Reality sinks in after he drops dead, my adrenaline gone I shakily sit back down. I didn't know the first thing about anything. I'd been down here so long I didn't even know where I was or if my family were still where we used to live. I barely even knew what they looked like anymore.
My tough persona is cracked and the scared little girl from all those years ago shines through. She doesn't want to leave the safety of this basement, because she fears that he was right, that we won't survive out there. She also doesn't want to stay trapped here for a moment longer, we'd missed out on too much already.
Forcing myself up I begin to pack, a few items of clothing and a few cans of food, I wouldn't need much seeing as I'd be going to the police station anyways. One my bag is ready I grab the bloody knife and cut off the strap at the top, the one that he grabbed all those years ago to drag me down.
The cuff around my wrist rubs painfully against my skin, the free one clinking at every moment I make. I hadn't wanted to touch his dead body at all but I really needed the handcuff keys and the keys for the house.
I swallow my disgust and my terror as I crouch down to where his body had fallen on the ground. I can't help the few stray tears that escape as I rummage through his blood stained pockets. I manage to find the key to the handcuffs but not for the doors.
A creaking on the steps makes me go still, was someone here or did I just imagine that? I hold my breath as I wait, I'm too afraid to turn around and I had left the knife by the bed, there was no way I could grab it in time. Footsteps follow and I freeze, the person curses under their breath as I hear them pick something up. That snaps me out of my daze and I move just as an arrow lands in my captors arm, right where my head had been.
I scramble to my feet and hold my hands up as the man before me jumps slightly, "you're alive?" He's shocked and I'm confused, what type of a question was that? "Yes?" He scans the surroundings brows drawn together, his eyes then land on me. On my scared face and shaking hands, my right still having the handcuff attached. He glances down at the body I'd been crouched over, eyes darting between us. "He do this to you?" He asks referring to the bruises littering my skin, my split lip and black eye. I nod and he lowers the crossbow, "I ain't gonna hurt you."
We stare at each other for a moment more neither of us sure what to do. I cry out in surprise once my ankle is grabbed, it's him! He's snarling as I try and kick him off but he pulls me down. My heart is hammering so hard that I can feel it in my ears as he tries to pull me towards him. I hear another arrow fly and then he stills, the man with the crossbow has a firm grip on my arm and he pulls me up towards him.
"You alright? Any bites, scratches?" I shake my head confused but wrap my arms around the man. He just saved me, "I killed him." I mumble confused, "he was dead." I say against the man's shirt. He does respond, or even move he just stands there as I hold him, his arms awkwardly by his sides.
"Rick!" He calls out, I'm guessing to his travelling partner. I hear two sets of footsteps making me tense up and then I feel the man with a crossbow place his hand on my head gently. I glance up and see he's shaking his head to the two men who have just joined us. "Nah, she's alive." It's then that I let go of him, instead I shuffle back so that I'm partially behind him.
The first man lowers his gun but the second one keeps it steady. "Who are you?" The one without his gun asks, "my names Selene, you can take whatever you want, I don't care just please let me go." He glances around the room before turning to his friend. "Put the gun down Shane." He must be Rick then, he sighs when Shane doesn't move but turns back to me.
"That your dad?" He's gesturing to my captor, "no." I don't elaborate, "what happened to him?" I look between the three men and decide to answer honestly seeing as I already told the one with the crossbow. "I killed him."
Shane reacts at that, he'd been eyeing the handcuff around my wrist and in two swift steps he's grabbed the open on and dragging me towards the pipe. "No!" I try and pull away but he's too strong, he cuffs me and I cry as I try and pull myself free. "Hey man what the hell do you think you're doing?" The one with the crossbow asks stepping forwards angrily, Rick holds him back.
"We don't know her." Shane answers like it's obvious, "she's unarmed." Rick counters, he catches my eye and sees where I'm looking. I'd dropped the key when I'd been grabbed. He scoops it up and pushes past Shane who's shouting disagreements at him.
"This is not what we do." He answers as he frees me from the cuffs altogether. "You ok?" He asks as I rub at the red skin on my wrist. I nod and so he turns back to Shane, "continue checking the house." Shane's not pleased at the order and grumbles to himself as he leaves.
"My names Rick and this is Daryl." He introduces, "how long have you been down here?" He asks gently, "ten years." Both men share a glance at that, "ten years?" He asks in disbelief, I nod glancing at the floor. "He took me when I was fifteen."
"We're not going to hurt you." Rick assures me, I glance at Daryl who nods. "You can take whatever you want honestly, I just want to go home." He and Daryl share an uneasy look at that. "What?"
"You don't know what's been going on do you?"
