Run, Celine, Run!
1106 Words
The first few days went by like a blur. Diane and Maggie would often come down to torture their prisoner.
“You stink, Celine! Don't you know a lady should always be clean?” Diane would laugh as she hosed Celine down with chilling water.
Maggie would laugh in the back. “Make sure you get her well. This evil little witch has been trying to destroy our family all along! Make sure she suffers, Diane!”
As much as Celine tried to put on a brave face through it all, it was hard knowing all of this could have been stopped by her father. What did I ever do to this? She would think as she cried herself to sleep.
They fed her just enough to keep her alive but each day, she dried up more and more from getting barely enough food. She couldn't think, any plan she tried to form, they would crush her spirit before it could develop.
Suddenly, a cold blast of water jarred her awake. Her eyes sprang open and she scrambled away from her assailant. When her eyes adjusted, she saw no one. Had it been a nightmare?
The shock put her in full alert mode. The fog in her brain cleared up for a second and a thought came to her mind. The phone!
With the little strength she had, she rushed to her pillow and reached under it. There it was. Hope brimmed in her heart. This was her last hope!
Praying with everything she had, she turned on the phone hoping it still had some juice left. The screen flashed black with a white, half eaten apple in the middle. Relief! She was primed to dial 911 when the most unimaginable thing happened.
The screen flashed a warning sign and started blaring a deafening alarm. Celine's eyes grew wide and she nearly dropped the phone. Barely able to think, she tossed it onto the bed and leapt onto it, trying to hide the noise with her emaciated body.
But it was too late.
The door burst open and Diane stormed in. “What the hell is that, Celine?” she shrieked from the top of the stairs.
Celine's heart pounded, hearing Diane's footsteps rapidly coming down the stairs.
No, no, no, please no! Tears welled up in her eyes knowing her only chance of salvation was about to be ripped right out of her hands.
“You sneaky b***h! So you've had a phone all this time? Who did you call?” Diane unsuccessfully tried to push Celine off the phone before giving up and kicking her square in the ribs.
Celine yelped in pain and curled into a fetal position, clutching at her side.
“Why won't it stop ringing?” Diane asked, frantically tapping at the screen. “And whose phone is this? I swear I took your phone.”
Celine couldn't speak through the pain. This annoyed Diane and she began furiously kicking Celine. “Can't you talk? Answer me! Who did you call?” She was truly scared Celine had called for help.
Celine squirmed, trying to get away from the pain but Diane followed. “Answer me! Who did you call?”
“No one… I didn't call anyone,” Celine croaked through the pain.
Rage blinded her. Celine had always been a pain in her ass, but was she really going to get Diane and her parents busted by the cops? She only stopped when Celine started coughing up blood.
The phone finally stopped ringing, bringing an eerie silence to the room. Watching the helpless, frail girl squirm about like a worm on the ground, it occurred to Diane that if anything was going to happen, it would have happened days ago. The phone was out of battery so there was no way Celine could have called for help.
She burst into laughter. “Don't scare me like that, Celine. I thought you were going to get us caught. I should have known better. You're too stupid to pull off something like that. Silly girl! But I am going to have to take this phone though. Can't be too careful.”
Still writhing in pain, Celine watched as Diane turned to leave with the phone. Anger surged in her chest and she grabbed Diane's leg, knocking her off balance. Diane fell and hit her head on the floor with a sickening thud.
Celine braced for her to get up and rain fire and brimstone, maybe hit her until she passed out but there was no movement. She waited for a few seconds before accepting that truly, Diane was knocked out.
Adrenaline flooded her veins, dulling the pain in her aching body. She sprang to her feet and bounded up the stairs.
She cautiously peeped out of the basement door, listening for any sound. Nothing. The house was completely empty except for Diane and her.
Without barely a second to process, she darted to her room, grabbed a duffel bag and packed it full of hoodies and sweatpants, grabbed her life savings – a few hundred dollars – and ran for the front door. On second thought, he ran to Diane's room and took all her savings too for good measure before running out the front door for the last time.
****
On the other side of town, Trina's eyes were glued to her computer screen. Finally the tracker on the phone came active and she could pinpoint the last known location.
Silas Duhamel was the last person you wanted to be angry at you. The last few days, her nerves had been on edge, replaying his threats to her. She's personally seen what happened to those who crossed him. Losing her job was the least of her worries.
She quickly jotted it down but didn't let her happiness get the best of her. The last thing she wanted was to return to her boss with a half-baked victory. She deployed her men to scope out the address and they came back with good news.
Three people lived in the house – a man, a woman, and a younger woman that fit Silas' description perfectly.
This was it. She rushed to give Silas the good news.
“Why the hell are you here without her? Do I have to do your job for you?” His voice reverberated down to her gut, clearing up the relief she was feeling.
“I'll… I'll get her right away sir.” Trina rushed out.
Determination filled her chest. That little b***h that made her boss so angry would bear the brunt of her wrath.
- Writer
