by Callee Raye
She didn’t like the thought of crapping in her diaper, but it was the only way to get daddy Joe to open up the windows. The fragrant smell of poop would make him head straight to the windows. Every morning they would try their best to go right before he came downstairs. She secretly wished she could poop on his hand while he was cleaning her bottom. She knew it was gross but it made her smile just thinking about it. They were very lucky in one sense, daddy Joe had never touched them inappropriately at least not since she had been there. He may be beyond delusional but he didn’t seem to be a child molester. Moira had a feeling that today was the day that they would get to go outside. They heard daddy Joe’s footsteps upstairs. He had a very distinctive walk, as if one leg was a little bit longer than the other. He tended to drag his left leg behind when he walked, it must have been injured in some way in the past. Moira looked over at Abby and they gave each other the nod, it was time for Act 1 to begin.
Moira scooted her diaper down a little and smeared her shitty bottom across the bottom of the playpen. It was a dirty and disgusting job but it had to be done and done right. After setting up the scene, she laid in the mess and waited, cooing and playing like an innocent little baby. However, she wasn’t innocent she was setting daddy Joe up to take the bait. They were getting out of that musty damp basement today. Just then they heard a key turning in the lock and the old wooden door’s familiar squeak as it opened. The light surrounded his body, as he made his way down the stairs.
“Good morning girls.”
Immediately the smell in the room hit his nose and his face twisted trying to adjust to the stench. He put a big smile on his face to try and cover up what he was really thinking.
“Baby girl, no don’t play in it”.
He yelled hurrying across the room, just as Moira’s hand went splat and she started redecorating the playpen with poop. Moira never stopped cooing and giggling the entire time. If he wanted them to act like babies, then they were going to give him babies. They were going to act and behave just like real babies, and not two grown women pretending to be babies just for his private thrill. The room reeked and so did Moira. This last stunt almost turned her stomach, which would not have been a bad idea but throwing up and having shit all over the place may have been too much of an overkill. Maybe she would save that for tomorrow she deviously thought. She didn’t want to lay too much on him at one time. It had to be smooth and unsuspecting. They didn’t want daddy Joe catching on and getting suspicious. Daddy Joe dragged the chair over to each of the small windows and cranked them open as far as they would go, to let some fresh untainted air in. Step one accomplished Moira thought looking over at Abby.
“Come on Moira, we have to get you cleaned up first, then daddy will tackle this room. For you two being such little girls, you sure do have it blasting in here.”
Moira paid him no attention, instead she just imitated the bird, when she heard it chirping outside the window.
Daddy Joe smiled and shook his head. “You’re daddy’s little stinky bird”, he said laughing out loud at his own comment.
Moira continued to coo and grin. She knew she had him by the balls and he was about to cave in any minute now.
“Alright Moira you win, daddy will clean you both up and then let you go outside and you’ll be able to see the pretty birds.”
The plan had worked and an overwhelming sense of relief came over Moira. Her eyes welled up with tears of joy. She quickly blinked the tears away before daddy Joe noticed. It made her feel so good and for the first time, she actually felt some real hope. Hope that one day she would actually be out of this living hell and back into her normal life of being plain old Moira Livingston, daycare worker. Her life as she knew it seemed so far away, as if that life had been a dream and this life was her reality. Moira couldn’t let her mind play tricks on her now, she had to stay focused and continue playing the role. He bathed and dressed Moira and then went upstairs for a moment. She could hear him talking to someone, but she couldn’t tell if he was on the phone or talking to someone face to face. The conversation was too muffled for her to make out, but she thought she had heard a woman’s voice. Was there a woman upstairs? Did someone else know that they were being held down in the cellar against their will? Moira knew she had to find out if someone else was in the house helping daddy Joe. If so, she would have to figure that new little obstacle into their escape plan. Instead of having just one person to get away from, it may very well be two of them.
Moira sat in a chair by the staircase, while daddy tended to Abby. Abby looked over at Moira for answers, as to what their next move would be. Unfortunately she had no answers for her, because Moira really didn’t know yet. She was more or less playing it one hour at a time. She only knew that she wanted to get outside and she wanted to see what was upstairs on the first floor. She shrugged her shoulders in reply to the question Abby’s eyes searched for an answer to. When daddy Joe finished dressing baby Abby, he picked Moira up and carried her up the rickety basement stairs to the first floor. On one hand she really wanted to go upstairs, but on the other hand she was scared to death as to what she may find. He sat Moira down on the cool linoleum floor in the hallway.
“Baby girl, you sit here while daddy goes back down to get a blanket and some toys for you two to play with.”
