ALICE

 

 

In the darkness, I swung back and forth in the cage. The room was cold, it had been like that for hours. Whenever I shifted position, the chain above me would creak as I began to rock from side to side.

The only break in my misery came when the door opened and the light was switched on. My eyes were seared by the brightness and I winced, squinting and seeing a figure approach. “Arms out,” he said, the same accent as last time.

“Please let me go,” I said, blinking as he came into view. Before I could focus on him, the bag was back over my head.

“Arms out or you stay tied.”

I put my arms towards him, still pleading to be released as he brandished a knife. “No, don’t,” I begged, expecting the worst. He put the blade between my wrists and flicked upwards, the ziptie shearing neatly in two.

“Legs,” he said bluntly.

He held the cage to stop it moving while I shuffled my ankles forwards. He cut the ziptie holding them together as I tugged the bag off my head. He was gone before I could see, the light switching off with a click. Darkness again. I was alone.

I could only mark the passage of time by the fading of the pain in my aching muscles. I was at least able to move my arms and legs again. I tried fiddling with the lock, reaching through the bars to try and work the door open. It didn’t work.

Much later, the door opened again. This time when the light went on, the figure remained in place, waiting for my vision to come to me.

“Good evening,” a voice said, a voice I recognised.

“You,” I said in disbelief as Jason Fry walked towards me, a sick smile playing across his lips.

The man who’d been outbid by Ethan at the auction. The man who’d told him he would get revenge. The man who’d bribed the club into holding a second auction, then tried to drag me to his car.

His nose still looked swollen from where Ethan had punched him. “You did this,” I said, swinging my arm at him through the bars, my fingernails trying to claw at his face.

He ducked neatly backwards. “Temper, temper,” he said, leering down at my body. “I bet you’re wishing you went with me now.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I thought you were into submitting. Isn’t that why you’re with him?”

I scowled at him, unable to believe all of this was just a petty act of revenge over the auction. “Let me out.”

“If you agree to come home with me for the night I paid for, I might just do that.”

“Never."

"Then stay in there and starve."

"You’re insane.”

“For wanting what I paid for? I don’t think so. You should be more careful about breaking the rules. The auction was completed. I won you.”

“You won nothing.”

“I tell you what, you stay in there and think about it for a while. You might want to think about this too. What’s to stop me just coming over there and taking what I want from you right now?”

“Anything of yours that comes near me gets bitten off.”

“See how you feel in a day or two. Oh, and if you’re thinking of shouting for help. I’ve hired the entire club for a while so there won’t be anyone getting in the way of our little bit of fun. Lucky I knew there was a cage here, right?”

He turned and walked away, smiling back at me as I glared at him, not willing to beg anymore.

In the darkness, I raged silently, staggered by the injustice of what he’d done, the pettiness of his actions. I didn’t regret refusing to go with him, I had no interest in the man after finding out what he was really like, what he’d done to Ethan.

But how long could he leave me in here? All night? All day? Someone would miss me sooner or later. Ethan or my mother or Rowena would notice I was gone. They’d start asking questions. Hopefully someone would find me. I just hoped it would be before it was too late because I would rather starve to death in the cage than spend another minute in Jason Fry’s company.

At some point I slept. I only know that because when I did, I dreamed of Ethan. It was pitch black in my dream but there was a candle flickering somewhere near by, the light building enough to flicker and change. Nothing was illuminated but me, though the candle was out of sight. It was somewhere nearby but whichever way I looked, all I saw was darkness.

Then he was beside me. I knew it before I heard him. I couldn’t see him in the dark but I just knew he was beside me. “I’m coming for you,” he said, his voice light, gentle, but also resolute. There was no doubt, no worry, he was coming for me.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Very close.”

“I’m scared, Ethan.”

“Wake up.”

I jolted awake. The light was still there but it wasn’t a candle. It was the light of a mobile phone screen, blue glow illuminating me in the cage. “Don’t say anything.” The voice was the same as in my dream, quiet but confident.

“Ethan? Is that you?”

“What’s happening?”

“Jason locked me in here. There’s a key but I don’t know where it is.”

“I’ll be back. Just hold on.”

The door opened and closed. All I could do was wait.

He had found me. Just the sound of his voice and my fears melted. Nothing could hurt me now. He had found me.

I smiled to myself.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. “Here,” he whispered. “Can you walk?”

“Yes,” I hissed in his ear as he gingerly slid the key into the lock, turning it slowly. “Is he still here?”

“No but there’s security. I might be able to take on that many but better to just avoid them if we can.”

The door swung open and he helped me down to the floor. The moment I touched solid ground, I threw my arms around him, holding him tight as he kissed my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here. How did you find me?”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here first.”

He held my hand as we tiptoed over to the door. I stayed behind him as he glanced left then right. In the darkness I could see nothing but he was surefooted as he walked me slowly along the corridor before pushing the door open. I was overwhelmingly glad of the cold night air on my face.

It was only when we got into his car that the reality of the situation dawned on me. I collapsed into sobs and he held me for a moment before starting the engine. “We need to get you home,” he said as the back door to the club burst open and a man with a torch appeared, shining it in our direction.

The engine revved and then we were tearing out of the car park, leaving the security guard shouting after us. “Get me home,” I muttered through my tears, unable to believe I was actually free.

“Yes, get you home.”

“What about Jason?”

“Don’t worry, I have something planned for him.”