No, Daddy! Why is he hitting her? No, stop! I yelled with tears streaming down my face. I ran up to help her.
Daddy’s hurting her! Stop, daddy! Why is he hurting Mommy? Doesn’t he know he’s hurting her?
He kicked me. His hard foot landing in my gut, I fell harder. Smacking my head and shoulder on the wooden stairs as I fell down another step.
It hurt, but Mommy wasn’t screaming anymore.
His hands were around her throat. I didn’t know it then, but he was choking her. Her fingers clawed at his hands. Her eyes turning red.
I screamed. I ignored the pain and ran faster up the stairs, hitting him as hard as I could.
Stop hurting Mommy! Daddy, stop! Please stop! My throat hurts from screaming. Someone help! Please help!
He let her go and she fell on the stairs. She wasn’t moving and laid there. So still. Mommy? I just wanted to touch her. I wanted to make sure she was okay.
Her eyes were so red. “Mommy!” I cried.
His hand came down hard across my face. Mommy wasn’t okay. Daddy wasn’t either.
My hands covered my face where the sting from his hand pulsed. But my chest hurts too. Everything hurts. Nothing’s okay.
* * *
My body’s stiff as I groan, slowly opening my eyes. My head hurts. He hit me again. I feel so dizzy. The memories of my nightmare are slowly fading. Fuck, how many times am I going to let them hit me? Over and over, that’s all they ever do.
It takes a moment for my sight to come into focus. And when it does, I stay as still as possible, my limbs frozen with fear.
Where the fuck am I? My heart jolts in my chest as I realize the thin silver bars I'm seeing and the grated floor beneath me form a cage.
I’m in a cage. My skin pricks with fear.
Yesterday comes back to me in a flood. My hands instinctively fly to my stomach, remembering the kicks, and then my neck, the pinch. They drugged me and put me in a cage.
My initial shock and confusion quickly turn to fury. I moved from one fucking cage to another. Only this one is a literal goddamn cage! My heart speeds with anger, and my blood rushes in my ears.
I ball my fists and turn onto my knees slowly, barely making a sound and taking in my surroundings. I’m surprised by my rage; I’m not used to it. At least not used to it showing on the surface. It’s a constant, but it’s generally buried under the fear and need to display obedience.
My eyes widen when I look forward and realize the door to the cage is open.
I blink several times and even creep out slightly, but not very far at all. My hand reaches out, half expecting the door to slam shut, but it doesn’t. How… odd.
As I move, a thin blanket that I was balled up in slips down my back and to my waist, exposing my chest to the cooler air. It’s only then that I realize I’m naked, the breath stolen from my lungs. It looks like someone has neatly folded my clothes from earlier though, and they're sitting in a corner of the cage. I move to check my bra, and inwardly let out a sigh of relief when I see the baggie is still concealed in the padding.
I grip the blanket tighter around me, sitting on my knees. I take in a ragged breath and let a hand drift down to my sex. Did they hurt me? I don't feel any different. I don’t think they touched me. Shame floods my cheeks.
I wish I’d run faster. If only I’d walked the other way. Maybe they wouldn’t have been waiting. Maybe I could have gotten away. A lump grows in my throat, but I calm myself. Ifs are useless. They make me weak to dwell on them. I raise my head and focus on what’s in front of me. I’m here now, and I need to figure out why and how to get the fuck out.
The grate on the floor makes my knees hurt, but I withstand the slight pain and look around the empty room. That’s all it is. There isn't much I can see beyond this cage, which is large enough for me to stand, but only has a few square feet to move around in. There’s a doorway, although it looks like the door has been removed, on the far side and then another door to my right.
Anxiety fills my blood.
Is this a game? Choose one door and what? I’m afraid to know.
It looks like the open doorway leads to a bathroom. It looks stripped and bare, but it’s there. I imagine it’s functional.
I don’t dare leave the cage as I consider what the Romanos want from me. I slowly back deeper into the cage and nearly scream when my back hits a bucket. It’s empty and it makes the only sound in the room other than my own voice. It scared the shit out of me. I’m quick to cover my mouth and silence the shrill scream that threatened to surface. It was only a squeak of what it would’ve been.
As my heart finally calms and the stupidity of my action weighs in my mind, I hear a faint beep from the door to my right and then a click.
