"She": Chapter 1

From the window she can see they sky. It is overcast and has been for nearly a week. She is unusually tired today and wonders why she cannot sleep. Perhaps it is the cold. At night as the stars shine through the window, cool air blows against her translucent skin. Cracks in the room’s structure make the temperature nearly unbearable, but she has grown used to it.

It is January 22 and it has been three months now. She counts the days patiently wondering when or if she will see home again. These thoughts sadden her, but she never looses hope. Nonetheless, today the cold is disheartening her and life seems dimmer then usual.

From down the hall she hears him stir. Sunrise has gone and passed and he will be angry that he overslept. His loss will be her punishment and she will not receive breakfast this morning.

Hail has begun to swirl around the window. A storm has come and tonight will be bitterly cold. She appreciates the beauty of nature, but knows that it will cause her another restless night. Perhaps tonight she will stay awake and write. It is her passion and the only thing that keeps her sane.

She has an old marker she salvaged when she was first locked away. It was lying in the corner of the room alone and icy, as she soon would be. She takes it and writes a short poem on the window, then quickly wipes it away. He must never know she writes.

His footsteps grow near to the room. She shoves the marker into a crack and huddles in the corner. When he opens the door she flinches and hopes he does not notice. She sees that he has something hidden behind his back, and wonders if today he will be kind to her. He slowly puts his hands out and offers her a slice of bread. She does not dare accept, she knows that he is angry and she must not upset him any more.

He lays the bread down in front of her and walks away. Soon the door is locked and she is trapped once again. This is another test. When she first arrived at the house she did not know when she was being tested. When she first got here she would have eaten the bread, but now she knows to stay away from it. Now she knows that every action has severe consequences, every wrongdoing causes her more pain.

* * *

As he locks the door behind him, he knows she has grown smarter. She will forget about breakfast and wait for whatever may come next. This angers him. It was much easier to chastise her when she made a ‘mistake’. Now he would have to change the rules. She will not receive food at all today.

As he paces his room, he contemplates his next moves. Not a soul suspects him. He has been able to hide her here for nearly three months now. When she first arrived he was questioned by the police, as were all her neighbors, but what motive could he possibly have? Fortunately, their secret was still hidden.

His plan was going well. It all fit together as he had imagined it might. When he initially kidnapped her, she was in a deep sleep. He had placed a strong dose of sleeping medication into her nighttime tea. They chatted for a short while and then exhausted, she excused herself to bed. He then left for an hour and prepared the house for her arrival. He soon returned with three items: duct tape, plastic ties and his precious car, a 1957 Eldorado.

He parked his vehicle in the garage, as she had carelessly left it unlocked. Then he crept into the house. It was dark except for the shell shaped night light she kept in her bathroom to see at night. He tiptoed into her bedroom, swiftly clasped her hands, tied them and grabbed the piece of duct tape he had torn off and stuck to his wrist. He instantly placed it over her opened mouth. As she slowly came out of the grogginess, she began to kick and flail about. He promptly got a hold of her dainty ankles and tied them as well.

When he got her out to the car, he wrapped her tightly in the flannel blanket that was in his trunk and placed her in the car. As he drove the short block home, she quivered like a fish in the back seat. It was ironic that something so beautiful could be so tarred. However, she would make up for her filth, she would soon be castigated.

When he got home and removed her from the car, her energy was failed. She let him drag her into the house and lock her away. He clipped the plastic ties as soon as she was in her new domain. She tried to put up a fight, but he was strong and she soon gave up the effort. He had won, like always he was the victor and he knew it.