Thumper by Marie James

Chapter 7

Cara

I have no concept of time down here. At least in the truck when the door rolled up, we knew if it was night or day. There are no windows, no set schedule other than food being brought to us. It could have been only ten hours since we were forced back into the cages or could easily have been days.

My bones ache, and that’s more a testament to the tension and fear being on a constant high than the cot and blankets provided. The cot, if I allow myself to mention, isn’t actually that bad, and if I weren’t locked in a cage, I might be able to convince myself I was out camping, not that I’ve ever been camping before. The blankets are warm and clean, smelling faintly of lemon fabric softener. The tray of food on the floor at my feet smelled wonderful when it came, but it’s since grown cold. The bottle of water provided is once again empty, and I’m twitching, trying to count down the minutes until Angel comes back down to escort us to the bathroom. We’re like kenneled dogs, waiting for our owners to get home from work before we’re forced to urinate on the floors. I’ve been lucky so far, but if he doesn’t hurry, I’m going to be in the same predicament as the girl on my left.

My eyes flutter closed, pure exhaustion weighing the lids down, but a sound makes them snap back open.

I must be more tired than I’m allowing myself to admit because it isn’t the door opening that wakes me. By the time I look up, a shadowy figure is blocking out the already minimal light from the room.

I whimper when I see the man crouched down in front of my cage. It isn’t Angel. That man doesn’t waste a second glance on any of us. It became apparent when we were showering that he has a job to do and so long as we don’t cause trouble, he won’t mess with us.

It’s Javier.

The rapist.

The leader of this entire fucked-up organization.

I have to look away, even though I know that closing my eyes and blocking out the monster won’t make him disappear like those shadows that were under my bed as a child. There’s no wishing this man away.

“You need to eat.”

His voice is like needles on my skin, a million tiny pinpricks that make my stomach turn.

“Cara.”

I huddle further into the corner even though I have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.

I filled out that paperwork, so it’s no wonder that he knows my name, but hearing it roll off his tongue threatens the bile swimming with the water in my gut to make an appearance.

“The food isn’t poisoned,” he says softly as if he’s able to read my thoughts. “You should eat.”

“She hasn’t eaten a bite,” another man says. I look up to see it’s Angel. He doesn’t talk much, and his voice is still unfamiliar to me.

“Nothing?” Javier asks, his eyes staying trained on me.

“Not a thing. She drinks the water though.”

“That’s something at least,” he says as he stands.

All I can see now are his legs. Anticipation ramps up my heartbeat, but he doesn’t reach for the lock on the front of my cage. He doesn’t open his mouth again to threaten pain if I don’t eat the food provided.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m starving. Saliva pools in my mouth each time they bring a tray of food, but I just can’t bring myself to eat it. My stomach knots from uncertainty as much as it does from fear. The other women have eaten what’s been provided, and nothing bad has happened to them. Lola, the brunette, told us all it was fine to eat, but I can’t get it out of my head that I’ll be the one to get sick and die.

Their footsteps fade away, the door closing behind them and the lock slapping back into place.

“You need to eat.” Those words come from the end of the line. Lola.

How can she be so calm after what she’s been through? Is ignoring it a trauma response or something?

I should’ve opened my mouth to ask to go to the restroom, but the last thing I want is to paint an even bigger bullseye on my back.

The lock slides open again, but only one set of footsteps are coming this direction.

“Angel, I really need to use—”

Javier’s wicked eyes find mine as he crouches low again.

“I’m Javier, Cara. Tell me what you need.”

His words sound more like a plea than a command, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’m certain now that I’m losing my mind. There’s not tenderness or kindness to be had from this man. Does he think I’m a complete fool? I’ve witnessed twice what he’s capable of.

“Tell me, Cara.”

Why does he keep saying my name? I’d feel better if he spit vulgarities my way. At least it wouldn’t confuse my head so much.

I shake when he pulls a key from his pocket and reaches for the lock on my cage.

“Please, no,” I whisper, but the words are more for whatever god may be listening, not him.

“We need a bathroom break, asshole,” Lola snaps from the other end of the room.

I keep my eyes open, wanting to have forewarning if he’s going to grab me and try to drag me out of here. His jaw flexes at Lola’s words, but he never pulls his eyes from me.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

I wouldn’t believe a word from his mouth even if he hadn’t purchased me. If I’d run into this man, just his dark demeanor and the soulless eyes he’s looking at me with would be warning enough to keep my distance.

“All of us!” Lola hisses, and I want to open my mouth to tell her to be quiet, not to make him mad, but I just don’t have the strength. Maybe this is her way to get him to end her suffering after what she’s been through. Maybe she wants to make him angry enough to kill her because she can’t live with what he’s already done to her.

Javier sighs as he stands, then he works down the line to unlock all the cages. We’re six women against one man, but as we exit the cages, none of us look in his direction.

However long we’ve been down here, we’ve already been conditioned to keep our eyes on the floor as we walk in a straight line to the bathroom. There are three stalls and no windows. Javier doesn’t join us in the bathroom, but he stands near the open door, preventing any form of escape.

I head straight to one of the stalls and nearly groan with the relief I feel. My hands are shaking, and I know it’s from more than just fear. I should be eating. Not doing so is only hurting myself. I’ll never be able to fight someone off of me or make a run for it given the chance if I haven’t had some form of nutrition in my body.

I leave the stall and head to the sink, keeping an eye on Javier’s reflection in the mirror as I wash my hands and splash water on my face. After using a towel to dry my hands and face, I take a step back and wait for the other women, exactly like we’ve been trained to do.

I can’t meet his eyes, but I feel them boring a hole into the side of my face. I manage to walk out of the bathroom without looking at him, but I swear his breath hitches when I pass. I get a sinking feeling in my gut that I’ve somehow landed on his radar.

Once back inside our cages, Javier makes the rounds and puts the locks in place, only he leaves mine for last. The sting is the only warning I get before the tears start to fall as he crouches back down in front of my cage.

When I meet his eyes, he presses a finger to his lips, telling me to keep quiet. My back bangs against the cage when I try to shuffle further away when he swings the door halfway open, but he doesn’t reach in for me. Instead, he pulls two packages from his pocket and sets them on the floor before pulling out the cold tray of food.

He doesn’t say another word as he situates the lock back in place before standing and walking away.

I stare down at the small pack of beef jerky and mixed nuts as if they’re a poisonous snake getting ready to strike. It takes long moments before I reach for them, and another hour after handling them to make sure there are no holes before I open them and scarf more than half of each package down. My stomach aches, having stayed empty for so long, but those pains are nothing compared to the hunger pains I’ve been feeling.

I fold the tops of the packages down and stuff the remaining food under the thin mattress on my cot. I don’t know if he’s going to bring me more, but I do know eating all of it at once will be foolish.

My eyes grow heavy once again, and this time I give in to the need for sleep.

I don’t know how long I’ve been resting but I’m well aware of the sound when the door to the room opens.

Angel walks by, his jaw as tight as ever, only this time the sound of a cage opening is directly to my left not four cages down from mine which has been the routine since we arrived.

“Please, don’t!” the girl beside me screams. I can’t see a thing that’s going on, but it’s clear from the banging and sounds of struggle that Angel is trying to pull her from her cage. “Get your hands off of me! Please, stop!”

I’m crying, nearly hyperventilating as I watch through the grate of my cage as Angel drags her away.

The door to the room slams shut, and unlike Lola, that girl, who I don’t even know her name, never returns.