By Gregory A. Miller
This has got to be my only chance. While “Father” and the others are foraging in the woods. It’s just me and “Mother”.
I need to find the perfect time to escape. I can hear her downstairs in the kitchen. She’ll expect me to get down there soon and help her with the garden.
My heart is pumping. Could today really be the day I escape? What will they do to Sam and Jake? I don’t want to leave them here, but after a whole year of being kidnapped, it’s obvious we can’t all escape together.
My body is throbbing with anticipation. When can I do it? “Father and Mother” always keep a gun with them, and our “siblings” always have a knife between them.
Maybe when I go to the garden? No, she wouldn’t let me go alone. What about right after I go downstairs and before she sees me? No, the chances of her not checking the stairs are low. She’ll take her gun and shoot me. She wouldn’t kill me either, that’s the worst part, and I don’t even want to think about what my “punishment” would be.
I have to sneak past or use something against her somehow. It’d be easy if they hadn’t barely been feeding us.
Hunger. Our latest punishment was because Sam said he missed his family.
They scolded us again, saying they are our “family”, and they’ve barely fed us since. That was two weeks ago… I think.
I miss my family, too. Man, if I do escape, how am I going to tell Sam and Jake’s families that I left them?
I have no choice. If I can escape and tell the police about this place, then maybe they can get to my friends before something bad happens to them.
Today has to be the day. I’ve been pretending to be very weak for the past couple of days, hoping they would either give me more food or an escape opportunity like this would come up.
I need to get going before the others get back.
“What’s taking so long?!” my “mother” said, hearing the floor creak as I walk towards the door.
This stupid old house, there’s definitely no way I can sneak past her.
“I couldn’t find my other shoe. I’m coming.”
…
This all began on that cloudless, sunny day when we decided to play hooky at school. We took our skateboards and went to the park on the edge of town.
After we spent some time there, we went walking through the trees. We had heard something. Someone else was in the woods with us. We could hear digging.
Curious, we followed the sounds, and as we got closer, the sounds stopped. We heard a twig break behind us. When we turned someone with a shovel, who we would later call “father”, he knocked Sam out with it.
Jake turned to run, but then “mother” was there with her shovel, and then he was out. I ran a few feet, tripped on a branch, and when I looked up, all I saw was the shovel.
When I woke up, I was alone in a teenager’s bedroom with my hands tied behind my back and my mouth gagged. After a while, the “parents” came up and led me downstairs to the living room, where my friends were.
There were two other teenagers there, too. A boy and a girl. They weren’t bound like we were. Instead, they were smiling.
After they sat me down, they explained to us that they were our “parents” now and that the two kids, who were obviously their actual kids, were our “brother and sister”. We were to call them “mother, father, brother, and sister”.
If we didn’t do what we were told, then we would be punished. The father took Jake’s mask off first, and he started to beg them to let him go. The father slapped him in the face and gagged him again.
The brother undid Sam’s gag and told him to call him by his name. Sam said he didn’t know his name. The brother slapped him and said that he was “brother” and to pay attention.
He put his gag back on, and the mother undid mine. I had no choice but to play along. I was silent until she asked what her name was. I replied with “mother,” and she said, “At least someone can follow instructions”.
They said we would each get our own rooms and which would be locked each night. We had to do what we were told. If we tried to escape, they would not kill us, but we may wish that they would.
This was our new life now, and we needed to accept that.
…
I need to walk slowly down the steps. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll be busy.
Ok, I’m at the bottom, but I don’t hear..
“Finally, come here!”
I just jumped like a startled cat. She was in the living room. Better not keep her waiting.
SLAP!
Ow, she slapped my face hard. My eyes are watering.
“I’m sorry, but you must obey and never make us wait on you. I don’t know how many times we have to tell you that.”
“I’m sorry… mother.”
“Well, now come here, poor thing.”
I hate it when she holds me as if she actually cares about us.
“Now, let’s go grab the tools from the shed.”
“Yes, mother.”
I feel so weak, but I need to muster as much strength as I can. If I can use one of the tools to my advantage, maybe I wouldn’t have to use as much energy. What am I saying? No matter what I do, it’ll be a lot on me.
The shed is right next to the garden. There are the tools.
“Mother, may I use one of your tools? It would make things go by a lot quicker.”
“No, honey, you must use your tools.”
“Yes, mother.”
