny knew this. He'd thought about it a lot over the last few days. He didn't want anyone else hurt. He would have rather stayed and gone through the pain than have anyone else taken. "I know. I don't want him to hurt anyone else. It's just so hard. I don't know what matters and what doesn't. I wouldn't have thought the pictures and videos mattered. I just hoped they got destroyed so no one would see them."