Caged (Caged series Book 1)

by Destiny Hawkins

  It felt like at least thirty minutes passed when we hit a pot hole that woke me and Lorena up, and I immediately became alert when I thought it was Arnold making another attack. When Lorena realized it was nothing, she went back to sleep, but I couldn’t help but stay awake this time. Something didn’t feel right.

  When I looked out the window, I saw that we were on the highway, but for some reason, we were only driving about forty miles per hour, and there were no other cars out. The sun also didn’t look like it was coming up any time soon. What time was it?

  I looked up front to see that it was only four thirty in the morning, but I thought we were leaving at six? I gently shook Lorena to get her attention. She jumped up and frowned at me for waking her, then her face straightened when she saw the worried expression on mine.

  The truck slowed down even more, and when I looked back, I saw why. There was a cop behind us, pulling us over.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Nothing, just play it cool, he isn’t with us,” the driver said.

  The other escort looked back at us, “Don’t worry, we’ll just see what the problem is and be on our way.”

  I looked back to see that the road was still clear, “Okay.”

  “Roy said we were leaving at six,” Lorena said, while looking at the time.

  “Had to go early. Roy’s orders,” his smile was reassuring.

  I looked out the window to see the officer headed for the driver’s side. I grabbed Lorena’s hand tightly, feeling uneasy, and waited for him to get to the window.

  “What’s the problem officer?” the driver asked.

  The flashlight he shined in the window was blinding, “Oh, I just wanted to let you guys know,” the officer sounded very familiar, “that your left headlight is out-” the officer reached in his belt and pulled out a gun.

  I grabbed Lorena by the back of her head and we ducked behind the seats.

  “Shi-” two silent shots went off, and when I looked, I saw the escorts laying limp against their seats.

  “Rose,” Lorena whispered in fear. She was looking back at the cop who was smiling over at us. He was Arnold’s driver, but for Lorena, he was the man from the wrestling meets.

  A white van pulled up beside us, with no windows except for the ones in the front.

  “What are we gonna do?” Lorena asked.

  “Let’s go,” he waved his gun for us to get out.

  We both scooted out of the van and then were pulled into the van by two other men. I wanted so badly to fight back, but there were guns pointed at us once again. One was held directly to my temple.

  “I’ll meet you guys there,” the cop said.

  The van door closed, and the driver zoomed off. Lorena and I were both cuffed with our hands behind our backs, and had duct tape over our mouths. I thought that Lorena would start crying, but she didn’t. Maybe she was trying to be as brave as she thought I was, or maybe she didn’t want to cry in front of these men. I could feel her fear, though. I could feel her shaking next to me.

  Chapter 38

  It felt like we were in the van for hours, and I figured that they were taking us out of the state. By now, we had to at least just be getting out of Ohio, and closer to our destination. No wonder there was no trace of Arnold back home, because he was out of state, and had left a few of his men behind to do his dirty work.

  Lorena had fallen asleep on my shoulder, and I could feel her head sweating through my shirt. It wasn’t very hot on the van, but I guess she was so nervous that she broke into a cold sweat. I thought about waking her, but then decided to let her sleep. She was going to need her rest for what was coming next. I’m not sure what was going to happen to us, because Arnold could get creative, but I knew that it would be a horrible experience.

  I felt a strong pain in my chest at the thought of seeing Lorena in pain. I didn’t want to see her go through that ever again...not like I had to before, and even then I was helpless. Its years later, and I still feel like I can’t do anything. I was cuffed, there were guns being pointed at me, and I felt small. It’s like there was nothing I could do.

  When I looked out the front window, I could see that the sun was trying to come up. We weren’t on the highway anymore, but in some suburb. Lorena must have noticed that we slowed down and looked up. We were stopped at a large black gate that led up a long driveway and behind all of that I could see a large brown house.