Daddy Joe kissed her on the forehead and limped back down the basement stairs. Moira cooed and smiled, playing the baby game. As soon as daddy Joe was out of sight Moira quickly looked around trying to take in everything she saw and heard. Something shattered in one of the rooms at the other end of the hallway. It sounded like it came from behind the pink door at the very end of the long hallway. The pink door was cracked open just a little. Moira squinted trying her best to see into the room, but because the hallway was so long it was very difficult. She did see someone moving about inside the room, but she couldn’t quite make out who it was or what they were doing. Then all of a sudden the pink door swung wide open and a middle-aged woman appeared. When she saw Moira sitting in the hallway she must have been startled because she swiftly closed the door behind her, but she was not fast enough. Moira had already gotten a quick glance into the room and what or should she say who had made the noise she had heard. Just as Moira grasped at what she had seen in the room, daddy Joe appeared at the top of the basement stairs.
“Barbara, what the hell are you doing out here?”
Moira jumped at the sternness in his voice tone. His face was crimson red and looked like he was about to explode.
“I needed to get something from the kitchen. I didn’t know you were out here with the new baby. She didn’t see anything daddy. She didn’t see nothing at all,” she said nervously, as a drop of sweat dripped off her forehead onto the linoleum floor.
There was no doubt that this woman Barbara was definitely afraid of daddy Joe. Moira wondered what he would have done to this woman, if he knew that Moira had actually gotten a quick peek inside the room with the pink door. A cold chill ran down her spine, just thinking about it. A light mist of sweat popped out covering her entire face. She didn’t even want to think about what he would had done. Although what she had just witnessed had her mind whirling. Moira had to collect herself fast and quickly go back into baby mode. Had Moira’s eyes been playing tricks on her or had she really seen what she thought?
“Baby girl, are you okay?” daddy Joe said trying to see if Moira seemed disturbed or agitated in any way.
She knew that she had to play it up for him now because he was certainly angry and scared at what she may have seen. Something of great interest was hidden behind that door and daddy Joe didn’t want her seeing whatever it was. Daddy Joe turned the role of dutiful daddy on rather fast. Moira thought he played the role like a pro, but he was not nearly as good an actor as Moira was finding out that she could be. Moira turned into “baby girl” quicker than daddy Joe could blink his eyes. Moira started pointing towards the back door and waving her arms around to go outside. She even managed to shed
a little tear drop to make it really seem believable. She knew she had to get out of that hallway fast, before daddy Joe changed his mind about taking them outside. Getting outside was the point of this whole mission. Soon daddy Joe forgot all about the woman, he called Barbara and she slipped quietly back behind the pink painted door at the end of the long corridor.
“Yes I know, baby girl wants to go outside,” he said smiling down at Moira. Daddy is going to take you outside first. You be a good girl and stay on your blanket while daddy goes to get little Abby.”
He opened the door and bent down to pick up Moira slinging her comfortably over his shoulder. He placed her underneath the only tree in the yard, before going back towards the house.
Turning before entering he said, “Don’t worry Moira, daddy is always watching you, you are never alone.”
The look on his face told Moira that she better watch her step, especially after witnessing how he exploded with Barbara. And off he disappeared back into the house, slamming the screen door behind him. Moira looked around the yard as nonchalantly as she possibly could without causing suspicion to herself. Her plan was to lay down on the blanket and start rolling from side to side on her back, as if she was playing. Doing this would make it possible for her to view the entire yard without causing attention to herself. She closed her eyes trying to imprint the image of the yard in her mind. That way later, when she was back in the basement, she could try to envision a possible escape route for them. She prayed that something or someone would eventually come their way and save them. She was determined to have the entire yard memorized by the time they had to go back inside to their disgusting pink colored prison. She open and closed her eyes again and again, letting the heat from the sun wash over her body as if she was plugged into an energy outlet from above. How she felt at that exact moment was indescribable, she just knew things were about to change. She could feel it deep down in her soul, however she just hoped that the changed she felt was for the better and not something worse.
For the first time since Moira had been forced into this fantasy world existence, she could feel fear creeping in, causing goose bumps to appear up and down her arms. She debated in her head whether or not to tell Abby what she had briefly seen inside the house, when Barbara opened the pink door. She wanted her to know but she also was scared that Abby wouldn’t be able to handle it. She could barely believe it herself. How could something like this be happening and no one know? What kind of world was this, where someone could just snatch a person off the street and basically steal their life? Wasn’t there anyone out there looking for them? How could women be missing and no one missing them? What kind of women are we she thought, that no one even cares what has happened to us? A tear trickled down her cheek and landed on the sunflower design on the front of her dress. Moira heard the screen door slam against the wooden frame. The noise snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her back into this false fantasy world. She dried her eyes with the back of her hand and looked up to see Daddy Joe coming out with Abby. The smile on Abby’s face was as bright as the sun beaming down on them. He carefully placed Abby on the blanket next to Moira.
“Now you two play and enjoy some fresh air. I think it do you both some good.”
A bird flew overhead and landed on a branch in the sycamore tree above. Moira pointed to it and made the flapping motion with her arms and giggled trying to stay in character. Abby giggled at Moira’s impersonation of the bird.
“Yes baby girl there’s your bird, you are so smart and observant. Now stay on your blanket and play. Daddy Joe will be back after cleaning up your room.”
They watched him as he walked back towards the house dragging his leg behind him. He grimaced in pain, as he walked up the five stairs leading to the screen door.
