CH.15
1148 Words
Amanda Matthews whimpered softly where
she was tied like a dangerous wild animal
in a cage that could barely contain her.
Her joints were stiff and her bones ached
from where she had been folded into an
impossible position so that she could fit
into the cage. Looking at her, one would
never believe that she had once been one
of the most beautiful women in America.
Now, she was all skeleton and bones and
her dirty hair hung limply from her skull
of a head.
"Are you hungry yet? The man guiding
her asked, baring his brown and
disgusting teeth at her in a sickening smile.
"Yes, please," Amanda replied humbly and
feebly. She could feel the hunger pangs
gnawing at her stomach as it had been
doing ever since she got here. They had
never given her enough food to satisfy
her. Instead, they gave her just enough to
make her live and suffer. She would have
gladly killed herself a long time ago if she
could, but she was watched and guided
like a hawk and there was hardly a single
time of the day when someone wasn't with
her, even when she had to take a crap or
pee.
"No, I don't think so. You don't look
hungry to me." The man said, laughing at
her and lighting a joint. The smell of the
smoke caused her stomach to churn more
painfully. Knowing that no amount of
begging would cause the man to change
his mind and give her something to eat,
she lay her head back against the cage
and sighed, trying her best not to inhale
too much of the offending smoke. The
man could see that she was trying not to
inhale, so he purposely blew a particularly
thick puff of smoke her way.
Amanda closed her eyes and tried to
distance herself from the situation,
something that was damn hard to do
given the circumstances. She had been
here now for almost six months, by her
calculations, although she was not too
Sure as there was no way for her to keep
track of time as it passed. At first, she had
had great hopes that Bryce would
come for her. He would find her, save her
and then make these people pay for the
horrible things they had done to her, but
no, Bryce never showed up and she
knew now that she would die here... a
painful, slow death that she would not
wish on anyone, not even her enemy.
"Here.. eat this." She heard the man say
as he flung a piece of bread at her. She
took it gratefully and began to eat it. Once
she had finished eating it, she leaned
back and closed her eyes again until the
door opened and she heard someone else's
voice. It was a woman's voice this time
around.
"Do you want more food?" She asked.
Amanda slowly opened her eyes to see who
was talking and saw that it was a woman
who looked to be about her own age,
although no one would know that by
merely looking at them, considering
Amanda now looked haggard and about one
step from the grave.
The scent of the lady's perfume filled the
air, sweet, feminine, and classy. Amanda
could remember a lifetime ago when she
had smelt that way.
Take her out, clean her up, feed her
properly and then bring her to me." The
lady ordered before turning on her heels
and flouncing out of the room
Amanda listened to the words as though in
a trance. She was going to step out of the
cage and out of the room in which she was
held? It rarely happened, so she was
happy for a chance to stretch her legs, and
maybe see the sun. The guard brought out a key from his pocket and fumbled with
the lock on the cage, after which he
dragged her out unceremoniously. Amanda
stood on wobbly legs, wishing that she
could strangle him for all that he had
done to her, but she could barely even
stand on her own talk more of strangling
such a heavily built man.
It was at this horrible man's suggestion
that the cage had been brought in a
month ago and she had been kept inside it
all because she had refused his sexual
advances. He held her arm and led her out
of the room into a large corridor and into
a kitchen where there were two women
who did not even bat an eyelid at the
condition she was in and gave orders for
them to serve her food.
Amanda accepted the food gratefully and
practically inhaled it. Once she had
finished eating, she was taken by another
woman to a bathroom where she was
thoroughly bathed by the woman. It was
just as well because although she had
eaten, Jessica was still extremely weak
and would not have been able to do any of
those things on her own. The woman
brushed her hair and dressed her in
clothes that hung loosely on her skinny
frame. All this whole, Amanda did not say any a single word as she was afraid that this was a hallucination and she did not want
it to fade away, but now, she dared to
Speak.
'Am I being released?" She asked the
woman, not really expecting an answer,
but thinking to herself that it was worth a
try.
"I don't know. You'll have to wait and find
out." The woman replied in a tone that
said she had better stop asking so many
questions, so Amanda slammed her mouth
shut.
Next, the woman led her up a flight of
stairs and down another corridor until
they appeared at a large door. She
knocked gently and then opened the door
when she got the order to come in from
inside. Amanda followed her into the room
hesitantly, not knowing what all this
meant.
"You look better." The woman from
before, the one who had asked them to
feed and bathe Amanda said, looking up
from where she was sitting down in an
armchair that was facing the door. A
strange man stood by her, no doubt her
bodyguard.
Amanda did not know what to say, so she
remained quiet and just looked around
the room, wishing that she would be
asked to sit down. She was still feeling to
weak and frail to stand.
You may sit down." The woman said to
her as though she had read her mind,
waving at one of the chairs close to Amanda
to indicate that she was to sit in it. Next,
she gestured at the woman who had
brought Amanda in to leave and then
leaned forward to face Amanda.
"Hello," she said. "I'm Caroline." She said
and smiled as winningly as though this
was a perfectly normal situation.
- Writer
