by Ian Fox
Emely turned around, wanting to get up.
“Be still!”
She stood up, just wanting out of that basement.
“I’ve had enough of you now.”
He slapped her so hard on the face that everything went dark for a moment. John pushed her back onto the bed. She sobbed, then began screaming again, angry and frightened. She hated being underground and he was forcing her to live there.
*
Moaning loudly, she wasn’t even aware that he had left long ago. She lifted her head, which she had pushed deep into the pillow, and began looking around the room. It measured about fifteen feet by twelve. In addition to the bed, there was a closet and a writing desk. She sat on the edge of the bed and put her foot in a big bowl. “Oh no,” she groaned. “Does he really think I’ll use a chamber pot?”
There was a basin in the room. She turned on the tap and water did actually come out. She rinsed her dirty face and hands. Next to her bed she noticed a small electric heater. “I can’t last more than a week in this hole.” She put her head in her hands and began crying again.
“I mustn’t panic,” Emely told herself. “I have to think clearly. In a few days, I’ll be out of here.”
She lifted her aching body in order to find something she could hit him with when he came next time. He’s sure to have missed a hard object in here. She looked under the bed and grabbed a leg to check its thickness. No, I wouldn’t be able to do much with this. Then she opened the closet that was, to her surprise, empty. There was nothing hard and usable on the desk either. Perhaps I could grab the heater and hurl it at him, she thought, but had to admit it was not the best idea. She checked the door that separated the room from the basement corridor. First she pushed lightly a few times, then more strongly, but the door did not yield. She felt panic rising inside her again. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she shoved the door a few more times so that the metal hinges creaked. She was increasingly becoming aware of the fact that there was no way out. However hard she tried, she couldn’t stand the tension that had been growing inside her from the beginning. She threw herself on the bed, crying hysterically, screaming and banging her arms and legs as an expression of her fear and sadness and helplessness and rage. Not often in her life had she been so utterly powerless; she always had everything under control and that was what she was used to.
She cried until her screams turned into quiet sobs, intermingled with little moaning noises. She began to shiver with cold and covered herself with the heavy cover. Pressing her knees to her chest and putting her arms around them, she remained in this position, lamenting her situation, and finally fell asleep with the light still on.
*
In the morning, Emely felt much better. Looking at her Chopard watch, she thought, The police must be looking for me by now. She got up and did a few squats and then turned her body left and right twenty times. Her thoughts were racing all the while and she had to try hard not to become depressed again. She decided to do a few pushups too. Afterward, she went to turn on the tap and out came ice-cold water.
Slowly she put her hands under the stream, gritting her teeth. She washed her face, smeared from all the tears of the day before. Crying won’t get me anywhere. I have to act soberly and carefully.
The chipped mirror above the basin reflected wrinkles that she had never noticed before. I must be nicer to John. Only when he trusts me and gets more careless will I be able to seize the opportunity.
Once more she rinsed her face, rubbing it hard. She took the new toothbrush that stood next to the toothpaste. Yes, that’s what I’ll do, wait for the right moment.
*
John appeared at nine. Instead of a greeting, he said: “I can see you got up early. I’ll take you to the bathroom, where you can have a shower while I fix you some breakfast.”
She was about to get up to indicate she was ready when he took her hand and said, “I’m warning you, if Ronald comes and hears you, I won’t be able to help you!”
She looked at him obediently, nodding. As she was about to leave the room, he squeezed her right shoulder.
“The noise of his car can be heard from far off. For additional security I put an alarm on the gate which will announce his arrival in time.” He pointed at the small loudspeaker in the corner, which she had not noticed. “When that happens, you must remain down here, perfectly silent. Have I made myself clear?” He was looking her in the eyes as if wanting to see what she was thinking. “Although I doubt he’ll turn up soon. Ronald has never liked this house.”
She nodded.
When they came to the ground floor, she was glad to see something different. There was no smell of dampness and the house seemed nice and light. She looked out of the window and noticed the wonderful but overgrown garden. Obviously the house has been neglected, she thought.
The warm water on her skin gave her additional energy. She sighed with pleasure, taking her time and spending over twenty minutes in the shower, soaping herself twice thoroughly, as if wanting to wash off all the unpleasantness. She also washed her hair and was surprised to see a brand-new hairdryer. He must have bought it for me.
During the substantial breakfast, they barely spoke. Finally, while they were drinking coffee, he offered her a sheet of paper and a pen.
“Write down everything you need,” he said. “Also give me your size and I’ll buy you some clothes.”
“OK.”
Every time he asked her something, she responded politely and then looked away. She was afraid of him and didn’t want to either irritate or attract him with her eyes. She was aware that he found her attractive and that it was only a matter of time before he came on to her again. At the thought of this she began trembling, telling herself, I must be cautious.
