Bleak stone walls glow dimly from the lantern’s fake flame, the empty space barely big enough for me to lie down in. If I hadn’t had my crash course in battling claustrophobia in the trunk of the sedan, I’d be in fits of hysterics by now. But if the light remains on and the monsters stay on the other side of the door, I reckon I can handle this. For now. A metallic toilet sitting in the corner makes me grimace but at least it’s better than alternative, lounging around in my own filth. One single toilet roll has been placed on the tank and there’s a matching sink beside it which I promptly check has running water. After splashing my face, I slump down onto the floor and hug myself. What happens now?
The stone floor is unforgiving, no chance of finding a comfortable way to sit or lie. Rolling the clicks out of my ankles, I pull my hair loose from the tie holding it up and flick the band back in forth in my fingers. If I manage to get a guard close enough to the door, I reckon I could use this bad boy to catapult small stones right into his eye, for no other reason than my sole amusement. One point for each curse word and ten if I manage to cause some retina damage. Feeling alongside the wall, I start to build an ammo pile whilst singing my way through the Sweeny Todd song list. Seemed fitting.
Lesson 101 of survival, you’re only as screwed as your mindset. Even if such a time comes of me giving up on escaping, which isn’t likely, I need to promise myself I won’t let Wyatt see me crack. I’m unsure why it’s so important, but if there is one thing still within my power, it’s that I can’t let him see he’s won. He can do what he likes to me now, but he won’t have the satisfaction of my misery. And who knows, if breaking me becomes his main focus, hopefully it’ll buy more time for Avery to get as far away as she can. And I swear to everything I hold dear, if she’s not then I’ll…give her a firm talking to, maybe a slap.
It’s inevitable my morale won’t last forever, but at least I’m a vivid daydreamer. Leaning back as comfortably as I am able, I focus on my breathing and bring a vision to life around me. The cell transforms to a field before my eyes, luscious green grass splaying across the ground. The sun is beating down on my face, a flurry of sparrows flying freely overhead. A small ball rolls towards my foot, followed by the lacrosse team. White vests and skorts hug their lean bodies, displaying each of their individual numbers in red. Mesh sticks in hand, they smile down at me with blue gumshields fully on show and I chuckle. We’ve played some killer games the past few years, returning as victors with huge trophies for the college display cabinet. But we’ve also lost too, had our asses handed to us time and again, but we never gave up.
A faint creak sounds down the corridor as I begin to envision the goaltender scooping up the ball- Wait, I hear real footsteps! I jump up to my feet, my legs already turning numb on the hard floor and I grip the steel grate to peer around. “Hey, is there someone else down here?” I ask hopefully, able to just about see four doors across the opposite side. A short, plump woman comes into view, looking around nervously as she makes a beeline for me.
Her dark hair is loose on her shoulders, the curled ends bouncing with each hurried step. She glances at the doors either side before focusing her attention on me. “Oh, my love,” she breathes, reaching out to stroke my hair but deciding against it at the last moment. Withdrawing her hand, I watch suspiciously as she kneels in front of the door. Sliding back an opening I hadn’t noticed; she proceeds to push an oblong box into my cell. Crouching down, her hand shoots through the gap to grab mine as I accept the box. Her thumb caresses the back of my hand and I resist yanking back, sensing she isn’t here to harm me.
“I’m so sorry you are the price that needs to be paid,” she murmurs before pulling back and closing the slat between us. I weirdly miss the heat of her hand instantly, my short time in here clearly already influencing me. Her footsteps scurry away as I sit wondering what the fuck all that was about. Opening the box, I squint to see the items crammed inside and use my fingers to feel out what’s in there.
Firstly, there’s a small plastic bag containing a toothbrush, paste and bar of soap. Then I pull out flattened item that confuses me until I feel an air toggle on the underneath and blow up to discover it’s an inflatable pillow. Next comes a handful of energy bars, an empty bottle I imagine I’m supposed to fill using the sink and a large bar of chocolate. Seriously, who is this lady and why is she sneaking me chocolate? Lastly, the padded nylon material spread across the base of the box unfolds to reveal a sleeping bag and my imprisonment just became much more manageable.
Two energy bars and a whole bottle of what I’m sure is not drinking water later, I slip into the sleeping bag and rest my head on