He blew a kiss in their direction before entering the house and then turned and said “Daddy Joe loves his two good little girls. Always remember bad little girls will be punished.”
Once he was inside the house and out of view, they looked at each other. Moira saw what she was thinking when she looked into Abby’s eyes. Fear. Daddy Joe had just did a complete 180 degree turn and it was a sinister turn at that. That was his way of telling them that he will hurt them if he needs to. That was actually the first time anything threatening and bone chilling had come out of daddy Joe’s mouth, that was directed at them. It made the hairs on the back of Moira’s neck stand to attention and take notice. In fact for the first time, every fiber in her body was on alert and frightened. Abby lowered her head as if it weighed too much to hold up any longer. Moira reached over to Abby and lifted her head up and looked directly into her brown eyes and shook her head.
“No”, she mouthed.
She had to keep Abby in a positive frame of mind, even if she wasn’t 100 % convinced herself. She told Abby that they needed to memorize the yard and whatever they may see in the house that could aid in their escape. The special language between the two of them was getting better. They were learning how to communicate more and more, without ever speaking a word.
Looking around the yard Moira was amazed at the massive size of yard. It was at least the size of a city’s parking lot, if not larger. There was green grass as far as Moira's eyes could see. The grass was prickly yet soft. It must have been freshly mowed, because the aroma of the grass, filled the entire backyard. Moira had never smelled anything that smelled so good in her entire life. It had the smell of FREEDOM. It felt so good to finally be able to breathe some fresh air and not that musty, moldy air that filled the basement. Moira was in heaven at that very exact moment. Their blanket had been placed under the one isolated sycamore tree in the yard. A child's handmade swing made from an old tire, swung back and forth in the cool morning breeze. It looked like a picture straight out of a magazine. The key word being “looked”, because Moira was learning more and more every day just how looks can be so deceiving.
They were allowed to stay outside for a couple of hours, before daddy Joe came out to bring them back in. Moira was starting to feel like her old self again. She didn’t want to go back inside. It felt so good just feeling the sun’s heat radiating down on her skin. She didn’t protest when daddy appeared, everything has its course to run and she guessed this was the end of theirs at least for today. For tomorrow was a brand new day and she would work her web of charm on daddy Joe and try to get them another excursion outside.
Moira’s plan had worked, in fact it was working very smoothly, she thought as she sat underneath the old sycamore tree for the second day in a row.
“Alright baby girl, you stay here while I go get little Abby.”
Moira smiled the biggest toothiest grin she could muster up. Daddy Joe laughed at her great big smile as he walked back towards the house, waving as he slipped behind the screen door. Moira could still see him standing in the shadows behind the wooden door. He was watching her and was trying to see what she was going to do. One step ahead of you daddy Joe, she silently mouthed to herself. Moira rolled over on her back and started kicking her legs up and down while laughing and playing by herself. She never trusted daddy Joe and now she could see that some of his true colors were starting to surface. Her freedom was too close to mess up now. Freedom was just beyond that fence, she thought. Looking across the yard at the huge wooden fence that surrounded the perimeters of that place. It was the tallest fence Moira had ever seen. She couldn’t tell if the fence was there to keep them in or to keep others out? That fence was going to be a big obstacle, but Moira was determined to find a way to overcome it, because it was the only thing standing in her way of getting her life back.
Who was this man that was holding them captive? He was not your average sick-minded weirdo. Moira could tell that this man actually had some brains. She knew she was going to have to anticipate his every move. That would be the only way they would ever be prepared to counter attack when the right moment came along. Moira turned to the sound of the raggedy screen door squeaking and banging shut against the old woode
n molding. Abby looked so happy, Moira thought. The sunshine and the fresh air was certainly casting a hypnotic spell over Abby. She looked at peace as daddy Joe placed her down on the blanket. He looked down at them for a few moments without moving or saying anything. Finally he opened his mustache framed mouth and said "Daddy loves his good girls, because they don't cry and talk, like all those other ones once did. Daddy only loves good girls." He turned and started walking slowly back towards the fake brick house, dragging his injured leg through the grass.
A chill ran down Moira's back at that exact instance. It wasn't what daddy had said, although it was a little creepy, but it was more in the way in which he said it, that made her spine tingle. Moira turned to look at Abby, but Abby's piercing brown eyes were already zeroed in on hers. She moved her head up and down hoping that would reassure Abby that everything was going to be alright. She couldn't afford to have Abby falling apart, not now when they were getting so close to freedom. They played and played moving around on every inch of the blanket just in case daddy Joe was still lurking about somewhere looking at them. Whereas in reality what they were actually doing was trying to visually memorize every inch of that yard. It may take at least more trip outside before they would be able to plan their breakout. Moira motioned to her ears, she wanted Abby to be aware of what she was hearing and not hearing. Moira had been outside alone for at least ten minutes before daddy Joe and Abby came out. She had not heard any cars, horns, trucks, or even any movement nearby, only the little bird chirping in the single isolated sycamore tree.