She examined her surroundings. The objects she might be able to use as a weapon attracted most of her interest. A long metal poker next to the fireplace in the adjacent room held her attention the longest. Looking at the thin handle, she imagined John collapsing helplessly, shielding his head with his hands against her blows, yelling in pain, begging for her to stop, but she refused to and kept going until her strength began to fade.
“Emely!”
“Yes?”
“What were you thinking about?”
“About which shares it would be best to invest in.”
“Aha. That’s something I won’t interfere with.” He kept watching her, knowing he couldn’t trust her and that she’d use any opportunity to escape. He took a last sip of coffee and got up. Emely responded instantly and jumped up in order to prevent him pulling her again with his rough hands. In fact, she didn’t want him to touch her at all.
*
During that day and the next, she didn’t see him much, apart from at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After each meal she trembled at the thought of him appearing again, but knew that it was only a matter of time before he did. When she lay on the bed or sat at the desk, she replayed the memory of what had happened to her. She thought about it so much that it gave her a headache. When she wasn’t thinking she was crying, and when she wasn’t crying, she was asleep.
*
John was not thinking of her. His thoughts revolved around the money that would soon be in his account. Every morning he rang his bank to check the balance. He knew that a transfer from abroad took at least three days, but still hoped that things would perhaps happen sooner. During the day he lay around drinking beer. In the evening, drunk, he drove to the nearest town where he entertained himself with the prostitutes who waited for clients next to the railway station. The thought of Emely seemed unattractive. Since he had pulled her, covered in dirt, from the coffin, thinking she was dead, she no longer appealed to him. Often during the night he woke up from terrifying nightmares which always included her dead body. He was unable to forget the expression on her face when he had pulled up the coffin lid. Her skin was white and cold and she no longer seemed beautiful. She smelled of the damp soil and he was horrified to have to lif
t her out. Everything he had done was done mechanically and it was only later that he remembered the details.
*
On the third day of Emely’s imprisonment in the small, stuffy basement room, John did not appear until midday. Emely had already done an hour of fitness training and stretching. She boxed and kicked as if getting ready for a military operation. Then she began to wonder where John could be since she was getting hungry and needed the toilet so badly that she had already glanced at the chamber pot angrily a couple of times.
When he came in she noticed his face was glowing. Clearly, he was in a good mood. She also saw that he had bought a new pair of pants and a T-shirt. He was carrying three full plastic bags.
“The money is in my account,” he said, and threw the bags on the bed. “I didn’t really believe it would happen until today.”
“I saved it for a special occasion,” she said absently. “I knew it would come in handy sooner or later.”
“Oh, yes, baby!”
He pulled a CD from one of the bags and later also connected a special interface that allowed Internet access. He was so happy that he completely forgot about Emely and looked at the computer screen like a child, proud of himself and his idea. He had instructions on a special sheet of paper that he’d received from a computer wiz instructing him how to install special filters so that Emely would be unable to see any other sites but the ones he would allow and to stop her getting access to e-mail. Finally, he was going to protect the whole computer with a special password, preventing Emely from changing anything.
While he was playing on the computer, Emely sat on the bed, feeling angry. The pressure in her bladder was increasing and so she transferred her weight from one side of her backside to the other. This fool doesn’t even think about other people having needs, too. She stared at his back, digging her nails into the thick cover. First she crossed her left leg over her right and then the other way around.
“Listen, John,” she said when she could last no longer, “I really need to use the bathroom.”
She got his attention for a moment. He glanced at her and then got back to his difficult task. “There’s the pot there, you can piss in that,” he said.
She could not believe her ears and sat helplessly on that bed with her mouth open, staring at him. What? This pervert is asking me to do it in front of him. She became really hot. “Surely you don’t think ….”
He spent some more time looking at the monitor, but then couldn’t contain himself any longer. The corners of his mouth began trembling until he finally burst out laughing as he looked at her stewing in anger.
If she could, she would have killed him with her look. Her eyes glistened and her lips were pressed into a straight line. Her cheekbones became pronounced, and she felt a consuming rage.
“I was joking, honey. One more minute and then I’ll take you to the bathroom.”
Out of sheer anger she dug her nails deep into the cover so that her knuckles turned white. She could feel the fever pulsating in her head as her hatred extended beyond all limits. She was only just able to control herself as tears pushed their way into her eyes again. No, damn it. I’ll not give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Gathering all her strength, she held back the tears that kept trying to find their way out and one did manage, but the rest stayed in. She quickly wiped away the stray tear with a finger and pretended everything was OK, and cooled her anger inside with deep breaths.
Then she thought, Maybe there’s a hard object in one of the bags. Slowly, she stuck her hand into the first bag, which was made of very noisy material.
“Sorry, Emely. I bought the things from your list,” he said without turning around as he continued installing the software. “And some clothes, so that you don’t have to wear the same things all the time.”