  The driver got out of the car, and I could hear buttons being pressed, then the gate opened, and he got back in and drove through. As we drove up the long driveway, I could see the house more clearly. It wasn’t as big and nice as the mansion that Arnold lived in before, but it still looked like his taste. All the house needed was a little fixing up, maybe a new paint job, and someone could take up the leaves on the ground.

  We drove past the house and stopped in the backyard. The back wasn’t as large as the front, but I could see that there were woods to escape through, just like there was last time.

  The driver got out of the van and opened up the door to let us out. The two men inside with us pulled us out and led us to the backdoor. I looked behind me to see the sun one last time. I don’t think that this time Arnold will ever let us go, and I didn’t know the next time I’d see such a beautiful day. The sun peeked over the trees at me, saying goodbye.

  We were pulled in through the backdoor and into the house. The inside was clean, with all the same kind of furniture Arnold had last time. He had a thing for wooden tables, new wooden floors, cabinets, and chairs. It actually was a really nice set up, but under the circumstances I didn’t really enjoy the view.

  “In here,” the driver said. He unlocked a skinny white door and opened it up. My heart started pounding when I saw that it led to a dark basement. The fact that there was no light told me that there were no windows.

  I shook my head no, terrified of going into basements, let alone being locked into one with no light.

  The driver smiled at me and grabbed my arm but I yanked back again. My other arm was grabbed and they pulled me down together. When I looked back, I saw that Lorena wasn’t coming down with me and I started to struggle even more. What were they going to do with her? What did Arnold have planned?

  Once they got me to the bottom of the steps I was thrown onto the dirt floor and took a kick to the stomach. I could feel my cuffs being taken off, just so that they could lock on the chains that were bolted to the stone walls.

  Lorena looked at me one last time, before she was yanked away from my sight. The two men went up the stairs and locked the door behind them.

  I laid there on the dirt floor, and tried to keep from crying, but I couldn’t help it. This wasn’t supposed to happen- Arnold wasn’t supposed to catch us. We were far from Roy and all the other cops now, and I doubt that they’ll be finding us any time soon, if at all.

  I looked around for any way to escape, but there was nothing. Arnold had carefully picked out this house so that when he got me, I would never get away.

  I wondered when he would be showing his face to me, and tell me his plans. Now that Arnold finally had us, I’m sure he wasn’t in any hurry to reveal himself. I was going to rip off the duct tape and scream for him to come down, but that blow to the stomach made me not want to do anything but lay here.

  I waited for at least an hour before I fell asleep, exhausted from the ride. I’d been up since four this morning, and didn’t get a real sleep in since last night. I figured I was going to need it for what’s to come next. I’m sure it’s something big.

  “Let me out!” I screamed while shaking the cage, “please! I want to go home. I want to go home...”

  I jumped when I felt the tape slowly being pulled from my lips. It was Miss Shy. My eyes widened and I quickly sat up, “Miss...” She put her finger to her lips and handed me a cup of water that I quickly drank down. I looked up at her wondering what the hell she was doing here, but still didn’t say anything.

  “I’m going to
get you out of here,” She whispered.

  “Is Lorena okay?” I asked.

  “She’s fine. My brother just wanted to talk to her,” Miss Shy took the cup and stood up.

  “Your brother?” I frowned, “Who’s...” I stared up at her, “but that can’t be-”

  “He’s my half-brother. Look, don’t say anything about knowing me. I’m working under co-”

  The basement door opened and Arnold stood at the top of the steps. He stared down at me and Miss Shy for a moment, then slowly came down the stairs.

  “What are you doing down here?” Arnold asked.

  “Oh, getting her some water. She’s been down here all day and hasn’t been given anything,” Miss Shy answered calmly. She acted pretty normal in front of Arnold. I guess she wasn’t afraid of him.

  “Well, don’t give her anything else unless I say so,” he waved for her to go away while still watching me and taking off his coat, “close the door behind you.”

  “What are you going to do?” Miss Shy asked.

