Chapter 13
The feeling of being robbed would never leave me. It’s lonely, cold and harrowing. The emptiness longs to be filled. It craves revenge.
My body was shivering. The cold wrapped around me, forcing me to lean against it.
I heard a voice and slowly opened my dry tear-stained eyes.
Bright yellow light from a lamp hanging outside the cage made it all worse.
I closed my eyes and heard the voice again.
Listening closely, I realized those were woman’s sobs.
I slept for half a day, maybe even the whole day. The concrete cage had no daylight, no toilet or anything else that caught the eye. I was sitting on a flimsy mattress, stained with filth and someone else’s suffering.
My clothes captured all of the monstrous events of that blood-drenched day like a photograph.
I didn’t let myself think about it, couldn’t let it all come back to me.
I wasn’t going to linger in the dark corners of my mind, savoring every memory like a poison apple.
I locked them behind an oak door, leaving the key in the lock for when the time comes to see them once more.
This was not the time. It was not the time to cry, pity myself or throw a fit. It was the time to fight. I was still breathing, seeing and feeling. That meant I was still alive. I wasn’t going to let them break me, take me down or bring me to my knees.
I would fight back, lie and fit in, but I’d stay true to myself. I knew I had to survive, whatever it takes. I had to find Bell, get back to my family, tell the truth.
I had to pay them back .
I sat by Justin’s body, losing track of time. The reaper grabbed me, snapping me out of my trance, and began dragging me to the manor. I was struggling, scratching him, but I knew it was no good. Before I knew it, I got to the manor steps, and then found myself behind bars here.
I slowly got up and went to the steel door, grasping the rusty bars.
All the cages were lined up, making it impossible for me to see the people in the other cells. I could only hear them.
“What’s upstairs?”
I asked the void outside, still hoping for an answer.
The sobs cut out for a moment before picking up again.
“Hell.”
A woman’s voice seemingly coming from the cage next to me replied, making my heart race.
“Are there only girls here?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Four.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Don’t know. Two days, I think. They brought us here at the same time probably.”
I held my breath, trying to catch every word.
“What does he want?”
“I don’t know. Few girls got to come back. And if they did, they’d not talk again.”
“What’s he doing to them?”
“You can take a guess.”
My imagination was too wild and boundless for that. So I didn’t even try guessing to keep my sanity and avoid panicking ahead of time.
“What’s your name?”
“Zoe. ”
“I’m Cass. I worked at the Roncalli University library, part-time.
They asked me to work after hours yesterday.
I’m always the last one to leave and lock the library doors.
As I was closing the library for the day, someone came up from behind and pressed a rag soaked in some chemicals to my face. And I woke up in here.”
“Our university has been attacked today. They came in black tinted minivans without license plates, machetes in hand. It was a bloodbath. No one knows what their motives are. They tortured and killed anyone they could find.”
“And the cops?”
“We pulled the emergency alarm, but no one came. Our phones wouldn’t work. Maybe the police are in on it, or they’re all dead.”
“Did they seize the town?”
“Most likely. I was running through the forest near the manor, and they were there already.”
“Have you lost someone?”
“Yes.”
We fell silent.
“Are they in on it?” Cass asked.
“Doesn’t matter. They might not be working together, but the fact that we’re here, and not free to leave, speaks volumes. They’re just as bad. Same vile bastards.”
Loud clatter of boots echoed through the place. They were getting louder and louder. I moved to the back of the cell and waited.
Two large men passed by my cage and opened the next one.
I saw one of them walking ahead while the other man led Cass away.
She gave me a smile as she passed by my cell. She looked cheery and jovial, like she was going for a walk and not to meet her death.
My heart was crushed by how unfair it all was. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. This wasn’t right. She didn’t deserve this. No one here did .
Why did it happen to us? Why us? What did we do wrong? What did we do to deserve this?
They thought they could do anything. But that wasn’t true, they were people just like us, they weren’t gods.
We had the law. It worked for everyone. They had to pay for this.
Pay for every life they ruined and took away.
Their power wasn’t limitless. They would be found out.
They had to be found and punished. Monsters like them had no right to walk among us.
They defiled the very word “human”. They deserved to be deprived of this privilege.
They deserved to be left to rot in solitary confinement for the rest of their days.
I didn’t notice anger consuming me, making me roll the silver ring on my middle finger hard enough to hurt. My cheeks and ears flushed red.
With a heavy sigh I sat on the mattress and leaned back on the cold concrete wall.
How much time did I have left? If I knew my death was coming soon, what would be my last thing to do? What could I do while I was locked in the cage? Forgive everyone? Ask for forgiveness? Pray? What was I supposed to do?
I closed my eyes and concentrated on deep breathing.
I should have dropped out. Why didn’t I? Had I dropped out, I would’ve been back in my hometown now, with mom and dad. They wouldn’t have been too happy about it, but at least I would be alive.
We’d eat mom’s delicious meals, and in the evening I’d talk them into going to our favorite drive-in cinema. I’d take a large popcorn, the largest one they have. Caramel flavored, hands down. And a coke. Yes. A large coke.
I definitely wouldn’t have wasted my time watching my weight. Bothering about wearing makeup, looking puffy-eyed and ugly. Worrying that no one liked me. I wouldn’t have beat myself up over eating too much at lunch or having an ice-cream late at night .
It seemed so shallow and pointless now. Why did I waste so much energy on these silly thoughts when I could have enjoyed life and that stupid ice-cream? I could have lived a perfectly normal, happy life because I had everything.
I regretted that.
I was mad at myself for only just now realizing that, when everything was already lost.
Life is a priceless gift. If you want to show how thankful you are for it, you’ve got to live it with dignity.