A pair of feet shuffled into the room. Mr. Baker. He removed a pair of keys from his pocket, and the jingling noise from them filled my ears. Disappearing behind the rug, I heard Mr. Baker stick a key into the slot of the door and then the click on the latch of the lock. Behind the rug, I could tell he was bending over to pick up the ballot box. The shuffling sound of paper led me to believe that he was planting my name in the box.
Just as he set the box back down, a loud blood curdling scream rang throughout the room. “What was that?” he questioned himself. Startled, he slammed the door, forgetting to lock it and was out of the room in a flash.
When I couldn’t hear his footsteps anymore, I slithered out from underneath the bed, dragging my belly on the floor. I felt like one of those contortionists who could bend their body any way they wanted to. The only problem with that was bending like that made every bone and muscle in my body hurt.
Once I made certain the coast was still clear, I made a mad dash for the rug, opened the door quickly and slipped inside. Flipping open the lid to the box, I quickly removed two pieces of paper. I opened the first one with Dylan Edwards name on it and put it back in the box. I assumed the second one was mine, so I didn’t check it to confirm it.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Several pairs of footsteps were heading down the hall. Shit! I was pressed for time. Reaching into my back pocket, I removed the paper with Elise’s name, shoved it into the box and closed the lid quietly.
The footsteps were so loud that they drowned out the sound of my own breathing. There was no way I could get out of here without a member of the Baker family seeing me. I set the box down on the ground and slowly began backing up.
People were moving around the room, and I prayed that Mr. Baker wouldn’t open the door. Keys jingled again, like the bells on Santa’s sleigh. Then I heard the key scraping against metal and a click. Fuck. Mr. Baker locked me in his damn closet.
Backing up more, I expected to ram into a wall, but was pleasantly surprised when I noticed a short, rectangular path. “Hmm,” I said to myself. “What are you hiding in here, you sneaky weasel?” I followed the path about eight feet, coming to a stop at the end of it. To my right was a long cemented ramp that stretched diagonally at twenty-four feet, at the least.
Curious, I climbed the ramp, only to discover that at the top of it, there was another ramp. Then, when I reached the top of that ramp, surprise….Another ramp.
When I had climbed all three of them I made a mental note that if I saw one more ramp I was going to scream at the top of my lungs. So, I was extremely happy when I finished walking the last ramp and noticed a twelve-foot metal ladder with two bolted metal, hatch-like doors above it.
Excited, I practically ran up the ladder, climbing two rungs at a time, until I reached the top and had to push to open the metal doors. The entire adventure through Mr. Baker’s closet was intriguing, like a haunted maze that used to be put on in the cornfields around Halloween. I couldn’t wait to see what was waiting for me through the metal doors.
The first time I pushed, the doors wouldn’t budge. I tried again. Nope. It wasn’t until the third time that I was able to push the doors open and pull myself up out of the hole I was in.
Standing up, my eyes bugged out as I examined my surroundings. I marveled at the twenty television screens that were perched along a shiny silver wall. I gasped at the beautiful, black marble flooring—so clean I could see my reflection in it.
And I shook my head in disbelief as my eyes followed the twenty-foot long control panel that stretched along the bottom row of the televisions screens.
This place was like a dream. Even though it reminded me vaguely of a government lab, I thought the only kind of interiors I would see for the rest of my life were, dirt walls and cement floors. My mouth gaped open, the last time I saw anything like this, earth was still earth. Where did Mr. Baker get all of this stuff? And what was he using it for?
Still mesmerized, I spun around in a circle, then came to a halt. I wasn’t alone. Someone or something else was in the room with me. Afraid to turn around, I peeked over my shoulder and gawked at guy who couldn’t have been more than three years older than me. His shoulders were broad, his build athletic. He had deep, dark chocolate colored brown hair that was a bit on the long side. The color of his hair suited his almond complexion. He got closer and closer.
I spun all the way around. Our eyes met and locked. I lurched closer, not breaking my gaze. Until he was about three feet away from me and I saw them. I saw his eyes. His dark blue, mixed with voodoo purple, violet eyes.
He cocked his head to the side and crooked me a smile, his perfect sharpened teeth fully visible, dimples rising up in his cheeks.
I picked my feet up one at a time, every memory of the day I met him resurrecting, hitting me like a slap in the face. No….
Not him.
I couldn’t stay here. I had to save myself. So I took off running.
Chapter 17: I’m Starving
Hast thou found me O mine enemy?
He caught me by my shirt tail, twisted me around, and pressed his body into my back. I tried to slap his hands away but he gripped each side of my waist and held on tightly. Violet eyes. From now on, any time I thought about violet eyes, they would be associated with the word death. Chills of terror spread throughout my body as the warmth from his kept me from freezing. His lips were inching closer and closer to my neck and my knees started to tremble.
Then, he leaned in, close to my ear, his lips almost brushing against it . His hot breath against my neck made it tingle, and goose bumps appeared on my arms. I winced, preparing myself for the moment, where his teeth sink into my skin and rip the flesh away. I moved forward slightly and he pulled me back, wrapping his right arm around the front of me. Then he whispered into my ear,“Dinner,”he breathed.“It’s so nice to see you again. Did you miss me?”
At that point, my whole body was shaking.The day I met him came back to me so clearly. He hovered above me, his violet eyes staring straight into my soul, and then he smashed my head open with a rock. I teared up as I struggled to get the words out. “I’m… I’m…”
“Starving,” he said, finishing my sentence. “Very good, dinner. And here I thought you had forgotten about me.”
I began thrashing my arms and legs. “No. No. No.” That was all I could get out.
“There is no point in fighting me.” His deep voice came out soft, yet frightening. “That is a battle you will lose.”
Soon I found my voice and put it to good use. “Help! Someone help me!” I screamed—loud, shrill—and high pitched.
A low, husky laugh left his throat. “Nobody is going to hear you.”
“Help! Help!”
“Stop it, dinner,” he teased.
Rethinking my strategy, I slumped into his arms hoping that he would think that I’d given up the struggle. Straight ahead was the open hatch. If I played my cards right, I could make it there. “You told me your name was I’m Starving. You cracked my head open, left me paralyzed, and wrote me a sadistic letter. You said you were going to eat me.” His grip was loosening. “You’re a cannibal. Oh God!” He removed his hands from my waist and I took that as an open opportunity.
I bolted for the hatch, pumping my legs as hard as I could. And I was fast. But… he was faster. He raced ahead of me, slamming both of the hatch doors shut. I tried to sprint around him but he caught up to me before tackling me and pinning me down on the ground. “Dinner, you need to calm down.”