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Cara
The following day, both Daniella and I are silent. We don’t speak, in our own heads and bodies as we try to cleanse ourselves mentally of the intrusion from those disgusting men.
One comes in at some point during the day, clattering our plastic tasting meals onto the ground before leaving without a word. I can’t eat today, and neither can Daniella, because neither her nor I get up to crawl towards our plates.
I’m still nauseated from the man’s greedy fingers.
“Daniella?” I whisper after hours of silence.
“Hmmm.” Her lifeless voice echoes off the walls.
“Are you okay?”
Silence.
“No. Not really.” She sniffles, and my heart breaks just a little more.
I crawl forward, going as close to her as I possibly can. I can’t reach her, not even a little. “Come here.” She’s silent for a few moments, but then I hear her chains move around and she comes to me. We still can’t reach. I lay on my stomach and reach my hand out as far as it can go. She must realize what I’m doing, because after a few seconds, I feel the brush of her fingers against mine. We link our pointers together since that’s all that we can reach, but it feels like a lifeline.
A connection to life.
We lay there, holding onto each other in the best way we can and sob as a piece of our soul dies in this dark room.
* * *
The light flashes on,blinding us as we wake from our never-ending nightmare. It seems like I now live in a loop of constant trauma. Something that I can’t escape and I so badly wish I could.
I miss my home. I miss The Grove, as weird as that sounds. I miss my friends. I miss Rose. I miss my baby boy. I miss his giggles and his night time feedings. Is he being fed enough? Does he notice I’m missing? Is he okay? Was he found in time? Is he warm? Is he happy? Is he being taken care of?
I miss Jackson. I miss his happiness. I miss his anger. He had a physical therapy appointment coming up. I don’t even know what day it is. Did he miss it? I mean, of course he did. If he’s alive out there, there’s no way he went to any appointments. Is he okay at home by himself? Is he even at home? Did something happen to him? Is he here? Looking for me?
A million questions flit through my mind as my eyes adjust to the bright light. Two men, actually, it’s the two who gave us the shower, stand at the bottom of the stairs with leery smiles on their faces. I feel my finger get squeezed, and I lift my head to look at Daniella, who’s looking at me with dread. I know, I try to tell her with my mind. It’ll be okay. I give her finger a squeeze back.
Footsteps make my eyes disconnect from Daniella’s and over to the men, who just like before, make their way over to us. I can’t stop the whimper that makes its way out of my throat. The guy, Miguel, is it? He raises his eyebrow at the sound and licks his lips as his eyes appraise my body. I’d gag if I had literally anything in my stomach, but I haven’t been able to eat or drink anything since the shower. My lips are cracked and feel glued shut. I think if I moved them, they’d start bleeding.
Good. Maybe I should just bleed all over this floor.
He grabs my bicep and hauls me up, looking at Daniella a moment before looking back at me. Addressing us both, he barks, “We’re leaving. Your time here is over. You try to run, fight, or try anything funny; I’ll shoot you dead where you stand.” He lifts his shirt, revealing a gun tucked underneath his fat stomach.
My own stomach rolls.
“¿Lo entiendes? Do you understand?” He looks down at me with a harsh glare.
I nod my head, my body trembling in anticipation and fear. I’m getting out of here, which is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because, well, I don’t think I would have lasted another two nights in this place. I’m surprised Daniella has lasted that long. But from the looks of her, I don’t think she would have survived to the next day.
It’s bad that we’re leaving, because if Jackson is on his way here, he’s going to be too late. I can only hope he knows what’s going on and there’s still enough time. Because if there’s not, then I might as well say my goodbyes now.
We stumble up the stairs, and once we reach the top, we walk through the hallway of what looks to be an abandoned building. An old apartment complex, maybe? The dust gathering along the old chairs and furniture is about five inches deep, and everything looks dated. Dirt and leaves litter the ground, and nests in some corners make me believe that there are some critters that live in here.
Yeah, this place is definitely abandoned.
We make our way to the door, and Miguel slams it open. The sun strikes me in the eyes, and my lids slap shut in pain. I bring my hand up to cover my eyes, the instant headache hitting my temples.
I’m dragged across gravel, and I eventually shield my hand over my eyes so I can look at the ground. From what I can see, it looks like we’re in some desert area. Nothing is around me except dried bushes and sand. I notice some buildings off in the distance, but from here at least, they also look abandoned.
We walk towards a black van up ahead, its windows tinted. I look over my shoulder, seeing Daniella in much worse shape than me. She’s barely walking at this point, the man who has his arm around her practically dragging her across the dust.
“Daniella.” I choke out. I want her to get up, to keep fighting. “Daniella.” I say again, my voice a croak against the wind.
