His Captive Girl

Chapter 1: Worst Birthday Ever

Alicia

I yawned and spread my arms as the morning sunlight flashed over my face. It is a new day and a big one. I am gonna be 18 today!

Eighteen years of my life until now have been fine. They were not bad, but nowhere near good either. 

Blessed with a really caring brother and an older sister I never met, I have been living just okay. 

I got down from the bed and slowly made my way towards the door. Mom and Dad don’t speak a word to me. To be honest, mom is not ‘allowed’ to speak and dad doesn’t want to.

Well, I never understood this all. Why is mom not allowed to speak and dad is? Why is my brother allowed to go out and I am not? Why am I never sent to a school?

Is it because I am a girl?

But aren’t girls the ones who make life possible? Who makes sure that our species don’t die?

But maybe it’s just that I am not talented enough.

Hm, yes.

I brushed off my thoughts like any other day and went to take a bath. I never went to school, but my brother taught me all the basic things. He used to lend me his textbooks and always helped me out. 

But one thing always bugs me. I have studied that there should be no inequality between boys and girls. So why is it like this here? Why such discrimination?

I wore my clothes and made my way to my room. After combing my hair, I went down. 

“Hello Jake” I wished my brother as I stepped down the stairs. 

He was sitting on the couch and scrolling through his phone. Every time I used to greet him, he’d kept his phone back, looked at me, and wished me back. If he was in a good mood, he’d even hug me. 

But he ignored me today.

“Bro” I called him again. “I said hello, good morning”

He kept his phone down and looked at me. Unlike other times, there was no smile on his face. He stood up and when I hoped that he’d hug me, he took my hand.

“Come with me” his voice was a little cold like I was a stranger to him. He is always cold to strangers, and never, ever did he use his coldness on me.

“Okay,” I replied and followed him. We were in his room right now.

“What’s wrong?” I questioned him as he sat down on his chair.

“Sit” he instructed and I sat in front of him, on his bed.

“Do you remember what I told you about yesterday?”

“No, what did you say?”

He looked unsure for a moment. “Happy birthday”

“Oh, thank you but is this what you told me yesterday?” I laughed but he seemed serious.

“And I am gonna give you the worst birthday present”

“I think you mean the best” I winked at him.

“Decide for yourself, Alie,” he took out a paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened the paper while maintaining a little eye contact with him, in the form of glances. But as I read the paper, all my senses became numb.

“W-What?”

“Alie, listen…” I looked at him as my eyes welled up in tears. “I don’t have a way”

“H-How can you do this to me?”

“I am sorry, sis” he looked at his feet. “I am so sorry”

“Will your sorry help me in escaping this?” my voice came out rather hoarse. 

“There is no escaping, Alie” he took the paper back. 

“So now what? You--you gonna leave me in this hell?” 

He looked at the paper as if reading it once again. “Don’t do this, Alie. Run away”

“What?”

“Run away, it is the best way. Maybe the worst if you… if you get caught but run away. This is it. I can’t support you anymore”

“Run to where-?”

“Anywhere” 

His eyes were moistening too. “Don’t ever do this. Don’t go to them, Run away”

“I can’t, bro, how? Alone? Isn’t this suicide? After I just read what my fate is… is running away still an option?”

“You have to leave”

“I want to, Jake, but” my thoughts weren’t straight. “What about my sister? She was… older. Eighteen before me. What about her?”

His eyes almost seemed to burn and tears made their way down. “Don’t ask”

“I need to know, Jake--”

“I SAID DON’T ASK ABOUT HER, ALICIA!” he yelled and I flinched and moved further back on impulse. “AND YOU WILL RUN AWAY!”

I cried. He has never ever shouted at me. And by that, I really mean never. He doesn’t call me Alicia. He doesn’t boss around. He has changed. 

I still took the courage to look up to him to see any piece of guilt. And there was. Not a piece, but an entire heap of regret.

“Alie, I-I didn’t mean to…”

I looked down at the mattress. 

“It doesn’t matter what you mean to do or not,” I said in my broken voice. “If you do it anyway” 

I ran outside the room as I heard him calling my name. I went to my room and locked the door from inside. 

I will not go to them.

I will not serve other boys.

I will not be a slave.

I sat down and took my personal diary. The only thing that no one, except Jake, knows about. I need to make a plan.

I need to escape.

All these years, I didn’t know that I’d have to escape from here. I don’t have any maps of the area. How am I gonna plan this escape?

Wait.

I am a good runner. 

Maybe because they knew that I had to be a slave, they taught me to be a flexible, good runner. They made sure I was physically fit. And all these years, I thought that they cared about me.

I can use that as an advantage and can run away. Yes, I will run away, no matter what.