With my money, she thought.
She rummaged through all the bags, looking for a suitable object, trying to remember what she had put on the list, but due to her excitement she couldn’t think straight. Why didn’t I ask for a nail file? I could use that to stab him in the heart. She kept looking without caring if he saw her. If I find anything suitable, I’ll strike quickly so that this bastard doesn’t have the time to defend himself. She examined the last bag in despair, but to her disappointment there was nothing useful in it either. It was full of clothes, toiletries, and other small objects. Like a disappointed child she stared at the empty bags and their contents scattered over the bed.
Suddenly she looked at the reading lamp by the bed. If I hit him hard with that, he wouldn’t be able to get up.
She pulled out the plug while rustling one of the bags so that he wouldn’t hear what she was doing. She took the stem of the lamp and lifted it up. It’s now or never.
What she had not realized was that John was constantly observing her reflection on the monitor. As soon as she took a swipe, he ducked so that the lamp hit the back of the chair. Immediately afterwards he struck her so hard that she dropped the lamp in fear.
John threw himself on top of her and began to tear her clothes off. “Since you don’t want to try on the new clothes I’ve bought you by yourself, I’ll have to change you like a little girl.”
She screamed so loud that he stopped for a moment before putting his hand on her mouth. She dug her teeth into it and he immediately let go of her.
“You can shout all you like, no one can hear you!”
She closed her eyes and grimaced in the expectation of another blow, but it didn’t come. Instead he grabbed both her wrists with one hand and tore off her panties with the other. She was completely helpless. She tried to wriggle free, but he was too strong. She could hear the buckle of his belt being undone and became resigned to her fate. Gritting her teeth, she lay perfectly still as he mounted her.
He lay there for a while, making small movements, mumbling.
After a minute, he got up, swearing. She opened her eyes and saw his manhood in a flaccid state. Embarrassed, he fastened his pants without saying a word and left the room.
*
That evening John got very drunk and drove into town at great speed. He chose an Asian woman with large breasts. The moment they entered the hotel room, he roughly pushed her onto the bed, took off his pants, and began humping her like a rabbit.
“Slowly!” the woman screamed. “I’m not ready yet.” She wanted to push him away, but he slapped her hard twice.
“Please, don’t,” she said loudly.
“Shut up!” He was thrusting so hard that the woman had a feeling the metal bed frame would give in. She lay there motionless, afraid to make him angry again, and stared at the ceiling hoping that he’d soon finish and leave her alone.
“I hate women,” he said, groaning, before his body shuddered with a spasm.
While he was getting dressed five minutes later, he threw a bundle of banknotes in her face. “And keep your dirty mouth shut.”
“Yes, of course,” she said, nodding and quickly picking up the scattered money. It was much more than she had expected.
*
The next day, Emely began her new job. She stared at the computer screen, but it was not numbers that attracted her. Those securities were the last thing she was interested in. She wanted to check whether she could access another website, but without success. John really had done what he said he’d do to deny her access.
Staring into space, she thought about things and felt sorry for herself. Her will for life was gone and all she wanted was to die. After crying so much she thought she was bound to run out of tears eventually.
John also had installed a baby monitor in her room through which he was able to hear her while he was watching television upstairs. If Emely decided to buy or sell some shares, he would call his own personal broker, who would do this on his behalf. But instead, he had to listen to her moaning and crying.
By midday he had had enough. “Listen, you stupid woman. If you don’t intend to do some work, you’ll never get out of here. I’m telling you aga
in you should feel lucky to be alive at all. If you don’t stop sniveling this very minute and start buying shares, you won’t get any food, only bread and water. Have I made myself clear?”
She nodded faintly.
“Good, then start already.” He slammed the door loudly so that the bang reverberated around her head.
She didn’t care about food; she was not hungry anyway. He would have scared her much more if he had tried to rape her again. It’ll happen sooner or later, she thought, and started crying. Then she turned off the computer and said out loud, “I’ll smash this damn box of his and then he’ll see.”
*
John kept his promise and brought his prisoner only a few stale slices of bread and a bottle of water. He stayed in the room only as long as it was necessary and then returned to his armchair on the first floor. “If you want to use the bathroom, call me,” he said in passing.
*
The next two days were not much different. John listened to Emely’s crying and had to turn off the baby monitor several times when it got on his nerves. She’ll come to her senses, he thought. I’ll leave her for a while. She can’t keep crying forever.
*
On the fourth day something changed. First thing in the morning she decided that this could not go on. I won’t get anywhere this way. She thought hard about her position and again decided to play the role he wanted her to play, only so that gradually he’d become careless and then she’d strike. Of course, you stupid woman, you’ve lost three days with all the crying. And where has it gotten you? Nowhere.