They only let us use the small tools, so that we use a lot more energy, and if we tried to do anything to escape, we’d have to get up close to them.
They always want us where they can see us outside, especially when they’re doing something that they may have to turn their backs on us for. Like unlocking the shed. I guess I’d better stand where I’m supposed to.
I can’t think straight with that dog barking. Where is it? Sounds like it’s on the edge of the woods.
Alright, I’ve got my small tool bag, and she’s at the other end of the garden. I need to come up with a reason to go talk to her. I’m so scared. Will this even work?
Maybe I can get in close to her. But can I be convincing enough?
Maybe I can cut myself slightly with the pruning shear and put it in my belt. Need to overact a little to distract her from the tool. Tears would be nice.
Left hand, pointer finger. Here goes.
“Ouch!”
Eyes watering, yes!
“What happened?”
“Cut myself, it hurts.”
“Come here, let me look at it. Put your tool dow-”
“It’s bleeding.”
“Okay, here.”
My chance is coming up. I will escape today, or I’ll suffer if I don’t. Here’s my hand.
“Hm, looks like a small cut. Bet it does hurt. You need a bandage.” Mother said.
Look her in the eyes and here goes everything.
Mother said, “What?”
“Thank you.”
“Just be careful next time.”
“No, I mean thank you. For taking me in. I know I haven’t always been good, but you are my family. I guess you’ve always been. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner.”
Move in for a hug. Oh no, she took a step back, gotta close in for the hug. Yes, now cry.
“Thank you, thank you so much for loving me. I love you… Mom.”, I said.
She’s putting her arms around me, good.
“It’s okay, dear. I will always love you. I… where is that barking coming from?”
No, she let me go. Wait, I can see the dog. Have I seen it before? Wait, that’s impossible.
“Roxy?”, I whispered.
Mother is looking at me now very suspiciously. I don’t know how my dog found me, but to move quickly. I’ve got the shear, she’s stepping back.
“Roxy, get her!”
Mother is looking at the dog and going for her knife. This is what I need. Throat, throat, throat. Pulling her hair back, I plunge the shears as hard as I can. Not clean since they won’t let us sharpen them.
Oh, the feeling is terrible. So much blood. She’s gurgling. The barking is getting louder. Need to finish this. I’ll take her knife and end it.
I can’t believe it’s over. Her eyes are open, oh gosh, I can’t keep looking.
“Roxy, stop barking. Stop!”
Oh no, I hear something in the woods. It’s them. Got to run, NOW!
Roxy is following me and still barking. She’ll give me away. Lead them to me.
“Roxy, stop. Stop it, please.”, I beg her.
I hear them. In the distance. They’ve found mother. I’ve got to stop the barking.
“Come here, girl. I’m so sorry.”
Grabbing her tightly, I try to end it quickly. I stab the knife into her neck. The yelp is almost too much for me to bear.
“I’m so sorry, Roxy girl. So so sorry.”
It’s done. Need to run as fast as I can. Faster, faster. I can feel my heart beating up to my ears. My tears are making it hard to see. Keep going. Need to keep going.
I hear cars. A road? A highway, maybe? Buildings! I see buildings through the trees.
Oh no. I hear running behind me. I see someone in the distance, could it be Father? Doesn’t matter. Once I make it to the buildings, he won’t be able to take me.
Almost there. Almost…
BANG!
Oh no! They shot me! The shot forced me forward to the ground. Oh, my arm. I can’t use it. I hear people up ahead.
“Hel…p…”
They’re coming to me. Yes! They heard me. No, they heard the shot. I think I hear whoever it was behind me running away.
Everything’s going dark. Dark. Dar…
…
Days have gone by. An ambulance came. I’ve lost my arm. It’ll be a reminder forever of what I went through.
The police followed my tracks and found the casing of the bullet that shot me. They found Roxy and “mother”.
The house was deserted. The “family” and my friends are gone without a trace.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who got away.
———————————————————————————————————–
I hope you enjoyed the story. I enjoyed writing it. Believe it or not, I got the inspiration for it in a dream. Why dreams can be so weird is beyond me, but it did give me the material and motivation needed to write my first short story.
Please let me know what you think. Tell me what you did and did not like. Plus, any constructive criticism is always welcome.
Stay tuned for:
- Top 5 Worlds I’d Vacation in if I Could (Sunday)
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: Vol II, Part V; Vol III, Part I (Tuesday)
Digital Archiver signing off.
