The Man in My Basement

20

All the walls and top and bottom had loops that fitted 21

together and were designed to be held fast by the little 22

padlocks. Each of the thirty-seven padlocks had a num-23

bered key and a small brass key chain. There was a larger 24

key chain onto which fit all of the smaller keys.

25

It took a couple of hours to construct the cage, or cell, 26

as the instructions called it. The basement was large but 27 S

that structure dominated the space. The tough metal slats 28 R

gleamed as if they were brand new. I wondered what kind 106

3rd Pass Pages

ManInMyBasemnt_HCtext3P.qxd 10/24/03 8:16 PM Page 107

The Man in My Basement

of animal Bennet would bring with him that was so dan-1

gerous it had to be kept in a cage.

2

There were more instructions but I was tired. I went to 3

the house and ate some frosted cornflakes, and then, on a 4

whim, I went back to the cellar, crawled into the cage, 5

and stretched out. It was an odd sensation. I had never 6

been in jail, but I thought that this was close to the expe-7

rience of incarceration. The light around me seemed to be 8

teeming, like insects in a swamp, because of the winking 9

between the slats and spaces. The rubber was comfortable 10

enough. There was a certain reassurance to the walls’ en-11

closure. I wondered if this cage was for Anniston’s rest.

12

Maybe he was afraid that people would attack him in his 13

sleep. Maybe he just liked the walls.

14

I wasn’t aware of falling into sleep. It was a deep, deep 15

rest. The electric light moving across my face as I shifted 16

around felt like a cloudy afternoon. The silence of my cel-17

lar spoke glowingly of eternal rest.

18

But when I woke up I was disoriented. I had forgotten 19

where I was and the reality of the cell scared me. I jumped 20

to my feet, trying to find a way out. But there was none.

21

At least that’s what I thought.

22

I shouted for help, running from side to side, hitting 23

the walls, but there was no give there. Finally I forced my-24

self to sit down. I was shaking and wondering in spite of 25

the situation how much of the shakes came from whiskey.

26

Then I saw the door. It was down and unlocked, but the S 27

fit was snug and I had to push pretty hard to get out.

R 28