The Glass Castle

TRAPPED

The damp, dark cart smelled like old boots in the rain. Alex sat with his back against splintering boards, chin on his knees and his back ached from leaning forward-- for how long, he had no idea but the pain was intense. A salty bitter rag covered his mouth and he couldn't move his legs. His stomach had hurt more than ever had, though he couldn't be sure if it was from hunger or something else.

Worse, he had no idea what had happened to Hailey. The thought of her scared, hungry and in another cart sent a stab of pain into Alexs chest and he gasped for air.

I was supposed to protect her, i took her out of the house.

Suddenly, he realized the cart was moving. He struggled to raise his hands-- tied tightly at the wrists-- and pounded the top of the cart until his knuckles stung. Everything halted and an old mans bulging eyes appeared between the slats. Alex recoiled from hair that looked like white wires and a face that had so many creases he might easily be 100 years old.

"So you're still alive" The man said cackling

"Wasn't sure there for a while, I was wondering if i'd 'ave to bury you out 'ere. Didn't want to mess with burying another grave." He smiled a gummy grin and then added

"Looks like it might rain"

Another grave?

All Alex could see in his mind was Haileys scared face. He threw his body at the sides if the cart hoping it would fall over and he can break out. But it didn't budge and the old man stopped smiling.

"Relax, you're not going anywhere. This cart has been my sturdy companion longer than you've been on Gods green earth." He said

Alex could see the old man wore a royal blue cloak and his nose was pink from the wind. Despite his age his voice was strong and his black beady eyes serious as a snake.

"No banging and no yelling, you 'ear me. Or there will be consequences"

"I'm not scared of your threats" Alex retaliated, his voice muffled by the rag. "I'm stronger than you"

The old man smiled again, light dancing in his dull eyes

"But your sisters not, keep quiet if you want nothing bad to 'appen to 'ailey" He said with a wicked smile.

She's still alive. That brought Alex some comfort at least.

The old man began to laugh, revealing several missing teeth and a deep scar along his right cheek.

He knows Haileys name. What else does he know? How did he make her talk? What did she tell him?

Alex knew he should probably scream and hope someone would hear her. He knew he could easily over power and outrun an old man. How fast could an old man run?

But he has Hailey

"Are you listening" The old man yelled, slapping the cart with a hand as red as blood.

Alex nodded

"You kids are all the same" He said while wiping his forehead with his cloak. "So much trouble and so ungrateful" His knuckles rose and Alex could see a red ruby ring.

Who does he work for?

The old man shuffled away saying

"I almost forgot, 'appy birthday make a wish sweetheart" He said cackling

His laugh sent a shiver up Alexs spine. The old man disappeared and the cart began to bump along the road again. Alex rested his chin on his knees again.

This was not how the day was supposed to go, it was just meant to be a walk. This is not how Alex had planned to spend his birthday.

As his ruby chain bracelet pressed against his wrist, he knew that leaving the house without his mothers permission was a terrible mistake. His mother would look for them in the tree house, but she would have no idea where to look when she didn't find them there.

A thick darkness settled, and with it, cold air. Suddenly the old man began to sing in a voice as high as a womans.

"Tonight the moon is watching as we ride toward the sea, The sky above, the ground below will sing in 'armony . you're free we'll sing and free again-- you're free, young Alex B."

But Alex suspected that his freedom had been left in the tree castle in the woods. As the night grew colder, the old man slowed and his breathing became loud and labored. The flat gravel roads gave way to steep climbs and craggy hills, and Alex feared the old man might have a heart attack and would leave us both to freeze in the middle of nowhere. Hours of travel felt like days. Suddenly, Alexs sad and weary eyes settled on a scene that rose before the slats of the cart. Hundreds of brightly lit windows and hundreds of turrets touched the sky, making the city below look like a pyramid of gold perched on lots of fluffy clouds., a sort of Glass Castle illuminating the sky. It's vibrant colours pulsed with life unlike anything Alex had ever seen. A thousand times he had imagined being found in a place that looked just like this-- like it belonged in a fairy tale. His father had spun tales of an evil queen's castle-- filled with secret passageways and tunnels. His stories about the underground colonies, which he called "the underworld", were the best. when he told them late at night by candle light that cast wide shadows on the bare walls of their tiny house, Alex forgot everything else in the world, including the fact that they were poor and Hungry. those moments, sitting next to his father in the lounge room , were his most cherished memories. Now his stomach twisted

Every fairy tale has its dragon.

He longed for the apple sausages Hailey had talked about in the woods. He would even settle for the thick pea pottage that made their usual meal. He didn't care about his ruined suit anymore, even if he owed his mother a lifetime of Saturdays sweeping the endless dust from the floor of her shop to buy a new one. He just wanted to go home.

Sloping rooftops and pointed turrets gave way to foreboding walls and dancing shadows so powerfully they made Alexs heart sink. Whoever lived in this magnificent city on a hill had money and power, so this kidnapping wasn't about a ransom. Her father had nothing of value to offer rich people. Eventually, the cart halted again and the man barked an order to someone Alex couldn't see. Bartering ensued, followed by the clanking of coins, and the cart was pushed onto something that moved up and down slowly. Alex pressed his face against the slats.

I'm being sold. To whom? For how much?

And then another thought was slow to follow--

Hopefully Hailey and i are sold to the same person so we can stay together.

And then a final thought

A raft. I don't know how to swim.

Chances of rescue looked slimmer by the second. Even if he escaped the box, he would never escape the water. On the other side of the raft, another box bore another frightened face pressed against the slats. Their eyes met briefly before the girl-- who looked to be about Alexs age-- moved quickly out of Alexs view. He turned his attention to the sea, where moonlight shimmered off choppy waves that made the raft bob, and he feared he might get sick.

I cannot make a scene if the risk is a watery grave.

The raft inched closer to the glowing city, it's light so dazzling that it looked as if it had been dusted with crystals. And it wasn't perched on fluffy clouds after all, but on it's own island. The raft maneuvered around a thick tree trunk and glided smoothly over glassy surface of the water. The moon appeared large and lavender in its brilliance. Alex knew that wherever he was going was unlike anywhere she had ever been. For good or for evil-- he suspected evil-- her life was about to change forever.