  “Stephanie,” he glared at her. “Leave. Me and Rose need to talk,” he tossed his coat on a chair and began rolling up his sleeves.

  Miss Shy gave a worried look, but did as she was told. I didn’t want her to leave me down here with him. Arnold. Her brother.

  Arnold crouched down in front of me. “Guess this is a bit of a surprise, huh?” he laughed. He pulled out a key from his pocket. “I’ve been thinking for a while on what I should do to teach you a lesson, and I figured,” he unlocked one of my chains, “that I would,” he unlocked the other one, “just put you in your place myself,” he stood up and backed away, “you see, fathers have to love their children, but they also have to put a little fear in them so that they won’t go off doing whatever they want. Children have to know that there are consequences.”

  I didn’t get up, because I was too afraid to. Arnold was much more ripped and bigger than he used to be. Almost had me wondering if he did spend some time in jail.

  “Don’t worry. Winee had no control, because she couldn’t even remember. I’m not going to punish her. But you?” he grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me to my feet, “you should have just came back when I told you to.” The smile dropped from his face and he slammed me against the stone wall. “Fight me,” he backed up, giving us a little space between each other.

  I looked him up and down, and couldn’t get myself to go at him. I’m not the same girl that I was before- back when I wasn’t afraid of anything, and the thought of going against Arnold, after the way he slammed me to the ground the last time we met, scared the hell out me.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t want to?” He asked.

  I shook my head no.

  “Would you rather fight Winee instead?” A smile crept up his face again. When I didn’t answer right away he yelled for the men to bring Lorena down.

  “No, no- I don’t want to-”

  The driver pulled Lorena downstairs and let her go. She was no longer cuffed or wearing duct tape, just crying. She looked like she’d been crying all day.

  “Kill her,” Arnold said.

  “What? Wait- no-”

  He walked to his coat and pulled out a gun, then he pointed it at Lorena’s head, “I said kill her Rose. Or I will.”

  I could feel myself shaking all over, and didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I couldn’t get myself to harm Lorena, let alone move.

  “Rose!” Arnold’s voice boomed, making us both jump. The driver was silently laughing on the steps in his cop suit.

  I thought back to when Winee was laying cold in the mud, and remembered how horrified I felt. Now I love her more than before, and couldn’t imagine ever doing that to her again.

  I looked into Lorena’s tearing eyes and didn’t know what to do. Either way, she was going to die.

  Arnold sighed and gave the gun to the driver. “You never listen,” he said, walking towards me. His steps were heavy and quick, and as soon as he was close enough he swung at me, but I ducked out of the way and stumbled to the ground. I could hear the driver laughing even louder.

  Arnold frowned and stomped on my chest. I hit the ground hard and tried to get my breath back, but he did it again, then pulled me back to my feet. “Fight me!”

  I held my chest, gasping for air. When Arnold came at me again, Lorena grabbed his arm, but he just yanked away and backhanded her to the floor. Angrily, I threw a hook at him, but I missed, and he grabbed my wrist and punched me hard in the chest.

  My eyes burned with tears as I stumbled back to the stone wall. It felt like I couldn’t get any air to my lungs, no matter how hard I tried to breathe.

  “Are you crying!?” He yelled. A slap stung my cheek hard, but he didn’t let me fall over. He pinned me to the wall by my shirt. “What the hell are you crying for?”

  I started sobbing uncontrollably, “I’m sor- I’m sorry,” I cried.

  “Stop!” Lorena came for him again, but the driver grabbed her.

  “How the hell did Winee get tougher than you? All that training, everything we’ve been through, and this is how you turn out?” he grabbed my arms and slammed me against the wall then he punched me in the chest again. I fell to the floor, feeling like I was having a heart attack.

  “Do we have to start all over again, Rose?” he kicked me over to my back, “What do I have to do to get my daughter back?”

  I didn’t answer. I couldn’t, between the gasping and crying.

