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There has to be a way in and out of this place. If I run now, find the road, and keep going—
I hurry to the fence, find a gate, and step through.
Nobody stops me.
I’m feeling sick. My hands tremble. Is this still from the drugs he gave me? No, these are just nerves. I hurry forward, over the rocky, dry terrain, and toward the hills. I stomp over scrubby brush, skirt around small cacti, and begin my ascent toward high ground.
It takes a couple hours. I’m drenched in sweat as I keep going and the house gets smaller behind me. I have to stop and catch my breath a few times, but eventually I reach the top, cresting out onto a flat peak.
More desert spreads all around me, desert for miles and miles in all directions.
I stare in shock. Awe overtakes me. There’s a path that leads down to the house, now toy-sized in the distance, but even that snakes away for miles and miles, before disappearing around a bend.
We’re secluded. Completely and utterly secluded. It must be an hour or more by car just to reach the next road.
If I tried to escape, I’d die.
My god, no wonder there are no guards.
Finally, I let that scream break from my chest.
I scream and scream, tears in my eyes.
The house isn’t my jail cell. The house is keeping me alive.
The desert’s my real prison.
It takes a little while before I can calm down. I wipe away my fear, staring out into the distance, willing myself to find some landmark.
There’s nothing. Only more rocks.
Eventually, I head back to the house. I’m exhausted to my core when I stumble into the kitchen and collapse at the table. The bread’s sitting on the counter, cooling off. It smells incredible.
“Coffee?” Marina offers. She places a large glass of water by my elbow. I drink it down greedily. “How about something to eat?”
“Pancakes,” I say, shoulders slumped. “Please. And I’ll take some coffee too.”
“Coming right up.” The old woman gives me a sympathetic pat and doesn’t ask where I’ve been. She knows all too well.
She whistles as she cooks, and outside beyond the windows, I can see the bars of my cell glowing red in the sunlight, beautiful and breathtaking, but horrible just the same.
There’s no escaping this place.
Even if I can get out, I won’t survive the hike back. I’d need water, supplies, probably a vehicle. It would take a full day to reach a road, and even longer to reach civilization.
Erick knew what he was doing when he brought me here.
“We’re fully self-sustaining,” Marina says when she places the food in front of me. “Solar panels on the roof, batteries in the basement, a well for water, regular shipments of food. Erick should be back shortly if you want to discuss things further with him.”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t worry, dear. You’ll be okay. Do your job and he won’t hurt you. Erick’s fair.”
“How do you do this?” I stare as she pours coffee. “How do you work for a man like him?”
She tuts as she brings over the mug. “There’s much worse in this world than him. Besides, the pay is fantastic. There you go, eat up, you need it.”
Marina begins to wash the dishes and I stare down at my food. I take a tentative bite and it’s so good I can’t stop myself from devouring it all like an animal, desperate and unable to control myself, wondering when I’ll have my last meal, and if it’s happening right now.