  Arnold sighed, then he looked over at Lorena. “You know, Winee, after Rose thought she killed you, she turned into the perfect child,” he walked up to her and gently touched her face. “You were everything to her, and then you were gone, and she grew cold. She did everything I wanted her to do...” he looked back at me. “Should I kill her Rose?”

  I don’t know if I was hyperventilating, or if my lungs were closing up, but I couldn’t breathe anymore. Arnold and Lorena were getting more blurry by the second. The last thing I saw was Arnold pointing a gun at her back.

  POP.

  * * *

  “Rose! Come on!” Winee yelled. She was running down a hill in the woods to blow off some steam, “come on!”

  I ran to catch up with her. At this point we were almost to the lake where we would jump in and play in the water. It wasn’t very deep, so we were able to stand or swim around and cool off.

  Winee got to the lake first, and made big splashes with each step. I stopped right before I stepped into the water, and watched as my best friend splashed around without a care in the world. It was like there was nothing to worry about. Arnold wasn’t real, and the fight she just had never happened. It was just me, and her, and the lake.

  Winee looked back at me and splashed water in my direction, “You coming in?”

  I smiled and ran into the lake with her. We swam around and splashed at each other until we got tired. Then, we laid in the tall grass and watched the birds fly around us.

  “When you’re ready, we can head back,” Winee said.

  “Not yet,” the birds flew in circles around us, “I don’t want to leave here just yet.”

  “Ok,” Winee grabbed my hand and looked over at me. When I looked back, I saw Lorena smiling at me. She was so beautiful with her red and blond curls spread on the ground, and her ocean blue eyes lit with excitement. She was just so beautiful...

  * * *

  When I woke up, I was in the same spot that I was in when I passed out. I grabbed my bruised chest and coughed a few times, then I looked around to see if Arnold was still around. He wasn’t.

  “Don’t move around too much,” I heard Miss Shy say. When I looked towards the steps, I saw her tending to Lorena, who was still on the ground.

  “Lorena,” I slowly got up and ran over to them.

  “I said don-”

  “Lorena?” Lorena was unconscious and bleeding from her left side. Arnold had shot through her ribs probably hoping that I would wake up soon enough to watch her die.

  “Miss Shy,” I crie
d. “Will she- will she be okay?”

  “I don’t know,” Miss Shy had gotten the bleeding to stop and wrapped bandages around her, “She’s breathing okay, but she lost a lot of blood.”

  I looked down at the ground to see it soaked in Lorena’s blood, “We have to get her to a hospital- we have to get her out of he-”

  “I contacted Roy. They are on their way as we speak.”

  “But she doesn’t have that much time,” I said. “She’ll be dead before they get here.”

  Miss Shy didn’t say anything, she just stared down at Lorena.

  “Miss Shy...” I wanted her to say something positive. I wanted her to do something, but she looked as lost as me.

  “I’m a cop, Rose. I’ve been working undercover for a long time now....I haven’t seen Arnold in years, and I finally got him. We are going to get him this time, and Lorena- she’ll be okay. Roy and the others are coming,” she looked over at me. “Just hang in there a little longer okay?”

  I nodded and turned back to Lorena, hoping that she could hang on a little while longer.

  Chapter 39

  It only took about two or three hours for Arnold’s men to get us here, after we were already thirty minutes from home. I waited up half the night for Roy and his men, but no one came. The entire time, I sat next to Lorena, making sure that she was still breathing every thirty minutes. I couldn’t see her chest moving because the light was off, and it was dark now, so I had to feel for her face and wait for her warm breath to blow on my hand.

  I felt around for her hand and then held it tight, “Miss Shy is going to help us,” I whispered. “We’re going to get out of here,” I took a deep breath and thought of all the times that Lorena made me happy. She brightened my day with every touch and every smile. I’m more than happy that I met her.

  All I feel now is the need to protect her, and get her to safety. I didn’t care if we had to run away and never go home again...as long as she was safe. I had to do something. How much longer could she wait? And how much longer would Roy take?